Then Matt Palmer pitched himself into a starting slot for the Angels. Sean O’Sullivan arrived from Double-A Arkansas to fill out the starting rotation in Salt Lake, until he pitched his way to Los Angeles as well. The next pitcher called up to bolster our Triple-A rotation was Trevor Bell.

When the transaction-go-round starts spinning as fast as it has this season, it seems awfully quick to the trigger to select a ballplayer who’s only been at Triple-A for just one-and-a-half months. On the other hand, Bell has been as steady as they come, even when he hasn’t gotten the run support he deserves. So

Trevor Bell was selected by the Angels in the first round, 37th overall, a supplemental pick to compensate for the loss of free agent Troy Percival. His development from Rookie through Advanced-A was steady, albeit unspectacular, with ERA stats of 3.50, 4.14, 4.22, respectively. Bell made the Double-A roster out of spring training this year, and it seems as though something clicked. In 11 starts for Arkansas, he relinquished only 54 hits and just one homer in 68.2 IP for a 2.55 ERA.

Pitcher injuries among the Angels resulted in a mid-June spot start for O’Sullivan against San Francisco and subsequent promotion for Bell, who got his first Triple-A start against division-leading Colorado. And what a start it was; a two-hit, complete game shut-out. Since then, the 21-year-old has pitched like he’s been with us all season: 2.81 ERA, 52 H, 36 SO, 14 BB, 64.0 IP. Best of all has been his ability to go deep into the game, averaging 7.1 innings per start, with two 9-inning complete games. Bell doesn’t have a blazing fastball, and relies heavily on ground-ball outs. Mentally, he is one tough competitor. One of my favorite moments from this season was a five-pitch duel between Bell and major-league veteran Sal Fasano.

Much has been made of Bell’s off-season acting career, as well as his relation to the original Bozo the Clown. And while these are interesting media bytes, they aren’t nearly as intriguing as a couple of other extracurricular activities engaged in by the youngster from North Hollywood, CA.

At the start of the 2008 season, Bell joined Barry Zito’s “Strikeouts for Troops” campaign, in which he pledged to donate funds to the charity for every strikeout he made. Later that summer Bell was sent down to Single-A Cedar Rapids shortly after horrendous flooding had devastated the Kernels home city, along with several other Midwest cities along the Iowa and Cedar Rivers. During his short stay, Bell took a tour of the area and wrote a personal check for $2,500 towards rebuilding efforts.

What is noteworthy about these contributions is how uncommonly rare it is for low-level minor leaguers to be thinking of something other than their on-field performance. For yours truly, it’s yet another reason to cheer on our latest young gun…Your friend in baseball.

Thinking aloud then. . .Jeremy Hill, of late, is having some trouble holding leads. I love Francisco Rodriguez. Too bad he wasn’t around for half the month. Matt Brown and Bobby Wilson have been struggling at the plate. Reggie Willits spent two weeks nursing a sore hamstring. Freddy Sandoval and Chris Pettit are out with injuries until late July at the earliest. Oh have I mentioned, the weather’s been lousy too? Sigh!

It’s true, Brandon Wood has been his consistently awesome self. And I’ve noticed significant improvement in plate discipline, particularly his 23:47 BB:SO (a ratio of 1:2). In all honesty, though, it’s not like yours truly is going to add anything revelatory to the well-deserved praise for this kid’s ongoing development. And yes, I had noticed Brad Coon is steadily upping his offensive production after a slow start. Not to mention, just like last year, he’s an excellent guardian of our 420-foot-deep center field. Trevor Bell? Tempting. His awesome debut is slowly turning, start-by-start, into a Triple-A stay of real merit.

And then I was reminded of having overlooked the bright ray of sunshine in our uncharacteristically cold and dreary June. . .

