The Angels have claimed 27-year old righty swinging 2B/3B Kevin Frandsen off waivers from the Red Sox. Frandsen has played in 17 games in AAA-ball this season and he is 16 of 62 (.258 avg, .746 OPS) with 9 runs scored, 2 homers, 4 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. Frandsen has played in parts of 4 years in the majors (all with the Giants) appearing in 174 games in which he was 98 of 408 (.240 avg, .645 OPS) with 41 runs scored, 7 homers, 39 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. This was a good move because Frandsen is a decent little player who the Angels can stash in AAA.

27-year old switch hitting 1B Kendry Morales is off to a very fast start for the Angels so far this season. Morales has played in 20 games for the Angels this season and he is 24 of 73 (.329 avg, .975 OPS) with 12 runs scored, 6 homers and 16 RBIs. The Angels are reaping the benefits of waiting a while before giving Morales the full time 1B job just like the Phillies did with Ryan Howard. He got his first taste as a starter last season for the Angels and he played in 152 games in which he was 173 of 566 (.306 avg, .924 OPS) with 86 runs scored, 34 homers and 108 RBIs. I look for Morales to at least match his numbers of last season unless he improves on them in 2010.

The Angels have placed backup catcher Bobby Wilson on the 15-day disabled list with a concussion and a ankle injury caused by a collision at the plate against the Yankees in his first start of the year. Wilson has played in 2 games this season for the Angels and he is 0 for 2 (.000 avg) with a whiff. The Angels have recalled 30-year old righty swinging Ryan Budde to replace Wilson as the backup catcher to Mike Napoli. Budde has played in 6 games in AAA-ball this season and he is 6 for 21 (.286 avg, .604 OPS) with 4 runs scored. Budde has played in parts of three years with the Angels appearing in 23 games in which he is 3 for 23 (.130 avg, .304 OPS) with 1 RBI. Look for Napoli to start playing a lot more with Mathis and Wilson out of action due to injury.

The Angels will be without catcher Jeff Mathis for the next 6-8 weeks due to a fractured right wrist. This is a bad break for Mathis who was off to the best start of his major league career. Mathis has played in 10 games this season for the Angels and he is 11 for 34 (.324 avg, .851 OPS) with 5 runs scored, 1 homer, 3 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. Mike Napoli will likely be elevated back to his old starting role behind the plate. He has played in 7 games this season and he is 3 for 19 (.158 avg, .396 OPS) with 1 run scored and 1 RBI. The Angels’ D will likely suffer a bit with Napoli behind the plate but he will add a lot of power to the batting order. Bobby Wilson will move up the depth chart to the #2 slot. He has only played in 1 game for the Angels so far this season and he is 0 for 1 (.000 avg). The Angels have recalled 1B/3B Robb Quinlan to replace Mathis on the active roster.

The Angels have won three games in a row (a sweep over the Jays in Toronto) and they are now 6-7 on the season which has them tied for 2nd place in the A.L. West with the Mariners, 2.5 games behind the surprising A’s. The Angels have been outscored 69-52 this season so there problems have been both of the hitting and pitching variety. It looks like they are starting to get things together and it will be interesting to see how they do this week as the Tigers come to Anaheim for 4 games followed by a 3 game visit from the Yankees this coming weekend.