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David Fletcher

Angels Reinstate David Fletcher From Injured List

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The Angels have reinstated infielder David Fletcher from the 10-day injured list, the club announced.  Southpaw Jose Quijada was optioned to the Angels’ alternate training site to make space for Fletcher on the active roster.

Fletcher’s IL placement (due to a left ankle sprain) was retroactive to August 31, so he will return to the field after slightly more than a minimal amount of time missed.  Fletcher will now get to resume what had been the best of his three MLB seasons, as he was batting an impressive .313/.377/.438 over his first 162 plate appearances.

Mostly playing shortstop in Andrelton Simmons’ absence, Fletcher is playing second base in tonight’s Halos lineup, which will likely be his set position for the remainder of the year since Simmons is now healthy and Anthony Rendon is entrenched at third base.  Fletcher’s versatility comes in handy for lineup juggling and late-game defensive switches, as he also has some experience at both corner outfield positions.  This gives the Angels some flexibility in how they’ll operate with Fletcher going forward, as he could continue as a regular second baseman in 2021 or perhaps shift over to shortstop if Simmons leaves in free agency.

Angels Place David Fletcher On 10-Day Injured List

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The Angels announced that they have placed utility player David Fletcher on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to Aug. 31, with a left ankle sprain. The club recalled outfielder Taylor Ward in a corresponding move.

Tied for an American League-worst 12-25, there’s not much left to play for over the final few weeks of the season for the Angels. Nevertheless, it’s unfortunate to see Fletcher go down. After breaking out last year with a 3.4-fWAR showing and a .290/.350/.384 line in 653 plate appearances, Fletcher has been even stronger on offense this season with a .313/.377/.438 slash and almost as many walks (16) as strikeouts (17) across 162 PA.

As was the case in 2019, the 26-year-old Fletcher has added to his value by performing capably at multiple positions. Most of Fletcher’s work has come at shortstop, but he has also played five-plus games at second and third. He has combined for seven Defensive Runs Saved among those three spots.

Health Notes: Reds, Wood, Cedeno, Diaz, Fletcher

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On Saturday, Reds southpaw Alex Wood threw a bullpen session for the first time since April, writes Mark Sheldon of MLB.com. Wood has been dealing with lower back spasms since he was acquired in the same trade that sent Yasiel Puig and Matt Kemp to Cincinnati, and setbacks suffered in March and April led to the lefty being shut down for about a month. While there is no timetable for his return to an MLB field and his Reds debut, it’s promising that Wood is once again throwing and feeling well enough to move forward with his recovery. As Sheldon notes, Wood will still need to build up a foundation before he can return to the field, a process that likely includes several more bullpen sessions followed by facing live hitters, and finally a minor-league rehab assignment. Barring any further setbacks, completing those steps will allow Wood to join a Reds team that has actually fielded one of the National League’s best pitching staffs. To be sure, Wood, who has some experiencing working out of a bullpen role with the Dodgers, would represent a luxury for the last-place Reds even if there is not a spot for him in the starting rotation.

  • Cubs left-hander Xavier Cedeno, out since May 21 with left wrist inflammation, will begin a rehab assignment today with the Triple-A Iowa Cubs, according to Jordan Bastian of MLB.com. Cedeno, who also began the season on the injured list, has managed just two innings for the Cubs, largely functioning as a lefty specialist. While he’s yet to allow a run, the 32-year-old has walked three batters and has struck out just one. Cedeno was signed by the Cubs last winter to a one-year deal worth up to $900k.
  • Astros shortstop Aledmys Diaz, who is currently rehabbing from a left hamstring strain, has suffered a setback, according to Jake Kaplan of The Athletic. It’s unknown how long the setback will keep Diaz, who hasn’t played since May 26, on the shelf, but with Carlos Correa out of the lineup, the Astros would like to get Diaz healthy sooner than later. By and large, it’s been Myles Straw and Jack Mayfield seeing the most action at short with both Diaz and Correa sidelined, and while they have filled in capably, neither can match Diaz’s above-average .831 OPS.
  • The Angels’ David Fletcher was out of the lineup for the second consecutive game today due to left shoulder soreness, tweets Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com. However, he adds that manager Brad Ausmus said that a stint on the injured list looks unlikely at this time. It’s good to hear for an Angels team that has had to endure injuries to other infielders Zack Cozart and Andrelton Simmons, especially considering that Fletcher has arguably been the team’s second-best player this season.

The Angel Who Can’t Miss

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The Angels are off to a 29-31 start two-plus months into the season, but the Halos’ unimposing 60-game record isn’t the fault of their offense. The team’s Mike Trout-led attack ranks sixth in the majors in wRC+ (108) and 12th in runs (301), in part because it seldom strikes out. No team is running a lower K percentage (16.3) or a higher contact rate (82.9) than the Angels, though their ringleader isn’t Trout in either regard. Sure, Trout’s well above average in both categories (what else is new?), but it’s teammate David Fletcher who reigns as the Angels’ low-strikeout, high-contact king.

The 25-year-old Fletcher earned his first league promotion just under a year ago (on June 12, 2018), though he certainly wasn’t seen as a can’t-miss prospect at the time. But the infielder/outfielder hasn’t missed, literally or figuratively, in his first 12 months in the majors. In fact, Fletcher has already racked up 4.0 fWAR in 530 major league plate appearances. Since Fletcher’s first game last June 13, only three second basemen (Javier Baez, Whit Merrifield and Ketel Marte) have outdone him in the fWAR department. While a large portion of Fletcher’s 2018 value came from his defense, which has remained a strength this season, he’s now making the majority of his hay with his right-handed swing.

