MLB Season Preview: LA Angels

LA Angels


Last Season's Standings: The LA Angels went 89-73, including 7-3 in their final ten games to finish 2nd in the AL West.

In: 1B Shea Hillenbrand (prev. team: San Fracisco Giants); CF Gary Matthews Jr. (prev. team: Texas Rangers); RP Darren Oliver (prev. team: NY Mets); LF Curtis Pride; RP Justin Speier (prev. team: Toronto Blue Jays); RP Francisco Rodriguez; RP Scot Shields; 1B Robb Quinlan; RP Bill Seibel (via trade w/ Boston Red Sox); RP Chris Resop (via trade w/ Florida Marlins)

Out: RP Kevin Gregg (via trade w/ Florida Marlins); RP Brendan Donnelly (via trae w/ Boston Red Sox); 1B Darren Erstad (new team: Chicago White Sox); 2B Adam Kennedy (new team: St. Louis Cardinals); RP J.C. Romero (new team: Boston Red Sox)

Starting Pitching: Veteran pitcher John Lackey is the ace of this pitching staff, at least until Bartolo Colon returns from a torn rotator cuff. The big rightie is looking to build off a decent season last year, going 13-11 with a 3.56 ERA in 33 starts. He has a bad tendency to leave balls out over the plate, and at this level that is a very bad thing to do as hitters will crush most mistake pitches and those pitches are likely to leave the playing field. He tends to wear down in the later innings; needs to improve his performance against left-handed batters. Ex-Blue Jays pitcher Kelvim Escobar will follow Lackey in the rotation. Escobar can have games where he can dominate hitters and seem unhittable and he can have games where he gets completely beat-u and only lasts a couple of innings tops. To be successful, Escobar needs to keep his head in the game and concentrate on what he's doing. He went 11-14 with a 3.61 ERA in 30 starts. One last thing about Escobar that is becoming a concern in recent seasons is that he has had elbow problems to his pitching elbow. The youthful Ervin Santana is entering just his second full season in the majors and is pencilled in as the 3rd starter. He had a fine year in 2006 going 16-8 with a 4.28 ERA last season. For whatever reason Santana gets into spells where he just won't change the apeed of his pitches and thus he becomes very predictable and no matter what pitch he throws he doesn't stand much of a chance of getting a batter out. He also struggles at times with RISP. He should do a fine job as the 3rd starter. Rightie Jered Weaver should also be entering his first full season. He should be the 4th starter, however he may not be quite ready for the season as he's recovering from a biceps strain suffered at the end of the '06 season. He went an impressive 11-2 with a 2.56 ERA in 19 starts in 2006. Weaver is typically a ground ball pitcher, although quite a few balls go in the air, many of them leaving the playing field (15 of those fly balld were out of the park in 2006). Left-handed batters are more likely to hit a fly ball than a right-handed bat. Southpaw Joe Saunders is slated to be the fifth and final starter, but should Weaver not be ready for the start of the season, Saunders could be the 4th starter until Weaver is set to return. Saunders was 7-4 with a 4.71 ERA in 13 starts. Finally, at some point this season Bartolo Colon will return from a rotator cuff injury, likely late April/early May. How effective he will be remains to be seen, but he has the potential to win 20 games. From season-to-season, Coloe is quite inconsistent, he's had seasons like 2005 when he won 21 games and he had seasons like last year where in just 10 starts he went 1-5 with a 5.11 ERA. Although his command has improved in recent seasons, his strikeout total has decreased as a result.

