Joe Soriano
O.J. LewisBaseball Preview Angels
March 26th 2010 18:01
So baseball season will begin on April 5th. I feel that it is time to start gathering up my baseball preview.
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
We will begin with the Angels. Mike Napoli is a good catcher with some nice power. He hit twenty homers last year and has friend Jeff Mathis backing him up. Kendry Morales is poised for an amazing year this year. Last year, he was incredible. He hit 34 HRs, 108 RBIs, 43 2Bs, 86 R, .306 BA, .569 Slugging, and .924 OPS. Those are awesome numbers.
Howie Kendrick and Erick Aybar will provide top-notch defense down the middle. Aybar's backup, Maicer Izutris, will also provide defensive backing. Kendrick must step up offensively though. Especially after the loss of Chone Figgins at the top of the order. His infield mate Erick Aybar has shown improvement as he hit .312 last season. Backup Izutris also provided a steady batting average, hitting .300 at the clip.
The Hot Corner is largely hurt. Scouts love Brandon Wood's upside, but let's face it. Wood is a career below mendoza-line hitter in 224 at bats. Juan Rivera is a big-game, small-name outfielder who should have a breakout year. Last year he posted 25 homers with 88 RBIs.
Center fielder Torii Hunter was a prime MVP candidate last year, and kept the team together like glue with his skills. Hunter keeps the middle sharp fielding wise, and the middle of the order sharp hitting wise. 22 HRs, 90 RBIs, and .508 Slugging are his numbers. Although Bobby Abreu is up there in age, he still has hitting skills. He was huge last year with 96 R, 103 RBIs, 94 BB, and 30 SB. However, he cannot field at all, which is mostly to say about the corner positions on the Angels.
Newly signed DH Hideki Matsui was World Series MVP last year for the New York Yankees. Expect last year's numbers to go down. He will only be a minor factor. 28 HR, 90 RBI, and .509 Slugging will not be repeated by any means. Especially when he is out of hitter friendly New Yankee Stadium.
Jered Weaver is the ace of the Angels heading into this year. He has proven to take up that role. 16 W, 4 CG, 2 SHO, 211 IP, and 3.75 ERA echo an unsung Cy Young Award candidate. Midseason acquisition Scott Kazmir struggled last year. I am not sure if he can regain his steps again. Free agent acquisition Joel Pineiro should fill that slot nicely. He is a very talented starting pitcher. Last season: 15 W, 3 CG, 2 SHO, 214 IP, 3.49 ERA, and 1.14 WHIP.
Two years ago, Joe Saunders put together a very nice career year. He flew under the radar last year, winning 16 games. Ervin Santana is two years removed from a monster season. He was bad last year and will round out the rotation as a result. However, he was injured and did show flashes of brilliance in 2 shutouts.
Brian Fuentes was an all star last year, but many think he will slump out this year. I think he will be a little worse than last year, but he will still be good. Last season: 48 SV. Problem is his main stats need to improve other than saves. He is risky, but he gets the job done. Fernando Rodney is the newly signed set-up man. He is very inconsistent, but still saved 37 games for the Tigers last year.
Last year, Scot Shields had the worst year of his career. He was horrible. Why? Because he was injured. When healthy, Shields is one of the best set-up men in the business and is actually primed to take away the closing spot from Fuentes if all the pieces fall into place. Good luck on that happening. Matt Palmer headlines the rest of the relief group. He will be their long reliever and a good one at that.
The Angels got worse, but they will still fight with the Mariners. It will be very, very close and very interesting as well.
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
We will begin with the Angels. Mike Napoli is a good catcher with some nice power. He hit twenty homers last year and has friend Jeff Mathis backing him up. Kendry Morales is poised for an amazing year this year. Last year, he was incredible. He hit 34 HRs, 108 RBIs, 43 2Bs, 86 R, .306 BA, .569 Slugging, and .924 OPS. Those are awesome numbers.
Howie Kendrick and Erick Aybar will provide top-notch defense down the middle. Aybar's backup, Maicer Izutris, will also provide defensive backing. Kendrick must step up offensively though. Especially after the loss of Chone Figgins at the top of the order. His infield mate Erick Aybar has shown improvement as he hit .312 last season. Backup Izutris also provided a steady batting average, hitting .300 at the clip.
The Hot Corner is largely hurt. Scouts love Brandon Wood's upside, but let's face it. Wood is a career below mendoza-line hitter in 224 at bats. Juan Rivera is a big-game, small-name outfielder who should have a breakout year. Last year he posted 25 homers with 88 RBIs.
Center fielder Torii Hunter was a prime MVP candidate last year, and kept the team together like glue with his skills. Hunter keeps the middle sharp fielding wise, and the middle of the order sharp hitting wise. 22 HRs, 90 RBIs, and .508 Slugging are his numbers. Although Bobby Abreu is up there in age, he still has hitting skills. He was huge last year with 96 R, 103 RBIs, 94 BB, and 30 SB. However, he cannot field at all, which is mostly to say about the corner positions on the Angels.
Newly signed DH Hideki Matsui was World Series MVP last year for the New York Yankees. Expect last year's numbers to go down. He will only be a minor factor. 28 HR, 90 RBI, and .509 Slugging will not be repeated by any means. Especially when he is out of hitter friendly New Yankee Stadium.
Jered Weaver is the ace of the Angels heading into this year. He has proven to take up that role. 16 W, 4 CG, 2 SHO, 211 IP, and 3.75 ERA echo an unsung Cy Young Award candidate. Midseason acquisition Scott Kazmir struggled last year. I am not sure if he can regain his steps again. Free agent acquisition Joel Pineiro should fill that slot nicely. He is a very talented starting pitcher. Last season: 15 W, 3 CG, 2 SHO, 214 IP, 3.49 ERA, and 1.14 WHIP.
Two years ago, Joe Saunders put together a very nice career year. He flew under the radar last year, winning 16 games. Ervin Santana is two years removed from a monster season. He was bad last year and will round out the rotation as a result. However, he was injured and did show flashes of brilliance in 2 shutouts.
Brian Fuentes was an all star last year, but many think he will slump out this year. I think he will be a little worse than last year, but he will still be good. Last season: 48 SV. Problem is his main stats need to improve other than saves. He is risky, but he gets the job done. Fernando Rodney is the newly signed set-up man. He is very inconsistent, but still saved 37 games for the Tigers last year.
Last year, Scot Shields had the worst year of his career. He was horrible. Why? Because he was injured. When healthy, Shields is one of the best set-up men in the business and is actually primed to take away the closing spot from Fuentes if all the pieces fall into place. Good luck on that happening. Matt Palmer headlines the rest of the relief group. He will be their long reliever and a good one at that.
The Angels got worse, but they will still fight with the Mariners. It will be very, very close and very interesting as well.
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