22-year old righty swinging 1B C.J. Cron came into this season as the Angels’ #5 prospect according to Baseball America. Cron has played in 54 games in A-ball so far this year for the Angels and he is 59 for 205 (.288 avg, .790 OPS) with 22 runs scored, 7 homers and 40 RBIs. Cron has now played in 88 games in his first two years in the minors for the Angels and he is 103 for 348 (.296 avg, .877 OPS) with 52 runs scored, 20 homers and 81 RBIs. Cron will likely have to learn a new position at some point with Albert Pujols, Mark Trumbo and Kendry Morales ahead of him on the depth chart.

33-year old righty reliever Juan Rincon has opted out of his minor league deal with the Angels. Rincon pitched in 17 games (3 starts) in AAA-ball for the Angels this year and he was 0-1 with 1 save, a 3.12 ERA and a 1.50 WHIP. Rincon has pitched in 444 games (3 starts) in his 10 years in the majors and he is 35-29 with 3 saves, a 4.03 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP. The Angels won’t miss Rincon too much, but he will likely hook on with another team soon.

The Angels have released 22-year old lefty starting pitcher Trevor Reckling. Reckling came into this season as the Angels’ #22 prospect according to Baseball America. He pitched in 4 games (2 starts) in A-ball this year for the Angels and he was 0-1 with an 18.90 ERA and a 3.15 WHIP. He gave up 6 hits and whiffed 5 batters in 6 2/3 innings in A-ball this year, but he walked a stunning 15 batters. Reckling pitched in 110 games (104 starts) in his six years in the minors for the Angels and he was 33-38 with 2 saves, a 4.15 ERA and a 1.44 WHIP. The Angels got sick of waiting around for Reckling, but some team is going to give him another shot this year.

24-year old switch-hitting catcher Hank Conger is off to a good start with the bat in 2012. He has played in 13 games in AAA-ball so far this year and he is 20 for 56 (.357 avg, .943 OPS) with 11 runs scored, 2 homers, 8 RBIs and 1 stolen base. It’s bad luck for Conger that he’s on the minor league D.L., because the Angels could use him right now with Chris Iannetta set to miss the next 6-8 weeks due to surgery on his wrist. Conger has played in 72 games in his first two years with the Angels and he is 42 for 206 (.204 avg, .629 OPS) with 16 runs scored, 2 homers and 24 RBIs. If Conger can get healthy soon, the Angels will likely call him up.

22-year old righty swinging SS Jean Segura came into this season as the Angels’ #2 prospect according to Baseball America. Segura has played in 25 games in AA-ball so far this year and he is 24 for 94 (.255 avg, .690 OPS) with 10 runs scored, 2 homers, 12 RBIs and 8 stolen bases. Segura has now played in 322 games in his first six years in the minors and he is 392 of 1,260 (.311 avg, .809 OPS) with 217 runs scored, 21 homers, 175 RBIs and 110 stolen bases. He appears to have been placed on the fast track this year by the Angels.

The Angels have released 30-year old righty swinging 1B/3B Jorge Cantu, as he exercised his opt out clause in his contract. Cantu played in 21 games in AAA-ball for the Angels this year and he was 25 of 86 (.291 avg, .788 OPS) with 12 runs scored, 4 homers and 22 RBIs. Cantu has played in 847 games in 8 years in the majors and he is 847 for 3,128 (.271 avg, .755 OPS) with 367 runs scored, 104 homers, 476 RBIs and 11 stolen bases. The Angels aren’t going to miss Cantu this year. I do think another team will sign him to a minor league deal soon as he was hitting the ball well in AAA.

The Angels have called up 20-year old righty swinging outfielder Mike Trout. He is likely going to be the starting CF for the Angels. Trout played in 20 games in AAA-ball this year and he was 31 of 77 (.403 avg, 1.091 OPS) with 21 runs scored, 1 homer, 13 RBIs and 6 stolen bases. Trout struggled last season in his first shot at the show, when he played in 40 games for the Angels in which he was 27 of 123 (.220 avg, .672 OPS) with 20 runs scored, 5 homers, 16 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. His P.T. was sporadic last year, but the Angels are planning on playing him every day this time around to see if he can give the offense a boost. 25-year old righty swinging Peter Bourjos will likely be the #4 outfielder now that he won’t be starting in CF. He has played in 16 games for the Angels so far this year and he is 8 for 45 (.178 avg, .512 OPS) with 4 runs scored, 1 homer, 7 RBIs and 1 stolen base. I think Bourjos will do a good job in his new role.

23-year old righty starting pitcher Garrett Richards came into this season as the Angels’ #3 prospect according to Baseball America. Richards had a rough into to the majors last year when he pitched in 7 games (3 starts) in which he was 0-2 with a 5.79 ERA and a 1.64 WHIP. But, he looks pretty good so far in AAA ball this year. He has pitched in 3 games (all starts) in AAA-ball so far this year and he is 2-0 with a 2.14 ERA and a 0.76 WHIP. He has only given up 12 hits and 4 walks while whiffing 21 batters in his first 21 innings so far this year. Whether Richards gets another shot at the rotation this year will likely depend on how well Jerome Williams pitches as he is the #5 starter for the Angels right now. I think Richards will pitch better in 2012 for the Angels, if he gets that chance at some point in the year.

20-year old righty swinging outfielder Mike Trout came into this season as the Angels’ #1 prospect according to Baseball America. He has a rough time in his first taste of the majors last year when he played in 40 games in which he was 27 for 123 (.220 avg, .671 OPS) with 20 runs scored, 5 homers, 16 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. Trout is trying to get back to the majors in 2012, but he will need an injury to one of the Angels’ starting outfielders to likely get than chance. Trout has played in 12 games in AAA-ball so far this year and he is 21 of 50 (.420 avg, 1.094 OPS) with 12 runs scored, 3 triples, 1 homer, 6 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. I think Trout will be much better the next time around in the majors, especially if he gets consistent playing time.

The Angels have designated 27-year old righty reliever Rich Thompson for assignment. Thompson pitched in 2 games (0 starts) for the Angels this year and he was 0-1 with a 15.43 ERA and a 2.57 WHIP. He pitched in 81 games (0 starts) in his six years with the Angels and he was 3-4 with a 4.24 ERA and a 1.36 WHIP. The Angels have called up 27 year old lefty starter/reliever Brad Mills to replace Thompson in the bullpen. Mills started 1 game in AAA-ball this year for the Angels and he was 1-0 with a 1.50 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP. Mills will be used in long relief by the Angels.

UPDATE: (4/21/2012) - The Angels have lost Rich Thompson on waivers to the division rival Oakland A’s.