So, this month’s pick is Adam Pavkovich. Pavkovich was selected in 2003 from the University of Alabama by the Angels in the 11th round, 330th overall pick. He came straight to Provo for his professional debut, where the Crimson Tide alumnus figured out wood bats rather quickly, well enough to earn a mid-season promotion to Single-A Cedar Rapids.* He continued to move up the farm system without a hitch; a full season with Advanced-A Rancho in 2004, and just the briefest of time with Double-A Arkansas before arriving at Triple-A for good in 2005.

*Apparently he suited up for one game as a Salt Lake Stinger that year, although I don’t remember it personally.

Yours truly readily admits having wanted an excuse to showcase Pavkovich for a couple seasons now. He stands out for me not only as a good ballplayer, but one who makes an extra effort to bond with his fans, particularly the young ones.

A BeesGal memory. . .One afternoon in 2007, after a long wait for players to come out onto the field, one young fan literally wilted in his spot. He put his head down, cradled in his arms atop of the concrete wall, and closed his eyes. And there he rested, oblivious to the now-arrived ballplayers talking with and signing for fans along the wall.

Pavkovich stopped and bent down, lowering his head to peer upward into the downturned face.

“Hey,” he said gently. Getting no response, he asked again, “Hey there. Are you OK?”

The small head popped straight up, a startled look upon the youngster’s face. Pavkovich laughed warmly, and spent a few extra minutes chatting before moving on.

Another from 2007. . .Pavkovich appeared a full 30 minutes prior to gametime. He walked along the wall, scanning the rows as if he was expecting to meet someone. Halfway between the dugout and bullpen he stopped. He called up to a boy who looked eight or nine years old, standing with his father about 10 rows up in the stands. The boy and father looked around, and then behind them. They looked back at Pavkovich, who was now holding up what looked to be a brand-new bat, its gleaming walnut finish unblemished by pine tar or ball marks.

“Hi! Do you want this?” he called out, energetically gesturing for them to come over.

The boy remained frozen until finally his father half-pushed them both down the stairs and to the wall. The precious gift signed and delivered, Pavkovich returned to the clubhouse to get ready for that evening’s work.

In 2008, Pavkovich had a break-through year on the diamond. He flashed some power—25 doubles, 4 triples, 22 HR, 80 RBI and  225 TB—while maintaining a nice .280 AVE. That sort of production earned Pavkovich his first invite to the Dominican Leagues this winter and big-league training camp this spring.

Fast forward to Opening Day 2009, and Pavkovich begins his fourth season with the Bees. There have been, of course, a few changes over the seasons. Harper and Nagy are gone. Mitchell and Bennett are in their second seasons as manager and pitching coach.

On April 15th, Pavkovich played his 425th game in a Salt Lake uniform, passing former Buzz outfielder Chris Latham to become the franchise leader in games played. As noted by longtime Salt Lake broadcaster and “voice of the Bees” Steve Klauke, this is a bittersweet achievement, one that underscores a long tenure in the bush leagues. Pavkovich also has taken over the lead in career two-base hits (98), and tied in sacrifice flies (20) with Buzz/Twins infielder Todd Walker. His 19 sacrifice bunts leaves him just three short of Buzz infielder Mike Moriarty (22) and two short of Stinger/Bees infielder Casey Smith (21). Thanks to last year’s bomber run, he also holds sixth place in career homeruns (45).

On the other hand, some things haven’t changed at all. #25 still arrives early to meet his fans at the wall, every day, win or lose, play or sit. He talks, he smiles, he jokes, he inspires.

He’s still the young man who makes the Knothole Club something special. According to local lore, the 23-year-old infielder voluntarily assumed the role of Knothole Club “camp director” soon after his arrival in 2005. This spring, Camp Director Pavkovich once-again led kids and parents on a guided tour of a day in the life of a professional ballplayer.

During the tour he was asked how many bats players receive from Anaheim.

He replied, “Two dozen, which for a good hitter will last all season.”

There was a pregnant pause, and his next sentence was accompanied by that warm smile, “If you’re a not-so-good hitter, you’ll need more.”

