Ten Predictions for 2008


It’s a sure thing — Tom Kotchman will take the Orem Owlz into the playoffs.

Ten predictions for 2008, in no particular order of importance or credibility:

  • Jeff Mathis takes over the Angels’ full-time catching role by mid-season.
  • Brandon Wood becomes the Angels’ full-time shortstop by season’s end.
  • Casey Kotchman actually stays healthy for a full season and hits thirty homers.
  • Joe Saunders will start drawing comparisons to Tom Glavine.
  • Nick Adenhart will have an ERA over 4.50 with Salt Lake, and some people will dismiss him as a "bust" even though he’s a 21-year old pitching in a Triple-A high-altitude ballpark. Nick will also make his major league debut in September.
  • Jordan Walden begins the year with Cedar Rapids, makes the Midwest League All-Star team, then gets promoted to Rancho Cucamonga for the second half.
  • Hank Conger, Matt Sweeney and Mark Trumbo will each hit 20 HR for Rancho Cucamonga.
  • The Quakes’ rotation of Sean O’Sullivan, Trevor Bell, Jeremy Haynes, David Herndon and Tommy Mendoza will be considered the best in the California League.
  • The Quakes qualify in the first-half for the California League playoffs. The team that actually goes to the playoffs looks little like the qualifying team because so many guys got mid-season promotions to Double-A.
  • And the easiest prediction … Tom Kotchman leads the Orem Owlz into the Pioneer League playoffs.

This article is copyright © 2008 Stephen C. Smith DBA FutureAngels.com. It may not be reprinted elsewhere without the prior expressed written permission of the author. To obtain permission, e-mail Stephen at home@futureangels.com.

2 comments

  2. Unknown

    You forgot this one: After re-upping with the Angels prematurely, Abe Flores rewards Cedar Rapids for its loyalty by sending them a club that will contain zero prospects and be lucky to finish the MWL season with a .500 record.

    Pretty sad when the highlight of the season in Cedar Rapids is seeing an opposing manager.

    [Editor’s Note — The e-mail attached to this post claimed to be a Cedar Rapids Kernels e-mail address. The address is not legitimate, therefore it has been removed. The reader should take that into consideration when weighing the integrity of the post.]

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