An outlook at the LA Angels non-roster OF’ers in Spring Training

Jo Adell

Jo Adell isn’t just the biggest name in the Angels farm system, he’s one of the biggest prospect names in baseball. Last year (2018) witnessed a breakthrough season in which Adell slashed a line of .290/.335/.543 with 20 HR’s and 32 doubles in 440 Plate Appearances. As a first round draft pick his stock was already pretty high coming into the organization and even then his stock still hit a meteoric rise after his 2018 season. Jo Adell showed off a lot of tools that brought comparisons to Mike Trouts development, not a straight skill-to-skill comparison but more of a parallel in developmental excellency.

One of the first things you notice about Adell is his elite-mentality; he doesn’t just play the game, he seeks to dominate it. With that you wouldn’t be surprised to see his rock-solid confidence reflect into the excellency of his game. One of his most valuable skills is his ability to adjust on every level. There are many prospects and even big leaguers who takes days, weeks, or even months to make adjustments. Jo Adell’s ability to fine-tune his approach on the fly sets him apart into the most elite class of athlete. It’s almost not an exaggeration to say that Jo Adell can make adjustments mid-pitch.

This Spring Training won’t be an opportunity for Adell to make the Opening Day roster, it’s simply a chance to get big league looks without exposing him to too much pressure. Essentially this is an experience for him to take back to the minors and use as a benchmark for where he needs to be when he is truly ready for the big leagues. He’ll be 19 this Spring Training, soon to turn 20, and unless he absolutely forces the managements hand with a legendary Spring Training we likely won’t see him make the roster.

However, we can look forward to the possibility of Adell joining the team in the latter half of 2019. From there we’ll be able to make more concrete trajectories towards his MLB outlook. For now let’s just sit back and watch one of the hottest prospects in all of baseball at work.

Brennon Lund

Brennon Lund appeared on Halo Hangouts Top 25 Prospects rundown at #21 and many other Top 25 lists as well. Lund is considered the absolute steal of the 2016 draft by the Angels; despite Lund being drafted in the 11th round the Angels fully considered him to be worthy of being taken in the top rounds. It’s not hard to see why after getting the chance to show off his skills in 3 MiLB seasons with the Angels.

Brennon Lund is an interesting case because while some see him as a top-tier 4th outfielder many see him as someone who can play himself into a starting lineup. Lund spent the entire 2018 season in Double A where he collected a .264/.343/.404 slash line in 453 Plate Appearances. On top of that he posted a perfect Fielding Percentage in RF and LF while also fielding at a .984 clip in CF. He can clearly play almost every day if not every day given his versatility, it’s only a question to how critical of a role he will command.

Lund can fit himself at the top of a lineup with his speed and line-drive ability. He did collect 21 total Stolen Bases with 5 Caught Stealing. He may not be a true top of the lineup guy, but depending on if he can limit his strikeouts by commanding the plate a bit more we could very well see him settle in as a #2 hitter. At the age of 23 he’s practically knocking on the big league door, however he does face reserve outfield competition from Peter Bourjos coming out of Spring Training. Lund will have a lot to prove this Spring Training, not just that he can perform well, but that he can provide relief at all three outfield spots suitably.

Given that he just finished the 2018 season at Double A the Angels will likely want to season him in Triple A for a bit before sending him to the bigs. However, a blowup Spring Training might convince the organization otherwise. Really, what you can expect is to see is Lund showing himself as a reliable depth option the Angels can pluck from the minors in case of emergency. The better-case scenario is that he shows the Angels that a little bit of Triple A seasoning will be all he needs before taking on the bigs and we see him come to the team in the second-half.

Peter Bourjos

Former Angels fan favorite Peter Bourjos is back in the fold once more after being picked up as a free agent on a minor league deal this past offseason. Bourjos was drafed in 2005 by the Angels and made his debut in 2010 where he showed off his dynamic play in the outfield and captured the fans hearts. 2011 saw him bring together his best season yet with a league high 11 triples and 12 HR’s (2nd highest is 6 in 2010) while posting a .271/.327/.438 slash line in 147 games. He may be a bit removed from that high-profile season, but he’s still the stalwart defender that he’s always been.

His 2017-2018 seasons saw Bourjos maintain a perfect Fielding Percentage across all three outfield positions in 565 defensive innings. Bourjos brings a known quantity to Spring Training, despite his lacking bat there is still a lot of value to be had from Bourjos. The last 5 seasons has seen his OBP dip below .300, but again, were not here for his bat.

This is where things get interesting, if guys like Brennon Lund are able to show just as much defensive value while bringing a bat to the table we might not see the Bourjos shoe-in for Opening Day that most of us are expecting. It’s not the longest shot in the world, but if Bourjos have a poor defensive Spring and Brennon Lund excels in performance we may end up seeing him slip into the roster spot Bourjos is heading towards.

