#1 Christopher Pettit, OF, Cedar Rapids (Angels) How does a 1.069 OPS sound for starters? That is exactly what Mr. Pettit has accomplished thus far at Cedar Rapids this season and his batting average keeps climbing, earning him the top spot in this week’s Prospect Hotlist, a first for Chris. Pettit is hitting .423 in his last 10 games and in those 10 games he’s walked 8 times vs. 2 strikeouts and clubbed 2 Hr’s and 2 doubles. His average over the last week was pushed up to .370 where it currently sits, giving indication that he’s probably ready for the bump up to Rancho Cucamonga. Pettit has some wheels too as he’s 1 stolen base behind team leader P.J. Phillips with 14 bags stolen.
2. Mark Trumbo, 1B, Low Class A Ball Cedar Rapids (Angels)There have been some that have questioned why the organization has let Trumbo go this long as an offensive player rather than what he did in HS, pitching. Up until a couple weeks ago, the argument was valid, but Mark has made some adjustments at the plate of late and he’s starting to see some positive results of late, earning him the #2 spot on this week’s hotlist. In Trumbo’s last 10 games, he’s hit .371, with 4 multi-hit games in that span, with 8 RBI’s. He’s also cut down on his strikeouts, fanning just 6 times, with 4 walks in those 10 games which for him is improvement. Trumbo has 5 Home Runs and 13 doubles currently but as his plate discipline improves look for more power to come.
3 Trevor Bell, SP, Low Class A Cedar Rapids (Angels)Fresh off the DL on May 20th, Bell has been on a mission to show some positive results from the hill and he hasn’t disappointed. Bell hasn’t giving up more than 2 runs in any of his starts coming back from the DL, though 2 of them he was on a strict pitch count. Bell looked excellent last night vs. Burlington, going 6 innings, giving up just 1 one while fanning 6. The #1 draft pick of the Angels in 2005 has an ERA that currently sits at 3.54 which is impressive considering his rocky start to the season.
4. Jason Bulger, RP, Class AAA Salt Lake (Angels) One must ask, Darren Oliver or Jason Bulger? I say go with Bulger as Oliver brought in as a lefty specialist has a 22.50 ERA vs. left-handed batters, giving up 12 hits, 11 runs in 4 innings of work against them. Interesting that Oliver has more success vs. right-handed batters, posting a 2.31 ERA against them in 11 innings of work. Is the lefty specialist in the bullpen working? Most would say no and when you consider Bulger hasn’t given up a run in nearly a month and his ERA vs. right-handed hitters is 0.75 and 3.97 vs. left-handed batters, fanning 34 in 23.1 innings, you have to give Bulger the nod here. His ERA sits at 2.31 currently and he won’t be in Salt Lake much longer if he keeps this up!
5. Bradley Coon, OF, Class A Rancho Cucamonga (Angels)Pushing his average back up to .300 Coon also boasts the 2nd most stolen bases in the California League, with 26, 3 behind Eric Young Jr. There is always room for a leadoff hitter that gets on base, can hit for a decent average, play a solid centerfield and steal a good amount of bases in the majors, whether it’s as a 4th outfielder or starting for a club in need of a leadoff hitter with speed.
6. Brok Butcher, SP, Class A Rancho Cucamonga (Angels)Butcher is tied with Rockies pitching prospect, Brandon Hynick for the most innings pitched (75) and complete games (2) in the Cal League. He’s also 2nd in the league in ERA with a 1.80 behind Hynick, though Butcher is one up on him for most quality starts. Butcher went 9 innings against the High Desert club giving up only 2 runs in his last start. His incredible season on the mound just keeps getting better.
7. Hank Conger, C, Low Class A Cedar Rapids (Angels)The Angels #1 pick of last year makes his debut on the Prospect Hotlist, hitting .333 in his last 10 games, clubbing 5 doubles and 2 dingers in that span. Conger has 8 home runs on the season and 33 RBI’s for the Kernels. His defense needs some work behind the dish as he’s committed 6 errors and has only thrown out 22% of runners trying to steal.
8. Anthony Ortega, SP, Class A Rancho Cucamonga (Angels)Anthony Ortega went a strong 5 and 2/3 on Sunday, fanning 7 Lake Elsinore Storm hitters. Ortega is on fire of late as he’s only given up 3 runs in his last 30 innings pitched, lowering his ERA to 3.01 on the season.
9. Robert Mosebach, SP, Class A Rancho Cucamonga (Angels)Like Ortega, Mosebach got off to a slow start, but has reeled off some really good starts that date back into late April, the 25th to be exact. Since then, Mosebach has had 9 straight quality starts, lowering his ERA down to 3.55. Eddie Bane said to keep an eye on this kid as he turned heads in Tempe earlier this spring with his stuff. He wasn’t kidding!
10. Ryan Mount, 2B, Low Class A Ball Cedar Rapids (Angels)Ryan Mount has hit .300 in his last 10 games, pushing his average up to .266, scoring 10 runs in those 10 games for the Kernels at the top of the lineup. Mount hasn’t shown the power that we saw in Orem last season where he hit 9 Hr’s, 14 doubles in just 69 games. This season through 49 games he’s only hit 2 home runs, 3 doubles and 1 triple, though he has stolen more bags (13).
Keep an eye on: Amalio Diaz, SP, Class AA Arkansas (Angels) After floundering in Rancho Cucamonga with a 6.27 ERA, Diaz has notched 2 quality starts out of 3 since being promoted to Class AA Arkansas. One of which was an impressive 9 inning complete game shutout vs. Corpus Christi.
On the outside looking to get in soon: Jose Arredondo, Nick Adenhart, P.J. Phillips, David Herndon, Brandon Wood, Sean O’Sullivan, Freddy Sandoval, Peter Bourjos, Sean Rodriguez, Stephen Marek, Jeff Mathis, Ryan Aldridge, Timothy Schoeninger, Matthew Sweeney, Jeremy Haynes, Darren O’Day, Nick Gorneault, Jordan Renz, Terry Evans, Kendry Morales, Kevin Jepsen, and Hainley Statia.
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