He is a man of many gloves, having played all nine defensive positions including catcher (2006) and pitcher (2009). He’s our bottom-of-the-ninth, clutch hitter—whether ripping a walk-off grand slam or laying down a suicide-squeeze bunt for the only, and winning, run of the game.

What more can I say? Save perhaps, it’s been a delight having this young man in a Salt Lake uniform for all these seasons. I believe Pavkovich is eligible for free agency after the end of this year, his seventh since being drafted by the Angels. In that case, I certainly wish him all the best, with just the tiniest selfish hope of getting to meet again for Knothole Club, 2010…Your friend in baseball.

The tricky part is gleaning out the category of information you want. For example, some websites focus on trades and/or fantasy; others offer stats, trends and forecasts;  still others provide debate and discussion. So, in an effort to guide you through the maze, or perhaps just to sort them out for myself, I offer this short list, with a word of warning. Per usual, my choices might be on the eccentric side. Of course, you knew this already, yes?. . .Your friend in baseball.

The Show

Triple-A

Double-A

Advanced-A

Single-A

Rookie

Independent Leagues

A random assortment of stuff

A handful of blogs by players and their better halves

Facebook, Twitter, YouTube

So, a hitter it is then. And this month’s pick is Terry Evans. A bit of history is in order for the tall right-fielder from Dublin, GA. Evans was originally drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 47th round (No. 1,409 overall) in 2001. Midseason of 2006, the Angels acquired Evans in exchange for Jeff Weaver, who went on to win a World Series ring with the Redbirds that year. Jewelry aside, hindsight omniscience makes the Angels front office look pretty smart. (Love this quote from the former Angels G.M.) Evans was immediately assigned to the Arkansas Travelers, where he proceeded to tear up the Texas League—in the box and on the basepaths—finishing the season by becoming only the 13th ballplayer in minor league history to join the 30-30 club. Post-season, in the Arizona Fall League, Evans slugged and ran his way onto the AFL Rising Stars Showcase team. Certainly he’d made the right impression with the new organization, and was added to the 40-man roster in November.

In 2007, Evans was promoted to Triple-A Salt Lake and proceeded to produce more of the same. It didn’t take long for the front office to notice his steady progress. Michael Terry Evans was called up to the big leagues in early June as a fill-in for the injured Garrett Anderson, providing a rather memorable Father’s Day present for Michael, Sr. During his first MLB start, the younger Evans got his first MLB hit, “a towering two-run homer over the left-field wall.”

Click here to watch the video clip

Evans stayed long enough to appear in eight MLB games, and was returned to Salt Lake just in time to be selected to the 2007 PCL All-Star Team.

The future looked bright in 2008.  Evans started the season with a .316 BA as part of the Amazing April in which the Bees made minor-league history with a win-loss record of 23-2.  Then came the fateful game against Fresno, April 26. Late in the game, Evans slid hard into 2B trying to break up a double play and tweaked his shoulder. He tried to keep playing, although it turned out he’d torn his labrum. Evans went on the DL and spent most of the season rehabbing in extended spring training, not to return to Salt Lake until nearly the close of the season.

Evans was still on the 40-man roster in 2009, although his playing time at spring training camp was limited while the Angels’ development staff took a long look at 25-year-old outfield prospect Chris Pettit, who likewise had missed a good part of his 2008 season, due to a broken foot. Assigned to Salt Lake for 2009, Evans struggled at the plate to begin the season. Thankfully, his other tools remained intact. Possessor of one of the best outfield eyes and arms in the PCL, Evans showed no lingering effects from last season’s injury. And he flashed speed, 12 for 13 in stolen bases thus far in the season.

Evans was hardly alone in his inability to solve the round-ball-hit-square puzzle. As the freezing nights of April warmed up into the promise of May, and with the usual leadoff hitters struggling, Manager Bobby Mitchell tried something new for the batting order. On May 14th, he wrote Evans in the #1 spot. It clicked, and Evans produced a phenomenal 25 hits in 57 at-bats, .439 BA during the “leadoff experiment,” which ended on May 26. Moved to 3rd in the batting order, Evans’ bat stayed hot through the rest of the month.

