Amateur Draft results

Angelenos.com--

The Angelenos had the 10th pick of the 2010 Amateur draft in what was considered an overall weak class. With that said however, GM/Manager buckeye86 liked what he got.

"We went pitching with the first 3 rounds. We know that pitching has been our undoing the past few seasons, so the best and cheapest way to fix that is to try your luck in the draft.

So far, the Angelenos have signed 11 of their 25 picks, including the top 3 and 5 out of their top 10 rounds. The top 3 include--

1st round pick Douglas Satterwhite. Douglas is a 20 year old Right handed starter who has great control and stamina and also has the potential to be a high end starter. He is known for his dominating fastball. Expected ML debut: 2012

2nd round pick Bo Sweeney. Bo is an 18 year old right handed starter with good control and pretty good stamina. His splits are average, but what may make him useful is his two out pitches in a 4 seam fastball and a cut fastball. He's also been very good at inducing groundballs. Expected ML debut: 2013

3rd round pick Weldon Robinson. Weldon is a 19 year old right handed starter/Reliever. He's got fairly good stamina, getting to the 6th/7th with without much problem, but his control is very shaky. He's just as dominating against lefties as he is right handed batters. He has a great fastball that will only get better. He will be a starter in the farm system, but may be converted to a RP once he hits the majors. Expected ML Debut: 2013

"I'm very excited about the quality of pitching we got in the first 3 rounds. We've added needed pitching depth in our farm system, which outside of 21 year old leftie Ned Caminiti was fairly thin. We were known as a high spending team, but the past few years we have become an organization who is dedicated to beuilding through the draft. The future is hopefully a good one!"

Angeleno update--

After a recent hot streak, the Angelenos have cooled off, loosing 7 out of their last 10, dropping them to 20-26 overall. Aside from that, the Angelenos have made a couple of transactions which included trading for Kevin Howard. LA is hoping he can be the guy to help anchor this pitching staff to make a run at a possible playoff berth. To make room on the team, disappointment Billy Daniels was sent down to AAA and could have seen his last stint with the major league team, despite a hefty salary.

Following that trade to bolster the starting pitching, KC called up two prominent bats from AAA.

DH Ryan Ruffinwas the first to be called up and has done nothing but amaze GM/Manager Buckeye86. "The kid is 22 and he was tearing up AAA pitching. We just couldn't keep him down there any longer. So we call him up, expecting him to need an adjustment period, but in 14 games the kid has hit .339, including 2 homers. He's going to be an amazing talent....that's for sure.

Herman Atkins was also called up today to take over at 2B, moving Ben Darwin over to SS. Herman can play several positions, but putting him at 2B just made the most sense for the Angelenos. He also was ready to be called up after hitting .365 in 39 games for AAA Angelenos. He's got some pop as well, and usually finds his way on base.

Another player to keep an eye out for is SP Ned Caminiti who has quickly moved through the ranks this season and is currently at AAA. On a team where SP has been hard to come by, you just never know when a new face will be thrown into the action.

With these moves, the Angelenos are very hopeful about not only getting younger, but also getting better.

Angelenos improving?

Angelenos.com---

Despite starting the season at 1-8, the Angelenos have fought their way back to a respectable 9-12. Yes, 8-4 in their last 12 games. A pretty solid stretch that has seen both the offense and bullpen rebound from a pretty horrid start.

The Angelenos aren't expected to give Honolulu any trouble in terms of challenging for the division, but it's too early to rule out a Wild Card berth, especially in a season that's known as a marathon and not a sprint...

Another contributing factor to the overall bad start, has been the injury bug. Los Angeles saw their starting catcher and offensive threat Nick Alexander sidelined for at least 3 months with a ligament strain in his foot. He's just one of several Angelenos who have already spent time on the DL.

Herman Atkins and Ryan Ruffin of the AAA Angelenos are expected to be making their Major League debuts within the near future. These are two guys that the Angelenos have been extremely high on. With good reason, so far in AAA Herman Atkins is hitting .407 with 6 homers and 23 rbi in 81 at bats. Ryan Ruffin is hitting .322 with 9 dingers and 30 rbi. At that rate, they would be providing some much needed pop within the Angeleno line up...