There’s a lot riding on this Spring for Bourjos, but at the same time there’s relatively little pressure since he’s only being asked to do what he’s been doing his entire career, provide excellent defensive value. Bourjos has the highest possibility of making the Opening Day roster than any other non-roster outfielder invited to Spring Training.

Brandon Marsh

Hearing one of the Angels top prospects being compared to some of the leagues best hitters, such as Charlie Blackmon, adds a lot of excitement to their stock. With Angels Top 5 prospect Brandon Marsh set for a Spring Training debut we’re going to get a great look at the Angels near future. Brandon Marsh spent most of his time in Class A Advanced this season with 2018 being his first full season within the organization. His development might not be as quick as Adells, but that doesn’t change his outlook or talent set.

In 2018 Marsh hit .266/.359/.408, at the age of 20, in a season that saw him facing learning curves all throughout the year. Yes, that’s correct, Marsh still managed a solid slash line despite the struggles he faced in his debut season. In 579 Plate Appearances we saw Marsh collect 70 RBI’s on 27 doubles and 10 HR’s while flashing some legs with 85 Runs Scored and 14 Stolen bases (4 Caught Stealing).

This Spring Training will be big for Marsh. The chance to face big league level competition and bring it back down to the minors will be much more impactful for guys like Marsh who develop at a more realistic pace, though that doesn’t change the fact that he is an elite prospect nonetheless.  Marsh holds a bat capable of powering the ball to the wall and over it, and despite his 158 K’s last season there is strong plate control within Marsh. The learning curve of his first MiLB season may not highlight his ability to control the strike zone, but at the same time his 73 walks offers insight into that ability despite the high K rate.

If Brandon Marsh can make his way to Triple A this season and find strong success we could very well see him in September, possibly before that point depending on how his development trends. All in all it will be a lot of fun watching Marsh navigate his first Spring Training, but you shouldn’t hold any expectations towards that. There is also the chance that he rides the bench while absorbing the atmosphere and learning from his mentors, but I would think he’ll see some playing time this Spring.

Jarrett Parker

The Angels picked up Jarrett Parker in free agency after being released by the Giants in March of 2018. Parker a decent amount of time in the big leagues in 2017 with 177 Plate Appearances as a Giant. In those appearances Parker put up a .247/.294/.416 slash line with 12 doubles and 4 HRs while striking out 54 times. Defensively he wasn’t as solid as Bourjos, though he did provide 4 assists in his 2017 season. That being said there is a possibility that Parker could bring a stronger bat than Bourjos.

There doesn’t seem to be an abundance of value over someone like Bourjos or even Brennon Lund, but at the same time there is plenty of big league experience for the Angels to feel comfortable with. It’s pretty likely that we will only be seeing Parker in a depth capacity for the Angels in 2019 however. He doesn’t exactly pop off the plate with the bat, though he does provide a better offensive option as Bourjos. So there is an interesting idea if the Angels would prefer some offensive value to come with the defense.

All in all I wouldn’t count on seeing Parker break into the big leagues come Opening Day, likely he’ll provide a stash option for the Angels. There is the chance that he comes to Spring Training with a chip on his shoulder and that can change everything, but I wouldn’t expect to see him come out of the gates running at full speed.

Cesar Puello

Cesar Puello spent a little bit of time in the big leagues in 2017 with both the Angels and Rays. With the Angels he collected one hit in 4 at-bats before being plucked off waivers by the Tampa Bay Rays, where he saw 35 Plate Appearances and posted a .200/.314/.200 slash line. Since then he’s been swinging away in the minors with the Giants and Diamondbacks at the Triple A level.

2018 saw Puello put up numbers in the minors that range from serviceable to strong. We can’t forget that he is only 26 and is still searching for the same kind of breakthrough that the younger prospects like Lund are in pursuit of. You can’t sell him too short despite his lacking numbers in the Majors back in 2017. Where there’s a will there’s a way and if Puello can translate some of his Triple A ability to the Majors he may have some chance at breaking through. He’s not exactly a beefy hitter despite his Triple slash line of .313/.417/.432. Still, his 11 doubles and 6 HR’s in 358 at-bats isn’t such a bad look.

Puello can balance the walk and strikeout pretty well as he struck out just 67 times to a total 40 walks. That’s a pretty solid ratio there, especially considering that was in 358 at-bats. Still, we do need a larger sample size to pull from to get a better picture of his abilities at the big league level, which is where this Spring Training comes in. I don’t expect to see Puello making waves this Spring, but at the same time you don’t want to count him out. Likely we’ll see him settle in as a depth option stashed away in Triple A, but this is baseball and anything can happen. The best we can hope for is a successful Spring Training for everyone.