Los Angeles Angels cheated by employee, YouTube TV, split-squad action: Your Friday Briefing

Los Angeles Angels fire clubhouse attendant for helping opponents, YouTube TV drops the Angels, split-squad action, Pujols at 40: Your Friday Briefing

Good Morning, Angels fans!

We are 20 days away from Opening Day!

Yesterday was the Angels first day off from their Cactus League schedule. They get back to action on Friday with a split squad match-up against the Kansas City Royals.

• Who’s pitching? Jose Suarez looks to build off his strong first start of the spring in a match-up against Daniel Lynch. Suarez is hoping to find a spot in the back of the Angels’ rotation. Julio Teheran starts in the second split-squad game against Brady Singer. Teheran looked healthy in throwing two perfect innings against the Cubs on Monday. He was scratched from an earlier start due to tightness in his left hamstring.

You can watch Julio Teheran make his second spring start at 12:05 PM PST on Fox Sports West; that is, if you aren’t a YouTube TV subscriber. Sinclair Group (which owns Fox Sports West and Prime Ticket) announced a deal yesterday with Google’s YouTube TV that allows them to carry 19 regional sports networks, the only two excluded from the agreement… you guessed it, Fox Sports West and Prime Ticket.

Long-tenured visiting clubhouse attendant Brian “Bubba” Harkins was fired yesterday for allegedly providing illegal substances to visiting pitchers, as first reported by the Los Angeles Times.

• What did he do? You read that right, he was helping opposing pitchers at Angels Stadium by giving them a substance that consisted of a melted-down pine-tar solution and rosin, per ESPN.
• What this means: Harkins started working for the Angels in 1981 as a batboy. He has been the visiting clubhouse attendant since 1990. The Anaheim born employee broke a trust with the organization. Considering the Angels were the victim of his wrongdoing, I wouldn’t expect further disciplinary action against the team, and The Athletic reports this morning, “Following its probe, MLB did not pressure the Angels to fire Harkins, who was the lone employee to be fired, according to ESPN.”

MLB Pipeline named Kyle Tyler as the Los Angeles Angels 31st best prospect:

"Tyler was a 20th-round pick of the Angels out of Oklahoma in 2018 and began his career completely off the radar. He jumped on by pitching his way from the Midwest League to the California League, finishing with a 2.59 ERA, 1.03 WHIP and .196 batting average against over 121 2/3 innings."

You can find MLB Pipeline’s full list of top Angels prospects here.

What can we expect from Albert Pujols in his age-40 season?

Eric Stephen of Halos Heaven takes a look at Angels players who have played into their 40s and gives an idea of what the projection systems expect from Pujols in 2020.

Anthony Rendon the kind of guy you want your kid to marry

Jeff Fletcher of the OC Register takes a deep dive into what makes Anthony Rendon a special player who is well-respected by his peers.

• He said it: “He’s a kid who you say, ‘If I had a daughter, I’d want my daughter to marry that guy,’” said Willie Ansley, a former top prospect who remains close with Rendon.

Thanks for reading, make sure to check back for more Angels news and analysis throughout the day!