The Angels are sure to have an interesting camp, just by virtue of Mike Trout‘s presence alone. We’ll get to him in a bit, but who are some of the other NRI’s worth examining in Angels camp?
2B Alexi Amarista—This top prospect closed last season in Triple-A and is knocking on the big league door. Much like current Angels second sacker Howie Kendrick, Amarista’s calling card is his ability to hit for average–also like Kendrick, he doesn’t walk much. Just 22 in April, Amarista is coming off a .309/.350/.421 season split across three levels. If he impresses in camp, the disappointing Kendrick will be on a short leash.
RHP Ryan Braun—Remember when there were two major league Ryan Brauns, and it was all confusing? This Braun’s career fizzled out, so we don’t have that problem anymore, but he’s still kicking around, trying to make it back up to the bigs. He never has pitched well in the majors (6.66 ERA, 5.08 FIP, and 30/25 K/BB in 50 IP), but he did use his slider/curve combination to strike out over a batter per inning in Triple-A last year. While he’s got usable stuff, he doesn’t use it well (5.34 BB/9) last year, and at age 30, that’s unlikely to change. Weirder comeback stories have been written, however.
RHP Tyler Chatwood—One of LA’s better pitching prospects, Chatwood is just 21 and already in the upper minors. He has to work on his command, and he abruptly stopped missing bats after being promoted to Double-A last year, so he’ll want to get rolling in camp so he can immediately improve on his mediocre upper-minors showing of 2010. At his age, he’s got plenty of time to work through things.
RHP Eric Junge—Remember Junge? Of course you don’t–the guy last pitched in the majors in 2003 with the Phillies, and has all of ten career MLB appearances. Interestingly, his 20 1/3 career innings are rather excellent, with a 2.21 ERA and 2.94 FIP, but they’re obviously irrelevant in 2011. Now 34, Junge has been bouncing around Triple-A affiliates for years, looking for another shot, but just usually serves as somebody’s Triple-A fourth starter. A fastball/slider command guy, he posted a 5.15 ERA and 4.30 FIP for the Angels’ AAA affiliate last year; apparently, he impressed them enough to get the spring invite a year later. A testament to perseverance, he’s spent most of 2007-10 pitching in independent ball and Japan.
2B Kevin Melillo—Melillo has exactly one career plate appearance, with the A’s in 2007. He walked, so he’s got a career 1.000 OBP. The 28-year-old spent 2010 with the Pirates’ AAA affiliate, hitting .276/.352/.457. A second baseman by trade, he also has experience at the infield corners and all three outfield spots, making up for his mediocre defense with versatility. He could be a solid offense-oriented utilityman, but his resume is light enough that he’ll need to catch Mike Scioscia’s eye to get a shot.
LHP Trevor Reckling—Reckling is the sort of guy who needs to have a good camp, not necessarily in terms of results (he’s a 21-year-old in big league camp, after all), but in terms of how he looks–this is a pitcher who got absolutely torched in his first exposure to Triple-A and still has a long way to go with his command. He’ll probably get another crack at the PCL come April, and Reckling has better stuff than 95% of minor league lefties, if not more, but he’s got to show an idea of how to use it. After 2010’s disaster, it’s important for Reckling to get positive momentum going right from the get-go in 2011.
RHP Garrett Richards—Richards is the third of the trio of pitching prospects to watch, along with Chatwood and Reckling. The oldest of the three, he’s nevertheless the only one who hasn’t seen Double-A. Richards posted excellent K/BB ratios at both A-ball levels last year, and had no trouble with the Cal League, so he may actually pass Chatwood and Reckling, who both had hiccups in the upper minors, on the depth chart in 2011. If that’s to happen, he’ll need to get off to a good start in March.
C Kevin Richardson—The former Ranger backstop is hoping to catch on with another AL West team. He went 3-for-6 in 2009 and never got another look; posting a .268 Triple-A OBP in 2010 probably didn’t help, although he did slug .462. The 30-year-old is a solid receiver but doesn’t have a great arm. If his catching skills impress Scioscia, he’s got a shot–Jeff Mathis has stuck with this team, after all.
SS Jean Segura—A big story on the prospect front for LA will be Segura’s attempt to transition from second to shortstop; the Angels have few alternatives at the position in the minors, while Amarista looks like a decent bet to wind up as a future 2B starter. Segura’s got the athleticism to handle the position–he stole 50 bases last year, after all–and he hit .313/.365/.464 in Low-A as a teenager, so he’s definitely a nice prospect at either middle infield spot.
OF Mike Trout—The #1 prospect in baseball won’t be making the Angels, but he’s the #1 prospect in baseball. Who wouldn’t want to watch him get his hacks in against big league pitching?