Denzer

Guzman

The 21-year-old shortstop smacked an RBI double off of Jason Alexander in the fifth inning that pulled the Halos to within a run at 3-2. He then singled in the seventh inning and scored on a two-out RBI single off the bat of Chris Taylor. With his two-hit night, he’s now slashing .200/.222/.400 with a pair of homers and three RBI in his first 36 plate appearances with the Angels.

The 21-year-old shortstop got the Angels on the board as he crushed a 409-foot (101.9 mph EV) solo shot off of Brewers’ ace Freddy Peralta. That would be his only hit in three at-bats on the evening. Guzman is now hitting .333 (3-for-9) since joining the Angels and should continue to see regular action at shortstop with Zach Neto (wrist) on the injured list.

The move ostensibly ends Neto’s season as he heads to the shelf for some extra time to rest and recover after missing three consecutive games last week with a lingering left hand issue. The 24-year-old power/speed fantasy contributor has put together a phenomenal age-24 campaign, smashing a career-high 26 round-trippers and also chipping in 26 thefts over just 128 contests. The hope here for the Angels and fantasy managers is that he won’t require surgery heading into the offseason. It’ll be rookie Denzer Guzman taking over at shortstop to close out the regular season.

Neto continues to deal with lingering left wrist soreness and it’s impossible to rule out the possibility of a trip to the injured list at this juncture. The 24-year-old fantasy standout hasn’t undergone any additional imaging to determine the severity of the issue yet. It’ll be rookie Denzer Guzman making his second consecutive start at shortstop in his absence. There should be some much-needed clarity on his status prior to Tuesday’s series opener against the Brewers.

The Angels had been giving a roster spot to Scott Kingery, so with only a few weeks left in the season they thought better of it and will take a look to see what Guzman can do at the big league level. The 21-year-old infielder was hitting .247/.343/.426 with 17 long balls, 74 RBI and 14 swipes in 539 plate appearances between Double-A Rocket City and Triple-A Salt Lake. Guzman will start at shortstop and bat seventh for the Halos in his MLB debut on Saturday night.

The 21-year-old shortstop has hit .247/.343/.426 with 17 homers, 74 RBI, 14 stolen bases and a 137/62 K/BB ratio over 539 plate appearances between Double-A Rocket City and Triple-A Salt Lake this season. No word yet on what the corresponding moves from the Angels will be.