6. Matt Thaiss, 1B
Birthday (age on opening day 2018): 5/6/1995 (22)
2017 teams/levels played for: high-A Inland Empire 66ers, AA Mobile BayBears
2017 Stats: .274/.375/.395, 606 PA, 9 HR, 8 SB, 77/109 BB/K
Info: A college catcher with Virginia, the Los Angeles Angels immediately moved Thaiss out from behind the plate to first base. Thaiss has worked to improve his defense at first base, where he’s still stiff in his range at the position, but he’s got good hands.
One of the biggest concerns evaluators had with Thaiss at first base was presenting a good target, as Thaiss is only 6′ tall and 200 pounds, so he’s far smaller than the typical first baseman. He has worked well to use his catching athleticism to present a tall target and then immediately get to position to field throws from his fielders in the infield.
At the plate, Thaiss came from college with an advanced understanding of the strike zone, and that has continued to show as he has advanced up the system. Thaiss has a career .370 on base in his minor league career, with a walk rate of 11.4% and strikeout rate of 15.6%.
Thaiss’ power completely disappeared when he got up to AA after already being questionable for the position before that. He’s going to be a guy who needs to adjust his swing to be able to access power, with a quick, powerful swing, but a level swing that doesn’t do well turning to pull on pitches.
Thaiss spent 50 games at AA in 2017, and that’s likely where he will start in 2018, but if he can show some improvement in his power access in his swing, he could move quickly with his advanced plate approach.
5. Brandon Marsh, OF
Birthday (age on opening day 2018): 12/18/1997 (20)
2017 teams/levels played for: advanced rookie Orem Owlz
2017 Stats: .350/.396/.548, 192 PA, 4 HR, 10 SB, 9/35 BB/K
Info: Marsh was recruited for baseball and football out of high school, but an injury suffered in football kept him off the field for much of the 2016 high school season, meaning many teams did not get a good look at him.
The Los Angeles Angels got Marsh in the 2nd round of the 2016 draft but did not play in game action due to a back injury found in medicals before he signed his contract. Marsh worked well with Angels coaches to be ready to explode in 2017, and explode he did.
Marsh worked well with Angels coaches to be ready to explode in 2017, and explode he did
Marsh went straight to the advanced rookie level Pioneer League, facing a lot of college players, and he crushed the ball, knocking 13 doubles, 5 triples, and 4 home runs in just 39 games. There was a bit of concern in his plate discipline just looking at the raw BB/K numbers, but Marsh really did show very good plate discipline, working the count and then finishing most at bats with a swing, which led to his low walk rate.
Marsh should be able to take plenty of walks in his future based on his ability to wait out his pitch in 2017, and his exceptional potential for both power and speed could allow him to have above-average power and speed numbers, with a chance for 20/20 seasons as he gets going in his career.
Marsh is likely headed to a corner outfield spot, but he should be a premium defender in a corner as he is a more than adequate center fielder with an above-average arm.
Marsh will open in full-season ball in 2018, with the Los Angeles Angels willing to push him up the level if he performs well enough to deserve the push.
Next: #3 and #4