MLB Preview: Los Angeles Angels

The 2007 season once again ended in disappointment for the Angels as they were swept once again by the Boston Red Sox. The Angels have lost 9 straight post season games dating back to 2005.

The Angels once again used a combination of young and old players to win the AL West, as their farm system continues to produce Major League talent. Although none of the prospects has lived up to their hype as yet, they have been able to fill in for aging veterans like Garret Anderson, or Chone Figgins when he missed the early part of last year due to a broken finger. The Angels will be relying heavily on those prospects to play an increased role this season as shortstop Orlando Cabrera was dealt for more pitching depth in the off-season.

Now it's time to answer three questions about the Angels entering the 2008 season.

(1) Which of the young players will the Angels rely on in 2008?

For years fans have been reading about the assembly of minor league talent the Angels have built in their farm system. Names such as Brandon Wood, Jeff Mathis, Erick Aybar, Kendry Morales, and Dallas McPherson have become household names to even casual fans over the years.

Unfortunately for the Angels many of those names have just been that, names. The club hasn't seen significiant production from many of those prospects, and in fact some have been lapped by lesser thought of prospects in the Angels organization. This situation could be occuring at SS this season, Cabrera's departure left a void at shortstop, and the Angels brass wants to give the job to Aybar, but Maicer Izturis has shown more consistency dating back to last season.

Aybar has tremendous skills, but got himself into trouble last year by trying to do too much offensively and defensively. Aybar was caught stealing far too many times for someone with his speed, and that is another example of a player that may be too raw, and not ready to handle the burden of being an everyday player in the Majors.

Izturis will never be an All Star calibar shortstop but the Angels have enough talent on their team that they just need consistent production to once again win the AL West. Mike Napoli is another example of a lesser touted prospect winning the job from one of the crown jewels in the Angels system. Napoli is expected to win the catching job this spring as Mathis is competing just for a roster spot at this point.

Howie Kendrick is another can't miss prospect who has shown signs of reaching his potential, but has been hampered by injuries during the last season and a half. Kendrick should be an all star calibar second baseman if he remains healthy. The Angels also have Brandon Wood waiting in the wings for either a shot at SS, or 3b if anybody in the mix falters or gets injured.

(2) Will the Angels be aided or hurt by the fact that they are in the Majors weakest division?

The AL West used to be considered one of the strongest divisions in baseball as Oakland and Seattle would challenge the Angels throughout much of the decade. Oakland is in a rebuilding phase this season, and Seattle's front office thinks they have more talent then they actually do.

If the Angels are able to avoid any major injuries they should be able to win the division comfortably. This should be a good thing for the Angels as they may have more freedoms to give some of their young players more playing time then they would if they were in a tight pennant race.

The Angels also will be able to rest aging outfielders Vladimir Guerrero, and Garret Anderson throughout the season. This should keep the players fresh throughout the season and avoid any extended trips to the disabled list.

Major League Baseball is unpredictable and gives us new surprises every season, so I'm not awarding the division to the Angels already, but if things go as planned the Angels stand to benefit by playing in the Majors weakest division.

(3) Will the Angels find much needed help from the back end of the rotation?

The Angels will enter the season without their 2nd best pitcher Kelvim Escobar who is expected to miss at least the first month of the season. The rotation will be kept intact by the underrated John Lackey. Lackey consistently eats up innings and puts up numbers that could make him a Cy Young contender at some point in his career. Recently acquired Jon Garland will also chew up innings for the Angels and should be able to provide stability at the middle of the rotation.

The back end of the rotation is full of questionmarks however, the Angels don't lack a quantity of options, but they may lack quality options. Ervin Santana has teased the Angels with potential for the last three seasons, and the team is running out of patience with him. This may be Santana's last chance to put a complete season together. Santana has been an interesting study throughout his career as he has an ERA over 7 on the road, but his ERA at home is a whisker over 3.

Santana should start the season as the Angels fourth starter, but Mike Scioscia will not show him the same patience as he has in years past. The fifth spot will likely go to Joe Saunders as he gives the Angels a lefty in their rotation. Saunders has produced solid results in years past, and although he may never be a front end rotation talent, he should be a solid contributor for the Angels.

Dustin Moseley is another option the Angels can use in their rotation in Escobar's absence. Moseley is a groundball machine and may be better suited for a bullpen role. One option the Angels may use is super prospect Nick Adenhart, Adenhart is considered to be one of the best pitching prospects in the game, and could give the team a nice lift ala Franklin Morales towards the end of the season for Los Angeles.

The Angels have most of the pieces in place for a another chance to succeed in the playoffs. Los Angeles will at some point in the season need to acquire an additional bat in the lineup as a lack of power has been a key weakness for them in previous post-seasons. The problem for the Angels is that they have been reluctant to deal from their plethora of talent in the minors to acquire that bat in years past, the Angels can't afford to stand pat this season as the rest of the division will soon catch up to them in talent.