Bullpen: Francisco Rodriguez is the anchor of this deep bullpen, recording an impressive 47 saves last season, with a further 2-3 record with a miniscule 1.73 ERA in 69 games. The only real flaw in this closer's game is when he gets rattled, which is very rare, you don't know where the ball will land. The reliable Scot Shields will be setting up K-Rod in the eighth inning most nights when the game is tight. He has a tendency to make an inning tougher than it needs to be and throws a lot of pitches in his outings. Free agent signing and sidewinder Justin Speier is a second option in the later innings, look for him to pitch the 7th. Speier was 2-0 with a 2.98 ERA in 58 appearances last season. He needs to establish himself early in the count to be successful otherwise he gets lost and confused. Speier's move to first is completely ineffective; must get more consistent when he gets the ball. Lefty Darren Oliver will be a lefty-specialist/middle reliever and potentially even a spot starter. Oliver went 4-1 with a 3.44 ERA in 45 appearances last season. He loves to throw his cutter and when thats not working he gets hit hard. Rightie longman Hectro Carrasco may make his first appearance as a starter with Colon and Weaver nursing injuries to their pitching arms. Carrasco went 7-4 with a 3.41 ERA in 56 appearances (3 of those being a start). His main role on this team will be to come into the game when the starter is struggling early or gets injured. He'll also be used as an emergency starter once in a while. Rookie Greg Jones is also battling for a spot in the bullpen. In 5 appearances as a September call-up, Jones had a bad 6.00 ERA. Look for him to start in AAA Salt Lake for more fine tuning. Finally, the inexperienced southpaw Phil Seibel who has just 2 games of MLB experience under his belt is in camp for the coaching staff to get a look at. He will start in Salt Lake, but will be a September call-up, unless he completely loses it this season.

Designated Hitter: Free agent signing and locker room headache Shea Hillenbrand. He hit .277 with 21 HR and 68 RBI last season. He will likely start against primarily left-handed pitchers. One area in which Hillenbrand can improve upon at the plate is taking a free pass once in a while and perhaps being more selective of the pitches he swings at. Look for Hillenbrand to play betwee 115 and 125 games and to bat 6th in the line-up. Fellow rightie hitter Juan Rivera should also get some AB's @ DH. He hit .310 with 23 HR and 85 RBI last season. He struggles against pitchers that throw a lot of off-speed stuff. The big-tall lefty Casey Kotchman may also see time at DH, but he missed significant time last season to a nasty virus that kept him out all but 29 games last season in which he batted .152 with 1 HR and 6 RBI. He's not the fastest player around and he won't hit for power very often; is quite injury prone. Utility man Maicer Izturis may also see some time as the DH, but only in the event of injuries. He hit .293 with 5 HR and 44 RBI in 2006. Izturis is simply an average player with very little power and average speed on the base paths. Finally, Garret Anderson has hit DH in the past, but will be the primary center fielder; more on him later.

Catcher: Youngster Mike Naopli is likely entering his first full season in the majors and is projected to be the #1 backstop, play between 110-120 games and should bat 8th in the line-up. Defensively, Napoli is not great and he'll probably never hit for average (.228 last season with 16 HR and 42 RBI) and he strikes out a lot (90 times last season) despite his ability to take a walk (53 in 2006). Jose Molina will be his primary back-up. Unlike catching brother Benjie, he strikes out a lot (49 times in '06). He'll likely play around 60-80 games this season. Molina hit .240 with 4 HR and 22 RBI last season. Jeff Mathis will also be battling for a back-up spot, but will likely start in Salt Lake and be a September call-up or possible injury replacement. He hit .145 with 2 HR and 6 RBI. Must improve his throwing skills and try not to over-think at the plate when he's in a slump.

First Baseman: As mentioned earlier in this blog, starter Casey Kotchman is coming back aftr mimssing most of last season with a nasty virus. If healthy, he'll play around 100 games and bat 7th in the line-up. Defensively he's strong, and his offensuve numbers can be seen under the Designated Hitter section of this blog. Utility man Robb Quinlan will play some first base and shouldbe the primary back-up. He hit .321 with 9 HR and 32 RBI in 2006. He'll be looking to repeat those numbers in '07. Quinlan has little speed and his defense is shoddy with a weak arm; tends to struggle in the second half. Howie Kendrick can also play 1b, but he'll likely get the bulk of the playing time at second base. . . more on him later. Rookie Kendy Morales should get some playing time at first bas, but as an injury replacement; look for him to start the season in Salt Lake. Morales hit .234 with 5 HR and 22 RBI last season. Morales is just average defensively and he is uncomfortable taking a walk. Dallas Mcpherson is also competing for a roster spot, although he missed significant time last season with various injuries and is not great in the clutch tending to strike out a lot (40 times in 40 games last season). He hit .261 with 7 HR and 13 RBI last season. Finally Shea Hillenbrand can play at first base but his defense is shoddy. You can see his offensive stats in the DH section of this posting

