Lady’s Choice: Player Pick for April

May 10, 2009 — What a spring. Yesterday afternoon marked game #29. In that time, we’ve watched 22 different pitchers step onto the mound. Pitcher #22, Ervin Santana, was team transaction #44. Not long ago, the running tally for pitchers actually exceeded the total number of games played. Woof.

Still, despite our revolving-door roster in April, one name clearly stands out thus far. . .Chris Pettit. Yours truly must admit being a bit surprised. What I mean is, after following our Bees players during big league spring training, I expected to be writing about Brown, Figueroa, Rodriguez or Wood after the first month of the season.

So where has he been hiding, anyway? Well, part of his low profile was due to a rather painful 2008 season. After an impressive season with Cedar Rapids and Rancho Cucamonga in 2007, Pettit didn’t get much of a chance to play at the Double-A level. On Opening Day with the Travelers, he broke his foot and didn’t rejoin the team until the end of June. This photo, BTW, has to be the worst front-office, PR decision I’ve seen in, well, like forever. . .?

Coming back, Pettit found it harder than he expected to find his swing again. He kept at it, making the most of his playing time in the Arizona Fall League and by the end of the season was named to the 2008 All-Prospect Team. In February 2009, he was invited to the Rookie Career Development Program. Followed by an invite to big league camp this spring.

In fact, his rise in the farm system has been punctuated by awards:
05/08/2009 Angels’ Minor League Player for April
12/04/2008 AFL All-Prospect Team
11/18/2008 AFL Stenson Sportsmanship Award Finalist
11/10/2008 AFL Player of the Week
10/23/2008 AFL Rising Stars
08/08/2007 Angels’ Minor League Player for July
06/19/2007 MID Mid-Season All-Star
06/08/2007 Angels’ Minor League Player for May
08/31/2006 PIO Post-Season All-Star

As of yesterday Pettit was hitting .448 BA (1st in PCL), 96 AB (tied for 18th), 43 H (1st), 20 RBI (tied for 8th), 61 TB (6th), 1.121 OPS (4th). Last night in Portland, he pushed his hitting streak to 17 games with his last at-bat. During the streak, BTW, he’s kept up a .536 BA and multiple-hit games for all but five!

How did I not hear more about this prospect, sooner? Seems as though I’m not the only one, though, who’d been a little slow to take notice. At the beginning of the season, Salt Lake Bees broadcaster Steve Klauke was told Pettit is most highly regarded for his defense. It’s true he’s got wheels in the outfield. Yeah, but, . . .35 hits in 29 games. . .those are some crazy offensive numbers.

I already was looking forward watching our major-league infield this spring—Brown, 1B | Rodriguez, 2B | Wood, SS | Sandoval, 3B. Looks as though we’ve got a pretty hot outfield as well, with Brad Coon, Terry Evans and that new kid, . . .Chris Pettit. . .Your friend in baseball.

Add comment May 10th, 2009

Lady’s Choice: Player Pick for March

April 01, 2009 — Bet you weren’t expecting one of these for another month.

Actually, I’ve been thinking about this one all winter. Or at least, ever since I noticed his Winter Ball numbers. Drumroll, please. . . .this month’s pick is Kendry Morales.

If I had only one word to describe the big man when he first appeared in Salt Lake, I’d say, um, . . . “stiff.” I’ll admit that’s a bit unfair, since Morales spoke virtually no English when he arrived in the U.S. And let’s not forget, the kid was only 21 years old.

Furthermore, considering the journey he took to get here, who could blame him for feeling as though he’d been teleported to an uncharted, possibly hostile, planet? Getting out of Cuba is not as simple as grabbing your toilet kit and passport, and hopping onto the next available flight. For reasons a bit vague, perhaps rumors of his discontent, the one-time Cuban All-Star got yanked off the national team. Such a fall from the good graces of El Comandante means going from being a pampered celebrity-athlete to just another 20-something party laborer. Morales tried to escape more than once and spent some time in jail—which is how the Cuban government sets the example for other public-figure-would-be-defectors.

