OC Register: Former Angels 1st-round pick Sam Bachman could be on the fast track to the majors

[AngelsWin.com]

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Angels pitchers and catchers held their first official workout of spring training on Sunday.

No, not those pitchers and catchers.

Instead of Shohei Ohtani or Noah Syndergaard, Sam Bachman held court with reporters as the Most Prominent Angels Pitcher. With everyone on the 40-man roster locked out of camp, minor league camp is the only show in town.

Bachman, the Angels’ first-round pick in 2021, is the organization’s best prospect who isn’t on the 40-man roster. Left-hander Reid Detmers is generally considered the No. 1 overall prospect, but he is locked out because he made his big league debut last season.

Detmers shot to the big leagues barely a year after he was drafted, and many believe that Bachman is on a similar trajectory.

The 6-foot-1 right-hander touches 100 mph with his fastball and also has a wipeout slider, a combination that could make him useful right now as a major league reliever.

The missing ingredient is a changeup, which Bachman said he’s been developing over the winter.

“It’s light years away from what it was,” he said. “In college, it was very inconsistent. I threw it, but I didn’t feel the need to throw it as much. Getting to pro ball, these guys are different. It’s definitely improved a lot.”

Bachman, 22, continued throwing after just a short break last fall, and he’s been working out at the Angels complex for most of the winter.

Left-hander Ky Bush, another of the pitchers the Angels drafted last July, has been Bachman’s catch partner, so he’s been able to see first-hand the development of his changeup.

“It’s a very good pitch,” Bush said. “It plays really well off his fastball. He’ll throw a couple that dive super late. I’m like ‘Dude, that looked good. Throw that one every time.’”

The Angels have also worked with Bachman over the winter to improve his endurance so he can pitch effectively through the number of pitches required to be a starter. In his first summer of professional baseball, after a full college season, Bachman pitched just 14-1/3 innings in five games. He had a 3.77 ERA, with 15 strikeouts and four walks.

With a full winter to prepare, Bachman said he believes he can get up to full outings this season.

“It all starts now, building up that volume,” he said.

Angels director of player development Joey Prebynski said he’s been impressed with what Bachman has done so far.

“He’s put in a tremendous amount of work over the winter,” Prebynski said. “His bullpens look really good the last couple of weeks. We’re excited with where Sam’s at, and where he’s going to continue to go.”

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NOTES

The first official full-squad workouts of minor league camp will be on March 11, and they will begin playing minor league exhibition games on March 17. The Angels are holding minor league camp in Scottsdale, at a facility the San Francisco Giants used to use, because of renovations ongoing at the team’s normal complex in Tempe…

The Angels, like most teams, have closed minor league workouts to the public, which includes opposing scouts. Because the Rule 5 draft still could happen sometime after the lockout ends, teams are reluctant to allow anyone to get further looks at the players who could be selected…

Right-hander Gerardo Reyes, who is a year removed from Tommy John surgery, is in minor league camp and throwing to hitters. Prebynski said he is expected to be ready to go by the start of the minor league season. The Angels acquired Reyes from the Padres in the Jason Castro deal in 2020, and he was a candidate to break camp in the bullpen in 2021, before he got hurt.

View the full article

[Angels 1961]

28 minutes ago, AngelsWin.com said:

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Angels pitchers and catchers held their first official workout of spring training on Sunday.

No, not those pitchers and catchers.

Instead of Shohei Ohtani or Noah Syndergaard, Sam Bachman held court with reporters as the Most Prominent Angels Pitcher. With everyone on the 40-man roster locked out of camp, minor league camp is the only show in town.

Bachman, the Angels’ first-round pick in 2021, is the organization’s best prospect who isn’t on the 40-man roster. Left-hander Reid Detmers is generally considered the No. 1 overall prospect, but he is locked out because he made his big league debut last season.

Detmers shot to the big leagues barely a year after he was drafted, and many believe that Bachman is on a similar trajectory.

The 6-foot-1 right-hander touches 100 mph with his fastball and also has a wipeout slider, a combination that could make him useful right now as a major league reliever.

The missing ingredient is a changeup, which Bachman said he’s been developing over the winter.

“It’s light years away from what it was,” he said. “In college, it was very inconsistent. I threw it, but I didn’t feel the need to throw it as much. Getting to pro ball, these guys are different. It’s definitely improved a lot.”

Bachman, 22, continued throwing after just a short break last fall, and he’s been working out at the Angels complex for most of the winter.

Left-hander Ky Bush, another of the pitchers the Angels drafted last July, has been Bachman’s catch partner, so he’s been able to see first-hand the development of his changeup.

“It’s a very good pitch,” Bush said. “It plays really well off his fastball. He’ll throw a couple that dive super late. I’m like ‘Dude, that looked good. Throw that one every time.’”

The Angels have also worked with Bachman over the winter to improve his endurance so he can pitch effectively through the number of pitches required to be a starter. In his first summer of professional baseball, after a full college season, Bachman pitched just 14-1/3 innings in five games. He had a 3.77 ERA, with 15 strikeouts and four walks.

With a full winter to prepare, Bachman said he believes he can get up to full outings this season.

“It all starts now, building up that volume,” he said.

Angels director of player development Joey Prebynski said he’s been impressed with what Bachman has done so far.

“He’s put in a tremendous amount of work over the winter,” Prebynski said. “His bullpens look really good the last couple of weeks. We’re excited with where Sam’s at, and where he’s going to continue to go.”

 

Related Articles

• Alexander: The State of SoCal Sports, 2022
• MLB, union meet for 90 minutes, discuss next step in talks
• How Shohei Ohtani’s Angels contract might be affected by the MLB lockout
• Alexander: A baseball labor agreement? We should have known better
• MLB cancels opening day, sides fail to reach lockout deal

NOTES

The first official full-squad workouts of minor league camp will be on March 11, and they will begin playing minor league exhibition games on March 17. The Angels are holding minor league camp in Scottsdale, at a facility the San Francisco Giants used to use, because of renovations ongoing at the team’s normal complex in Tempe…

The Angels, like most teams, have closed minor league workouts to the public, which includes opposing scouts. Because the Rule 5 draft still could happen sometime after the lockout ends, teams are reluctant to allow anyone to get further looks at the players who could be selected…

Right-hander Gerardo Reyes, who is a year removed from Tommy John surgery, is in minor league camp and throwing to hitters. Prebynski said he is expected to be ready to go by the start of the minor league season. The Angels acquired Reyes from the Padres in the Jason Castro deal in 2020, and he was a candidate to break camp in the bullpen in 2021, before he got hurt.

View the full article

What is this baseball in Russia, closed workouts to the public. 

[Second Base]

Forgot about Gerardo Reyes. Promising stuff. Hopefully he's making a full recovery. 

[T.G.]

Obligatory...

 

 

[Dtwncbad]

17 hours ago, Angels 1961 said:

What is this baseball in Russia, closed workouts to the public. 

There you go again being the overtly greedy one.  They owe you access and I am sure you expect it for free or stupid cheap.

[Angels 1961]

4 hours ago, Dtwncbad said:

There you go again being the overtly greedy one.  They owe you access and I am sure you expect it for free or stupid cheap.

Like to take grandson to watch workouts. What did Alan Iverson say It's practice man. Maybe just take him to Newport harbor so he can see Moreno's yacht. You can own a yacht if you do not pay minor league players during spring training.