Sidenote: I must say it struck me as particularly belligerent of Plaschke to label fans as being complacent and unrealistic sentimentalists (as if fans care less about winning than management). It doesn’t add much to the weight his argument, and instead makes him sound as though he’s just just trying to pick a fight with someone, or anyone.

Certainly I understand the intensity of Plaschke’s disappointment. The degree of player movement within the organization during the last two months prior to the trading deadline made it increasingly obvious the Angels were doing more than window-shopping for talent. Any business negotiation, such as a trade, requires the presentation/evaluation of assets. And the Angels made a number of internal  moves designed to showcase their offerings. Brandon Wood, for example, was often named as part of a potential trade package. Hence it shouldn’t have been surprising to see Brandon Wood playing 1B. Not as a future position with the Angels, but as a showcase for potential buyers seeking a power bat to play the infield corners. Sean O’Sullivan strutted his stuff during a number of big-league auditions; the fact he contributed to the Angels divisional standings was a bonus, not necessarily part of the original expectation. Looking deeper into the farm system, the same could be said of the performances of Trevor Bell and Bobby Mosebach at the Triple-A level. In fact, these “showcase transactions” were particularly evident at Salt Lake, where the frequency with which pitchers rotated through the Triple-A roster had been nothing short of mind-numbing; 31 different pitchers to-date, 16 of them showing up in July alone. Two of the pitchers, Buddy Boshers and Kyle Hurst,  had never played above Rookie level prior to their promotion.

At the same time, I am not surprised the Angels stayed pat. The point of a trade is to get more and give up less. There’s little sense in making a trade unless, . .1) at best, management is highly confident the result will deliver a championship, and, 2) at worst, what the club gives up doesn’t damage the quality of the organization. This time around, the consequences of the “wrong trade” certainly seem to outweigh the potential benefits, even using the most optimistic projections. Last season the Angels faced the trade deadline with an All-Star pitching staff: Ervin Santana, Joe Saunders, Francisco Rodriguez and John Lackey. It seemed all they needed was a power bat, which they got in Mark Teixeira for a very good price, Casey Kotchman and Stephen Marek (who is not exactly tearing up the minor leagues, BTW). And it is important to note that Teixeira delivered his end of the deal, and yet the team with the best win-loss record in the major leagues failed to advance in post-season. This year, there appears to be an assortment of pitching areas needing improvement at the big league club. And so the addition of one or two free-agent pieces doesn’t seem to be enough to launch our guys into bona fide post-season contention.

In terms of consequences, and speaking from my bush league perspective, losing the most promising Triple-A players from this year’s crop could have serious impact for several years down the road. O’Sullivan, Mosebach and Bell hadn’t played higher than Double-A for more than a few weeks before being promoted; that’s dipping pretty deep into the prospect well. Aside from these pleasant surprises, I see a bit of a quality gap looming at the Double-A level. In reviewing the Angels’ Texas League All-Stars (albeit a superficial look), I came away with the impression of this group lagging about half-a-season behind in their development curve. That the aforementioned pitchers have responded so well after “skipping a level” was hardly guaranteed from their track records. And it’s worth mentioning that comparable promotions of position players—Nate Sutton, Abel Nieves, Chris Rosenbaum, Coby Smith, Flint Wipke, Ben Johnson, Chris Gutierrez—haven’t revealed any breakthrough hitting performances.

As a country founded on the belief in destiny by self-determination, we tend to believe action is better than non-action. Sometimes, though, non-action can be every bit action’s equal in effect. It’s simply a matter of deciding which one will have the greatest impact. I am reminded of comments Bill Stoneman made during one of his many visits to Salt Lake City.  He was describing the various expectations embodied in defining what makes a good baseball organization.  The theme he kept returning to was balancing short-term goals with long-term returns, and that continuity is a key factor in maintaining this balance. Ultimately, when faced with a tough short-term decision, the tipping point could be the long-term impact of action versus non-action.

