Angels Notes: Khalil Greene to Los Angeles of Anaheim?

In recent weeks, there has been speculation in the media, as well as on message boards and blogs suggesting that the Angels could consider acquiring Padres shortstop Khalil Greene to replace departed shortstop Orlando Cabrera.

Most of the speculation centers around an Angels offer of center fielder Reggie Willits, infielder Erick Aybar, and either pitcher Joe Saunders or Ervin Santana.


ANGELS SHORTSTOP BATTLE:

At this point in time, it's assumed that Erick Aybar has the inside track to become the Angels starting shortstop in 2008, but he will be battling it out with Maicer Izturis. Those two players present an interesting situation for the Angels, since both players seemed better suited to be utility players for different but equally valid reasons.

On one hand, Aybar represents the prospect that has yet to establish himself in limited opportunities. He began his professional career with a lightning start, posting a .326/.374/.469 line in 67 games, good for an impressive .843 OPS in his first year in rookie ball at age 18. He followed that season up with a nice season at A ball, posting a .308/.331/.436 line at a still very young 19 years old.

His third season has been his finest as a professional, posting a .330/.359/.485 line at high A ball. He counterbalanced a mediocre walk rate with a good contact rate of 88%, (A rate above 90% often, but not always, indicates a .300 hitter), and this was a recurring theme throughout his time in the minors.

I much prefer to see players with high walk rates and poor strikeout rates, as this can be indicative of a player who waits for his pitch and may strikeout as a result of working deep counts. Players like Adam Dunn and Jason Giambi are excellent data points to support this notion, so I'm not thrilled to see Aybar being the opposite. He's a player that may make contact at a higher rate, but is not necessarily hitting pitches he should be swinging at (see Kendrick, Howie).

Maicer Izturis, the Angels other internal option to play shortstop, has shown a better understanding of hitting in his major league service. Izturis is more disciplined at the plate, showing greater skill than Aybar in two key aspects of hitting: avoiding the strikeout and swinging at a pitch he can handle. The numbers support this, as he has a career contact rate of 88% and a career walk rate of 9%. (At the major le

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