:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/67044814/elijah_greene_angels_cal_poly_2020.0.jpg)
The Angels signed an undrafted free agent this week, so far the first one reported to date. Outfielder Elijah Greene, a redshirt junior from Cal Poly, has signed on with the Angels.
Greene hit .269/.332/.309 in 56 games in 2019, and was 8-for-34 (.235) this year before the coronavirus pandemic shut down the college baseball season after just 13 games.
The left-hander played high school ball at Chino Hills High, then redshirted a year at San Diego State before transferring to Mt. San Antonio College, where he hit .428 and was named a second-team All-American from the American Baseball Coaches Association.
It’s unknown what Greene signed for, but signing bonuses for undrafted free agents this year are capped at $20,000. Green was not listed among the top-500 draft prospects this year by Baseball America.
His younger brother, Isaiah, a high school outfielder, was drafted in the second round this year by the Mets.
Links & news
Jeff Fletcher at the Orange County Register has more on what has become manager Joe Maddon’s go-to phrase this summer camp: “Everybody has got to be the best teammate of their life right now.”
Maddon on finding a spot for David Fletcher to play, from Taylor Blake Ward of Locked on Angels:
Joe Maddon on potentially playing David Fletcher everyday (at multiple positions): "He's a guy you have to get out there... (David Fletcher) has to be on the baseball field." #Angels
— Taylor Blake Ward (@TaylorBlakeWard) July 10, 2020
Fabian Ardaya at The Athletic has more on Maddon’s admiration of Fletcher.
Pitcher Darren O’Day in an interview with David Laurila at FanGraphs had this to say, and more, about Mike Trout: “Mike Trout is the best player to ever play the game. I think people take him for granted every year, in part because he plays on the West Coast.”
MLB and the MLBPA on Friday jointly announced the results now that intake screening is complete. Of the 3,748 total tested, 66 tested positive (1.8 percent), including 58 players. In addition, since (every other day) monitoring testing began, 17 new positive results have occurred, including 13 players. Twenty-eight different clubs have had at least one positive test during intake screening or monitoring testing.
Marc Carig at The Athletic ranked all 38 major league ballparks he’s been to, with Angel Stadium in the “solid” group at No. 17 overall. “Who isn’t into the fake rocks?” Carig wrote.