Seems to me, and FWIW, the Angels were wise to stay pat with what they’ve got. In the end, the most positive benefit of a trade this year would have been a placation of the immediate-gratification crowd, such as Plaschke, who take the position that any short-term improvement is better than nothing at all. This sort of team-building takes the approach of incrementally trading up on a year-to-year basis as the way to build a winning team. It is a nice theory—neat, tidy and filled with unreasonable expectations of ballplayers being as reliable and modular as pieces in an erector set. Building strategies that rely on simple mathematical relationships, such as player stats and architectural rules, do not work well on living systems, such as living breathing ballplayers. If they did, “Moneyball” would have brought home a ring long ago. Nonetheless, it is also part of human nature to keep seeking predictability, i.e., control, over those mysteries that confound and frustrate us…Your friend in baseball.

July 27, 2009 — Moving down the farm system ladder to take a look at the Angels Double-A All-Stars presents an interesting dilemma for prospect followers. On the one hand, there’s loads of as-yet-undiscovered potential. These young athletes have proven themselves worthy of promotion as the number of teams dwindles from three teams—Rookie/Single-A/Advanced-A (four, if you include extended spring training)—to one. On the other, Double-A is still a very long way from the big leagues. Top-Three-Round draft picks Dallas McPherson, Chris Bootcheck, Tommy Murphy, for example, breezed through the system and into Triple-A, only to find their careers stalled at the last crucial step.

With this prelude in mind, I regard this year’s Double-A All-Star prospects with a bit of optimism. Why not? For these youngsters, most under 25 years old, the future still looks bright.

Mark Trumbo

Mark Trumbo was drafted in 2004 by the Angels in the 18th round, 533rd overall. It’s no secret the Angels have longed for a power bat to add to their situational hitting strategy. A two-way ballplayer in high school, he was originally projected as a 96-mph starting pitcher. The Angels decided to take a chance on his power at the plate rather than from the mound.

He progressed up the system to Double-A, with the kind of production that puts smiles on the faces of hitting coaches. Even better news has been the steady improvement of his BB:SO ratio, indicating a maturing plate discipline.

Trumbo started at Double-A Arkansas this spring. His power numbers are down a bit, he’s hitting doubles instead of homers, although he did cap off his All-Star Game selection by winning the Texas League Home Run Derby.

Hank Conger

Slugging catcher from California. Those four words summed up the Angels expectations when the 6-ft, 205-lb high-schooler was selected in the first round, in 2006. Drafted as another power bat, Conger’s start in professional baseball was hampered a bit by injuries. He spent all of 2008 with Advanced-A Rancho Cucamonga, only donning catcher’s gear for a few games.

The 21-year-old made the Opening Day Arkansas roster. His body and his defense seem to be holding up through 85 games thus far, 58 as catcher, 27 as DH. His fielding percentage is .978, 1 PB and he’s thrown out 31% of baserunners trying to steal in 68 chances. Post All-Star game, Conger’s been swinging the bat very well, .320 AVG, 12 RBI, 3 HR, 17 BB, 10 SO in July to date.

Conger is the up-and-coming catcher behind Ryan Budde (29 y.o.) and Bobby Wilson (26 y.o.),  both of whom have spent multiple seasons at Triple-A, as well as time in the majors. The key for Conger is proving he can survive the wear-and-tear of being an everyday catcher through a full season.

Peter Bourjos

Peter Bourjos was drafted in the 10th round, 313th overall, of the 2005 June draft. Slim and speedy, Bourjos is not as powerful a hitter as Terry Evans, although he might actually have the edge on the basepaths. (And Evans has wheels.) Bourjos has 19 SB thus far, and ranks third in the team in run production, behind Trumbo and Conger: 28 RBI, 121 TB, .440 SLG. He shows good plate discipline as well, 29:52 SO:BB, .291 BA, and had a 17-game hitting streak in May. Defensively, the tall centerfielder hasn’t committed an error in 70 games.

