6-4-2 — an Angels/Dodgers double play blog: We Could Be Heroes: Tales From The Minors

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Sunday, June 19, 2005

We Could Be Heroes: Tales From The Minors

Jered Weaver will not start Monday for the Quakes, according to the Ventura County Star.
"At this moment, I don't have any information on when Weaver will make his first start," Quakes director of media relations Jason Anaforian wrote in an e-mail Friday afternoon. "We will announce that information on our Web site when there is something to announce."
Note there is a conflicting story in the Register quoting Bill Stoneman as saying Weaver will pitch, but only "an inning or two" on Monday.
Also in that Star story: The Angels have reached agreement with the following players:
```
Round  Pos.      Player
============================
  5    RHP  Thomas Mendoza
  6     OF  Jerome Moore
  9     CC  Robert Mosebach
 19    RHP  Anthony Sullivan*
 27     1B  Colby Overstreet
```
*incorrectly listed as John Sullivan in the Star article.
Also, the Angels will start negotiations with first and second round picks Trevor Bell and Ryan Mount this week after they graduate from high school.

The Dodgers have reached agreements with the following players:

Round  Pos.      Player
============================
  3     OF  Sergio Pedroza
  4     3B  Josh Bell*

*verbal agreement.

Travis Denker of Dodgers' Low-A affiliate Columbus hit three dingers in a record-tying 18-5 blowout of the Rome Braves. The Catfish hit eight home runs in the game, tying a Sally league record.
I just looked up and journeyman Corey Lee is having a nice little season with the Stingers, 5-2 in 12 starts, with a 2.90 ERA. Given the PCL's notorious hitter-friendliness, that's no small accomplishment. He was the winning pitcher in last night's 5-4 win over the Fresno Grizzlies.
Kendry Morales, stumbling out of the gate with a 2-19 record at AA Arkansas after tearing up the Cal league, could be promoted to the Angels if he heats up further at the AA level.
"He's a good player and you never say never," Stoneman said. "But we do prefer that our players make all the stops."
Thanks to FutureAngels for pointing out this Hagerstown Herald-Mail article about last year's fourteenth-round pick, Nick Adenhart. Adenhart fell in the draft because he needed Tommy John surgery and had committed to pitching for UNC after a rehab. Instead, the Angels signed him for a round-record (IIRC) $710,000 bonus. That was largely because Baseball America labeled him a first-round prospect if not for his injury.
On June 7, 2004, the Angels took a flier on Adenhart. They drafted him in the 14th round and approached the selection as if they were getting a second first-round selection. Los Angeles presented Adenhart with a well thought-out plan and a package, which included a signing bonus, which is reserved for top picks.
"I guess they were confident with the track record of the surgery and my character," Adenhart said. "I was surprised by a lot of the pre-draft talk, but they said what they had planned for me and put a serious offer out on the table.
"I was sitting around during the summer and wasn't sure what I wanted to do. I just wanted to go and have the surgery. But once they put the offer on the table..."
Adenhart now attends Arizona State, where he is studying and rehabbing from his Tommy John surgery. He recently threw a complete inning on ten pitches, and is extending his pitch count to about 30.
The Times has an article about Jacksonville starter Johnathan Broxton, who has been moved to the bullpen to give him some experience in that role. Broxton, 22, struck out 14 and walked none in his last two starts.