The last 10 days of May were nothing less than sweet, slugging heaven. On May 21st, facing former Bees Giancarlo Alvarado, the third pitch of the game was the charm and Evans launched a solo homer over the left field wall. May 23rd, Evans hit his eighth homerun of the season against rehabbing MLB pitcher Jason Schmidt in Albuquerque. The following evening, May 24th, he got dinger #9 for the season, his third in four days, and extended his hitting streak to 10 games. The next night, May 25th, homerun #10, fourth in five days, streak to 11 games. May 26th, one hit, streak to 12 games. May 27th, no homers, although Evans went 3-4, scored the only Bees runs and extended his streak to 13 games.

Evans went 0-4 on May 28th, ending the hitting streak at 13 games. On May 3oth, during game #1 of a double-header, Evans went 1-3, a triple, and stole a base, bringing his season total to 12 SB, second highest on the Bees and tied for eighth in the PCL. In the second game, Evans went 2-4; both hits were run-scoring, game-tying doubles that helped the Bees stay within striking distance of Reno for the dramatic walk-off grand slam by Adam Pavkovich. Summarizing the month of May: .330 BA, 27 R, 38 H, 11 2B, 2 3B, 7 HR, 20 RBI, 13 BB, 33 SO, 8 SB.

Still, it’s only June. And my fave outfielder gets tantalized a bit too often by those late-breaking, outside pitches. (I’d sure love to see his SO:BB ratio drop to something less than 2.) As the old saying goes, it’s a long season and anything can happen. Nonetheless, yours truly is hoping to for a break-through season for #24, B-R/T-R. Why? Well, per usual, this isn’t a story about mere numbers alone. How about those intangibles, an inner spark that catches my eye? Or my ear, as on a particular Easter Sunday. Need I say more? Didn’t think so …Your friend in baseball.

Terry Evans, Spring Training 2009

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.

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!

It’s been quite a year for the Angels’ farm system. All the affiliates, save Advanced-A Rancho Cucamonga, qualified for post-season playoff berths. In addition, all contributed ballplayers (and a couple managers) to the various All-Star/All-League Teams. Take a gander at this star-studded tally:

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The best and brightest achievement of the 2008 has to be Kevin Jepsen and Matt Brown being selected to play for Team USA Baseball and their winning of the Bronze Medal at the Beijing Olympics.

I’d like to take a moment to show a little extra love for Matt Brown, who’s had a season for the ages. In addition to the accolades noted above, there’s first cycle of the PCL season, PCL Batter of the Week and Angels Minor League Player of the Month. And my favorite corner infielder was a big part of the Bees’ record-setting, 23-and-2 April.

In Beijing, Team USA faced some truly odd IBAF rules—such as 10-run mercy forfeits, extra-inning tiebreakers and umpiring via translator. In the high-stakes, winner-takes-all tournament format, top prospects LaPorta and Fowler, and seasoned veterans Hessman and Gall didn’t fold exactly. But they didn’t live up to their highly publicized billing either.

Matt, on the other hand, put up offensive numbers that topped his teammates in several categories: .281 BA (4th highest), 32 AB (5th highest) and leading in RBI, SLG%, TB (tied) and BB. In short, he got dropped into the pressure-cooker and didn’t even singe an eyelash. Well, except maybe a few belonging to opposing pitchers.

Seeing Matt for the first time since Beijing, I noticed a new gleam in his eye. A glimpse, perhaps, of the coming-of-age for a promising young ballplayer. Ask any coach dedicated to developmental athletics; these are the moments we live for.

Remember to have fun up there in Anaheim, Brownie! Bye for now!

End of Part 1
Check back tomorrow for Part 2!

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