Los Angeles Angels

Jered Weaver / RHP / starter

Jered Weaver was drafted 12th overall in 2004 out of Long Beach State. He was dominating AAA by ’06, got his first major league start on May 27th of that season, and threw seven shutout innings in his debut. Weaver continued to pitch well in the bigs, finishing 11-2 with a 1.03 WHIP that season. Jered has thrown well every season since and made himself into one of the top pitchers in the game.

Weaver throws four pitches out of an awkward, cross-body delivery. His bread and butter is a 4-seam fastball that gets natural cut. He can dial it up to 95 mph when he wants to, but usually pitches somewhere around 88-90. Jered’s changeup is fairly straight, showing slight movement to his arm side. The changeup has become a real weapon against LHs, and he doesn’t overuse it. Weaver then throws two breaking pitches. His slider is a big spinner around 80 mph, often worked away from RHs or towards the back ankle of LHs. Weaver’s curveball is a very slow 12 to 6 pitch in the low-70s. Early in 2011, Weaver was throwing a 2-seamer that dipped into the low-80s often, but seems to have already abandoned the pitch. 7/22/11

[4-seam fastball(90-94), slider(76-84), changeup(76-81), curve(67-74), 2-seam fastball(81-86)]





Dan Haren / RHP / starter

Dan Haren has become one of the premier pitchers in the game, and it all starts with his excellent control. He helps himself by consistently posting low walk totals. Haren uses a heavy, sneaky fastball that he can paint corners with. Haren's out pitch is his splitter, which dives under bats. He'll also throw a hard biting curve that he spikes with his index finger. Haren's cutter used to be an experiment, but it has become his best and most prolific pitch. He'll use it to both sides of the plate relentlessly. The changeup he used to experiment with hasn't appeared in at least two years.

Haren was a 2nd round draft pick out of Pepperdine University, where he starred on the mound and as the Waves designated hitter. Then, despite succeeding at the professional level everywhere he has pitched, Haren has been involved in three of the higher profile deals in recent memory. 8/27/11

[fastball(88-93), splitter(83-87), curve(77-82), cutter(84-89)]

C.J. Wilson / LHP / starter

Wilson begins most at-bats with his low-90s fastball, good velocity for a left-handed pitcher. As a starting pitcher, Wilson has relied on his cutter to get outs. He will work both sides of the plate with it, to RHs and LHs. He has also brought his changeup back into the fold. The changeup is a fairly straight pitch that even seems to cut at times. Wilson still owns a standard slider and curveball, pitches he'll mix in often, making him a true five-pitch pitcher. C.J. also claims that he throws a legit gyroball. He does throw a few different breaking pitches, however, I still don't know exactly what this gyroball is supposed to be.

Wilson reads the Tao Te Ching regularly, and considers himself straight-edge. X. Because of this, Wilson and Josh Hamilton have become close friends off the field. 10/18/11

[fastball(90-93), cutter(87-90), changeup(81-86), slider(82-85), curve(75-79)]

Jordan Walden / RHP / closer

Walden is the Angels' new hard throwing closer. He literally jumps at the hitter before letting loose his explosive fastball. Walden touches 100 mph and that's about all he needs to be successful. A slider and rarely used changeup round out his repertoire. 7/4/11

[fastball(97-100), slider(86), changeup]

Ervin Santana / RHP / starter

Santana seems to throw mid-90s with ease. His motion is relaxed and the ball just flies out of his hand. He also throws a slider that he can change planes with and vary the velocity on. Santana is basically a two-pitch guy, but he does have a hard, straight changeup hiding in his repertoire. The Dominican native has been strangely inconsistent throughout his career. 8/13/11

[fastball(88-96), slider(78-86), changeup(82-86)]

Michael Kohn / RHP / reliever

Kohn is a coverted shortstop from the College of Charleston. The majority of his amateur career was spent crushing fastballs, not throwing them. A bullpen session that started out as a joke, turned Kohn into the Cougars' closer his senior year.

