Los Angeles Angels Prospect Report – 4-9-2012

Trevor Bell was very sharp for the Bees in 8-2 win. Bell worked 5.2 shutout innings, punching out 4 and walking 3. David Carpenter worked the 8th and 9th innings, and set down 6 hitters in a row with 1 strikeout. Including last season, Carpenter has pitched 21.2 scoreless innings in a row. Meanwhile, Mike Trout continues to sizzle at the plate. Today he went 2-4 with an “oppo taco” home run in the 1st inning to set the tone. Trout is hitting .500 this year with an OPS of 1.242, and I don’t believe it is out of the question that he can keep this up. That’s a scary thought. Third baseman Luis Jimenez broke out of his mini-slump with 3 knocks including a triple in the 6th, raising his average to .286 on the year. Garrett Richards will take the mound Tuesday, trying to win the Angels 5th starter spot.

Arkansas Travelers:
Arkansas picked up the “W” on Monday, defeating the Frisco RoughRiders 4-2. Middle infielder Darwin Perez flexed his muscles and poked a home run in the 7th inning. Perez, 22 years old, is known for his slick defense and great eye at the plate. 25 year old Ryan Kiniry went 2-3 and played good defense in center field to help the winning cause. Veteran journeyman Greg Smith made his first start of the year and went 5 innings, allowing just 1 run and striking out 4. Later, lefty Drew Taylor came in and struck out 4 of the 5 batters he faced, a good bounce back performance after a rough outing last time around. Finally, Matt Oye shut the door for the save with a 9 pitch, 3 strikeout inning. Tomorrow night, AJ Schugel will make his 2nd start of the year.

Inland Empire 66ers:

The 66ers got blown out on Monday, losing 8-1. Brian Diemer, the 24 year old righty, got smoked and allowed 7 earned runs in just 3 innings of work. Bobby Cassevah made a rehab appearance, and got through a scoreless inning. 2009 compensation draft pick Tyler Kehrer threw 2 shutout innings, however time is against the 24 year old lefty if he has a chance to make it to the big leagues. At the plate, Randal Grichuk had a solid night with a double and a single in 4 trips to the plate. Fabio Martinez was scheduled to pitch yesterday but did not go. He was in the crowd with no visible injury, however there is definitely some reason for concern, considering Martinez missed all of last year with shoulder issues, and the team has not released any information on him. Good ol’ “TBD” is starting tomorrow.

Cedar Rapids Kernels:

The Kernels won their home opener 7-6 in front of nearly 2,000 fans. 20 year old Dominican Jairo Diaz was hit hard, but also was not helped by poor defense. Abel Baker committed 2 errors, Wendell Soto committed 2 errors, and Kaleb Cowart added a fielding error. Diaz’s final line: 4.2 innings, 6 runs (4 earned), 2 walks, ad 4 strikeouts. Carmine Giardina who has fought a tough road back from Tommy John surgery, appeared in his first game in over a year, going 2.1 innings and not allowing a run. A big congratulations goes out to Carmine. Jacob Negrete and Ty Kelley followed with scoreless innings of their own. First baseman Frazier Hall led the way with the bat, going 3-4 and blasting a huge home run in the 5th inning. He is now hitting .333 on the season. Shortstop Wendell Soto also had a home run of his own and went 2-4. Lefty Michael Johnson will make his first start for the Kernels tomorrow.