Tag Archives: Angels

04 Dec

rumor has it

Sifting through the many trade rumors that pile up this time of year, we come across at least one that might be worth keeping an eye on. It could have ramifications for a Mississippi college product, Alex Yarbrough, who is knocking on the big-league door. A writer for Sports on Earth predicts that the Los Angeles Angels will trade veteran second baseman Howie Kendrick to Washington for some young arms. Should that deal go down, it would open the door for former Ole Miss star Yarbrough to take the second base job with the Angels this spring. Yarbrough, 23, is rated the No. 9 prospect in the LA system. He isn’t on the 40-man roster because, as a 2012 draftee, he doesn’t have to be protected yet. True, he hasn’t played above Double-A, but plenty of players have jumped from that level to The Show. Yarbrough is a switch-hitter who batted .285 with five home runs, 77 RBIs, 66 runs and 38 doubles at Arkansas in 2014. He is a .295 career hitter in the minors. Defense is said to be his shortcoming — 10 errors, .982 fielding percentage this past season — but he was an All-SEC defensive player at Ole Miss, so he’s not exactly a liability in the field. The Kendrick-to-Washington trade might not happen this off-season. But Yarbrough appears close enough to being ready that the Angels may be forced to make some kind of move soon to clear a spot. P.S. The roster remake in Atlanta has seen the departure of several former (and well-regarded) Mississippi Braves, including Jason Heyward, Tommy La Stella, Jonny Venters and, possibly, Kris Medlen and Brandon Beachy. But, M-Braves fans will note, there are still 25 alums of the Double-A club on Atlanta’s 40-man roster, including recent additions Jose Peraza and Kyle Kubitza, intriguing prospects who could be in the lineup sometime in 2015.

01 Nov

familiar names

While perusing box scores from the various winter circuits, ran across a couple of names of note in the Puerto Rican (a.k.a. Robert Clemente) League: Angel Rosa and Ramon Castro. Rosa, an Alcorn State alumnus and Puerto Rico native, just finished his second season in the Los Angeles Angels’ system and looks to be making progress. The 6-foot-2, 185-pound shortstop hit .246 with seven home runs, 46 RBIs, 23 doubles and 15 steals in the Class A Midwest League, then batted .348 in 28 games in the high-A California League. Rosa doesn’t show up on the prospect charts, but he certainly is worth keeping an eye on. Castro is on the other side of the hill. The former Jackson Generals catcher, a first-round pick by Houston in 1994, is 38 years old and hasn’t been in an MLB game since 2011. But he is playing winter ball in his home country, showing an admirable love for the game. P.S. The Arizona Fall League’s Fall Stars Game will air tonight at 7 on MLB Network. Daniel Castro, a 2014 Mississippi Braves star, is in the starting lineup for the West, and ex-Mississippi State standout Hunter Renfroe (San Diego Padres) will come off the West’s bench.

12 Aug

whatever happened to …

Stewart Cliburn, the former Delta State standout and ex-big league reliever, is now in his 13th season — sixth straight — as the pitching coach at New Britain, Minnesota’s Double-A affiliate. He also did a stint in Triple-A. Cliburn, drafted in the fourth round in 1977 by Pittsburgh, toiled in the minors for seven years before getting to the majors with the California Angels in 1984. In ’85, he had a truly great year: 9-3, six saves and a 2.09 ERA in 44 games (99 innings), all out of the bullpen. Arm problems derailed his career thereafter, and he was done as a player by 1990. For his MLB career, Jackson native and Forest Hill High alum Cliburn posted a 3.11 ERA in 85 games. Twin brother Stan, a catcher, also played in the big leagues and was in the Angels’ system for a time. But the two never realized their childhood dream of being battery mates in The Show. P.S. Among his other talents, McComb native Jarrod Dyson (see previous post) also does a pretty nice backflip. Check the highlights of Kansas City’s win on Monday. … Ole Miss product Alex Presley, on the disabled list (oblique) since July 8, is slated to start a rehab assignment today and could be back with Houston soon. Presley, in his first season with the Astros, is batting .252 with five homers and 13 RBIs.

17 Jul

making the jump

The Double-A hurdle, which has tripped up many a fine player, has not been a problem for Alex Yarbrough. The former Ole Miss standout, a 6-foot, 195-pound switch-hitting second baseman, is batting .288 with five home runs, 54 RBIs, 32 doubles and 45 runs in 94 games at Arkansas in the Los Angeles Angels system. (Yarbrough’s manager is former Mississippi Braves skipper Phillip Wellman.) Yarbrough, an All-American at UM, was a fourth-round pick in 2012. He established himself as a legit prospect in the high Class A California League in 2013, when he hit .313 with 11 homers and 80 RBIs. If Yarbrough has a problem, it’s that there is another second base prospect — Taylor Lindsey — ahead of him in the pipeline at Triple-A Salt Lake. And the second baseman in the big leagues is Howie Kendrick, who is 31 and having a solid season. But if Yarbrough keeps putting up numbers, a door will open somewhere. … Also in the Angels system now is catcher Wade Wass, the former Meridian Community College slugger who recently signed out of the Cape Cod League (see previous post). Wass, who was a redshirt junior at Alabama in 2014, is 1-for-12 in four games at rookie-level Orem in the Pioneer League.

03 Jun

oldie but goodie

Maybe Bobby Abreu spent last year looking for the fountain of youth. Maybe he found it. The former Jackson Generals star — from way back in 1994 — is batting .315 for the New York Mets at the age of 40. Abreu, the only ex-Gen still playing affiliated ball, is hitting .400 over his last 10 games and went 5-for-13 in a five-game series at Philadelphia, helping the surging Mets win four times. In that series, the Venezuela native contributed four runs, three RBIs, two walks and a stolen base, No. 400 of his career. There is talk that Abreu might see some time in the leadoff spot while Juan Lagares is out with an injury. Abreu’s outstanding MLB career (.292 average, 2,400-plus hits) appeared to be over after he batted just .242 in 100 games with the Los Angeles Angels and Dodgers in 2012. He did not play in 2013. The Phillies gave him a look in spring training this year but he didn’t stick. Then the Mets signed him to a minor league deal and called him up in late April. Abreu’s impact surely has been everything, if not more, than they could have expected. P.S. Louis Coleman, the Greenwood native and former Pillow Academy star, was sent down by Kansas City lugging a 6.27 ERA, more than double his career average. Coleman posted a 0.61 in 27 games for the Royals in 2013. … San Diego signed former Ole Miss star Cody Overbeck (out of the independent Atlantic League) and assigned him to Double-A San Antonio. … Former Hattiesburg High star and onetime big leaguer Robert Carson is back in A-ball with Rancho Cucamonga in the Dodgers’ system. A waiver claim by the Angels (from the Mets) in the off-season, the big left-hander posted a 10.34 ERA in Triple-A, was released last month and signed a minor league deal with the Dodgers. He pitched for the Quakes on Sunday and gave up a home run in his one inning.

03 Feb

worth watching

Alex Yarbrough, the former Ole Miss infielder, is a player worth keeping tabs on in the minors this season. Yarbrough, 22, a switch-hitting second baseman, is a consensus top 10 prospect in the Los Angeles Angels system and received a non-roster invitation to their big league camp. A fourth-round pick out of UM in 2012, he batted .313 with 11 homers, 80 RBIs, 77 runs and 14 steals at Class A Inland Empire in the California League in 2013. Yarbrough’s defense reportedly still needs work. He is expected to spend 2014 at Double-A Arkansas, where his manager will be Phillip Wellman, the former Mississippi Braves skipper.