Another series, another win. The Angels have now either split or won eight consecutive series, and 11 of their last 12. They are an MLB-best 16–4 over their last 20 games, and an MLB-best 21–9 in their last 30. The pitching staff’s streak of allowing three runs or fewer is now up to eight straight games, and 20 of their last 23 overall. There’s really not much you can say about the team’s past month that would be hyperbole; they’ve been incredible in July and, sans Freese’s broken finger, don’t show signs of slowing down anytime soon—knock on wood!
The Halos are finally firing on all cylinders, and the looming trade deadline potentially offers a great opportunity to build on that success, if not at least maintain the status quo. We spent the past week or so laying out our dream scenarios, both big and small, for a deadline acquisition, but none of those appear likely to happen in our little subsection of the multiverse. Like always with Dipoto and his acolytes, we’re mostly in the dark about what the next week has in store for the organization, we just know something is going to happen. So long as the upgrade is in left field and doesn’t cost the farm, it’s difficult to imagine hating whatever ends up going down.
Unless we do. ¯_(ツ)_/¯
Boxscore Breakdowns
Series Takeaways
1) Is Shoemaker Still The Odd Man Out? Or Is It Weaver?
Matt Shoemaker made a strong case for staying in the rotation Tuesday night, striking out 10 Twins in six scoreless frames. Given how terribly his first eight starts of 2015 went—6.29 ERA and 13 dingers allowed in 44.1 IP—it’s a marvel Shoemaker wasn’t optioned to the minors some time in May. He wasn’t, however, and has now seemingly made the most of his opportunity to redeem his painful start to the year, posting a 3.08 ERA and surrendering only four home runs in his last 10 appearances (52.2 IP).
With the way Shoemaker and everyone else in the rotation is pitching right now, one has to wonder if Jered Weaver’s protracted hip rehab isn’t at least partly due to the club realizing they don’t really need him at the moment. I don’t mean to say that they’re doing anything nefarious to keep Weaver out of the rotation, just that they might not be pushing him back as quickly as they would—like at 85% readiness or something—if the pitching staff were struggling. And if it just so happens that giving Weaver that extra time to heal also keeps the team’s five best pitchers working for another week or two, then all the better.
The shutout Weaver twirled against Houston at the start of May was a thing of beauty and seemed to portend good things ahead, but he didn’t come anywhere close to repeating that kind of performance in the starts that followed. His average fastball velocity jumped up (to 87!) at times and his BABIP dropped nearer his career norm, but his strikeout rate plummeted (to a career-worst 4.6 K/9) and his home runs soared (to a career-worst 1.5 HR/9), ultimately leading to a 4.56 ERA in his eight starts before hitting the DL. Even with C.J. Wilson’s weekly Jekyll and Hyde routine, it’s tough to argue that Weaver won’t be the weakest link in the rotation when he does eventually return.
There’s no way that Bill Stoneman would ever trade a fan favorite like Weaver at the deadline—and his full no-trade clause would make it impossible even if Stoneman wanted to—but you’ve gotta think they’re at least pondering whether the Halos might be better down the stretch without him. Guess it all depends on who they do trade away in the coming days.
2) How Are Matt Joyce And Taylor Featherston Still Here?
I honestly thought they’d both be gone a month ago. Like, I understand the reasons why the Angels are hanging on to both guys for the moment, I just can’t bring myself to accept it. Sure, it’s probably prudent to not cut bait with Joyce until his replacement has officially arrived, and the whole Featherston/Rule 5 thing is probably past the point of no return. I get it.
They’ve both just been so awful offensively, though—the not-so-dynamic duo are a combined 2-for-22 on the homestand thus far, and have just one extra-base hit this entire month—that it’s hard to imagine how fringy guys like Efren Navarro and Ryan Jackson aren’t already better options than whomever might arrive via trade. It’s not like they could be any worse!
I know that most of Featherston’s value is tied up in his defense, and that I should probably give him more credit for that—Baseball Reference has him at 0.9 dWAR! That’s great!—but I just can’t get past that 10 OPS+. Can you imagine having to use him as a pinch-hitter in the postseason? Pure, unleaded nightmare fuel. And yet, here we are heading into August and there’s no inkling that his roster spot is in peril. I like the guy and I hope he ultimately finds success in the big leagues, but I just don’t see how rostering a 25-year-old utility player in the hopes that he might develop into something more down the road fits with the needs of a team in playoff contention right now.
As for Joyce, the doomsday clock is seconds from midnight. No matter what happens in the next several days, this will likely be his final weekend in Anaheim. Well, at least as a member of the Angels. If he wants to stick around and hang out at Downtown Disney after he’s parted ways with the club, he’s more than welcome. As bad as he’s been he probably won’t stay team-less for long, so he should be sure to scarf down as many Jazz Kitchen beignets as he can.
3) C.J. Cron Has Appeased The BABIP Gods Somehow
I don’t know what or who he offered as a sacrifice, but it’s working. Entering July 4, C.J. Cron was batting .198/.228/.281 with just two walks to 30 strikeouts over 39 games. In 13 games since then, Cron is hitting .488/.500/.805 with two walks to just five strikeouts, including a 4-for-4 night Tuesday. Every damn thing the man hits seems to fall for a hit now no matter where he ends up spraying the ball. His BABIP during his current hot streak is an unconscionable .500, raising his seasonal mark (.315) by more than 70 points in just 41 at-bats.
There’s no chance in hell that Cron can keep up this pace, of course, but there’s also nothing anyone can do to take what he’s done away. He’s officially an above-average hitter now (102 wRC+), which makes the club’s DH situation look a whole heck of a lot better than it did at the beginning of the month. More dingers would be nice, naturally, but those will likely come. For now, it’s enough that there’s only one player left in the lineup who’s under Mendoza Line.
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