The Playoffs are looming for the Angels who now have a magic number of 4 going into a 4-game series at home with the Mariners.
The question is, which 25 will Scioscia take with him into the playoffs?
Angels 40 Man Roster:
| Catchers | Infield | Outfield | Starters | Relievers |
| John Buck | Erick Aybar | Brennan Boesch | Jered Weaver | Cam Bedrosian |
| Hank Conger | Gordon Beckham | Kole Calhoun | CJ Wilson | Jairo Diaz |
| Chris Iannetta | CJ Cron | Tony Campana | Matt Shoemaker | Jason Grilli |
| David Freese | Collin Cowgill | Hector Santiago | Yoslan Herrera | |
| Luis Jimenez | Grant Green | Kevin Jepsen | ||
| Howie Kendrick | Josh Hamilton | Wade LeBlanc | ||
| John McDonald | Efren Navarro | Mike Morin | ||
| Shawn O’Malley | Mike Trout | Vinnie Pestano | ||
| Albert Pujols | Cory Rasmus | |||
| Michael Roth | ||||
| Drew Rucinski | ||||
| Fernando Salas | ||||
| Joe Smith | ||||
| Huston Street | ||||
| Joe Thatcher |
Let’s start with the pretty much sure things.
John Buck will stay behind. This makes:
1. Hank Conger
2. Chris Iannetta
It’s pretty clear we only have 4 starting pitchers:
3. Jered Weaver
4. CJ Wilson
5. Matt Shoemaker
6. Hector Santiago
I’d like to see the order go: Weaver, Shoemaker, Wilson, Weaver, Shoemaker Wilson. Yes I left out Santiago. On purpose. But he will be there. It’s tough, though not impossible do run a 3-man rotation through the post season but that often means someone pitching on 3 days rest.
Some of the infielders are a guarantee:
7. Albert Pujols
8. Howie Kendrick
9. Erick Aybar
10. David Freese
These outfielders are a sure thing (I think Hamilton will be back for the playoffs):
11. Kole Calhoun
12. Mike Trout
13. Josh Hamilton
14. Collin Cowgill
Bullpen staff that are a done deal:
15. Huston Street
16. Joe Smith
17. Jason Grilli
18. Cory Rasmus
19. Kevin Jepsen
That leaves us with 6 open spots.
The position player contenders are:
Beckham, Jimenez, McDonald, O’Malley, Boesch, Campana, Green, Navarro
The pitching contenders are:
Bedrosian, Diaz, Herrera, LeBlanc, Morin, Pestano, Roth, Rucinski, Salas, Thatcher
I think we are unlikely to see O’Malley over Beckham and Jimenez and Campana probably can’t contribute enough in post season. Boesch would have a shot if he can start hitting but the way he is playing, his post season odds are slim.
I think Scioscia will take McDonald, Beckham, Navarro and Green though I’d rather he lock McDonald in his hotel room. Green and and Beckham are expendable, however, since McDonald can play all infield positions and Navarro can play 1B and outfield. It’s quite possible that Scioscia will go McDonald/Navarro and load up on pitchers.
Diaz doesn’t qualify for post season and Rucinski hasn’t been with the team so that leaves them both out. It’s highly likely that Morin and Salas will be going. Herrera, Thatcher, Roth, and Bedrosian have all shown to be less than reliable though Thatcher may get the nod because he is a lefty. I’d rather those 4 all stay put and LeBlanc joins Morin and Salas. Pestano may deserve a shot as well though I would not include him.
So my preference on the remaining 6 look like this:
20. Grant Green
21. Efren Navarro
22. Gordon Beckham
23. Mike Morin
24. Fernando Salas
25. Wade LeBlanc
That make 12 pitchers (8 in the pen) + 13 position players.
Onward to October!
