Los Angeles Angels prospect Jake Munroe had the kind of year that could help get him to Anaheim.
The Los Angeles Angels had many players post strong performances throughout their minor league system, so it’s no small achievement to win Baseball America’s award for MiLB Player of the Year for the Angels. But third baseman Jake Munroe did just that as he made significant improvements that could get him to Anaheim.
The 22-year old made a swing adjustment that also transformed him into the organization’s best development story this season on both sides of the ball. He hit 19 home runs and posted a slash line of .289/.402/.498 with a combined .900 OPS between High-A Tri-City and Double-A Rocket City.
That swing adjustment was simple: Munroe dropped his hands. He explained that he had a tendency to get his hands “high and tight,” but dropping them helped him relax his hand. Once that happened it meant he could hit the ball to all fields and deal with any pitch in the process.
Angels assistant GM Joel Prebynski put it a different way, as he noted that the move allowed the Angels to help Munroe buil off what he called Munroe’s “strong foundation” of tools.
That in turn allowed him to “stay athletic,” to use Prebynski’s wording, which helped the third baseman maintain his rhythm and keep his swing loose.
That created a smoother path and a longer range of motion and turn his hips through contact to generate more power, and Munroe was also an effective run producer who also has the necessary plate discipline to succeed.
But that was only half the equation. Defensively, Munroe improved his first step and his ability to get off the ball and show more range. Per Prebynski, that helped smooth out his fielding process, and his footwork has continued to improve as well.
The overall result is that the assistant GM believes Munroe has the abiilty to be a plus defender at third, with Prebynskik saying there is “a path” for the infielder to be an every day player.
The opportunity is certainly there for that. The Angels struggled with Yoan Moncada at third early on, and Oswald Peraza stepped in after that and played well. Peraza slumped badly from there, though, so the position will likely to be wide open in spring training pending the possibility of other moves.
The jump from Double-A is a lot easier to make than it used to be, so that plays in Munroe’s favor as well. Everything is up in the air in Anaheim with a new ownership group coming in, and Munroe is definitely in the mix.