He missed the All-Star Game due to injury and sat for a few days mid-July, otherwise he seems plenty healthy. A big barrier for Bourjos at this point is positional depth; the Angels have no shortage of high-average, low-power, speedy outfielders. He’s not likely to get much of a look unless swine flu knocks out 1/3 of the clubhouse.

Nate Sutton

Nate Sutton was selected by the Angels in the 24th round, 713th overall of the 2004 draft. Originally a third baseman, Sutton has become the model utility player for Arkansas, able to play all four infield or three outfield positions. He hits well for average, with a few extra base-hits and stolen bases sprinkled in the mix: 31 SO, 31 BB, .294 BA, 11 2B, 10 SB.

The left-handed hitter was promoted to Salt Lake for a stretch and started off on a hot streak, eventually though, settling into a .238 BA over 18 games. The oldest of the group at 26, Sutton appears to be another Adam Pavkovich—a reliable, albeit unspectacular, Triple-A utility guy who will have to show some break-out offensive numbers in order to progress any further.

Tommy Mendoza

Tommy Mendoza was drafted out of high school in the fifth round, 163rd overall in 2005. He showed promise at the early levels, winning Arizona Fall League All-Star honors in 2005 and Midwest League Pitcher of the Week honors the following year. There were high hopes for Mendoza at the start of 2007, although he ended up with a 2-4 record, 4.86 ERA in just 12 games. In 2008, he was 4-12, 4.17 ERA. He’s been the workhorse for Double-A Arkansas in 2009, with 102 IP, and he’s throwing strikes 68:28 SO:BB. Consistency seems to be an issue. For example, take a look at the games he’s started since the All-Star break:

Bobby Cassevah

Bobby Cassevah was selected late, in the 34th round, 1,013th overall, after undergoing Tommy John surgery prior to the draft. Nonetheless, his stats sheet shows a steady improvement during his progression through the farm system. The late-innings reliever/closer was selected to the All-Star team as a replacement for Bobby Mosebach, who was called up to Triple-A Salt Lake in late June. His numbers though, certainly seem to be better than back-up caliber. Currently Cassevah sports a 2.38 ERA, 56 IP, 36 SO, 23 BB, 1 HR. Aside from a one-appearance disaster on July 14th, he has been nearly unhittable in July.

Trevor Reckling

Trevor Reckling is a kid with the potential to do great things.  Drafted in the eighth round, 268th overall in the 2007 draft, he showed his stuff early, and often. Reckling was just 19 years old when he was promoted to Double-A Arkansas in his second season of professional baseball. The lone Angels representative at this season’s MLB All-Star Futures Game, the left-handed starting pitcher definitely seems to be on the fast track. He’s second on the team in innings pitched, 94 IP, with a 2.87 ERA in 16 games. He needs to issue fewer walks, 51:70 BB:SO is pretty high. Of course, time is on his side at this point, and being a lefty, the Angels will surely be patient about bringing him along.

For all of these young prospects, the hill is still a pretty steep one to get to the next level. Also, it will be interesting what happens if the Angels make a deal for a major-league pitcher. The package would undoubtedly have to include a Triple-A pitching prospect, or perhaps two, which would open up a promotion for younger, less-tested arms…Your friend in baseball.

With the last of the mid-season All-Star Games completed, this seems a good opportunity to learn a bit more about our major leaguers of the future. Although not quite as well represented as last season, the Angels organization did have a number of ballplayers selected to play in these showcase contests. Today’s post covers our Angels Triple-A All-Stars.

While most of team spent their time resting and recreating, a couple of Salt Lake Bees traveled to Portland, OR, to participate in the Triple-A All-Star Game, which pitted the Pacific Coast League All-Stars versus the International League All-Stars. As with the big-league version, the winner of Triple-A All-Star Game is awarded the home-field designation for the Triple-A Bricktown Showdown Championship series, held each September in Oklahoma City.

