The August 7th, 2015 edition of Los Angeles Angels news including DeJesus adjusting to reduced playing time, Mike Trout leading a youth revolution and much more…
The Story: David DeJesus is adjusting to decreased playing time.
The Monkey Says: He’s been platooning more anyway, so it isn’t a huge shift. The only issue appears to be that he is the guy who gets the short end of the stick when C.J. Cron gets to face righties. David Murphy is the guy with the most power, so he gets to stay in the lineup behind Pujols. That could change though if one of them gets hot and Scioscia decides to just ride the hot hand.
The Story: Mike Trout, Bryce Young and the year MLB got young.
The Monkey Says: Of course, Trout laid the groundwork years before. What I’d be real interested in isn’t who the new face or faces of baseball will be but rather how so many players are so amazingly good at such a young age. Is it improved player development? Is it improved strength and conditioning training? Is it AAU and international team training camps that accelerate the players’ growth before they even turn 18?
The Story: Who is under the most pressure in the playoff race?
The Monkey Says: Trout and Pujols get tabbed for the Angels, but is it really on them? They’ve carried the team so far, so shouldn’t it be on the rest of the team to take pressure off them? Might it not even be Scioscia now that he’s lost the safety net of being able to blame things on the front office?
The Story: Which 2014 trade deadline deals have worked out best so far?
The Monkey Says: The Angels really seem to have made out well from the Street deal, which I thought was an overpay at the time. Part of the reason it has turned in their favor is that they were able to extend Street but another big factor is how rapidly Trevor Gott has become a quality MLB reliever. San Diego actually looks like they downgraded if you look at it as a Gott for Alvarez swap. Their only real holdout for hope is Jose Rondon who is still too far out to judge, though I will argue that not having Rondon in the system has cost the Angels a ton of money since they had to go out and sign Roberto Baldoquin who appears to be a comparable prospect.
The Story: Albert Pujols and Mike Trout are doing things not seen since the days of Gehrig and Ruth.
The Monkey Says: Well, right now it is just Trout. Pujols appears to have gone in the tank again, so go ahead and stow those dreams of both dudes hitting 50+ homers.
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