As bad as the Rockies pitching is and as badly as I think they're going to get beaten this weekend, I'm really looking forward to the Angels coming into town. Back on April 29, the Angels were 7-15 and looking like the biggest disappointments in MLB when you consider that out of the entire lineup, only Kendrys Morales, Mark Trumbo, and Mike Trout are hitting worth a damn.
Albert Pujols cracked that 1st HR barrier, and has hit 7 more since then, but is still sporting a .702 OPS.
Out of their 9 "Regulars" as decided by Plate Appearances, the only 2 batters with an OBP above .300 are Torii Hunter and Morales. Trout, Trumbo, Maicer Izturis, and Chris Iannetta also have .300+ OBPs. Oh, and I guess Kole Calhoun and John Hester as well.
Trumbo was picked in in the 18th round of the 2004 draft by the Angels, 533rd overall. He was the Angels' 9th best prospect and best power hitter in the farm according to Baseball America in November of 2010 and projected to be the team's DH come 2014. One year later, Trumbo had fallen out of that "prospect" circle and had his projection with the organization and "best power hitter" standing replaced by C.J. Cron.
After a decent rookie season, Trumbo has rewarded the Angels with a fantastic 1.018 OPS and a team-leading 12 HR. The major trouble the Angels have with Trumbo is trying to find him playing time. He's a 1B by trade, and a decent one, but there's a very expensive man holding the 1B position right now. DH is always an option, but Kendrys Morales and his mighty .757 OPS have taken the majority of the playing time there. So as a result, Trumbo has mixed his time between 1B, RF, DH, 3B, and LF. Hardly defensively optimal, but it's a fine problem to have.
Pitching has carried the Angels though, with the only unsightly ERA in the rotation belonging to Ervin Santana (5.33). Scott Downs has yet to allow an earned run in 20 innings pitched. 39-year-old Jason Isringhausen is strangely unhittable and is using pure veteran grit to chew his way through his innings. Ernesto Frieri also hasn't allowed a run and has punched out 30 batters in 15 innings of work.
It's like they're the opposite of the Rockies.
Expected Pitching Matchups:
Friday, June 8 at 6:40 MT: Alex White vs CJ Wilson
Saturday, June 9 at 2:10PM MT TBD (Jeff Francis?) vs Dan Haren
Sunday, June 10 at 1:10PM MT Christian Friedrich vs Ervin Santana