Brandon Wood

Although he was selected to participate, Wood didn’t play in this year’s All-Star game. Wood was called up to the Angels on July 10th, along with Bobby Wilson, and was immediately inserted into the starting lineup at third base. Facing the Yankees, Wood showed his chops by drawing a walk during his first at-bat, on five pitches from starter Andy Pettitte. Later, he helped chase Pettitte in the fifth inning with a two-run homer. If you’ve been listening to the local radio broadcasts, you would have noticed Wood played first base for a few games while on the road. On Sunday, also against the Yankees, Wood made his MLB debut at first base—no hits, although he did sacrifice in a run in the fourth inning.

Of course, Wood has hardly lacked press coverage from the day he was drafted. Rather than retread the many fine articles already written on Wood’s career, I’d recommend the curious reader simply Google a few keywords and read to your hearts content.

One last thought arises that does seems worth mentioning. Yours truly is of course, well aware of the many seasons of grumbling over how the Angels have held him back at Triple-A. Until last summer, I honestly didn’t think he was quite ready. Now I do. He’s coming to the plate and thinking about “hitting the ball” instead of “hitting the long ball.” He’s using his natural quickness and keen eye to adjust his swing, instead of reacting to whatever shows up. It’s part of what coaches mean when they talk about having a plan.

It’s hard to remember, particularly in athletes having so much natural talent, the most important and slowest-to-develop performance factor sits between the ears. It’s a simple fact of human biology that the motor skills develop far earlier than the cognitive skills. In short, it takes time and experience to learn how to hit the ball for average and power, under all sorts of conditions. Wood is 24 years old.

Terry Evans

“When Evans hits in the lead-off position, good things happen, ” said broadcaster Steve Klauke during the last game prior to the All-Star break.

And indeed our 6’4″ lead-off/slugger has been enjoying one heck of a comeback season after missing most of last year due to a shoulder injury. In the aforementioned game, Evans went 2-3, with an RBI-scoring double and a walk, and stole his 19th and 20th bases.

Klauke noted that with 17 home runs thus far in the season, Evans could quite possibly join the 20-20 Club (20 home runs and 20 steals within the same season). That would be a Salt Lake franchise first. Evans is already a member of the Minor League 30-30 Club, one of only 13 players to do so. Even more impressive is the fact he achieved this record in 2006, the same year he was traded from the Cardinals to the Angels organization.

In addition to being selected to play for the All-Star Game, Evans was selected to participate in the Home Run Derby, held on Monday. He advanced to the second round, and eventually finished fourth among the eight contestants. He started the All-Star Game in center field, batting 5th, and went 0-2, 0 BB, 1 SO. The quiet, 27-year-old from Dublin, GA is a personal favorite of yours truly, and I featured him as my Lady’s Choice for May.

Jeremy Hill

Our all-star closer was acquired by the Angels via free agency this winter from Acereros de Monclova in the Mexican Leagues. Originally drafted as a catcher by Kansas City in 1996, he converted to pitching in 2000. He had some early success, including a short stay with the Royals during 2002. Otherwise, as noted in a Salt Lake Tribune article, his career has taken him to the far corners of baseball world, including Taiwan, Independent Leagues and Mexico before the 31-year-old landed a spring training invite with the Angels.

Hill earned a Double-A roster spot, and made just two appearances before getting the promotion to Salt Lake on April 16. While the promotion was largely in response to an epidemic of pitcher injuries at the parent club, Hill promptly started building his case for it to stick. He was lights out through May, with a stingy 1.46 ERA, and earned the closer spot with 13 saves by mid-June. He struggled in the latter half of June, racking up an 11.56 ERA over four particularly rough outings that included a blown save. Ouch, and then some. He fought back, earning four more saves through that rough stretch, and as we know, an spot on the PCL All-Star Team. Not bad for a man who was wondering last winter whether his 14-year baseball career might be over at last.

