Rodriguez, who is also 24, spent about half of last season with the Angels due to injuries to second baseman Howie Kendrick. So far this year Kendrick has remained healthy, giving Rodriguez a chance to show a power display for the Bees. He already has 14 home runs and 41 RBIs in 37 games. The only down side is that his batting average, while it has been going up, is still just .273.

"(Rodriguez's) batting average does concern me," said Mitchell. "He is going to have hit for a higher average in the big leagues. He's got some pop and he's done a good job driving in runs, but he's got to learn to take some walks and know the strike zone better and not strike out so much. He'll get there. He's working on it."

Brown, another three year Bees veteran, was arguably the Angels' best hitter during spring training, batting .468 with a team-high 19 RBIs. But he lost out to former Bee Kendry Morales in the battle for the open starting first base job and was sent back to Salt Lake.

Then Brown struggled through the first month of the season with the Bees and his batting average fell below the .200 plateau. Brown, though, raised his average about 50 points during the Bees' just completed eight-game homestand.

"It's coming around, and I feel good," said Brown. "I'm starting to get my confidence back."

"Brownie's swinging the bat good, he's just had some bad luck," said Mitchell. "We really need him to come on — and he has."

The Bees' talented almost Angels, like Crash Davis, dream of making a major league team and sticking. But for now they continue to try to make the best of their situations in Salt Lake.

"I have a lot of fun with the guys on this team," said Wood, "and if I can't be in the big leagues, then I can't imagine a better place to be."

E-mail: lojo@desnews.com