Under GM Billy Eppler, the Angels focused on development in the minor leagues, with little regard for winning. Current GM Perry Minasian told players they need to do both, and in 2022 they did. Sco…
Perry Minasian gathered all of the Angels’ minor leaguers together at the start of spring training in 2021, his first year as general manager. He started listing off the organizations that had the best win-loss records in the minors and pointing out that they had all been good in the majors.
“Perry said we can’t expect you to win at the big league level if you aren’t winning in minor leagues,” Duensing recalled. “You can’t just flip a switch. His whole thing was winning is a skill. Winners are a real thing. Losers are a real thing. We are going to develop but we are going to develop by winning. That was refreshing to hear.”
Part of their emphasis on winning has been to host Champions Days during instructional league. Angels alumni like Tim Salmon, Scott Spiezio, David Eckstein, Troy Percival, Adam Kennedy and Vladimir Guerrero spoke to the current minor league players and staff about what it takes to win in the major leagues.
At the end of the season, the Rocket City roster included five pitchers ranked by Baseball America as among the Angels’ top 13 prospects: left-hander Ky Bush , right-hander Sam Bachman , right-hander Chase Silseth , right-hander Landon Marceaux and right-hander Mason Erla . They also had right-hander Ben Joyce, who Baseball America ranks at No. 20 despite his eye-popping 105 mph fastball.
“We’re obviously encouraged with the progress we’ve made over the last couple of years,” said Prebysnki, who was hired from the St. Louis Cardinals in December 2020. “I think it’s certainly shown up in how our teams compete, the identity, the brand of baseball we’ve tried to create. That’s translated into wins and losses but also players that have come up and made their major league debuts.”
Discussions like that help the staff learn, as do the 45- to 60-minute meetings the minor league managers and coaches had before each day’s work in spring training. Minasian said the discussions sometimes turned into arguments, which is just the kind of exchange of ideas he wants. “I think it’s really easy and kind of a crutch when guys aren’t hitting to go straight to the swing mechanics,” Stefanic said. “They’re taking more of an approach on how to attack different pitchers based on your strengths. We’ve actually eased off the technology a little bit on the hitting side.”
South Africa Latest News, South Africa Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Farm Failures: How the Angels’ player development system broke and the plan to repair itPart One: Team owner Arte Moreno chose not to invest in Latin America, and GMs and scouting directors made poor decisions in the draft, leaving the organization’s farm system shallow on talent.
Read more »
Farm Failures, Part II: How the Angels’ player development system broke and the plan to repair it“We were just behind,” a former Angels minor leaguer said of the organization’s use of analytics in player development. Others said a lack of technology and constant turnover among coaches left the…
Read more »
Do Cruise Ships Have Morgues?Death is part of life, and it's also part of ocean cruises.
Read more »
Blue Angels to perform at 2023 Columbus Air Show Presented by ScottsBlue Angels to perform at 2023 Columbus Air Show Presented by Scotts. Brian Vaught talks about seeing them perform as a child.
Read more »
Michael Watt: Review finds 'significant failures' in patient treatmentClinical records of 44 patients who died under the care of Michael Watt have been examined.
Read more »
Los Angeles Angels' Shohei Ohtani voted top designated hitter for second consecutive yearThe Los Angeles Angels' Shohei Ohtani has been voted the majors’ best designated hitter for the second consecutive season.
Read more »