Hill is not a power thrower, although his fastball can touch the low 90s. His most effective pitching weapon is his ability to fool hitters and get them to swing at the wrong pitches. He’s got a short delivery, and doesn’t give batters much to see before the ball comes to the plate. Of course, as a late-inning relief man, his job is to get three outs as quickly as possible, and that includes keeping runners off the bases. His SO:BB for Marvelous May was 10:4 (2.5:1). Comparing the first half of June to the second half, his SO:BB ratio was 11:4 (not quite 3:1) and 4:4 (1:1) respectively. No one knows the ups-and-downs of a long season better than this well-traveled veteran, and he came fighting back during the first half of July, producing a 4.16 ERA over four appearances and bringing his season ERA down to 4.13.

As befitting the pitcher with the fourth most saves in the PCL (17 SV), Hill did not make his appearance in the All-Star Game until the start the 9th inning, faced two batters, 1 SO, 1 BB. He was followed by Jess Todd, who leads the PCL with 21 SV.

These Triple-A selections are ballplayers to watch in the upcoming weeks. Next up, our Angels Double-A Texas League All-Stars, which includes some very exciting youngsters…Your friend in baseball.

June 01, 2009 — This month’s pick is Terry Evans, originally drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 47th round (No. 1,409 overall) in 2001. Midseason of 2006, the Angels acquired Evans in exchange for Jeff Weaver, who went on to win a World Series ring with the Redbirds that year. Jewelry aside, hindsight omniscience makes the Angels front office look pretty smart. (Love this quote from the former Angels G.M.) Evans was immediately assigned to the Arkansas Travelers, where he proceeded to tear up the Texas League—in the box and on the basepaths—finishing the season by becoming only the 13th ballplayer to join the Minor-League 30-30 Club. Post-season, in the Arizona Fall League, Evans slugged and ran his way onto the AFL Rising Stars Showcase team. Certainly he’d made the right impression with the new organization, and was added to the 40-man roster in November.

In 2007, Evans was promoted to Triple-A Salt Lake and proceeded to produce more of the same. It didn’t take long for the front office to notice his steady progress. Michael Terry Evans was called up to the big leagues in early June as a fill-in for the injured Garrett Anderson, providing a rather memorable Father’s Day present for Michael, Sr. During his first MLB start, the younger Evans got his first MLB hit, “a towering two-run homer over the left-field wall.” Click here to watch the video clip. Evans stayed long enough to appear in eight MLB games, and was returned to Salt Lake just in time to be selected to the 2007 PCL All-Star Team.

The future looked bright in 2008. Evans started the season with a .316 BA as part of the Amazing April in which the Bees made minor-league history with a win-loss record of 23-2. Then came the fateful game against Fresno, April 26. Late in the game, Evans slid hard into 2B trying to break up a double play and tweaked his shoulder. Evans went on the DL and spent most of the season rehabbing in extended spring training, not returning to Salt Lake until nearly the close of the season.

His playing time at spring training camp in 2009 was somewhat limited while the Angels’ development staff took a long look at 25-year-old outfield prospect Chris Pettit, who likewise had missed a good part of his 2008 season, due to a broken foot. Assigned to Salt Lake, Evans struggled at the plate to begin the season. Thankfully, his other tools remained intact. Possessor of one of the best outfield eyes and guns in the PCL, Evans throwing arm showed no lingering effects from last season’s injury. And he flashed speed, 12 for 13 in stolen bases thus far in the season.

Evans was hardly alone in his inability to solve the round-ball-hit-square puzzle. As the freezing nights of April warmed up into the promise of May, and with the usual leadoff hitters struggling, Manager Bobby Mitchell tried something new for the batting order. On May 14th, he wrote Evans in the #1 spot. It clicked, and Evans produced a phenomenal 25 hits in 57 at-bats, .439 BA during the “leadoff experiment,” which ended on May 26. Moved to 3rd in the batting order, Evans’ bat stayed hot through the rest of the month.

