Opportunity Finally Knocks for Brandon Wood

I have always tried to learn something from each job I have had. For example, I have learned two things from last job.

First, I learned that even one of the biggest companies in the world can be dysfunctional. Then again, here is a life lesson for all you kids who are reading this who are still in college or just graduated—all companies in Corporate America are dysfunctional.

The second thing I learned is how to deal with change. People at my last  company were being laid off or quitting daily. It was a constant revolving door. However, sometimes with change comes opportunity.

When someone leaves a company or an organization, it opens the door for someone else. You feel bad to get an opportunity when someone else gets laid off, but that is just the way life is.

For the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim’s Brandon Wood, he finally might get an opportunity because of someone else leaving. Now, I am not saying the Angels are a dysfunctional organization, because they are not.

As a matter of fact, I think the Angels are one of the three or four best run organizations in baseball. But just like with every team in baseball, the Angels lose players to free agency or trade away players to try to improve in other areas.

In this case, the player that left Anaheim was Chone Figgins. Figgins left to sign with the Seattle Mariners and thus, the Angels have an opening at third base in 2010.

The player most likely to fill that spot is Wood. Wood has been one of the most hyped prospects in the Angels’ system since the Angels selected him with the 23rd pick in the first round of the 2003 draft.

He has put up some impressive minor league numbers, but he hasn’t translated that success to the major league level. In 236 ABs over three seasons, Wood has a career .192 average.

I will give Wood a pass in those 236 ABs because it has to be hard for a young player to perform when he doesn’t get regular ABs and is shuffling between the minors and majors.

Wood will be given every opportunity to win the third base job in spring training and I think he will have a very productive 2010 season. Wood will bat sixth or seventh in the Angels’ lineup and should have plenty of RBI opportunities next year.

Here is what I expect from Wood in 2010. I expect a .255 average with 20-25 home runs, 65-75 RBI, and a .335 OBP. Those are good, but not great numbers.

Draft Wood as a backup third baseman and as a future starting third baseman in keeper league settings.

You can follow The Ghost of Moonlight Graham on Twitter @ theghostofmlg