By Robert Cunngingham, AngelsWin.com Staff Writer —
2013 Outlook: Alberto was re-signed to a two-year, $9 million contract this offseason and it seems like this was money well spent by the Angels organization. It also allows the Angels to bridge the gap to their third base prospects Kaleb Cowart and Luis Jimenez, who are still spending time in the Minors developing their skill sets. If one of those prospects blossoms early, the Angels, with that team-friendly contract, have a trade chip that can be used to acquire a useful MLB player or above-average prospect(s).
Callaspo’s value is in his glove and ability to make contact and see pitches. Defensively he doesn’t have exceptional range, but he has enough to man the hot corner and he has excellent hand and eye coordination which allows him to snag some of those line drives and hard hit ground balls. That coordination is also his one redeeming quality at the plate as he, like Aybar, has a very high contact rate and is able to put the ball in play. Although some of those hit balls turn into outs, enough of them go for singles or doubles to make Alberto’s value at the plate meaningful. Callaspo will generally hit in the mid to lower part of the batting order, probably hitting behind Howie Kendrick and in front of Iannetta/Bourjos. Callaspo has enough power to reach double-digits, but don’t expect more than 10-12 home runs.
Callaspo has been quietly efficient and will probably remain so considering the other mega-stars around him, but his ability to switch-hit, put the ball in play, and provide above-average defense has value for the Halos.
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