Angels Player Power Rankings - Week 16

As always, the rankings are based on a player’s overall season performance with a weight on recent performance.

RANK	PLAYER	CHANGE	COMMENTS
1		— 0 Last Week: 1	Mike Trout – Remember when everyone said it was going to take a few years for Trout’s power to manifest itself? Yeah, he could hit 30 dingers in 140 games this season.
2		— 0 Last Week: 2	Jered Weaver – After some rough starts against the Rangers in recent years, it was nice to see Jered shove it up their backside this weekend.
3		+1 Last Week: 4	Albert Pujols – Here are Albert’s OPS numbers by month, starting in April. .570, .800, .977 and 1.030. I’m no math whiz, but I think that means his OPS in September will be a gazillion.
4		-1 Last Week: 3	Mark Trumbo – Seven of his last 15 hits have been home runs. That’s just stupid, like, Mark McGwire in 1998 level stupid.
5		— 0 Last Week: 5	C.J. Wilson – Remember how everyone was saying Wilson’s peripherals didn’t match his real numbers. Yeah, they are starting to converge, and not in a good way.
6		— 0 Last Week: 6	Ernesto Frieri – Save opportunities are starting to get real interesting with Ernasty. To think, some folks want the Angels to trade for K-Rod again. Who needs him? We have our own cardiac-arrest-inducing closer already.
7		— 0 Last Week: n/a	Dan Haren – it is good to have the old Dan Haren back. I just don’t remember the part where the old Dan Haren had Amish facial hair.
8		-1 Last Week: 9	Torii Hunter – The power has gone missing again, but he’s still proving to be a nice fit in the two-hole. I still don’t know if he is earning himself another contract though.
9		-1 Last Week: 8	Scott Downs – This is starting to go from Downs being overdue to give up some runs to him being disturbingly ineffective since the break.
10		— 0 Last Week: 10	Alberto Callaspo – I’m not sure if it is a testament to Callaspo or to how poor the third base market is that the Angels haven’t been linked to any trades for upgrades at the hot corner.
11		-4 Last Week: 7	Kendrys Morales – It is funny to think that some people believe K-Mo is a real trade chip when he is probably a week away from falling to a platoon at DH with Vernon freaking Wells.
12		— 0 Last Week: n/a	Garrett Richards – With his ability to keep his velocity at 96 MPH late into the game, Richards could be a nightmare for opposing batters once he learns the finer points of pitching.
13		-1 Last Week: 12	Howie Kendrick – With Aybar out, I guess this means that Scioscia is going to have to stop benching Howie once a week, right? Right?????
14		-3 Last Week: 11	Erick Aybar – Maybe this is a blessing in disguise? Aybar’s bat was headed back into the tank this week before he shot himself in the foot, semi-figuratively.
15		-1 Last Week: 14	Jason Isringhausen – He has appeared in only two games since the All-Star break despite the Angels having an overworked bullpen. I guess he is back to his old role of being underutilized for no apparent reason.
16		-3 Last Week: 13	LaTroy Hawkins – What is with all the old guy relievers struggling after getting four days off? Isn’t it supposed to work the other way around?
17		+1 Last Week: 18	Maicer Izturis – Now would be a real good time for Maicer to stop having the worst season of his career.
18		-3 Last Week: 15	Peter Bourjos – The .519 OPS Petey has posted this month is not helping his trade value nor is it helping him convince the Angels that he shouldn’t be traded.
19		+1 Last Week: 20	Bobby Wilson – After seeing the Fat Catcher Jig, I take back every bad thing I said about Bobby Wilson and can only hope he starts slugging homers at a Trumbo-nian pace.
20		+5 Last Week: 25	Kevin Jepsen – All of the sudden, Kevin Jepsen is a middle relief linchpin. Be afraid. Be very afraid.
21		-5 Last Week: 16	Jerome Williams – I’m not saying Jerome didn’t deserve to lose his rotation spot, I just don’t know that he deserved to be the first Angels starter to get kicked to the curb.
22		+1 Last Week: 23	David Carpenter – His ERA in June was 2.63 and his ERA in July is 1.81. That apparently gets you sent down to the minors in this day and age.
23		-2 Last Week: 21	John Hester – When Iannetta returns, Hester might get to hang around as a third catcher… for some reason.
24		-2 Last Week: 22	Hisanori Takahashi – Hey, Jerry, I know you’re busy looking for a new starting pitcher, but let’s not forget about the need for another southpaw reliever either.
25		-8 Last Week: 17	Ervin Santana – Go to your room, Ervin. And don’t come out until you think about what you’ve done, or until Dipoto DFAs you.