Second Baseman: As mentioned earlier in this blog Howie Kendrick is slated to get the bulk of the playing time at second base. He hit .285 with 4 HR and 30 RBI last season. Look for him to play between 115 and 125 games if healthy and to bat 2nd in the line-up. He does not have exceptional fielding skills and doesn't take a walk much (just nine times in 2006 in 73 games played). One final thing about Kendrick is that he struggles against southpaws. Choney Figgins is scheduled to be the back=up, and will get the bulk of the playing time at third base. Expect the speedster to get between 15-20 games at second base. Also battling for a back-up job is utility man Maicer Izturis, who should be entering his first full season in the bigs as long as he stays healthy. Izturis hit .293 with 5 HR and 44 RBI in 2006. His main asset to this team will be as a defensive replacement. Although he may get some starts at shortstop and third base if injuries occur.

Shortstop: Speedster Orlando Cabrera should the starting shortstop for the Angels. He'll likely bat leadoff and play between 145 and 155 games at shortstop if healthy. Cabrera hit .282 with 9 HR and 72 RBI last season. He's not great at taking a walk (he walked 51 wimes last season) and defensively he could usea bit more arm strength. Izturis, Figgins and Erick Aybar will battle for the back=up role, although expect rookie Aybar to start in Salt Lake and be recalled as a September call-up or possible injury replacement. Aybar batted .250 and drove in 2 runs last season.

Third Baseman: As mentioned earlier in this blog Choney Figgins wil be the starting third baseman and should bat 9th and play between 125-135 games at third base next season. Figgins will be a force to be wreckened with on the base paths (he stole a fine 52 bases last season). Figgins .267 with 9 HR and 62 RBI last season. He is primarily a type of hitter who's likely to slap the ball on the ground and run out a single. He is a very crafty and fine fielder. Kendrick, Aybar, Mcpherson and Quinlan will battle for the back-up role.

Left Fielder: The left-handed slugger Garret Anderson will be the primary left fielder for the Angels, should bat 3rd and play between 135 and 145 games if healthy. This former all-star has been slowed to the injury bug in recent years and doesn't possess the speed he once did, although he has never been a huge base stealer. He hit .280 with 17 HR and 85 RBI last season. He has little patience at the plate and could improve his stats if he took a walk now and then. Figgins is slated to be the back-up, although someone from Salt Lake could be used in September. Juan Rivera will also be a back-up and likely the primary one, but he will not be ready for the start of the season after breaking his leg December 22. Rivera batted .310 with 23 HR and 85 RBI in 2006. His struggles occur when facing a pitcher known for his off-speed stuff.

Center Fielder: Free agent signing Gary Matthews Jr. will start in center field and bat 5th in the batting order. Matthews Jr. hit .313 with 19 HR and 79 RBI last season. He's phenomenol defensively and adds a power bat from the right side to the mix, although he is a free swinger which means he's not always as selective as he could be when it comes to choosing which pitches to swing at. He struggles to hit off-speed stuff and could stand to improve with runners in scoring position. Figgins, Rivera, rookies Reggie Willits and Tommy Murphy. Expect Murphy, who hit .229 with 1 HR and 6 RBI last season, and Willits, who batted .267 with 2 runs batted in last season, to start the 2007 baseball season in AAA Salt Lake.

Right Fielder: Finally, batting clean-up and playing 155+ games if healthy is future-hall-of-famer Vladimir Guerrero. He hit .329 with 33 HR and 116 RBI last season. One major flaw of Guerrero's is overaggressiveness, both in the field and on the base paths. He has a strong arm though. Rivera will be his back-up.

Season Prediction: With a solid batting order and deep bullpen, I expect the LA Angels to capture the AL West title. Even though their starting pitching rotation is a question mark with health, I believe this team is deep enough to overcome that. The Angels are my pick for the AL West title.