LA Angels: Five untouchable players in trade talks

Untouchable Angels in trade talks: David Fletcher

Sometimes a team lucks out and sneaks an unheralded prospect through their system and finds a diamond in the rough. David Fletcher turned into one of those unique finds to the Los Angeles Angels and the team is basking in its glory.

Coming up through the system, Fletcher never made a single top-100 list in terms of MLB prospects, and wasn’t even ranked among the organization’s top 30 prospects heading into his rookie season in 2018. His lack of power in the minors may have diminished his ability to shine in scouts’ eyes, but the Angels still thought his exceptional bat control and outstanding defense warranted a chance on the big league roster.

The rest they say is history.

Since his call-up on June 13, 2018, David Fletcher has hit a solid .285/.339/.377 with a minuscule 10.9% strikeout rate in the big leagues. In addition, he’s been rated as an exceptional defender at both second and third base.

While that production may not jump off the page in today’s game, it is the comparables that make him valuable to the Angels and a darling to the fanbase. This team perhaps among most others in the league has a love for the dirt dog grinders that give it all on the field.

If there was one particular player from the past that Fletcher invokes the memory of, it is the incomparable David Eckstein. Never a huge producer with the bat, Eckstein found a way to become invaluable to the Angels during his first four seasons in the league, providing both stellar defense and clutch hits when the team needed them. It is easy to envision David Fletcher in that role for this current iteration of the Los Angeles Angels, and maybe even for the team’s next World Series winner.