Angels Player Power Rankings – Week 10

Some roster turnover created some havoc in the middle of the rankings this week, but fret not, the top of the rankings went largely unchanged as they likely will for the next ten years if Mike Trout and Mark Trumbo keep up their respective levels of performance.

As always, the rankings are based on a player’s overall season performance with a weight on recent performance.

RANK	PLAYER	CHANGE	COMMENTS
1		+1 Last Week: 2	Mike Trout – Trout just had an incredible week, a week that would be an incredible month for most players. He also had the foresight to act like he might be injured when he crashed into the wall on Sunday lest somebody start to suspect that he is actually a cyborg.
2		–1 Last Week: 1	Mark Trumbo – He recovered nicely from his 4-strikeout performance by having his first ever two-homer game… and then did it again to close out the week. I’m starting to think this kid might be pretty good.
3		— 0 Last Week: 3	C.J. Wilson – Even though he was only just voted “most overrated” pitcher, we are already approaching the point where he is so overrated that he might be underrated.
4		+2 Last Week: 6	Albert Pujols – Even though he has been on fire during the Angels current road-winning streak, his road OPS is still under .700 for the season.
5		-1 Last Week: 4	Ernesto Frieri – Frieri gave up another hit. Uh oh, I think he might be in a slump, you guys.
6		-1 Last Week: 5	Scott Downs – Scott Downs gave up a run! Alert the media!!! Oh, right, the media has consistently failed to notice how spectacular Downs has been the last several seasons. Maybe we should just alert them to that.
7		+5 Last Week: 12	Torii Hunter – Hey, remember a month ago when I suggested Torii Hunter get moved into the two-hole? That was a pretty good idea, right? Not that I’m bragging or anything.
8		+1 Last Week: 9	Kendrys Morales – I hereby rescind that little 250-pound slap-hitter remark I made about Kendrys in this space last week. Umm, my bad.
9		-2 Last Week: 7	Dan Haren – It sure looks like Haren is still battling back issues. This does not make me feel warm and fuzzy about Jered Weaver when he returns from his own back problems.
10		+1 Last Week: 11	Howie Kendrick – Don’t be alarmed, but Howie Kendrick had multiple RBIs this week! Amazingly, the sky did not turn red and frogs and locusts did not start to rain from the sky. Don’t worry though, Kendrick still hasn’t registered in extra-base hit in over a month.
11		-1 Last Week: 10	Alberto Callaspo – It is exciting that his average and OBP are on the rise, but it is not so exciting that it is mid-June and he has five extra-base hits the entire season.
12		-4 Last Week: 8	Jerome Williams – Williams has fallen into a pattern of one bad start, followed by four very good starts. As a fifth starter or even a fourth starter, that is something the Angels can more than live with. Now, if only they could get Ervin Santana to follow suit.
13		— 0 Last Week: n/a	LaTroy Hawkins – The return of Hawkins stands to give the Angels one of the deepest back ends of the bullpen in the AL. No pressure or anything.
14		+10 Last Week: 24	Garrett Richards – Do you feel that, Ervin Santana? That’s Garrett Richards breathing down your neck.
15		+3 Last Week: 18	Jason Isringhausen – All Isringhausen does is pitch very well in games in which the Angels are either up by five our down by four. It’s a living.
16		-3 Last Week: 13	Peter Bourjos – I suspect we’ll be seeing Bourjos’ face on a milk carton before we see it in the Angels lineup again.
17		— 0 Last Week: 17	John Hester – He might have the emptiest .739 OPS I have ever seen.
18		+4 Last Week: 22	Hank Conger – It sure didn’t take long for Hank to find his way into Scioscia’s doghouse, did it? One ugly pitch block attempt and he doesn’t get a single start in the Rockies series.
19		-4 Last Week: 15	Jordan Walden – Throwing in the high 90’s must be great because Waldo has been mostly awful this season yet his ERA remains shockingly respectable.
20		-4 Last Week: 16	Erick Aybar – He keeps getting bumped up in the rankings by default, but with this neverending slump now extending into the field as well, I think it is high time he get buried in the rankings. Hopefully, Scioscia can follow suit and bury him on the bench.
21		-7 Last Week: 14	Ervin Santana – Ervin Santana is a murderer of fun and destroyer of large leads.
22		-2 Last Week: 20	Maicer Izturis – There is never a situation in which it is OK to have your OBP be 61 points higher than your slugging percentage.
23		-4 Last Week: 19	Hisanori Takahashi – I’m no Taka fan, but his making just one appearance in a series against Seattle and their almost entirely left-handed lineup was one of the more puzzling aspects of Mike Scioscia’s bullpen usage last week.
24		-3 Last Week: 21	Kole Calhoun – Yes, he is still on the roster. Thanks for asking.
25		— 0 Last Week: 25	David Carpenter – The Halos finally found a role for Carpenter, cleaning up after Bobby Cassevah’s mess.