Ryan Ghan and Turk's Teeth team up to provide a post-draft, post-trade-deadline look at the lottery tickets and green shoots on the Angel's farm.
We'd love to bring you some Major League ready Garrett Richards replacements to start off this countdown to Numero Uno, but alas, it's not to be. The Halo's Heaven 2nd-Half Top Ten begins with two prospective keystone candidates for the Angels big club.
These are the two that are the heirs apparent to Howie Kendrick's crown, and the two that the front office must have some measure of confidence might be ready to succeed HK47 when he hits free agency after next year. It's fairly certain that neither of them are ready to take the reins now, as the recent acquisition of Gordon Beckham would seem to confirm, but either of them might find a place on the bench or see regular play at second base sometime in 2016, with #10 Alex Yarbrough probably closest to contributing.
Between these two, both of us are in agreement that the young Kody Eaves, currently at Class A Burlington, probably has the most pure upside, but we diverged fairly seriously on just where Alex Yarbrough should be ranked on the list. Turk had Yarbrough anywhere from #4 to 7 in the past month, and Ryan had him as low as #15. His current ranking at the end of our top ten reflects that variance of opinion.
9-10
(9) Kody Eaves
RG– Did anyone else notice that Eaves quietly led the system in total bases from mid-May to early July, before a slump allowed some of the corner-power types to surpass him? Compared to Midwest League peers – a much bigger pool – he's third in total bases, and second in doubles. Eaves' bat reminds me most of Jeremy Moore: he's a lefty free-swinger with a knack for hard contact to the opposite field, but comes with some plate discipline issues. Yes, Moore's career eventually stalled in the upper minors, but Eaves plays an up-the-middle position and is a year ahead of where Moore was in his development path, both significant causes for optimism. I loved how effortlessly he turned around fastballs, and his defense at second looked smooth when I saw him last week, especially in turning the double play. I got the impression that if he was just a bit bigger, a bit stronger, he might have double his current homerun totals. He's a high-ceiling guy who, with a relatively modest jump in his walk rate, could top the system next year.
TT– Eaves was a prep bat from Texas who was drafted in part due to his power upside. He was demonstrating that power potential in spades over the months of May and June, with his SLG surging to .488 in a Midwest League not known as an offensive league. He's cooled off under the rigors of his first full season, but the promise is still there for more at higher levels, and it wouldn't be overly optimistic to expect 15-20 HRs from him when he hits the Cal League. He played shortstop in high school, and scouting reports on his defense at second have been generally positive, though the 27 errors in 118 games this season give some pause. As do his (cough) 128 strikeouts thusfar. He's still one of the 20 youngest players in his league, so he has time to polish his game, and it's the combination of speed and power that tantalizes and sets him apart from his more mature counterpart in AA.
(10) Alex Yarbrough
RG– I know that many folks believe in Yarbrough's hit tool enough to project him as Kendrick's replacement, but I have a tough time buying into that. He's a managers'-favorite type with good bat control and some gap pop, but he doesn't walk much, he's actually striking out quite a bit this year (22% k-rate), his base running isn't special, and advanced stats don't think much of his range at the keystone. Could he contribute above replacement level over a season? Sure. Could he be a consistently average major leaguer? He'd really, really have to hit to do that.
TT– On the other hand, he is really, really hitting in the Texas League, and has done so pretty much all season. He leads the league in hits, doubles and total bases – a year after leading the Cal League in hits, and tying for second in total bases. He's three doubles short of breaking the Travs' franchise record in two-base knocks, and if he maintains his stride, he'll be the first Trav to lead the league in hits since Erick Aybar accomplished the same feat. So we can say with some confidence that the hit tool has played in both kind and unkind park environments and leagues. But his defense is definitely a work-in-progress, with some unconventional challenges, even if the player development guys seem to be more bullish on his glove proving adequate than some of the advanced metrics indicate. But back to that hit tool! Alex Yarbrough plays baseball every day in a minor league stadium that suppresses offense more than almost any other stadium in professional baseball. Outside of that stadium, he's slashing a cool .328/.358/.458 in all other TL parks. It would be interesting to see what he could do in the Arizona Fall League come season's end.