10) Roberto Lopez, 10/1/85 - 1B/OF/C, High A, AA
.282/.357/.439 with 12 HR. +12 bat, +6 glove, 3.06 WAR
Lopez' final numbers were surprisingly good given the lackluster .239/.324/.370 line he managed in 325 double A plate appearances. Due to his tough home park, that batting line translated to -4 runs below average (97 OPS+), which is a tad disappointing for a bat-first prospect. He was much more impressive in the Cal League, where he opened the season with a .346/.408/.544 line (+16 bat). He also flashed a +5.7 glove in right field, though the small sample size that luck played a role in some or all of those contributions. Beginning in instructional league last year, the Angels have been teaching him to catch, and he spent a total of 35 games behind the dish in 2010. His passed ball and error numbers reflected his inexperience, though he did catch a surprisingly good 26% of opposing basestealers, which is just a hair below average. It will be interesting to see how aggressive the Angels are about developing him as a catcher in 2011, when he will likely remain in Arkansas and hit near the middle of the order.
9) Garrett Richards, 5/27/88 - RHSP, Single A, High A
12 wins, 5 losses. 143 IP, 130 hits, 3.52 ERA, 149 K/43 BB. +11 runs saved, 3.09 WAR
Richards handled his transition to High A well, even improving his K/BB ratio at the tougher level to an impressive 4.5 over his final seven starts of the season, though the hits fell a little more frequently behind him. All in all, his professional career thus far has been a success given the volatility of his college track record, and while his stock isn't quite as high now as it was following his sparkling pro debut, when pundits speculated that he would jump all the way to AA to begin 2010, he's undoubtedly one of the Angels' better prospects. I still worry that he's too hittable, but consensus rates the quality of his stuff quite highly. By now you are probably familiar with his CV: a lively fastball that sits in the low to mid 90's, a sharp slider, a solid curveball, and a surprisingly good change-up, giving him the full four pitch arsenal. My favorite Richards moment of the season actually came in spring training, when he blew away Ken Griffey Jr. with a 97 mph fastball at the letters. 2011 is going to be a huge year for Richards, as he will have to overcome his consistency issues against upper minors competition. Look for him in Arkansas come April.
0 recs | 12 comments
How much trade value does Richards hold?
can he be a centerpiece prospect for a much needed thirdbaseman?
angelsownredsux - November 3, 2010
I would think so, but I don't think the Angels should go that route.
We already gave up a handful of pitching prospects for Kazmir, Callaspo and Haren. I don’t think the team can really afford to trade another one.
~MMP~ - November 3, 2010
The Angels need to plan for the future....
Sure our pitching staff is fantastic right now. But give it a couple of years. Kazmir and Pineiro are free agents after this next season. Weaver and Santana are free agents the season after that. Haren is the only pitcher we have for at least 3 more years. And who do we have to replace them with? Bell, Reckling, Chatwood, Richards, Martinez? Bell’s probably going to top out as a swing man. Reckling’s no sure thing, he still needs to beat AAA. Chatwood’s looking good but he’s still at least 2 years away. Richards is in the same boat. Martinez may end being a reliever.
At a minimum we’re going to resign 2 out of the 5 we have right now, probably 3 out of 5, which means at least 2, possibly 3 of our minor league pitchers will need to end up in our rotation. We simply don’t have the depth to trade any more of them.
Halowood - November 3, 2010
And this post still being some what bullish on Chatwood and Martinez
On the flip side, with their control issues who knows how they could turn out (Reckling should be in this group as well) and you could easily see the three of them never getting past AA or AAA
Plus with Richards, even if he doesn’t pan out because he’s too hittable or whatever as a starter, there’s always the pen option (seems like a waste, but you can’t have too many 95+ arms in the pen) where only seeing the hitters once in the game could really help him out
HaloFanInDC - November 3, 2010
Richards
another Eddie Bane gamble
Rev Halofan - November 3, 2010
How many pitchers can you name have four plus offerings?
Is that rely a gamble, drafting a college pitcher with better “stuff” than just about any major league pitcher? If it is, that’s a gamble I make every time.
Halowood - November 3, 2010
+1
Admittedly the stats didn’t match the stuff, but when you have the opportunity for a top of the rotation ace that late in the sandwich round, you take it pretty much every time
HaloFanInDC - November 3, 2010
Have you soured on bane? Did you ever like him?
hauldog - November 7, 2010
Not sure if many of you know this but Lopez is definitely high up on my prospect list...
If he develops and stays at catcher, we hit the lottery. If he doesn’t, we have a better version of Quinlan. Win-Win in my book.
Halowood - November 3, 2010
A 25 year-old in AA
That might make it to the major league club in 2013 or 2014 when he’s pushing 29 or 30 is really “high up” on the prospect list?
mustard_man - November 3, 2010
Exactly, shocked me too. But every time I watch him play, his swing is beautiful and he makes something happen.
Sure the exciting prospects are like Trout and Bourjos, guys that will be major leaguers by the time they’re 23. But even Kendry didn’t make it full time in the bigs until he was 26.
Halowood - November 3, 2010
If he converted to catcher he wouldn't have similar wear and tear
Just like position guys who switched to pitching mid-minor league career, they just don’t have the same type of mileage on their body, so Lopez at 29 or 30 isn’t as bad as your normal back up reaching the majors at that age
HaloFanInDC - November 3, 2010
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