Tony-OH

I'll be honest, I didn't remember that. I could swear I saw him in a box score last week. Oh well. Hard to keep track of the amount of players Elias claims and then loses on waivers. Well, Mateo can play some centerfield in a pinch so if Hays went down, I guess they'll just have to live with Stowers hitting against those tough lefties and play left field.

Another team might acquire him and then try to pick his brain for "Orioles secrets" with development and preparation. It would go like this: Team: "Welcome Ryan to the organization. We really are hopeful we can get you more playing time here." Ryan: "Thanks, glad to be here. Glad to be with an organization that doesn't worry about little things like running the bases correctly, taking good routes, or understanding how to position myself for a key throw to the plate." Team: "Um, well we do kinda want you to do those things. But anyways, so what are some of the things the Orioles do to prepare you for the game and what developmental tools are they using in the minors to get all these players producing so well in AAA?" Ryan: "What? Not really sure what you are talking about. I've seen guys sitting in front of Ipads with the nerds, but I never worried about any of that stuff. You guys have an headband stores around these parts?" Team: (Thinking in his head,) "What was my password to the waivers portal again?" (Note: This was for entertainment purposes only. I have no idea whether McKenna used or bought in to the tools available to him.)

Might be nit picking but you have to have low expectations for McCann for him to "meet expectations" while OPsing .541 and being worth -0.5 rWAR. He's playing like a guy who is at the end of the road at 33-years old.

Burns can't help how the other team's pitcher is pitching, and he can't help that the Orioles don't score runs for him. He has a 2.68 ERA and 1.01 WHIP. Batters are slashing .204/.257/.321/.579 and people are upset? He's gone six or more innings in six of his nine starts. Sure his FIP (3.55) is not ace like, but the results are there from his part. Maybe it's because he hasn't had that dominant 7+ inning start where he shuts the other team down yet, but he's been exactly what the Orioles were hoping for when they traded for him.

It's interesting that 8 people actually voted for McKenna. Obviously the Orioles agreed with the 94.81% of Hangouters that rightly picked Hays. I don't think Hays is done as a productive major leaguer and he's quality defensive outfielder with a plus arm in LF or RF.

I'd prefer a higher baseball IQ guy in that role myself.

I can understand that, but I did think the remarks were over the top a bit for you. I typically would like players to make it through waivers, but I'll be honest, the various boneheaded or just poor defensive plays combined with his little league-esque over slide of stolen base just kinda made me think this guy is never going to get it. Peyton Burdick makes McKenna a little redundant as well as a 5th outfielder type. Burdick is a solid defensive outfielder who has a .903 OPS against AAA left-handers thanks to him popping some homers. Sound familiar? I've never been a fan of low baseball IQ players like McKenna who just find ways to do the little things that don't help a ballclub. I'm sure he's a good teammate and clubhouse guy and that's why Hyde/Elias likes him, but I'm ok if he's taken off waivers. Plus, maybe he just needs a shot to play everyday somewhere like Oakland or Chicago? Maybe it's for the best for him to get a chance somewhere else?

Mullins does outperform his expected numbers quite frequently and while he's in one of his patented slumps, his "run values" as a player makes him right about average, mainly because his defense at a valued position up the middle is so good. The Orioles don't have one single player in Double-A of higher who can play plus defensive center field besides Mullins. that's going to give him a long leash on his offensive struggles. Most players are streaky. Some fans seem to only have a 3-4 week tolerance for players who struggle before they start to get antsy and call for the player to get less playing time or to bring up the "prospect of choice" to replace them. Mullins is still a valuable player on a contending team because of his defense in CF. He's going to get on a hot streak with the bat at some point and he settle back into the .710 OPS player that he probably is at this point in his career with the bat. Not every batter 1-9 is going to be an average major league hitter or better, but until the Orioles find an outstanding defensive CFer to replace him, he's going to get a very long leash this year.

Besides the guy who said he prayed everyday that McKenna is off the team, perhaps you can point us to the "amount of bile directed at McKenna?" I see most people discussing his merits, whether he will be taken or not, or whether he might be better off in the KBO. Unless you believe saying that you hope he's claimed is "ridiculous amounts of bile" or "vilifying him." This seems to be a JLC-level over reaction and an over simplification of the actual comments made in this thread IMHO.

I'm just happy that we won't see him coming in as a defensive replacement for Santander and then realizing Santander would have made the play he didn't. That last three step offline throw was the last straw for me. I hope he gets claimed too.

Not surprising. It will be interesting if popping a few homers against lefties will get him claimed.

Stowers is more of 4th outfielder/DH type so it makes more sense for him to be the bench guy vs Kjerstad. It's clear Hyde/Orioles have no intention of getting these backups any type of a regular playing time.

That's funny, but I bet he's happy to cash that MLB check for a few days if that's all he's here for.

I was never a huge fan of his fastball in video I saw him before the injury. For a guy who throws mid-90's, he always seemed to get barreled up a little too much for my liking. I think he may need to go to a sinker or cutter more than his 4-seamer.

I saw a decent amount of 94-96s in the outing I saw. Still, too many guys seems to barrel up his fastball.