The last 10 days of May were nothing less than sweet, slugging heaven. On May 21st, facing former Bees Giancarlo Alvarado, the third pitch of the game was the charm and Evans launched a solo homer over the left field wall. May 23rd, Evans hit his eighth homerun of the season against rehabbing MLB pitcher Jason Schmidt in Albuquerque. The following evening, May 24th, he got dinger #9 for the season, his third in four days, and extended his hitting streak to 10 games. The next night, May 25th, homerun #10, fourth in five days, streak to 11 games. May 26th, one hit, streak to 12 games. May 27th, no homers, although Evans went 3-4, scored the only Bees runs and extended his streak to 13 games.

Evans went 0-4 on May 28th, ending the hitting streak at 13 games. On May 3oth, during game #1 of a double-header, Evans went 1-3, a triple, and stole a base, bringing his season total to 12 SB, second highest on the Bees and tied for eighth in the PCL. In the second game, Evans went 2-4; both hits were run-scoring, game-tying doubles that helped the Bees stay within striking distance of Reno for the dramatic walk-off grand slam by Adam Pavkovich. Summarizing the month of May: .330 BA, 27 R, 38 H, 11 2B, 2 3B, 7 HR, 20 RBI, 13 BB, 33 SO, 8 SB.

Still, it’s only June. And my fave outfielder gets tantalized a bit too often by those late-breaking, outside pitches. As the old saying goes, it’s a long season and anything can happen. Nonetheless, yours truly is hoping to for a break-through year for #24, B-R/T-R…Your friend in baseball.

Terry Evans, Spring Training 2009

Of course, this is not the first time in recent history when the Angels have whisked a young ballplayer off to Salt Lake, effectively sparing him from the white-hot spotlight of Hollywood-land while he figured things out. Ervin Santana, for example, greatly benefited from his “bush-league month” in 2007 and returned in 2008 to become an 16-game winner and MLB All-Star.

This time around, though, I couldn’t escape nagging doubts. While Kendrick certainly appeared to be on the brink of regaining his sweet, slugging swing, I didn’t get the impression he had actually found it for good. At least that’s what my eyes were telling me. Of course, we know how easily deceived is the  human eye, so I looked around for a less subjective measure. And discovered an interesting set of comparative stats.

Thanks to the Angels’ policy of developing talent from the draft up, prospect followers are afforded the rare luxury of tracking ballplayer development with a level of continuity rarely found in organized baseball. Kendrick spent his entire career with the Angels, which allows us to review his player development in an apples-to-apples, before-and-after comparison, via a quick black-box analysis.*

*Black box analysis is common in population or field studies as a means for identifying patterns or trends. The analysis assumes that as long as we keep the comparisons within the same environmental conditions—in this case the same league of teams, same level of competition—the variables tend to cancel themselves out. In contrast, quantitative statistical methods try to eliminate as many variables as possible in order to uncover one (or two) key relationship(s) between a specific measurement and performance result, one which holds true independent of time and/or place. Lastly, I’m not suggesting black box analysis is a substitute for quantitative analysis, but rather provides a quick-and-dirty tool for pinpointing areas likely to benefit from the more detailed type of number-crunching.

Kendrick played in the Pacific Coast League at the Triple-A level for parts of 2006-08 prior to his first full major league season. This allows us to see how his offensive output during the 2006-08 Triple-A seasons compares to the same league, during a different time frame, 2009. Another useful comparison is to see how his 2006-08 Triple-A performance projects into the immediately following 2007-08 Major League seasons.  And lastly, by using these earlier AAA/MLB data sets as a “performance baseline,” we get a general indication of what sort of 2009 AAA/MLB numbers to expect when he is “ready.” So, are you starting to see where I’m going with this?

