2012 Fish Watch: Los Angeles Angels Final Update

The first thing you need to know about The Fish Watch is that it’s not a list of sleepers. It is instead a list of players at various points in their respective minor league journeys that for one reason or another have piqued my interest enough that I am watching their development more closely than the bulk of prospects out there. To read more about this project, check out the introduction and master list.

Obviously since the season is over and some teams have had two updates, some have only had one and the NL West team’s have had zero coverage thus far, this project did not work out as I had planned on many levels. Undeterred I’m going to sally forth and finish off this round of updates and call it good. Next season if I attempt this again I’m going to have to make some major changes to the structure, plan and concept of this series.

Feel free to check out the category archive to read previous installments of the series.

Los Angeles Angels (S2S 2012 Angels Team Prospect List)

2B – Taylor Lindsey (20) – Angels 2010 Supplemental Round Pick

2011 – Orem (Rk): 0.362/.394/.593, 28 2B, 6 3B, 9 HR, 10 SB, 13 BB and 46 SO in 307 PA
2012 – Inland Empire (A+): 0.289/.328/.408, 26 2B, 6 3B, 9 HR, 8 SB, 29 BB and 66 SO in 589 PA

Lindsey’s numbers fell off from his MVP season in the Pioneer league last year but that was to be expected since he jumped from rookie ball to high-A. He was fairly consistent throughout the season with Inland Empire  hitting over 0.300 in three of the five full months and no lower than 0.262. The only negative along those lines is he stumbled right at the finish line going 1-18 in his last four games. Despite jumping over Cedar Rapids, Lindsey made modest gains in his BB% upping it from 4.2 to 4.9% and dropped his K% from 15.0% to 11.2%. Both are very positive signs given his generally aggressive nature at the plate and both ensure that he will remain one of the team’s top-10 prospects as new rankings come out this winter. Lindsey’s aggressiveness will be further tested in Double-A next season but his excellent hand-eye coordination and natural hitting ability should allow him to compensate and adjust to more advanced pitching.

RHP – Cameron Bedrosian (20) – Angels 2010 1st Round Pick

2011 – Missed the season due to surgery and subsequent rehab
2012 – Cedar Rapids (A): 6.31 ERA, 1.73 WHIP, 91 H, 52 BB and 48 SO in 82.2 IP

Goal number one for Bedrosian heading into 2012 was simply to get on the mound and start working his way back from Tommy John surgery. Once he returned to action in May he remained in the Kernels rotation for the rest of the season taking the ball without fail when it was his turn to pitch. His stuff and more to the point his control have clearly not returned to form, but he had starts of brilliance mixed in with the clunkers. The overall stat line is not attractive but given the circumstances, he gets a bit of a mulligan and remains someone to keep tabs on in 2013.

C – Abel Baker (21) – Angels 2011 7th Round Pick

2011 – Orem: 0.306/.406/.471, 10 2B, 2 3B, 4 HR, 27 BB and 43 SO in 188 PA
2012 – Cedar Rapids (A): 0.246/.305/.352, 11 2B, 1 3B, 6 HR, 24 BB and 52 SO in 322 PA

There is a big difference between hitting in Orem and Cedar Rapids and Baker found that out first hand. Not only does the increase in competition create a hurdle, so to does the move from a highly charged offensive environment to a far more difficult one. As with Lindsey, it was unreasonable to expect him to repeat what he did in 2011 but Baker did have an excellent month of August hitting 0.358/.397/.507 with 5 BB and 10 SO in 18 games. Overall his walk rate was cut nearly in half from 14.4 to 7.5% but he also significantly cut his K rate going from 22.9% with Orem to 14.1% with the Kernels. All in all I’d consider the 2012 season a success for Baker, especially given that he’s a catcher and the fact that his 0.278 BABIP was a little depressed from what you’d expect. He could be poised for a “statement” season next year assuming he opens with Inland Empire where the Cal League environs should augment his performance.

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