Taylor’s Take: A Look Into the LA Angels Triple-A Affiliate

This past week the LA Angels Triple-A affiliate, the Salt Lake Bees, had many big happenings. Most noteworthy being C.J. Cron‘s first rehab assignment.

Since my last post about the LA Angels Triple-A Salt Lake Bees, a lot has happened. First off, Greg Mahle cleared waivers and officially joined the Bees. C.J. Cron began his rehab assignment, and promptly ended it as well. We also got to see the return of Nate Smith.

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The Bees in the month of May are 4-5. Four of those losses came from the Reno Aces, who swept the Bees in their four game series. In one of those games the Bees lost 3-22. The Bees aren’t in as good standing as they were in my last post. Yet, they are still first in the Pacific Coast League. They now only have a .5 game lead over the Albuquerque Isotopes though.

Cron’s Rehab Assignment

Most notably this past week for the Bees was C.J. Cron joining the team for his rehab assignment. His first rehab assignment was this past Sunday when the Bees played the Omaha Storm Chasers. In his first at-bat Cron was hit by a pitch that made contact with his wrist. At this point he is day to day, and it is unknown when his next start will be. Chances are he will stay down in AAA and get an actual rehab assignment.

C.J. Cron had X-rays on his right wrist after he was hit by a pitch on rehab assignment. Results negative, the Angels say. He's day-to-day.
— Pedro Moura (@pedromoura) May 7, 2017

The Return of Nate Smith

This week the Bees also saw the return of Nate Smith. He had been on the disabled list since the beginning of the season due to a forearm strain. Towards the end of last year it was looking like Smith could possibly be one of the answers to the Angels pitching woes. His season ended early though due to elbow soreness. Nate joined the Bees and was on the mound May 9th against the Storm Chasers. Smith pitched a gem, but was pulled out a little early due to him just coming back. He ended with 5.2 innings pitched, 4 strike outs, 1 hit, and no runs allowed. If Alex Meyer doesn’t work out with the Angels, Nate Smith is no doubt going to be the next call up.

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Other Notable Mentions

Worth a mention is also Manny Banuelos. He was mentioned last week as a starter that could potentially get called up. Last Thursday though, Manny had a really rough outing. He ended with1.2 innings pitched, 6 hits, 5 walks, and 7 earned runs. After this outing his ERA ballooned to 6.75. Another Angel prospect, Drew Gagnon, came in and gave up 7 more earned runs in 1.1 innings. The Bees ended up losing the game 22-3.

Troy Scribner was able to notch two more wins, putting his total to four. His last game he pitched 5.0 innings, giving up 3 hits, walking three, striking out five, and giving up 2 earned runs.

Offensively the Bees didn’t start the month of May as well as the start of the season. Eric Young JR seems to be the most consistent though. So far he has been tearing the ball apart, and the month of May was no exception. So far Young has a .347 average, .408 OBP, .492 slugging percentage, and leads the team with 4 home runs.

Next: LA Angels showing interest in Doug Fister

What To Keep An Eye On

C.J. Cron will most likely get one more start in Triple-A. He is only day to day right now, so there is a chance he’ll be good to go by the weekend at the latest. Nate Smith’s second start is also something to definitely be aware of. It hasn’t been announced when his next start will be. But, as long as the rotation goes in order, we will most likely see him pitch Monday next week. If Smith’s second start is as good as his first, then his argument for a call up to the Angels will get much stronger.

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