OK, so here are Kendrick’s Triple-A numbers:

You’ll notice all of the stats have been adjusted to the equivalent of 200 at-bats. In the above table, for example, the actual Triple-A totals for 2006-08 are 345 AB, 123 H, 74 RBI. Adjusted to 200 AB, you get 71 H, 43 RBI.

The trends of greatest concern in this comparison are the RBI, SLG and TB numbers. What the Angels want from Kendrick is offense—driving in runs, followed closely by scoring runs. While he clearly is getting on base at the Triple-A level in 2009, with an improved BB:SO ratio, he’s not using his big bat to bring baserunners across the plate.

Next, let’s take a look at how his 2006-08 AAA numbers compare to the immediately following 2007-08 MLB seasons:

This is a rather sobering testament of what it takes to get from the highest level of the minors to the major leagues. For example, compared to the Triple-A level, his BA dropped  points 43, from .357 to .314. Total bases went from 121 to 87, a 28% drop. Slugging went from .606 to .435, again, 28% lower. The most dramatic fall is seen for runs batted in, 43 RBI at Triple-A, 22 RBI with the Angels. That’s 48% less run production in what is considered a successful transition to The Show.

And here’s where we come back to my original hunch. The following numbers reflect his performance prior to being sent down and after his return:

It is important to note that the July 2009 numbers are horribly speculative, adjusted from a total of only five games. Nonetheless, this early peek doesn’t show much change in the “big bat” indicators, RBI, SLG and TB. Worse yet, BB:SO ratio is way down, GDP is way up—not what you’d expect of a batter feeling relaxed at the plate.

As I said in the beginning of this little exercise, the black box run-through gives us the clues. I’d be interested in hearing from someone out there who can apply a more sabermetric approach to perhaps pinpoint what it is Kendrick needs to work on. Better yet, I’d love for you to alleviate my concerns by proving me wrong…Your friend in baseball.

Thinking aloud then. . .Jeremy Hill, of late, is having some trouble holding leads. I love Francisco Rodriguez. Too bad he wasn’t around for half the month. Matt Brown and Bobby Wilson have been struggling at the plate. Reggie Willits spent two weeks nursing a sore hamstring. Freddy Sandoval and Chris Pettit are out with injuries until late July. Oh have I mentioned, the weather’s been lousy too? Sigh!

Granted, Brandon Wood has been his consistently awesome self. And I’ve noticed significant improvement in plate discipline, particularly his 23:47 BB:SO (a ratio of 1:2). In all honesty, though, it’s not like yours truly is going to add anything revelatory to the well-deserved praise for this kid’s ongoing development. And yes, I had noticed Brad Coon is steadily upping his offensive production after a slow start. Not to mention, he’s an excellent guardian of our 420-foot-deep center field, just like last year. Trevor Bell? Tempting. His awesome debut is slowly turning, start-by-start, into a Triple-A stay of real merit.

And then I was reminded by a Salt Lake fan of having overlooked the bright ray of sunshine in our uncharacteristically cold and dreary June. . .

So, this month’s pick is Adam Pavkovich. Pavkovich was selected in 2003 from the University of Alabama by the Angels in the 11th round, 330th overall pick. He came straight to Provo for his professional debut, where the Crimson Tide alumnus figured out wood bats quickly enough to earn a mid-season promotion to Single-A Cedar Rapids.* He continued to move up the farm system without a hitch; a full season with Advanced-A Rancho in 2004, and just the briefest of time with Double-A Arkansas before arriving at Triple-A for good in 2005.

*Apparently he suited up for one game as a Salt Lake Stinger that year, although I don’t remember it personally.

Yours truly readily admits having wanted an excuse to showcase Pavkovich for a couple seasons now. He stands out for me not only as a good ballplayer, but one who makes an extra effort to bond with his fans, particularly the young ones.

