MADISON – It may not be long until the Los Angeles Angels are referred to as “Rocket City West.”
Eric Wagaman, who played 94 games for the Trash Pandas this year, was called up to the Angels from Triple-A Salt Lake City and made his debut Tuesday night in the Angels’ 10-5 loss to Minnesota. He is the 35th former Trash Pandas player to reach “The Show” and seventh this season.
It was a homecoming for the 27-year-old from Aliso, Viejo, Calif., who attended Orange Coast College. He grew up an Angels fan, idolizing David Eckstein and Chone Figgins.
“I went to a ton of games growing up and had a lot of favorite players around the team,” Wagaman said. “So it’s pretty cool. It’s special, for sure. A lot of friends and family have already reached out.”
Tuesday night, Wagaman came in to pitch hit for Taylor Ward, striking out in his only plate appearance, and remained in left field.
Wagaman was an anchor in the Rocket City outfield, playing more than half the season in right field for the first time in his career. Then, he was moved to third base for 19 games, despite making just two starts at the hot corner before this season.
With the Trash Pandas, Wagaman had a .260 batting average with 14 home runs, 46 RBI and nine stolen bases. He led the Southern League with 23 doubles, 39 extra-base hits and 159 total bases.
He was promoted to Triple-A Salt Lake last month where he continued his strong play in 27 games. Wagaman finished with a .320 average, three home runs and 14 RBI.
Wagaman was selected sixth overall by the Angels in the Triple-A Phase of the 2023 Rule 5 Draft. He had spent the first seven years of his career with the New York Yankees organization after being drafted in the 13th round of the 2017 First-Year Player Draft.
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