Kohn has an unorthodox delivery, as his front leg leaks toward the first base line. His arm then whips over his head to deliver a low to mid-90s 4-seam fastball. Kohn owns a slurvy slider that he throws often. His third pitch is a splitter that he keeps low in the zone. Control issues are currently holding him back, but he could still has a future in late inning relief. 8/4/11

[fastball(91-96), slider(79-82), splitter(86-88)]

Scott Downs / LHP / setup reliever

Downs has shown a four pitch repertoire throughout his career. However, he usually works with just his fastball and curve. He shows excellent control of his fastball within the strike zone, and can drop his curveball on the outer half with consistency. His last two pitches are a sharp slider in the low-80s and a straight changeup. 7/4/11

[fastball(84-90), curve(74-77), slider, changeup]

LaTroy Hawkins / RHP / reliever

LaTroy Hawkins has a complete repertoire. He has decent velocity, throws four different pitches, and has good control. LaTroy's fastball is solid, sitting in the low-90s. His slider is short and tight, a pitch he added while with the Cubs. His changeup used to be his best pitch during his two dominant years in Minnesota. Lastly, Hawkins will throw a hard curveball that gets big drop. 7/23/11

[fastball(90-94), slider(85-90), changeup(79-88), curve(75-78)]

Kevin Jepsen / RHP / reliever

Jepsen has always been a high strikeout, high walk pitcher in the minor leagues, and that has carried over into his major league career. Kevin seems to always pitch into deep counts, throwing lots of pitches out of the bullpen.

Jepsen throws a mid-90s, naturally cutting fastball that is tough to hit. He'll use a hard, biting curve ball and a tight slider around 90 mph. Jepsen used to drag a few changeups to LHs but it appears that he may have scrapped that pitch. His stuff looks impressive, but again, he is currently limited by his control. 6/6/10 CSJ

[fastball(94-99), curve(82-83), slider(89-91), changeup]

Hisanori Takahashi / LHP / reliever

Takahashi came to America after a nine year career in the Nippon Professional Baseball League. Hiso won 70 ballgames during that time and even spent one season as a closer. Now stateside, he has thrown in every possible role, from starter to closer.

Takahashi is what you could call a finesse pitcher. His fastball barely touches 90 mph as he attempts to pick corners with it. His money pitch is a screwball-like changeup that he can miss bats with. He throws the changeup with a modified vulcan grip. Takahashi also spins up a standard slider and curveball. 5/27/11

[fastball(86-90), changeup(77-82), slider(77-82), curve(64-67)]

Rich Thompson / RHP / reliever

Thompson is a tough Australian that bulldogs hitters with his fastball / cutter / curve combination. His fastball can appear as straight as an arrow, but it looks like he's placing it on the black of home plate easily. Then he mixes in a hard cutter that fools batters into easy outs, or a curve that gets whiffs. Thompson does own a changeup but it's not a big part of his plan. 8/13/11

[fastball(89-92), curve(76-79), cutter(86-90), changeup]

Brad Mills / LHP / starter - reliever

Mills comes directly over-the-top with his delivery. He throws plenty of straight fastballs to the corners, but tends to leave too many of them up in the strike zone. Mills pulls the string on a decent changeup, which is his clear second pitch. The left-hander will drop in slow curveballs and a tight slider. 8/18/11

[fastball(85-88), changeup(75-79), curve(71-74), slider(83-84)]

Horacio Ramirez / LHP / reliever

Horacio works with his fastball and cutter, pitching inside to RHs often. He'll deal a standard slider and curveball as well, giving him three different breaking balls. Ramirez throws a changeup to round out his repertoire. 4/21/09 CSJ

[fastball(90-92), cutter(87-90), slider(78-82), changeup(81-85), curve(71-72)]

Anthony Ortega / RHP / starter - reliever

Ortega, a Venezuelan, brings a classic four-pitch repertoire to the mound. His fastball gets some tailing movement, but not much sink. His curve and slider both seem to break too early, making for an easy read by hitters. Ortega owns a changeup that can be deceptive, and he'll use it often against LH hitters. 5/22/09 CSJ

[fastball(88-94), slider(82-85), curve(75-81), changeup(78-82)]

Scott Kazmir / LHP / starter

Kazmir has a common repertoire but has shown excellent stuff in his young career. He's not afraid to throw inside, especially with his fastball. Kazmir used to live between 92-95 mph, but I haven't seen him touch 93 mph in a couple of years now. This could be a bad sign for him. Kazmir likes to use the fastball to put batters on their heels before spinning his slider, or fading his changeup away. Kazmir prefers to use the slider against LHs and the changeup against RHs. The young Kazmir has already lead the American League in strikeouts and once threw four consecutive no-hitters in high school. 5/1/09 CSJ

[fastball(88-92), slider(79-82), changeup(75-80)]