Finally in 2004, Morales made it to the Dominican Republic, via Miami. He spent his first year in organized baseball with a couple-dozen games at Advanced-A Rancho Cucamonga and quickly moved up to Double-A Arkansas. He began his second year, 2006, on the Salt Lake opening day roster. That summer, he turned 23.

Looking over his stats for the first two years at Triple-A, I was surprised to see such a high SO:BB ratio— 70 SO: 29 BB is nearly 2.5-to-1 (ouch). I wasn’t surprised to see the low homerun totals (17 HR). At the time, I wondered what the Angels were planning to do with a slow-footed, switch-hitter who struck out a lot and didn’t hit the long ball. Nor did he have the greatest defensive glove. Let me rephrase that, it seemed as though his feet kept getting tangled up. As if his first step was always an “oopsie.”

Change was in the air last season, although his PCL numbers don’t readily show it. He looked like he was finally learning to relax, like he was actually enjoying his job. He smiled more often, the sort of shy smile you’d expect from a young man playing baseball.

After the Angels’ early exit from post-season play, Morales headed south to play in the Dominican Winter League. And there was nothing shy about the way he hammered the ball. In 29 games for the Gigantes del Cibao he hit .404 BA in 99 AB with 8 HR, 14 SO and 9 BB. ¡Caramba! ¡Quemado la ligua!

Winter Ball wrapped up at the end of January. Next stop? Spring Training in Tempe, AZ. With Texeira gone to the Yankees, the Angels front office made it quite clear who they’d like to take over at 1B. As of March 30, Morales had the most at-bats, 74 AB, and fifth-highest average, .405 BA (among Angels ballplayers with <27 AB), 3 HR, 8 SO and 3 BB. The only teammate with as many round-trippers and a higher average was Erick Aybar. BTW, you’ll also observe the only teammate with more total RBIs is Matt Brown. (Many thanks to Lyle Spencer for making note of this last stat in his blog.)

Thus, with fond hopes for his continued success this BeesGal says, “Vaya con dios,” or in Salt Lake vernacular. . .Bye for now!

Add comment April 1st, 2009

Lady’s Choice: Player Pick for August

Photo credit Rick R Dykhuizen AAA Photos Used with permission.

• UPDATE •

September 01, 2008 — These just-arrived photos from Rick Dykhuizen were too good not to post. You da’ man, Rick! BONUS:Captured on digital film, a glimpse of an honest-to-goodness BeesGal in her favorite habitat. Click on the photo below for a clue.

Photo credit | Rick R Dykhuizen AAA Photos Used with permission.

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SPACER TEXT

September 01, 2008 — Apropos for a blog named after an imaginary pitch, this month’s pick names a ballplayer who’s been missing from the Salt Lake Bees roster since August 8th, Sean Rodriguez. What inspired this Lady’s Choice was a remark he made while autographing a group photo of Bees infielders: Freddy Sandoval, Brandon Wood and Sean

.

Photo credit | Brent Asay©2008 Used with permission

As he looked for an appropriate spot to sign, he suddenly smiled and said, “Hey, there’s our franchise player.” Of course, he was referring to Wood, who’s been in the spotlight ever since The Sporting News named him Minor League Baseball Player of the Year in 2005 and Baseball America named him the #1 Angels prospect in 2006. Despite the good-natured teasing, Sean wasn’t some throwaway pick for the Los Angeles Angels in 2003. He was selected in the 3rd round (90th pick overall), in the same draft as Brandon Wood (1st round, 23rd overall), Reggie Willits (7th round, 210 overall) and Adam Pavkovich (11th round, 330th overall).