A BeesGal memory. . .One afternoon in 2007, after a long wait for players to come out onto the field, one young fan literally wilted in his spot. He put his head down, cradled in his arms atop of the concrete wall, and closed his eyes. And there he rested, oblivious to the now-arrived ballplayers talking with and signing for fans along the wall.

Pavkovich stopped and bent down, lowering his head to peer upward into the downturned face.

“Hey,” he said gently. Getting no response, he asked again, “Hey there. Are you OK?”

The small head popped straight up, a startled look upon the youngster’s face. Pavkovich laughed warmly, and spent a few extra minutes chatting before moving on.

Another from 2007. . .Pavkovich appeared a full 30 minutes prior to gametime. He walked along the wall, scanning the rows as if he was expecting to meet someone. Halfway between the dugout and bullpen he stopped. He called up to a boy who looked eight or nine years old, standing with his father about 10 rows up in the stands.

The boy and father looked around, and then behind them. They looked back at Pavkovich, who was now holding up what looked to be a brand-new bat, its gleaming walnut finish unblemished by pine tar or ball marks.

“Hi! Do you want this?” he called out, energetically gesturing for them to come over.

The boy remained frozen until finally his father half-pushed them both down the stairs and to the wall. The precious gift signed and delivered, Pavkovich returned to the clubhouse to get ready for that evening’s work.

In 2008, Pavkovich had a break-through year on the diamond. He flashed some power—25 doubles, 4 triples, 22 HR, 80 RBI and 225 TB—while maintaining a nice .280 AVG. That level of production earned Pavkovich his first invite to the Dominican Leagues this winter and big-league training camp this spring.

Fast forward to Opening Day 2009, and Pavkovich begins his fourth season with the Bees. There have been, of course, a few changes over the seasons. Harper and Nagy are gone. Mitchell and Bennett are in their second seasons as manager and pitching coach.

On April 15th, Pavkovich played his 425th game in a Salt Lake uniform, passing former Buzz outfielder Chris Latham to become the franchise leader in games played. As noted by longtime Salt Lake broadcaster and “voice of the Bees” Steve Klauke, this is a bittersweet achievement, one that underscores a long tenure in the bush leagues. Pavkovich also has taken over the lead in career two-base hits (99), and tied in sacrifice flies (20) with Buzz/Twins infielder Todd Walker. His 19 sacrifice bunts leave him just three short of Buzz infielder Mike Moriarty (22) and two short of Stinger/Bees infielder Casey Smith (21). Thanks to last year’s bomber run, he also holds sixth place in career homeruns (45).

On the other hand, some things haven’t changed at all. #25 still arrives early to meet his fans at the wall, every day, win or lose, play or sit. He talks, he smiles, he jokes, he inspires. He’s still the young man who makes the Knothole Club something special. According to local lore, the 23-year-old infielder voluntarily assumed the role of Knothole Club “camp director” soon after his arrival in 2005.

This spring, Camp Director Pavkovich once-again led kids and parents on a guided tour of a day in the life of a professional ballplayer. During the tour he was asked how many bats players receive from Anaheim.

He replied, “Two dozen, which for a good hitter will last all season.”

There was a pregnant pause, and his next sentence was accompanied by that warm smile, “If you’re a not-so-good hitter, you’ll need more.”

He is a man of many gloves, having played all nine defensive positions including catcher (2006) and pitcher (2009). He’s our bottom-of-the-ninth, clutch hitter—whether ripping a walk-off grand slam or laying down a suicide-squeeze bunt for the only, and winning, run of the game.

What more can I say? Save perhaps, it’s been a delight having this young man in a Salt Lake uniform for all these seasons. I believe Pavkovich is eligible for free agency after the end of this year, his seventh since being drafted by the Angels. In that case, I certainly wish him all the best, with just the tiniest selfish hope of getting to meet again for Knothole Club, 2010…Your friend in baseball.