Top 3 Angels Mission Impossible Predictions for 2017

[halomatt]

1.  Albert is healed and hits 330/360/550 for the year. 

2.  Garrett Richards makes 20-25 starts and is the Angels' staff ace.

3.  AL Champs!!!!!!

[Angelsjunky]

@DochaloYou had me at "perpetual wood."

 

[southpaw]

1.  This team is healthy all year.

2. The Angels sign a top 5 international prospect in July and their farm system turns around

3. The Angels contend all year. 

[Tank]

1. the run-on-contact play from third base actually results in a run being scored this year.

2. the angels amazing base-running skills only result in 70 or 80 outs on the base paths instead of the normal 400 we've grown accustomed to seeing each year.

3. buttercup is finally replaced . . . with a song from one direction.

[Second Base]

5 hours ago, Dochalo said:

1.  Jefry Marte and Sherman Johnson end up in a platoon at 3b after Escobar struggles.  Sherm will be on everyone's radar early with a strong spring where he deserves to make the team over pennington.  He gets called up early in the year when Cliff gets a hammy.  

2.  Our bullpen comes out of nowhere to be one of the best in baseball.  Campos shakes off injury and becomes a stud late innings guy with his mid to high nineties fastball and good off speed stuff.  Middleton comes up and dominates.  Meyer works out of the pen and does a great job.  Eppler is lauded for his clean peanut skills and I eat a ton of crow. 

3.  Banuelos makes 25 starts for us and gets rookie of the year consideration falling just short.  

honorable mention - Jahmai Jones continues his huge breakout and hits 20 bombs and steals 40 bags becoming a top 20 prospect in all of baseball by the end of the 2017 season and ends up in AA. In addition, Chris Rodriguez breaks out huge and he, Thaiss, Jones, and our top 10 pick all end up in the top 100.  Scotty sports perpetual wood the entire year as our farm system becomes solid middle of the pack by seasons end.    

 

To be fair, I've had a perpetual wood even when our farm was dead last. I think it's possible we have 5 Top 100 prospects by the end of next year.

Farm systems can turn around in 2-3 years, easy. Especially if you have first round picks, draft upside high school players and are willing to spend internationally. Similarly, a farm system can become bare in just 2-3 years by giving up first round picks, only drafting low upside collegiate pitchers and not spending anything internationally save for one extremely ill advised signing on a no name Cuban.

[Docwaukee]

46 minutes ago, Scotty@AW said:

To be fair, I've had a perpetual wood even when our farm was dead last. I think it's possible we have 5 Top 100 prospects by the end of next year.

Farm systems can turn around in 2-3 years, easy. Especially if you have first round picks, draft upside high school players and are willing to spend internationally. Similarly, a farm system can become bare in just 2-3 years by giving up first round picks, only drafting low upside collegiate pitchers and not spending anything internationally save for one extremely ill advised signing on a no name Cuban.

that seems oddly familiar.  

anyway, while a farm system can turn around in 2-3 years in terms of depth and talent it usually take 4-5 before you start seeing the fruits of that labor unless you sell off the bulk of your major league club for upper level talent.  We went into full rebuild mode, but not in the sense that people think.  We started from scratch with the minor league system.  A bunch of the talent we went after in last years draft are going to help in 2-3 years.  But we went for pure talent.  Not proximity to the majors.  

You can fill your minor league rosters with high floor guys in rounds in the late slot rounds and beyond.  Rounds 1-5 or so should be guys who are as high upside as possible.  At least that's my opinion.  

 

[SlappyUtilityMIF]

1. Danny Espinosa becomes an All Star after being closer to his young family and enjoying the home cooking....   25HR 89RBI 27SB  270/325/801 and gets his first AL GG and then re-signs a long term deal keeping our up the middle defense on the books for 5 more years.

2. Huston Street trips down the dugout steps in Mid April straining his Hamstring and is out for 3 months. BEDROCK steps in and saves 35 games.

3. Ben Revere goes off in the AL and gets back to his .300 #'s while Maybin also steps up giving us the LF Platoon we've wanted for 3 years!

***Extra Credit***

4. Halos are buyers at the Deadline and acquire LBST Alum Longo from the Rays and former draft pick Matt Harvey from the Mets.

5. Halos battle the Indians in the AL Championship and win Game 7 on the Road in the 13th inning. On YES a Squeeze bunt.....

6. Halos Win their 2nd World Series beating the Dodgers in 7 games as Roberts over uses both Kershaw and Jansen and their arms fall off as he pitches them both in Games 5 6 and 7.....

[Hubs]

You want really difficult predictions, correct?

1. Danny Espinosa strikes out less than 100 times, has a .290 BA.

2. Calhoun breaks out, Jimmy Edmonds style : .307 BA, .390 OBP, .510 SLG. (that's going to be worth 5-7 WAR in right field).

3. Cron hits 50 HR to lead the team. 

4. Richards has a sub 2 ERA with 20 wins.

5. Skaggs has a sub 3 ERA with 18 wins.

6. Bedrosian has a sub 1.5 ERA with 45 holds.

 

[ELEVEN]

Skaggs leads the rotation with 15 wins.

Pujols falls off a cliff production wise.

Simmons out produces Pujols offensively.