OK, I swear, I never intended for these to be bi-weekly, but well, here we are. Let’s just get right to the rankings before I procrastinate more and this post ends up being monthly.
As always, the rankings are based on a player’s overall season performance with a weight on recent performance.
| RANK | PLAYER | CHANGE | COMMENTS |
| 1 |  |
— 0 Last Week: 1 |
Jered Weaver – You throw a no-hitter, you get to be #1. That’s just a rule… and common sense |
| 2 |  |
 +1Last Week: 3 |
C.J. Wilson – Best free agent signing of the off-season. That should have been a more shocking statement, but, you know… |
| 3 |  |
+6 Last Week: 9 |
Torii Hunter – After struggling early in the season, Hunter used the last two weeks to become arguably the team’s best hitter, which is both a credit to him and an insult to the rest of the roster. |
| 4 |  |
+2 Last Week: 6 |
Mark Trumbo – You know, I think his much improved plate discipline might be for real. If it is, the league should be terrified. |
| 5 |  |
— 0 Last Week: 5 |
Dan Haren – It was just unfair for him to have to be the follow-up act behind the Williams shutout and Weaver no-hitter, but at least the offense or defense didn’t help him out. |
| 6 |  |
 -4Last Week: 2 |
Albert Pujols – He finally hit that homer, but his OPS is still giving me Mathis flashbacks. Even I can’t justify him being ranked higher than this and I have been one of Pujols’ most ardent supporters. |
| 7 |  |
-3 Last Week: 4 |
Howie Kendrick – The most amazing accomplishment of Howie’s last two weeks is not that he had seven hits and two homers in two games, but that he didn’t get benched immediately afterwards. |
| 8 |  |
+2 Last Week: 10 |
Scott Downs – Injured again? The Baseball Gods just don’t want the Halos to have a competent bullpen. |
| 9 |  |
N/A Last Week: n/a |
Mike Trout – His numbers aren’t great, but the Angels are 6-3 in games he has started. He is our Messiah. |
| 10 |  |
+1 Last Week: 11 |
Kendrys Morales – He’s been hot this week, but I’m still not convinced that he is anything more than a 250-pound slap-hitter. A very good slap hitter, but a slap hitter nonetheless. |
| 11 |  |
-3 Last Week: 8 |
Chris Iannetta – Not a great weak, but he scored major man points for finishing off Weaver’s no-hitter despite getting hit on the wrist by a pitch earlier in the game that was bad enough for him to have to sit out the next three games. |
| 12 |  |
+7 Last Week: 19 |
Jerome Williams – Jerome Williams is actually really good. Yeah, I know, it’s weird, huh? |
| 13 |  |
N/A Last Week: n/a |
Ernesto Frieri – You had me at “mid-nineties fastball with explosive late action.” |
| 14 |  |
+1 Last Week: 15 |
Ervin Santana – Five straight starts without the Angels scoring a single run for him. I don’t know what he did to piss off the batters, but I suggest he offer an apology. I bet one of those cookie bouquet things would do the trick. |
| 15 |  |
-2 Last Week: 13 |
Maicer Izturis – And he isn’t the starting shortstop now… why? |
| 16 |  |
+1 Last Week: 17 |
LaTroy Hawkins – Hmmmm… maybe having a bullpen where all the best relievers are brittle, card-carrying AARP members isn’t the best idea after all. |
| 17 |  |
-10 Last Week: 7 |
Erick Aybar – How the hell did I ever have him ranked as high as #7? And how the hell did Scioscia ever bat him leadoff? |
| 18 |  |
-2 Last Week: 16 |
Vernon Wells – Do us all a favor and either get good again just go in the tank completely. This mostly being bad with bi-weekly flashes of quality play is driving me insane. |
| 19 |  |
-5 Last Week: 14 |
Peter Bourjos – I don’t care if he is hitting .180 and has two hits in his last 23 at-bats, FREE PETER BOURJOS!!! It is fun to want to free people!!!!!!!!!! |
| 20 |  |
+4 Last Week: 24 |
David Carpenter – I remain mildly amazed that the Halos wisely demoted Kevin Jepsen and not the quietly effective Carpenter. Hooray for common sense! |
| 21 |  |
-9 Last Week: 12 |
Jordan Walden – Well, don’t I look silly for supporting him so much these last few months. Let’s just pretend that never happened. |
| 22 |  |
-4 Last Week: 18 |
Alberto Callaspo – Why is it he can keep getting starts despite a horrendous start to the season and Peter Bourjos can’t? The Scioscia works in strange and mysterious ways. |
| 23 |  |
-2 Last Week: 21 |
Bobby Wilson – He is a back-up catcher who played very back-up catchery these last two weeks. That’s all I got. |
| 24 |  |
-4 Last Week: 20 |
Jason Isringhausen – No way he is still on this team if Tony Reagins hadn’t left the Angel minor leagues devoid of anything resembling reliever depth. |
| 25 |  |
-2 Last Week: 23 |
Hisanori Takahashi – I almost forgot he was still on the team, this is a good thing. I have the feeling I won’t be able to say that after this next potentially Downs-free week. |
Biggest Riser: Williams, up seven spots
Biggest Dropper: Aybar, down ten spots
Dropped from rankings: Bobby Abreu (released, ha!), Kevin Jepsen (demoted, mercifully)