2007 Angelswin Prospect Hotlist, 9th edition

#1 Tyler Johnson, OF, Cedar Rapids

Tyler Johnson, drafted by the Angels in the 15th round of the 2004 free agent draft out of Haskell (OK) HS, played 11 games in Cedar Rapids in 2006 and posted a .257 BA with 8 HR and 36 RBI with Orem of the Pioneer League. After Johnson joined the Kernels from extended spring training over a week ago, he’s been hot with the bat, hitting .325, with 5 home runs, 2 doubles and 8 runs batted in, in just 11 games. The toolsy outfielder is one to keep an eye on as he covers a ton of ground in the outfield, shows a plus arm and is fast enough to steal 30+ bags.———-

2. Anthony Ortega, SP, Class A Rancho Cucamonga (Angels) – After getting off to an unspectacular start to the season at Rancho, Anthony has strung together 3 excellent starts in which he’s gone 8 innings each of those starts, giving up no more than 1 run. Last night he blanked the Dodgers High A club (Inland Empire) for 8 innings, fanning 4. Ortega’s ERA is now down to 3.41 and is just another talented starter in the Quakes rotation along with Marek, Mosebach and Butcher.

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3 Sean O’Sullivan, SP, Low Class A Cedar Rapids (Angels) – 4 straight quality starts, two of which he’s given up no runs (13 innings total) has catapulted O’Sullivan to the #3 spot in this week’s Prospect Hotlist. Sean’s ERA is now down to 2.57 and continues to make progress in his first full season in the organization. One thing I’d like him to do is to cut down on the amount of hits he’s given up per game. Hitters are batting .273 against him as he’s given up 60 hits in 56 innings.

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4. Christopher Pettit, OF, Low Class A Cedar Rapids (Angels) – Pettit continues his hot hitting in the month of May as he’s hitting at a .429 clip, .361 for the season. Christopher is in line for a promotion to Rancho Cucamonga soon with his hot hitting, clubbing a league leading 21 doubles, while launching 6 Hr’s and stealing 13 bases.
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5. Freddy Sandoval, 3B, Class AA Arkansas (Angels) – You know, if Bill Stoneman can’t get a big bat to replace Chone Figgins at third base, one might have to consider Freddy Sandoval, #1 on our list last week as a possible replacement. Freddy makes good contact (hitting .313) and will draw his share of walks (28 walks to 24 strikeouts, posting a .409 on base pct.). Not a prototypical third baseman with power, only 2 home runs in 163 at bats, but has 11 doubles and a triple, so he’s not a slap hitter either. Freddy plays a solid defense and has the speed Scioscia likes (12 SB’s) to hit 9th in the lineup.
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6. Brok Butcher, SP, Class A Rancho Cucamonga (Angels) – Brok has seen his ERA rise, but that is no knock on him as he’s posted a 1.77 ERA to date, leading all minor league pitchers with (8) quality starts. Not bad eh? Especially pitching in the hitter friendly California League.
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7. P.J. Phillips, SS, Low Class A Cedar Rapids (Angels) – After hovering above the Mendoza line for most of the season, P.J., the little brother of Brandon Phillips, 2nd baseman of the Reds, has started to get hot, hitting in 6 of his last 8 games, 3 of which were multi hit games. Phillips needs to work on his defense at SS (10 errors) and show better plate discipline (just 3 walks vs. 56 strikeouts), but he does have the skills to be a dynamic player in the future as he’s wiry strong and lightening quick (12 stolen bases in 13 attempts). The Angels will be patient with him and he might need to log some 3000+ at bats in the minors before it clicks.
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8. David Herndon, SP, Low Class A Cedar Rapids (Angels) – Like O’Sullivan, Herndon too has posted 2 straight starts without giving up a run, lowering his ERA to 3.06. Like O’Sullivan, Herndon has given up a lot of hits as hitters are hitting .289 off him. Herndon leads the Kernels in complete games with 2 on the season.
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9. Terry Evans, OF, Class AAA Salt Lake (Angels) – 4 out of the last 6 games Evans has posted multi hit games, boosting his average back up to .332 on the season. Evans continues to show scouts that he just bloomed late, though he needs to cut down on his strike outs, fanning 49 times vs. just 8 walks.
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10. Nick Adenhart, SP, Class AA Arkansas (Angels) – Much better! The 20-year-old has been scuffling in the Texas League lately. Adenhart has allowed eight runs on 15 hits and walked seven over his last 11 innings, but looked a lot better in his last outing, going 7 and 2/3 innings, giving up just 2 runs while fanning 5. Nick still has a 3.43 ERA and is one of the best pitching prospects in the game.
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Keep an eye on: Jason Bulger, RP, Class AAA Salt Lake & Jose Arredondo, RP, Class AA Arkansas (Angels) – Both of these fireballers will be called upon at some point in the season and they haven’t disappointed in the minors this year. Bulger who throws a heavy 93-96 MPH fastball has fanned 30 in 21 1/3 innings, posting a 2.53 ERA. Arredondo has fanned 25 in 22 1/3 innings, showing a mid to high 90’s fastball and devastating slider. Batters are only hitting .182 against him. The Angels have two late inning fireman that they can add for the playoff push in Aug/Sept. which would also help give K-Rod, Shields and Speier rest as well.
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On the outside looking to get in soon: Ryan Mount, Brandon Wood, Brad Coon, Peter Bourjos, Sean Rodriguez, Stephen Marek, Jeff Mathis, Ryan Aldridge, Timothy Schoeninger, Matthew Sweeney, Jeremy Haynes, Trevor Bell, Darren O’Day, Amalio Diaz, Nick Gorneault, Hank Conger, Jordan Renz, Andrew Hill, Michael Collins, Mark Trumbo, Robert Mosebach, Kevin Jepsen, and Hainley Statia.