Photo credit | Brent Asay©2008 Used with permission

He stayed a bit incognito through the lower levels of the system, perhaps because it’s been a bit difficult to find a consensus on his tools. John Sickels likes him. Others claim his defensive range is below average. Another site thinks his strikeout percentage is too high. One of the oddest comments I’ve read is his body type does not conform to the prototypical middle infielder.* *“His comps aren`t really helpful as far as conjuring up a mental image–try to think of him as a Ronnie Belliard type. . .he`s sort of squat and not especially athletic, so he`s not a scout`s prospect.” [source: Baseball Prospectus, 2008, viewing requires paid subscription] Huh? Um, . . .if this theory actually holds water, then how on earth did these two oddballs make it past the “physique police” and into the Major Leagues?

Well regardless of appearances, our 6’1″, 215-lb middle infielder has shown a steady glove and surefire arm for the Bees. And goodness gracious, he swings a productive bat.* One my favorite memories from this season was a walk-off-the-plane-pinch-hit home run on July 23rd (time marker 2:43:00) to send the game into extra innings. (Darn if that Nelson Cruz didn’t answer with a solo shot the very next inning, putting the Redhawks ahead for good.)

Photo credit | Brent Asay©2008 Used with permission

*Of course, I am obligated to point out that Franklin Covey Field is one of the most hitter-friendly ballparks in the most BA-inflated league in the minors, the Pacific Coast League. As regular readers know and new visitors are about to discover, I don’t fancy myself an armchair GM, virtual scout or any other baseball insider. What gets shared with you readers is what I’ve observed at the ballpark and dug up from working the ‘net. My suggestions or suppositions are simply that—yours truly thinking aloud, in hopes of stimulating a few little grey cells out there. So how about I offer these thoughts to chew on. . . ? I’ll start with a tip of my pink cap to the Angels’ philosophy of developing major leaguers from within their farm system. It means we Triple-A fans get to see firsthand how young ballplayers are prepped for that first dip of their toes into the MLB pool. This long view of athlete development and promotion allows us to track their progress—noting how soon and often players go up, as well as how long they stick.

Photo credit | Brent Asay©2008 Used with permission

So here’s a fun comparison I put together for the infielder prospects who’ve traveled back and forth to the big leagues this season: Sean, Brandon, Kendry Morales (amateur free agent, 2004) and Matt Brown (10th round, 299th overall). The first thing I noticed is Sean has the most big-league time by a landslide—75 days, and counting. SPACER TEXT

Photo credit | Brent Asay©2008 Used with permission

This decision to keep Sean in Anaheim over other infield choices is intriguing. The skinny from the Angels’ coaching staff is Sean helps the Angels win ballgames with his proven defensive gifts, despite not having figured out major-league pitching. (At least, not yet!) I can’t help but wonder if Angel’s Manager Mike Scioscia is applying the same strategy he uses for the catching staff, which is to assess the value of a ballplayer based how he contributes to the win column. Take a look at this at-a-glance summary (through August 31st):

*Days on the major-league roster. **Because Morales and Brown have played so few games, these numbers represent total game appearances (G) rather than games started (GS). And here’s what I’ve picked up from watching Sean play. He brings to the game a calm, steady confidence that gives everyone a boost. He’s the kind of team player you love seeing in the lineup, in the dugout and on the field. Watching him play every day without letting up and respond to crunch time without fumbling, it’s hard to imagine he’s only 23 years old (nearly two months younger than Brandon); and even harder to remember this is the first full season he’s spent above the Double-A level.

Photo credit | Brent Asay©2008 Used with permission

Perhaps Sean’s level-headed attitude can be traced to his baseball roots. His father, Johnny Rodriquez, is hitting coach for the Jamestown Jammers (Florida Marlins Single-A affiliate). And I believe his deep-seated Christian faith is a factor as well. Sean is quick to voice his gratitude to God as the source of personal inspiration, good fortune and athletic success. Whatever the reason, Sean’s baseball achievements thus far are hardly a joke. The simple fact that he’s started more games in Anaheim this season than the “franchise player” certainly indicates he’s doing something right. Hey, I’m with Sickels. I like this ballplayer. Bye for now!

Add comment September 1st, 2008