Wednesday, May 18, 2005 |
Angels Minor League Notes
- Angels Lose Some Depth At Catcher, Trade Gregorio: Losing a little depth behind the dish, the Angels traded catcher Tom Gregorio to the A's for a PTBNL. The A's lost long-time catcher Mike Rose (.281/.407/.401 in 349 AB last year with the AAA Sacramento River Cats) to minor league free agency last year; Paul DePodesta signed him to the Dodgers organization. Gregorio hit .232/.280/.396 with Salt Lake in 207 at bats.
- And You Thought Brandon Wood Was Hot: FutureAngels points us to this Steve Bisheff column in the Register about young Howie Kendrick, Brandon Wood's keystone-mate at Rancho Cucamonga. Words that sing to the ears of Angels fans tiring of plate-discipline-challenged players that keep coming up through the system:
None of the big-league scouts who regularly tours Florida knew anything about him. But they found out quickly. Kendrick hit .462 for Rick, and it wasn't long before the gentlemen with the clipboards and stopwatches were coming around.
Baseball America ranked Kendrick the eighth best prospect in the Angels system; their 2005 Prospect Handbook correctly predicted that "[he] could do a lot of damage at high Class A Rancho Cucamonga".Hitting is something that always has come naturally to Kendrick.
"Ever since I was a kid, I've always been able to hit," he said. "I never even thought about it. I just did it."
Now, as he tries to slowly move up through the Angels' talent-rich system, he is thinking more.
"I feel I've become a smarter hitter over the years," said Kendrick, who bats right-handed. "Sometimes you get in slumps and start swinging at bad pitches, but I'm learning to lay off those."
The Angels see a kid not far out of his teens who is already an ardent student of hitting.
"He really understands the strike zone, really understands how to hit," said Tony Reagins, the team's director of player development. "He's selective at the plate, and when he gets his pitch, he doesn't miss. He has a real good eye."
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