Saturday, February 18, 2017

Anaheim Angels Season 37 preview


Season 36: 90-72, lost to Minnesota in Round 1
GM: kennedrj




Outlook
Not many of my
 predictions work out, but this one did.  Here's what we said about the Angels' Season 35:

"Crazy...one of the unluckiest seasons ever (in terms of everybody having a bad year at the same time). Comeback time this year."

And here's GM kennedrj's assessment of the upcoming campaign:


"The Angels bounced back last season to take the AL West division for the 14th time in 19 seasons. They will continue this season to try to contend while replacing older players with a significant youth movement. 

'Eleven players on the 25 man roster have one year or less of ML experience, led by future all-stars David Saitou (Season 32 IFA) and Michael Satou (Season 35 IFA). Young pitchers Santos Chavez (14-14, 4.27 ERA as a rookie), Erasmo Miranda (13-6, 3.61 ERA) and Carlos Valdez (Season 33 IFA) are being counted on to contribute significant innings for the rotation.

'Looking for a bridge at 3rd base until No. 5 pick Mark King is ready to take over, the Angels were thrilled to pick up all-star 3rd baseman Hal Hernandez for a thrifty $6.5M for two years. On the somewhat disappointing side, the Halos were hoping to find a quality power bat for LF. After losing out on a couple of higher profile FA, they settled on a one-year deal for aging Orlando James. Hoping that he has one more season of production in his system."

-- kennedrj

Just a little historical perspective as Anaheim transitions from it's latest batch of successful vets to a new generation. This team has one of the best (maybe THE best) long-term record in Major Leagues.  In 19 seasons under kennedrj, the Angels have:

  • made the playoffs 16 times
  • won 90+ games 13 times
  • had 1 losing season
  • Won a World Championship in Season 24
Something tells me they'll make it through the current transition just fine.

No comments: