Pitching Prospects Having a Tough Time

The rash of serious injuries to top Angel pitching prospects continued this week when triple-A right-hander Bobby Jenks was diagnosed with a stress reaction in his throwing elbow, the same injury that sidelined Jenks for two months last season.

Left-hander Joe Torres, a first-round pick in 2000, had elbow reconstruction surgery in February and is out for the year; left-hander Joe Saunders, a 2002 first-round pick, sat out the 2003 season because of shoulder surgery, and right-hander Ervin Santana, considered the organization’s top pitching prospect, missed spring training because of a shoulder injury. He is rehabilitating in Arizona.

“You deal with these things -- they’re part of the business,” General Manager Bill Stoneman said. “You don’t like them when they happen, but you don’t spend a lot of time contemplating your luck. Injuries happen.”

Jenks, whose fastball has been clocked near 100 mph, was removed in the second inning of Salt Lake’s game at Fresno on Monday night because of elbow discomfort. His velocity was down about 10 mph, and he gave up three hits, walked three and hit a batter in one-plus inning.

Jenks, a 6-foot-3, 270-pounder, returned to Southern California on Wednesday, and an MRI test revealed the stress reaction, which is a precursor to a fracture.

“We caught it before it got worse,” Stoneman said. “Our plan is to rest it, let it cool down. The encouraging thing is he came back after last year’s injury and performed better than he did before he got hurt.”

Jenks went 7-2 with a 2.17 earned-run average and 103 strikeouts in 83 innings at double-A Arkansas last season. He went 5-1 with a 3.14 ERA in 11 winter ball games in Puerto Rico, and he was one of the Angels’ most impressive pitching prospects this spring.

Stoneman doesn’t believe the recurrence of a stress reaction is related to any flaw in Jenks’ mechanics.

“He has a nice, clean delivery, the kind you teach,” Stoneman said. “It’s a shame because he was doing so well, but he’ll get over this hurdle.”

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The sore left knee that knocked Tim Salmon out of Tuesday night’s lineup probably will sideline the designated hitter until Friday’s game at Oakland. Salmon underwent minor surgery on the knee after the 2002 season, and it has flared up on occasion in the last year and a half.

After playing right field in place of the injured Vladimir Guerrero for three games last week, Salmon said his knee started to get “a little cranky” over the weekend.

“It usually lasts for a few days and then goes away,” Salmon said. “It bothers me most when I pivot on the knee.... It pops up from time to time. This is one of the issues that went into me being a DH.”

Manager Mike Scioscia said Salmon’s knee “shouldn’t affect his outfield availability,” but he will continue to monitor his condition.

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A 48-year-old Orange County man attending Tuesday night’s game suffered an apparent heart attack in the field level of Angel Stadium and later died at UCI Medical Center in Orange. Because of legal reasons, the Angels did not release his name.... With a day game today, Scioscia gave center fielder Garret Anderson a night to rest his legs by starting him at designated hitter Wednesday. Anderson will return to the outfield today, right fielder Guerrero will DH, and backup catcher Jose Molina will replace brother Bengie behind the plate.... Reserve catcher Josh Paul was unavailable Wednesday night because of a stiff neck.