Giant righty swinging OF/DH Don Baylor really made a good impression in his six years with the Angels. In 1979, Baylor was a beast as he made the All-Star team while winning the American League MVP Award. Baylor playe din 162 games in 1979 for the Angels and he was 186 of 628 (.296 avg, .901 OPS) with 120 runs scored, 36 homers, 139 RBIs and 22 stolen bases. Baylor led the majors in both runs scored and RBIs in 1979. He also showed stunning discipline for a power hitter as he walked 71 times in 1979 while only whiffing 51 times. Baylor only played six years for the Angels but he played in 824 games in which he was 813 of 3,105 (.262 avg, .785 OPS) with 481 runs scored, 141 homers, 523 RBIs and 89 stolen bases. Baylor is #8 for the Angels all-time in homers with 141 and he’s also #10 in RBIs with 523.

The Los Angeles Angels have designated 32-year old righty reliever Jason Bulger for assignment. Bulger pitched in 5 games (0 starts) for the Angels this year and he was 0-1 with a 0.96 ERA and a 1.71 WHIP. He only gave up 6 hits (but 2 were homers) in his 9 1/3 innings this year, but he also walked 10 batters. Bulger has pitched in 125 games (0 starts) in his 7 years with the Angels and he is 7-2 with 1 save, a 4.33 ERA and a 1.41 WHIP. I really doubt that Bulger will clear waivers.

The Angels felt confident in trading Mike Napoli over the winter because they knew that 23-year old switch hitting catcher Hank Conger was ready to play in the show. He came into the 2011 season as the Angels’ #4 ranked prospect according to Baseball America. Conger has played in 10 games for the Angels so far this year and he is 9 for 29 (.310 avg, .946 OPS) with 5 runs scored, 2 homers and 7 RBIs. He is starting to push 28-year old righty swinging Jeff Mathis for P.T. Mathis is a solid defensive catcher but he’s never been much of a hitter and that has not changed so far this year. Mathis has played in 11 games for the Angels so far this year and he is 8 for 38 (.211 avg, .620 OPS) with 4 runs scored, 1 homer and 5 RBIs. Mathis has only walked 1 time this year while whiffing 13 times, so he’s essentially a hacker that can’t hit. I look for Conger to overtake Mathis as the Angels’ starting catcher before June.

The Angels have placed 35-year old lefty reliever Scott Downs on the 15-day disabled list due to a gastrointestinal viurs. Downs has pitched in only 2 games (0 starts) so far this year for the Angels and he is 0-0 with a 0.00 ERA and a 0.60 WHIP. He has given up 1 hit in 1 2/3 scoreless innings for the Angels this year and this will already be his second stint on the D.L. in 2011. The Angels have recalled righty reliever/starter Trevor Bell up from AAA. He got right in on the action last night against the Red Sox as he worked 2 scoreless and hitless innings in which he walked 2 batters and whiffed 1.

The Angels have designated 26-year old righty swinging infielder Brandon Wood for assignment to make room on the active roster for Erick Aybar who was activated off the D.L. Wood played in 6 games for the Angels this year and he was 2 for 14 (.143 avg, .357 OPS) with 1 run scored. Wood also has whiffed 8 times with 0 walks so far this year. Wood played in 173 games in his five years with the Angels and he is 78 for 464 (.168 avg, .455 OPS) with 40 runs scored, 11 homers, 33 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. He has whiffed 153 times so far in his career and he has 13 walks, which is pretty amazingly awful. The Angels gave Wood enough P.T. to decide that they have seen more than enough out of him.

UPDATE: (4/22/2011) - The Pittsburgh Pirates have claimed Brandon Wood on waivers, ending his career with the Angels. Good Riddance!