Angels Player Power Rankings – Week 5

OK, I swear, I never intended for these to be bi-weekly, but well, here we are.  Let’s just get right to the rankings before I procrastinate more and this post ends up being monthly.

As always, the rankings are based on a player’s overall season performance with a weight on recent performance.

RANK PLAYER CHANGE COMMENTS
1 Jered Weaver — 0
Last Week: 1
Jered Weaver – You throw a no-hitter, you get to be #1.  That’s just a rule… and common sense
2 C.J. Wilson green arrow up+1
Last Week: 3
C.J. Wilson – Best free agent signing of the off-season.  That should have been a more shocking statement, but, you know…
3 Torii Hunter green arrow up+6
Last Week: 9
Torii Hunter – After struggling early in the season, Hunter used the last two weeks to become arguably the team’s best hitter, which is both a credit to him and an insult to the rest of the roster.
4 Mark Trumbo green arrow up+2
Last Week: 6
Mark Trumbo – You know, I think his much improved plate discipline might be for real.  If it is, the league should be terrified.
5 Dan Haren — 0
Last Week: 5
Dan Haren – It was just unfair for him to have to be the follow-up act behind the Williams shutout and Weaver no-hitter, but at least the offense or defense didn’t help him out.
6 Albert Pujols Red arrow down-4
Last Week: 2
Albert Pujols – He finally hit that homer, but his OPS is still giving me Mathis flashbacks.  Even I can’t justify him being ranked higher than this and I have been one of Pujols’ most ardent supporters.
7 Howie Kendrick Red arrow down-3
Last Week: 4
Howie Kendrick – The most amazing accomplishment of Howie’s last two weeks is not that he had seven hits and two homers in two games, but that he didn’t get benched immediately afterwards.
8 Scott Downs green arrow up+2
Last Week: 10
Scott Downs – Injured again?  The Baseball Gods just don’t want the Halos to have a competent bullpen.
9 Mike Trout N/A
Last Week: n/a
Mike TroutHis numbers aren’t great, but the Angels are 6-3 in games he has started.  He is our Messiah.
10 Kendrys Morales green arrow up+1
Last Week: 11
Kendrys Morales – He’s been hot this week, but I’m still not convinced that he is anything more than a 250-pound slap-hitter.  A very good slap hitter, but a slap hitter nonetheless.
11 Chris Iannetta Red arrow down-3
Last Week: 8
Chris Iannetta – Not a great weak, but he scored major man points for finishing off Weaver’s no-hitter despite getting hit on the wrist by a pitch earlier in the game that was bad enough for him to have to sit out the next three games.
12 Jerome Williams green arrow up+7
Last Week: 19
Jerome WilliamsJerome Williams is actually really good.  Yeah, I know, it’s weird, huh?
13 Ernesto Frieri N/A
Last Week: n/a
Ernesto Frieri – You had me at “mid-nineties fastball with explosive late action.”
14 Ervin Santana green arrow up+1
Last Week: 15
Ervin Santana – Five straight starts without the Angels scoring a single run for him.  I don’t know what he did to piss off the batters, but I suggest he offer an apology.  I bet one of those cookie bouquet things would do the trick.
15 Maicer Izturis Red arrow down-2
Last Week: 13
Maicer Izturis – And he isn’t the starting shortstop now… why?
16 LaTroy Hawkins green arrow up+1
Last Week: 17
LaTroy Hawkins – Hmmmm… maybe having a bullpen where all the best relievers are brittle, card-carrying AARP members isn’t the best idea after all.
17 Erick Aybar Red arrow down-10
Last Week: 7
Erick Aybar – How the hell did I ever have him ranked as high as #7?  And how the hell did Scioscia ever bat him leadoff?
18 Vernon Wells Red arrow down-2
Last Week: 16
Vernon Wells – Do us all a favor and either get good again just go in the tank completely.  This mostly being bad with bi-weekly flashes of quality play is driving me insane.
19 Peter Bourjos Red arrow down-5
Last Week: 14
Peter Bourjos – I don’t care if he is hitting .180 and has two hits in his last 23 at-bats, FREE PETER BOURJOS!!!  It is fun to want to free people!!!!!!!!!!
20 David Carpenter green arrow up+4
Last Week: 24
David Carpenter – I remain mildly amazed that the Halos wisely demoted Kevin Jepsen and not the quietly effective Carpenter.  Hooray for common sense!
21 Jordan Walden Red arrow down-9
Last Week: 12
Jordan Walden – Well, don’t I look silly for supporting him so much these last few months.  Let’s just pretend that never happened.
22 Alberto Callaspo Red arrow down-4
Last Week: 18
Alberto Callaspo – Why is it he can keep getting starts despite a horrendous start to the season and Peter Bourjos can’t?  The Scioscia works in strange and mysterious ways.
23 Bobby Wilson Red arrow down-2
Last Week: 21
Bobby WilsonHe is a back-up catcher who played very back-up catchery these last two weeks.  That’s all I got.
24 Jason Isringhausen Red arrow down-4
Last Week: 20
Jason Isringhausen – No way he is still on this team if Tony Reagins hadn’t left the Angel minor leagues devoid of anything resembling reliever depth.
25 Hisanori Takahashi Red arrow down-2
Last Week: 23
Hisanori Takahashi – I almost forgot he was still on the team, this is a good thing.  I have the feeling I won’t be able to say that after this next potentially Downs-free week.

Biggest Riser: Williams, up seven spots

Biggest Dropper: Aybar, down ten spots

Dropped from rankings: Bobby Abreu (released, ha!), Kevin Jepsen (demoted, mercifully)

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