Willits staying positive

Since setting franchise rookie records for the Los Angeles Angels in batting average (.293) and on-base percentage (.391) in 2007, when he was a Rookie of the Year candidate, outfielder Reggie Willits has dealt with his share of setbacks.

In December 2007, the 5-foot-11-inch, 185-pound speedster underwent surgery to remove his nonfunctioning gallbladder.

Last season, when he hit .194 (21-for-108) in 82 games for the Angels, Willits injured his left wrist in April, got spiked in his right middle finger in May and suffered two concussions in August.

"Last year was kind of just an occurrence after occurrence of some freaky things," a healthy Willits, 27, said Friday at Cashman Field before going 2-for-3 with an RBI double and a triple to help lead the Salt Lake Bees to a 9-8 victory over the 51s. "When I was healthy, I wasn't in a position to do a lot of playing, like in 2007.

"I was kind of locked in as the (Angels') sixth outfielder and didn't get a lot of playing time."

Despite dealing with an assortment of ailments last season, Willits -- who quickly became an Angels fan favorite for his hard-nosed style of play -- said his struggles were mostly due to a lack of playing time.

"The biggest thing was I was in a role I'd never been in before," he said. "I can't make excuses at all, but I've always played every day my whole career, for the most part, and I got (108) at-bats last year.

"It was a learning year for me, to be put in a role like that where I wasn't going to play on a consistent basis. It's something I learned a lot from, and if I ever get put in that role again, hopefully I can do a better job at it."

The Angels again have plenty of depth in the outfield this season with former All-Stars Torii Hunter, Bobby Abreu, Vladimir Guerrero and Gary Matthews Jr.

But, for now, Willits is focused on regaining his top form in Salt Lake, where he starts in center field and is batting .266 (17-for-64) in 18 games.

"I'd much rather be in the big leagues right now than in Triple A, but I'm trying to look at it as a positive," Willits said. "I am getting to play every day here for the first time in over a year, and I'm getting myself back in that groove."

Bees manager Bobby Mitchell said it's important for Willits "to play as much as possible."

"Not playing as much as he did (in 2007) last year kind of hurt his overall game and his overall development as a player," he said. "Being down here playing every day and seeing a lot of pitches can only help him."

While the Angels might not have room for Willits, there are 29 other big league clubs that might.

"He's stuck in a situation where he's got some pretty good players ahead of him," Mitchell said. "He needs to continue to do what he's doing, just in case some other team would like to have him on their team, which I'm sure there are."

• NOTES -- The Toronto Blue Jays promoted left-handed pitcher Brett Cecil and right-handers Robert Ray and Brian Wolfe from Las Vegas and optioned left-handers David Purcey and Brian Burres and right-hander Bryan Bullington to the 51s.

Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0354.