Los Angeles Angels prospect Kevin Maitan looks rough in spring
The Los Angeles Angels made a big signing of Kevin Maitan this offseason, but has he let himself go since signing?
Throughout the offseason, the Los Angeles Angels have been taking the headlines in their moves, from signing the biggest name of the offseason in Shohei Ohtani to trading for and signing the pieces to an exceptional infield to signing two of the best players that were removed from the Atlanta Braves in the MLB punishment placed on that franchise.
It’s one of those young prospects that has drawn recent news as Kevin Maitan, the most well-known of the prospects that the Braves lost, came to Angels camp looking quite out of shape and has shown himself to be struggling to fulfill his immense promise.
A bad omen in 2017?
The big thing that opened up this discussion over the weekend was a video from Baseball America’s excellent editor J.J. Cooper, taken on the Los Angeles Angels spring training back fields:
The initial shots of Maitan in that video are disturbing, to put it lightly. This is a young man who had been blasted for his conditioning this summer, though he had a hamstring injury that held him up some over the summer. In mid-November, Maitan posted this video on his Instagram, looking notably trimmer:
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What happened from the time of that video in mid-November to his arrival at Los Angeles Angels spring training is anyone’s guess. Certainly, he doesn’t look like he kept himself in prime shape.
This will be another strike against Maitan in his short career, though the teenager has an immense amount of talent, and he certainly will be given every opportunity to succeed by the Los Angeles Angels.
While many expected to see Maitan head out to a full-season assignment this year, most likely he’ll end up spending time in extended spring working on his conditioning and his swing, which has changed significantly from the left side as he’s added bad weight, whether that is related to the weight gain or an adjustment he’s made independent of conditioning.
Next: Too early to worry about Ohtani
Interestingly, the Los Angeles Angels also signed another former Brave in shortstop Livan Soto, and the reviews this spring on Soto have been through the roof in praise for how he looks both on offense and defense. Perhaps his teammate could consider taking a couple of lessons from Soto’s offseason work!