Angels Player Power Rankings - Week 8

The Angels continue to teeter on the edge of irrelevancy but that won't stop us from ranking the players under the (misguided?) belief that they can snap out of this funk….

RANK	PLAYER	CHANGE	COMMENTS
1		— 0 Last Week: 1	Mike Trout – Trout had another great week but the looking strikeouts, of which he had four this week, are really starting to make my blood boil.
2		+1 Last Week: 3	Howie Kendrick – Not only is he beating the crap out of the ball right now, he hasn't GIDP'd in 11 games and counting.
3		-1 Last Week: 2	Mark Trumbo – He only had six hits last week, but five of them were extra-base hits. We can live with that.
4		+3 Last Week: 7	Jason Vargas – Vargas is either going to be a big reason the Angels got back into the Wild Card race or he is going to be a nice trade chip at the deadline.
5		— 0 Last Week: 5	C.J. Wilson – He finally went seven innings! Hallelujah!
6		— 0 Last Week: 6	Albert Pujols – It used to be that a week of an .852 OPS was a mild disappointment for The Machine. Now it is a sign of hope.
7		+3 Last Week: 10	Alberto Callaspo – Has Alberto Callaspo ever hit a homer that wasn't of critical importance?
8		-4 Last Week: 4	Ernesto Frieri – Frieri seemed to go out of his way this week to make sure that Ryan Madson gets pushed into the closer job sooner rather than alter.
9		+7 Last Week: 16	Jerome Williams – Williams is giving the Angels everything they thought they were getting from Blanton and yet I still fear he will be moved back to the bullpen when Weaver comes back.
10		+1 Last Week: 11	Scott Downs – With as bad as the rest of the pen has been, what does Scioscia have to lose by letting Downs face a few righties?
11		-3 Last Week: 8	Erick Aybar – You have to love a leadoff man with a .263 OBP.
12		+5 Last Week: 17	Chris Iannetta – Iannetta drew seven walks in the last week. Josh Hamilton has ten walks all season.
13		+2 Last Week: 15	Josh Hamilton – A .304 batting average and .478 slugging last week for Hamilton? Is this real life?
14		-5 Last Week: 9	Dane De La Rosa – His arm still hasn't fallen off, but it sure seems like his effectiveness has taken a big hit.
15		+8 Last Week: 23	Robert Coello – From completely anonymous to pitching six innings in four appearances this week to arguably make him a vital part of the Angel bullpen. Yeah, that is totally normal and sustainable.
16		-4 Last Week: 12	Michael Kohn – The first rule of relief pitching is you don't walk Jeff Keppinger on four pitches with the bases loaded.
17		+5 Last Week: 22	J.B. Shuck – Alright, I give in. Shuck ain't half bad with the bat. He's kind of a circus in the field sometimes though.
18		+1 Last Week: 19	Brendan Harris – Going into the season, I think we an all safely say that there was no scenario that anyone envisioned in which Brendan Harris would have to play both left field and first base.
19		–1 Last Week: 18	Hank Conger – Since his defensive debacle in Houston, Conger has only made two starts, both with Wilson on the mound. So much for the proclamation that he'd start stealing playing time from Iannetta.
20		-7 Last Week: 13	Garrett Richards – So what do the Angels do with Richards now? They shifted him back to the bullpen because they thought he'd be a weapon and now he kind of stinks in that role.
21		-7 Last Week: 14	Joe Blanton – Nine innings pitched this week and 23(!) hits allowed. If he keeps his rotation spot after Weaver comes back, then Scioscia really does need to be fired.
22		— 0 Last Week: n/a	Michael Roth – Roth has a future in this league but for now he is the designated sacrificial lamb.
23		-2 Last Week: 21	Luis Jimenez – Well, it was fun while it lasted. See you in September, Lucho.
24		-4 Last Week: 20	Mark Lowe – With Madson and Burnett due back in the coming week or two, Lowe should probably start looking for apartments in Salt Lake.
25		-1 Last Week: 24	Barry Enright – Finally., someone who can make Joe Blanton look good by comparison.