2010 Los Angeles Angels Predictions
Written by Jack Jones
The Angels won the American League West division for the fifth time in six years last season, going 97-65. That led to manager Mike Scioscia winning his second A.L. Manager of the Year award, and he continues to get the job done even with new players. But key departures heading into this season could certainly take their toll, though it’s hard to ever bet against Scioscia. 11 players finished with at least 50 RBI last season as the Angels scored a franchise-record 883 runs. Kendry Morales was the biggest surprise with 34 HR and 108 RBI, and Bobby Abreu proved to be a huge pick-up in the offseason and he finished with 103 RBI. But this team loses John Lackey, Vlad Guerrero and Chone Figgins who have been three staples in L.A. MLB odds on this team show the Angles projected win total at 84.5.
Pitching:
Jered Weaver takes over the No. 1 role off a season in which he won 16 games with a 3.75 ERA. His pitching arsenal allows him to keep opposing hitters off balance. Joe Saunders went 17-7 with a 3.41 ERA in 2008 and 16-7 with a 4.60 in ‘09 for back-to-back productive years, though his ERA last season is certainly a concern. Ervin Santana spend a couple stints on the DL last season with a strained MCL and a strained forearm, and he needs to return to his ‘08 form in which he went 16-7 with a 3.49 ERA. Scott Kazmir was a big addition at the trade deadline last season and still has the stuff to be one of the better starters in the game after posting 3.48 and 3.49 ERA’s in ‘07 and ‘08, respectively. The Angels signed Joel Pineiro who resurrected his career in St. Louis last season, and he’ll likely get the No. 5 job. The bullpen is a bit erratic with Brian Fuentes, Fernando Rodney and Scot Shields all having high BB/9 rates. Fuentes did save 48 games last season for the Angels, but he also blew 7 of them. That’s why they signed Rodney from Detroit to try and shore up this bullpen.
Hitting:
The Angels have a power-hitter at catcher in Mike Napoli, who has posted back-to-back 20 HR seasons despite limited at-bats. 1B Kendry Morales finished 5th in AL MVP voting last season after his 34 HR and 108 RBI campaign in 2009. 2B Howie Kendrick had a huge second half and finished with a .291 average. 3B Brandon Wood finally gets his shot to earn a starting role after coming up through the farm system. He has big-power potential, though he needs to work on his footwork at 3B. SS Erick Aybar hit .312 last season and will resume his role there. The outfield is solid with Torii Hunter in center, Juan Rivera in left and Bobby Abreu in right. Rivera was also a pleasant surprise, hitting .287 with 25 HR. Hunter hit .299 with 22 HR and Abreu hit .293 with 103 RBI and 30 SB. Hideki Matsui will step in right away to fill Guerrero’s shoes in the DH role, hitting .274 with 28 HR and 90 RBI with the Yankees last season.
Jack’s Prediction: 1st in the AL West and OVER 84.5 Wins – It would be foolish to bet against this team knowing that they have simply owned this division over the last six years. But certainly the Mariners and Rangers are closing quickly, but Scioscia always gets the most out of his players and they have the guys that can help replace Figgins and Guerrero in the line-up. Lackey will certainly be missed, but there is still plenty of proven talent on this starting staff to get the job done. This division will go down to the wire, but I’ll put my money on Scioscia any day.
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