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Tuesday Halolinks: Kaleb Cowart might find success at pitcher

After two seasons of unimpressive performance at the plate, Cowart might be better suited for the mound.

By Jim Gardner
Christian Petersen/Getty Images

Just a few things to link to this morning.  Not a whole lot going on, but that's not to say we can't find anything to read...especially when Jose Canseco is still in the world.

Pointing the finger at Halolinks:

  • The Arizona Fall league has ended and there are a couple reports about some Angel minor leaguers: Top performances, prospects from 2014 Fall League - MLB.com, "ANGELS Best Performance: Left-hander reliever Chris O'Grady shared the lead in wins (3), while posting a 1.42 ERA and limiting opponents to a .125 average. His mid-80s fastball and upper-70s slider are nothing special, but AFL hitters didn't square him up. Best Prospect: Kaleb Cowart has struggled the last two years in Double-A and his woes continued in Arizona, where he batted .185/.224/.259. He did make some nice plays and demonstrated a strong arm at third base."  Cowart was drafted as a third baseman, but showed a ton of potential as a pitcher in high school: Georgia standout Kaleb Cowart is Gatorade's baseball player of year - USATODAY.com, "From June of 2010...Cowart, who has signed with Florida State, was 10-1 as a pitcher with a 1.05 ERA and 116 strikeouts in 73 innings. As a switch-hitting third baseman, he hit .654 with 11 home runs, 59 RBI, 55 runs scored and had 36 stolen bases in 36 attempts."  And it looks like the Angels have at least had the discussion of putting him back on the mound: Halos taking patient approach with prospect Cowart - MLB.com, "Cowart isn't necessarily blocking another third baseman in their system, so the Angels can afford to be a little more patient with someone who would be entering his first full season of pro ball if he had played four years in college. A move to the mound probably won't take place if Cowart doesn't agree to it first. "Any time a decision like that is made, the player is obviously going to play a big hand in it," Servais said. "It's his career, when it's all said and done."
  • The Braves and Cardinals make a trade: Braves, Cardinals Trade Jason Heyward For Shelby Miller – MLB Trade Rumors, "The Cardinals have acquired right fielder Jason Heyward and right-hander Jordan Walden from the Braves in exchange for righty Shelby Miller and pitching prospect Tyrell Jenkins, the teams announced."  Jordan Walden joins the long list of former Angels-now Cardinals players.
  • For some reason I couldn't link directly to this interesting article, but if you click this link, you'll eventually end up at a very fascinating piece about a local sports writer: BBTF's Newsblog Discussion : Lisa Saxon, the Woman Who Helped Change Sports Writing Forever, "The meeting was brief, and the message was simple: "Lisa, from here on in, you’re not fighting alone. To get to you, Reggie’s gonna have to come through us. We’re tired of watching it." "And at the ballpark that night, Reggie tried to come after me, screaming [about the story]. And sure enough, here comes Hendrick and Candelaria, tall and imposing. ‘To get to her, you’re gonna have to go through us.’ Reggie got so mad. He took his fist and banged it into the wall. And that’s why he had a hurt hand for the playoffs that year." Some six years later, when she returned to Anaheim to do a story on Mark McGwire and visit her friend, A’s pitcher Bobby Welch, Jackson was there—and immediately yelled for Lisa’s attention, apparently ready to make amends. Something was awry, Saxon told Welch, because it was the first time Jackson hadn’t referred to her as "#####." Jackson immediately queried Saxon, wondering if there was a problem between them. "Well you have to be more specific, Reggie," she said. "Was there a problem when you cursed at me, yelled at me, told me I looked like a man, told me to have the team bus run over me, when you mocked my clothes, asked me to sleep with you when I repeatedly told you to leave me alone, when you undressed in front of me?" Jackson pleaded ignorance: "Reggie doesn’t do those things," he said in his usual third-person dialect. "Reggie never did those things. But if he did, Reggie apologizes."  Reggie's got nothing on Rickey Henderson's third-person talking antics.
  • Just saying, this guy would look nice in an Angels' uni: The Bargains of the 2015 Free Agent Class - FanGraphs Baseball, "1. Chase Headley, Third Base Crowd: 4 years, $56 million Dave: 4 years, $60 million"
  • Ugh: Why older free agent pitchers may be a bargain - Beyond the Box Score, "C.J. Wilson is the most expensive example of signing an aged pitcher to significant tenure, costing the Angels $8 million per win. He was 30 when the Angels signed him to a long-term deal, however, if one considered his walk year with the Rangers in 2011 as more of an outlier than true talent, it was the process of evaluation that was incorrect and not the terms of the contract in and of itself."
  • Remember when the Agnels almost traded for this guy?  Consider the bullet dodged: The Reds release Carlos Marmol - HardballTalk, "Marmol was once a fantastic reliever, but that seems like ancient history now. He can still strike out guys, but he has walked the world for the past several years, culminating in his release by the Marlins last season after posting a 8.10 ERA in 15 games."
  • Nerd alert! D-backs Announce Analytics Department - AZ Snake Pit, "(Dr. Ed) Lewis has been a trusted ally of Chief Baseball Officer Tony La Russa for more than 30 years, collaborating on many projects, including that as a special assignment scout during the Hall of Fame manager's tenure with the St. Louis Cardinals. "Ed gave me my first introduction to advanced analytics when he worked with our offensive preparation in St. Louis and I've always been impressed with his intelligence and integrity," said La Russa. "It was clear that Stew and Derrick were also very impressed by his wealth of knowledge. He is a scientist who is mathematically inclined and he knows the game. Most importantly, he understands our approach to it."
  • How Giancarlo Stanton Contracts Would Have Gone - FanGraphs Baseball
  • Jose Canseco.  Living the life none of us want, but few find boring:
    Jose Canseco says he will sell his finger on eBay - CBSSports.com, "Thankfully eBay has a strict "no body parts" policy, so no, Canseco won't actually be selling his finger on eBay. Black market? Maybe. Not eBay though."

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