Fletcher has walked to the plate 223 times this season and recorded a .322/.377/.459 line, good for an impressive 128 wRC+. He’s not doing it with plus power, having swatted four home runs and logged a below-average .137 ISO. Fletcher’s also not reaching base nearly 38 percent of the time because of a special ability to draw walks; thus far, he has collected a free pass at a roughly average rate (8.1 percent).

Instead, Fletcher’s getting by on the fact that pitchers just can’t fool him. Fletcher’s ability to make contact is extraordinary. He sits first in all of Major League Baseball in strikeout rate (5.8 percent), swinging-strike rate (1.9 percent), contact rate (94.6 percent), zone contact rate (98.5) and out-of-zone contact rate (88.1). And Fletcher is rather selective, ranking second to Trout in swing rate (34.9 percent). In essence, when Fletcher actually does swing, he hits everything thrown at him. What’s more, he adds to hurlers’ stress by seldom going after pitches that aren’t over the plate. While Fletcher’s chase percentage (24.2) isn’t elite, it still puts him in a 25th-place tie in the sport.

The skills Fletcher’s demonstrating in the majors aren’t anything new. Fletcher previously showed off tremendous contact ability in the minors, including when he hit .350/.394/.559 with a 7.6 percent strikeout rate in 275 Triple-A plate appearances last year. The question is whether he can continue to offer production along his current lines as he moves forward. Signs are encouraging in that regard.

Fletcher’s .330 batting average on balls in play isn’t ridiculous, especially for someone with better-than-average speed and one of the league’s lowest fly ball rates. For the most part, delving into Statcast metrics leads to more positives for Fletcher. Although his exit velocity and hard-hit rate each rank in the league’s bottom 7 percentile (or worse), his expected batting average and expected weighted on-base average are near the top. Fletcher’s xBA (.334) is third in baseball, trailing only superstars Cody Bellinger and Anthony Rendon. Meanwhile, Fletcher’s .363 xwOBA is actually a hair better than his real wOBA (.361).

Four years after the Angels used a sixth-round pick on Fletcher in 2015, it appears the club has something in the 5-foot-9 Southern California native. In a league where balls in play are dropping and home runs and strikeouts are soaring, Fletcher’s on the other extreme. He’s a unique and effective player who just might be in the early stages of becoming a long-term staple in Anaheim.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Angels Select Contract Of Sherman Johnson

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The Angels announced that they’ve selected the contract of infielder Sherman Johnson and transferred right-hander Nick Tropeano to the 60-day DL in order to clear a roster spot. The Halos also activated left-hander Tyler Skaggs from the disabled list.

Johnson, 28, will be making his big league debut the first time he takes the field. A 14th-round pick back in 2012, he’s spent his entire career in the Angels’ minor league ranks to this point. Johnson hit poorly in 20 games of Double-A duty this season but was quite productive in 46 games of Triple-A work, hitting at a .277/.359/.459 clip with four homers, seven doubles and four triples in 171 trips to the plate. He’s a career .251/.363/.389 hitter in parts of seven minor league campaigns and has walked nearly as often as he’s struck out to this point of his career (14.3 percent walk rate, 18.1 percent strikeout rate).

Johnson’s promotion is likely in part due to hamstring strain for 24-year-old David Fletcher — an injury that could prove to be a season-ender for the promising young infielder. Johnson can fill in virtually anywhere on the diamond, as he’s appeared at every position except catcher and center field this season (including three innings on the mound in Triple-A).

Angels Promote David Fletcher

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The Angels have called up infield prospect David Fletcher, officially selecting his contract from Triple-A Salt Lake, the team announced. To clear a spot on the 40-man roster, the Angels moved Blake Wood from the 10-day DL to the 60-day DL. Jefry Marte has been placed on the 10-day DL with a sprained left wrist, thus opening a 25-man roster spot for Fletcher.

Angels fans have been anxiously awaiting the debut of Fletcher, who isn’t considered one of the organization’s elite prospects (No. 21, per MLB.com) but has laid waste to Triple-A pitchers thus far in 2018. The former sixth-round pick (2015) has slashed .350/.394/.559 with six homers, 25 doubles, five triples and seven steals (in nine tries) so far in the Triple-A season. Incredibly, he’s punched out just 21 times in 274 plate appearances.

As the Halos’ Triple-A affiliate tweeted over the weekend, the 24-year-old Fletcher was leading all of Minor League Baseball with 85 hits, 36 extra-base hits, 25 doubles and 138 total bases. That superlative production landed him on a recent edition of Jason Martinez’s Knocking Down the Door here at MLBTR.

Exactly where Fletcher lines up on the diamond in the big leagues remains to be seen. He’s split his time between the two middle infield positions in the minors thus far in 2018, and while Ian Kinsler slumped badly early in the season, he’s been swinging a much better bat of late. Kinsler has a .797 OPS over the past month, and in his past 13 games, he’s slashing a ridiculous .352/.397/.759 with six homers and four doubles in 58 plate appearances.

The Angels had to place Andrelton Simmons on the disabled list due to a freak ankle sprain recently — Simmons injured himself on the dugout steps — and Zack Cozart has shifted over to shortstop in the interim. It’s possible, then, that Fletcher could see some time at shortstop, with Cozart sliding back over to the hot corner on days when Fletcher is penciled in at short.

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