Angels Rookie Provides Plenty Of Power With Homers In Three Straight Games

The Los Angeles Angels may not be very good, but they do have some impressive young players who are finding themselves. Infielder Denzer Guzman is one of them, and he added some unexpected power to his hitting equation as he hit home runs in three consecutive games. 

Yesterday’s three-run shot to center tied the Angels’ game with the A’s at 7-7, and the Angels went on to win in the ninth on a two-run homer by Zach Neto that was basically a deep fly ball that kept carrying in the A’s’ West Sacramento bandbox. 

Manager Kurt Suzuki welcomed Guzman’s contributions, as they were especially badly needed in this particular slugfest. 

“His comfort level, it looks like he’s settling in,” manager Kurt Suzuki said of Guzman in a piece written by Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com. “He puts in the work, and he looks like he belongs. It’s nice to see him get results and all the hard work that he's put in. He's a great teammate, hard worker, so it’s fun to watch him right now.”

Guzman definitely earned this opportunity. He’s ranked No. 7 in the Angels’ minor league system, and he was putting up what Bollinger called “eye-popping” numbers at Triple-A Salt Lake. Guzman struggled out of the gate when he got to Anaheim this season, but Bollinger added that in the last nine games Guzman has a slash line of .324/.395/.618 that also includes three homers, a double and 10 RBIs. 

This is Guzman's second stint in the majors, this time around he looks like he belongs. He hit just .190 and looked completely overwhelmed last year, but this season he seems to have figured it out.  

“I have 100 percent more confidence,” Guzman said. “I know I belong here, I prepared for that, and I worked for that and here are the results.”

A’s manager Mark Kotsay played for a long time in the big leagues for multiple teams, and he was impressed by Guzman’s work at third base, where he could be a much-needed solution to a position that’s been a revolving door. 

"Talented young kid,” Kotsay said. “Really impressive series for him, both offensively and defensively. I think they've found a third baseman that has a future over there."

Guzman’s reason for his sudden improvement is simple. He’s being selective, rather than chasing the way he did when he came up last year. 

“What clicked for me was looking for my pitch,” Guzman said through interpreter Manny Del Campo. “Just concentrate on good pitches because before I was swinging at everything. But now I’m focused on the good pitches. That’s what is important for me.”