We’ve got the latest rundown on the big happenings in the Angels farm system:
Salt Lake Bees (AAA):
There has been a whole lot of happening going on in Salt Lake; most noticeably Howie Kendrick and Sean Rodriguez have swapped places with S-Rod returning to the Bees. Rodriguez’s brief trip to the majors (where he collected ass splinters) probably cost him a shot at the PCL All-Star Game. However, the Bees were well represented by Brandon Wood, Terry Evans and Jeremy Hill. Evans and Wood are no surprise as selections, but Hill is a bit of a shock considering the close holds a 4.25 ERA and 1.58 WHIP, though he does have 17 saves. But not all is rosy in Salt Lake as Jose Arredondo has landed on the disabled list, interrupting his efforts to get back to form and rejoin the Angels. However, Rudy Seanez has been activated from the DL and is very slowly rounding into form. Whether it will be enough to earn him a spot with the big team remains to be seen. One major positive development in Salt Lake is the promotion of Trevor Bell, a former top pick of the Angels. After stagnating early in his professional career Bell has flown up the organization ladder this year and is killing it at Triple-A through four starts, including a complete game shutout in his Salt Lake debut. This is great news for the Angels as they had been close to writing off Bell as a legitimate prospect.
Welcome to Salt Lake, Trevor Bell.
Arkansas Travelers (AA):
The Travs boast a whopping six players on the Texas League All-Star team including Peter Bourjos (who will miss the game due to injury), Hank Conger (wasn’t he supposed to have power?), Nate Sutton, Trevor Reckling, Trevor Bell and Robert Mosebach. Meanwhile Mark Trumbo will participate in the Texas League Home Run Derby. Trumbo has been a disappointment this season with jsut .733 OPS, but he has been coming on lately with three homers in his last seven games. The aforementioned Bell is now in Triple-A which means the Travs needed to replace him and called up Tim Kiely who tossed a complete game in his debut but has since fallen on rockier times.
Trumbo continues to be a slow learner, but he is coming around.
Rancho Cucamonga Quakes (High A):
Alex Torres was the only member of the Quakes to make the California League All-Star Game. Torres has been one of the few bright spots of the RC pitching staff with 93 Ks in 88.2 innings. If there was one snub on the Quake roster it would be 3B Matthew Sweeney who has an .891 OPS but has been on the DL since early June.
Apparently this is the only good player in Rancho Cucamonga.
Cedar Rapids Kernels (Low A):
Ryan Chaffee continues to be the class of the Kernels and has been on fire the last several weeks, allowing just one earned run in each of his last three starts. Promising close Vladimir Veras has been sidelined since June 12th with injury. Veras has 8 saves and 28 Ks through 24 innings this season. Offense has not been the strong suit of the Kernels as catcher Beau Brooks is the lone Kernel hitter with an OPS over .800 right now.
Chaffee is still rolling… excellent.
Rookie Ball (Orem Owlz/AZL Angels/DSL Angels):
The Orem Owlz and AZL Angels both kicked off their seasons at the end of June. The youngster making impressions so far in Orem are LHP Tyler Kehrer and 2B Jean Segura. Kehrer the 48th pick in this year’s draft has already racked up 17 strikeouts in just 10.2 innings of work thus far while Segura has managed a .988 OPS thus far in Orem. Most eyes though are on the AZL Angels who currently boast the Angels two 2009 first-round pick outfielders Randal Grichuk and Mike Trout. Trout only just began playing and is only 3-for-5 but has also walked six times total in the two games he appeared in. Grichuk hasn’t gotten off to quite as fast a start and has yet to display his trademark homerun stroke, but does have five extra-base hits. Also in AZL is Ryan Aldridge who is working his way back into good health after a promising 2008 campaign was derailed by injury.
Is it too early to anoint Kerher to cult prospect status?