The February 25th, 2015 edition of Los Angeles Angels news including Angels interested in Yadier Alvarez, Lindstrom impressing early in camp and much more…
The Story: The Angels are showing interest in Yadier Alvarez.
The Monkey Says: He’s considered an elite pitching prospect, so he’s going to get about $20 million according to reports. Don’t get too excited though because Jerry Dipoto recently said the Halos are pretty much done signing international free agents. Also, the latest buzz is that Alvarez is going to wait until after July 2nd to sign, meaning he’ll be signing in the next period where the Angels are going to be restricted from paying any one player more than $300,000. This probably isn’t going to happen.
The Story: Matt Lindstrom is looking good early in training camp.
The Monkey Says: He says he is fully healthy now, so his velocity is back. He also says he pitched more to contact the last few years, which is high his strikeout rate is down. I’m not sure I buy any of that, but based on the quotes from Dipoto in the piece, Jerry does believe him and I’d say Lindstrom has a good chance at nabbing the final bullpen spot.
The Story: The Angels are prioritizing consistency over velocity in the bullpen.
The Monkey Says: I wrote about this earlier in the offseason. Dipoto says he very much likes velocity, but clearly he isn’t going out of his way to acquire it. He has been a big proponent of bullpen variety, which he most certainly has in this current group. Ironically, the above mentioned Matt Lindstrom would be the hardest thrower in the ‘pen (even with his diminished velocity) if he ends up making the team.
The Story: Mike Morin is hoping to secure seventh inning duty in the bullpen.
The Monkey Says: Here’s an idea, let’s not assign relievers roles based on the inning. Crazy, I know. Alas, we are dealing with Scioscia here. Morin should be the favorite for that gig, but it isn’t a lock. His struggles with lefties is kind of an issue, so using Salas in that role makes more sense. Well, by comparison. What makes more sense is to deploy relievers based on the situation and batters due up, not the inning. Is this horse dead? Can I stop beating it now?
The Story: Matt Joyce is likely to hit cleanup against righties, but doesn’t know if he’ll play against lefties.
The Monkey Says: He really wants to though, but we don’t always get what we want. Seeing how his career wOBA against lefties is an abysmal .257, this is something that shouldn’t happen.
The Story: Roberto Baldoquin has been held up from reporting to camp due to visa issues.
The Monkey Says: It happens two a few guys each year. Atahualpa Severino is also delayed, but I suspect that is just because Customs doesn’t actually believe that Atahualpa Severino is a real name.
The Story: Andrew Heaney is looking to bounce back from his rough MLB debut.
The Monkey Says: Paywall. Heaney blames his struggles on dead arm. The Marlins cut bait on him (pun intended) though, so there is a lingering suspicion that something else more pervasive is going on.
The Story: Keith Law calls Andrew Heaney one of the top 20 impact prospects for 2015.
The Monkey Says: He at least acknowledges the wariness around Heaney, but clearly he isn’t all that discouraged.
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