The Top 30 Prospect lists we here at AngelsWin put out are a snapshot in time. Every top prospect list ever made is in fact, a snap shot in time. But in order to provide readers with some degree of a “live feed” on these prospects, we’ll be releasing monthly updates to let you know if our view of this prospect has changed at all and why.
30. IF Sherman Johnson– Stock Falling – Sherm is batting .156 over his past 10 games and is batting .234 on the season. It’s beginning to look like Johnson’s ceiling is that of a AAA utility man and major league utility man. Still, the combination of speed, discipline and versatility could be valuable as a depth piece in the majors.
29. IF Leo Rivas– Stock Holding – He’s currently ticketed to play in short season Orem beginning this June.
28. RHP Jordan Kipper– Traded.
27. OF Zach Gibbons– Stock Rising – Promoting Gibbons to Inland Empire was a bold move by the Angels, since he never spent a day in A Ball. Promoting him to AA early in his first season as a professional only illuminates just how ready this guy was for the professional game. It also helps that he’s hitting .289/.357 in AA. He may not need much more time in the minors, which is both exciting and insane.
26. OF Jared Foster– Stock Falling – Currently on the DL.
25. LHP Jonah Wesely– Stock Rising – This kid could use a promotion. Your first year back after Tommy John surgery is supposed to be a bit rough. 32 K’s in 23 innings….I think he’s good.
24. LHP Chris O’ Grady– Traded.
23. RHP Joe Gatto– Stock Rising – His 4.29 may seem pedestrian, but considering he posted an ERA over 7.00 in the Midwest League last year, I’d say Gatto is showing marked improvement.
22. RHP Brooks Pounders– Stock Holding – Pounders is racking up those frequent flyer miles between Salt Lake and Anaheim this year. He’s experienced some success in AAA as both a starter and reliever, but hasn’t yet put it together in the majors.
21. OF Brennon Lund– Stock Rising – What a difference a month can make! Lund hit .236 in April and .356 in May. That brings his batting average over .300 to go along with 13 extra base hits and 14 stolen bases on the season. Lund probably should’ve been at Inland Empire already, but at any rate he’s angling for a promotion as we speak. Still looks to be one of the steals from last year’s draft. Concerns over him going on a Mormon mission caused his stock to plummet.
20. IF Hutton Moyer– Stock Falling – Just wasn’t hitting very well in AA before missing the entire month of May with an injury.
19. RHP Eduardo Parades– Stock Rising – A 3.07 ERA in Salt Lake with more K’s than innings pitched is very impressive. If the Angels bullpen didn’t look so good right now, Paredes would already be in Anaheim, as a 22 year old.
18. OF Troy Montgomery– Stock Falling – Contact issues and bad luck have deflated his production at Inland Empire so far. The talent is there though, and things should correct themselves by the end of the year,
17. RHP Cole Duensing– Stock Holding – He’s set for short season Orem.
16. RHP Vicente Campos– Stock Falling – As has been the ongoing theme in his career, despite electric stuff, Campos just hasn’t been able to stay healthy.
15. RHP Jesus Castillo– Stock Rising – Castillo posted an ERA at 2.37 in A Ball to start the year, and before his last start, had an ERA in the mid-threes in the Cal League. Then he had to pitch at Lancaster, which typically ranks somewhere between first and fifth in terms of hitter friendly parks. 5 earned runs make his line look a lot worse than it actually is. At just 21, Castillo looks like he’ll be a major leaguer by 23.
14. RHP Jaime Barria– Stock Skyrocketing – Still only 20 years old, and has just been promoted to AA Mobile. We might see Barria with the Angels before his 22nd birthday.
13. IF David Fletcher– Stock Rising – There was some question last year as to whether his .300 batting average in AA was a fluke or not, given his unsightly K/BB ratio. Well he’s hitting .280 this year, and has as many walks as strikeouts. I think it’s time Angels fans started taking a closer look at this kid. He could be the Angels starting second baseman next year.
12. LHP Manny Banuelos– Stock Falling – Manny has been moved out to the bullpen in AAA, and while the results are certainly better than they were when he was pitching out of the rotation, he’s still having trouble finding the strike zone.
11. RHP Grayson Long– Stock Rising – Currently owns a 2.43 ERA in AA, and the longer he pitches, the more we realize that isn’t a fluke. This kid has “major leaguer” written all over him.
10. LHP Nate Smith – Stock Falling – Has only made one start in AAA this year. Needs to get healthy.
9. RHP Chris Rodriguez– Stock Rising – We already knew Rodriguez was really good, but now people are actually going to instructs to watch him, and soon the rest of the baseball world will catch on. It only took them a year. Fastball sitting 93-95 with a good slider and change up. Athletic.
8. OF Michael Hermosillo– Stock Holding – After a slow start in AA (and some poor luck) Michael has hit .303 over his last 10 games and is making the adjustments. While there are some concerns with contact, Hermosillo is still working counts in his favor, getting on base and hitting for a solid blend of power and speed. Most Angels fans already know about him, but in case they don’t, Michael will likely be the Angels starting LF at some point in the 2018 season.
7. IF Nonie Williams– Stock Holding – Currently ticketed for short season Orem beginning in June.
6. RHP Keynan Middleton– Stock Rising – Middleton has firmly entrenched himself in the Angels bullpen, posting a solid 2.70 ERA with more K’s than innings pitched, and is now pounding the strike zone after some early hiccups.
5. OF Brandon Marsh– Stock Holding – Definitely had some helium through instructs and Spring Training. Currently ticketed for short season Orem in June.
4. C Taylor Ward– Stock Falling – Ward’s stock shouldn’t be falling right now. His K/BB ratio is night and day better than it was last year, and he’s hitting for just about the same average and power. Other players are just performing better, and Ward’s game has proven to need some shoring up in the low minors.
3. RHP Alex Meyer– Promoted to the majors, really was starting to look good before injury.
2. OF Jahmai Jones– Stock Rising – Jahmai is hitting .421 over his last 10 games and is basically lighting the Midwest League on fire right now as a 19 year old. He’s showing more power than we realized he had, the same speed we knew was there, and even better plate discipline than last season, which is hard to do. I’d say the only weakness in Jahmai’s game right now is that horrid mustache of his. Something needs to be done about that.
1. 1B Matt Thaiss– Stock Falling – I’m very reluctant to say his stock is actually falling as much as others are just rising. I mean he’s hitting over .300 in his last 10 games, and is getting on base at a pretty remarkable clip. He’s put on more muscle since this time last year and is well liked among his teammates for his attitude, leadership and work ethic. He just isn’t driving the ball the way he’s capable of yet, and that was the big knock on him when the Angels drafted him. I will say this though. Watching him this year, it’s becoming undeniable from a very early stage that Thaiss will be a major leaguer.
Unranked Climbers: RHP Samil De Los Santos, 2B Roberto Baldoquin, RHP Jose Rodriguez, RHP Jake Jewell, OF Forrestt Allday, C Wade Wass, RHP Osmer Morales, RHP Parker Bridwell, RHP Troy Scribner
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