Angels News: 2 oft-injured players to miss time, 2 intriguing prospects return

Angels fans are learning that the Yoán Moncada experience is chock-full of ups-and-downs. It consists of a lot of worrying about injuries, some flashes of brilliance with the bat and glove...and other flashes of incompetence with the bat and glove. When Moncada was red hot, fans wanted to praise him but were afraid of him subsequently going down with an injury.

Moncada worried members of the coaching staff and front office when he sustained a thumb injury in spring training. He avoided beginning the regular season on the injured list, but did not start on Opening Day and wound up taking a few days off from April 5th to the 9th (he pinch hit on the 9th but did not start) because of thumb soreness.

Moncada is now experiencing issues with his right knee. The Angels' third baseman was removed from games on May 28th against the Yankees and June 1st against the Guardians due to his knee injury, and the Halos' offseason signing is now officially heading to the 10-day injured list.

Moncada has been quite good at times, but he is certainly a frustrating player. He consistently hits the ball hard, catches a lot of barrels, has some clutch moments and stays within the zone well (showcased by his great BB% and Chase%). Moncada can also provide highlight reel plays in the field, and is known as one of the better third basemen at charging balls.

However, Moncada has been striking out a ton... just like virtually every other member of the Angels' lineup. He's also drawing some criticism for his defense...just like virtually every other member of the Angels' position players. Moncada is prone to poor decision-making in the field, inconsistent glove-work and an OAA in the 14th percentile.

Angels News: 2 oft-injured players to miss time, 2 intriguing prospects return

Joining him, albeit on the 15-day injured list, is Robert Stephenson. This one is tragic, as he had just made his way back to a big league mound for the first time in 13 months after undergoing Tommy John surgery. After throwing just three pitches in his second outing of the season, Stephenson was removed from the game due to an issue with his bicep. It turns out there was inflammation in his bicep, and he will return to the IL just a few days after being activated from it.

Replacing Stephenson in the bullpen is Sam Aldegheri, who will be hopping from Double-A to MLB in order to do so. The Italian being relegated to a bullpen role, like Caden Dana, Ryan Johnson, Chase Silseth and many other top Angels pitching prospects before him, is drawing some ire from beat writers and fans. Some feel like changing their prospects' roles when they come to the big leagues without sufficient enough heads-up or preparation is setting them up for failure.

This will be Aldegheri's second go-round in the big leagues, as he made three starts last season for the Angels late last season. In 13 MLB innings, he posted a 10:10 K:BB and allowed 13 hits. Those three starts were Goldilocks-esque: he was incredible against Texas, horrible against Houston and alright against Seattle. Aldegheri's last start before his promotion came on May 28th, and he did not allow a hit in 4.2 innings.

Replacing Moncada is Matthew Lugo, who was sent down to Triple-A a few days ago to make room for Mike Trout. Lugo was hastily removed from the Bees' game yesterday after a pop up dropped in front of him. Some believed it was for disciplinary purposes, but it was in fact because he was being called back up. Impeccable timing there by the baseball gods.

The Angels' major league roster is taking a sizable hit. The Halos, who are 26-32 and struggling to stay afloat in the American League, are losing an everyday starter in the lineup and a pitcher who was supposed to fortify the back-end of their incredibly suspect bullpen. As the Angels take on the Red Sox and Mariners this week without Moncada and Stephenson, they truly need a quick turnaround as they are trending down in the standings.

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