The Angels have activated lefty reliever Scott Downs from the D.L. and they have called up 21-year old righty starting pitcher Tyler Chatwood. Chatwood will make his major league debut tonight against the Cleveland Indians. He comes into this season as the Angels’ #2 prospect according to Baseball America. He started 1 game in AAA-ball this year and he worked 1 scoreless inning giving up 1 hit while whiffing 2 batters. He got pulled from the start because the Angels needed him. Chatwood pitched in 27 games (26 starts) in A+AA+AAA-ball last year and he was 13-9 with a 2.84 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP. He has now pitched in 63 games (62 starts) in his first four years in the minors and he is 22-18 with a 3.30 ERA and a 1.42 WHIP. Chatwood will need to tighten his control if he’s going to succeed in the majors as he has walked 165 batters in his 310 2/3 innings in the minors and that’s just not going to be good enough.

To activate Downs from the D.L. and to call up Chatwood, the Angels have sent righty relievers Kevin Jepsen and Michael Kohn to AAA. Jepsen pitched in 5 games (0 starts) for the Angels so far this year and he is 0-1 with a 6.75 ERA and a 2.50 WHIP. He gave up six hits and he walked 4 batters in only 4 innings this year, so he certainly deserved his demotion. Michael Kohn came into this season as the Angels’ #15 prospect according to Baseball America but he was also having a rough start. Kohn pitched in 5 games (0 starts) for the Angels this year and he was 0-1 with a 4.91 ERA and a 1.64 WHIP. Kohn only gave up 3 hits in his 3 2/3 innings for the Angels but two of them left the yard (homers) and he also walked 3 batters. I think Jepsen and Kohn will both be back with the Angels at some point in 2011.

The Angels have called up 23-year old righty swinging CF Peter Bourjos from AAA. He was the Angels’ #2 prospect coming into this season according to Baseball America. Bourjos has already played in 2 games for the Angels and he is 2 for 7 (.286 avg, 571 OPS) with 1 run and 1 stolen base. The Angels are moving Torii Hunter to RF and Bobby Abreu to LF to make room for the kid. Bourjos played in 102 games in AAA-ball before his promotion and he was 130 of 414 (.314 avg, .861 OPS) with 85 runs scored, 12 triples, 13 homers, 52 RBIs and 27 stolen bases. Juan Rivera will be the big loser with Bourjos up as he will see his playing time diminish. Rivera has played in 90 games this season for the Angels and he is 81 of 311 (.260 avg, .741 OPS) with 46 runs scored, 12 homers, 40 RBIs and 2 stolen bases.

24-year old righty reliever Michael Kohn started this season as the Angels’ #30 prospect according to Baseball America. Kohn has been really outstanding in the minors and he could be pitching with the Angels soon if he keeps up the good work. Kohn has pitched in 37 games (0 starts) in AA+AAA-ball this year and he is 4-4 with 10 saves, a 2.16 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP. He has only given up 25 hits in 41 2/3 innings this season and he has whiffed 53 batters showing what kind of stuff he has. He will need to tighten his control a bit as he has walked 23 batters this season and that’s too many.

18-year old righty swinging outfielder Mike Trout looks like a natural. He came into this season as the Angels’ #3 rated prospect coming into this season according to Baseball America and he’s showing why. He has played in 74 games in A-ball so far this season and he is 105 of 290 (.362 avg, .978 OPS) with 67 runs scored, 6 homers, 37 RBIs and 38 stolen bases. Trout has now played in 118 games in his professional career and he is 168 of 469 (.358 avg, .950 OPS) with 97 runs scored, 7 homers, 62 RBIs and 51 stolen bases. The Angels will likely put Trout on the fast track as he is Mike Scioscia’s kind of ballplayer.

30-year old lefty swinging outfielder Cory Aldridge is off to a hot start in AAA. He has played in 48 games in AAA-ball this year and he is 53 of 179 (.296 avg, .853 OPS) with 28 runs scored, 9 homers and 43 RBIs. Aldridge has now played 14 years in the minors appearing in 1,354 games in which he is 1,274 of 4,795 (.266 avg, .786 OPS) with 662 runs scored, 182 homers, 761 RBIs and 98 stolen bases. His only taste of the majors leagues came way back in 2001 with the Atlanta Braves when he played in 8 games and was 0 for 5 (.000 avg) with 1 run scored. The Angels need bench help and with that in mind Aldridge should be considered for a call if he keeps playing well.

22-year old switch hitting catcher Hank Conger is the #1 prospect in the Angels’ minor league system according to Baseball America. The Angels have Mike Napoli, Jeff Mathis and Bobby Wilson at the major league level but if Conger starts to get hot with the bat he could push at least one of them off the team (likely in a trade). Conger has played in 25 games in AAA-ball this season and he is 24 of 93 (.258 avg, .742 OPS) with 14 runs scored, 3 homers and 8 RBIs. He has now played in 327 games in his five years in the minors and he is 358 of 1,219 (.294 avg, .811 OPS) with 168 runs scored, 39 homers and 213 RBIs. Conger is getting close to playing in L.A.

24-year old righty swinging 1B/OF Mark Trumbo is off to a solid start in AAA for the Angels. He has played in 18 games for the Angels this season in which he is 22 of 71 (.310 avg, .924 OPS) with 11 runs scored, 5 homers and 12 RBIs. Trumbo is the Angels #11 rated prospect according to Baseball America. If Kendry Morales or one of the corner outfielders get injured and Trumbo is still playing well he could get a call to come to L.A. this year.

The Angels have promoted 24-year old righty reliever Bobby Cassevah and demoted backup 1B/3B Robb Quinlan. The Angels didn’t waste time putting Cassevah in a game as he worked 2 1/3 shutout innings last night against the A’s allowing only 1 hit. Quinlan played in 1 game for the Angels this season and he was 0 for 1 with a whiff. Quinlan is caught in a numbers crunch as he only got sent down because he still has options left.

The Angels will likely take it slow with 22-year old righty starting pitcher Jordan Walden. Walden came into this season as the #2 rated prospect in the Angels’ system according to Baseball America. He started 13 games in AA-ball this year and he was 1-5 with a 5.25 ERA and a 1.68 WHIP. He needs to get better at missing bats as he allowed 72 hits in only 60 innings this season but he did whiff 57 batters showing that his stuff is there. There is no need to rush Walden to the majors.

It’s too bad that 20-year old lefty starting pitcher Trevor Reckling has control problems or the Angels might give him a shot at the rotation. Reckling was the #4 rated prospect of the Angels coming into this season according to Baseball America and he’s been showing why. Reckling has started 20 games in A+AA ball this season and he is 8-5 with a 2.40 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP. He has only allowed 95 hits in 120 innings this season but he won’t get a shot with the Angels until he improves his control as he has walked 58 batters. Still, the future is bright for Reckling.