jamalshw

He's at 68 pitches now. I think the goal for him was probably around 80. I think Hyde gives him the fifth, but as soon as someone gets on base, we see the bullpen get active.

That DP helps...maybe he can get the 5th if he can get this last out quickly.

Basically because of the catchers interference and all, Bradish threw an extra 14 pitches. Instead of 5-6 innings, I think 4-5 is now the expectation.

The idea of a Mason Miller/Felix Bautista tandem in the backend for a few years is tantalizing and a huge advantage in the postseason. Given our depth in MLB ready position players and our complete lack of pitching prospects outside of Povich and McDermott (who himself cannot seem to find the strike zone this year), I'm more willing to take the risk on dealing elite position player prospects for young, controllable pitching. The problem with Miller though is the heightened risk of an elbow issue which means he could be out 18 months+ if he needs TJS, but even if he doesn't he's currently limited in how much he is used. Given that, Basallo is a bit too steep a cost for me.

His path to staying in baseball is as a utility player. The more positions he can play, the more likely he is to stay in the league. Good for him. But I don't anticipate him back in Baltimore. We saw them go Kjerstad when Hays even though the team is very lefty heavy. With Mateo getting looks in CF and Cowser able to play there for a bit, there really isn't any role that he's next in line for (or even 2nd or third in line). Even learning 2B doesn't get him in a next in line position given Norby.

Depending on how early in your 30s you are, the 1996 and 1997 seasons were solid. But as a guy in his late 30s, that's all I got beyond the 2012-2016 stretch, but I'm hopeful this will be more reminiscent to the stretch this team had before either of us were born in the late 60s through the early 80s.

The way Kjerstad is hitting, he's probably the next one I want "freed" but I think Mayo will be the next one we see. Assuming Kemp is gone for Holliday, Urias is probably the next most "replaceable" player. He's off to a rough start, but is still a solid player...but he'd be the next to go to make room for a mega prospect and Mayo playing 3B opens that spot for him (one could argue Norby, but those are the only two with a path that doesn't involve an injury or deadline trade. For Kjerstad, he's a replacement for Santander or O'Hearn if they go down. Depending on the Orioles' comfort with Cowser in CF, perhaps he'd also replace Mullins on the roster in case of injury.

I kinda wonder if we hear about an extension for him (at least buying out the arb years) given they did call him up a few days early.

I'm cautiously optimistic...but will wait to get my hopes up until a couple days after his first rehab start. But with Means and now--soon--Bradish rehabbing, there's certainly reason for optimism. It should also trickle down to help out the bullpen.

I think it could be the 13th or the 15th for one player, probably Holliday. There won't be more than that this early unless there's an injury. Kjerstad certainly deserves a promotion, but we haven't seen Cowser get the ABs, add Kjerstad to the mix and it gets worse. Hopefully, we see Cowser playing LF regularly and Hays and O'Hearn turning into essentially a platoon. Hopefully Cowser gets a few looks in CF, too, giving Mullins a break here or there. The next most likely guy to move after Kemp, is probably Urias and that could be an opening for Mayo...but it's hard to find an opening for anyone else on this team until the team is ready to move on from O'Hearn--and I don't see that happening for a while.

I am aware. It's also immediately after a day off (and with an off-day just a few days prior). My point is I don't like Urias, Mateo or Kemp as starters...obviously you need bench guys and bench guys get ABs, but I don't want more than one of them in the lineup. That becomes difficult when you have Holliday and Mayo in AAA. Hopefully we don't have much more of this and we see Holliday and/or Mayo soon.

Do we see Holliday for the Minnesota series? They sent him down because of the lefties (at least partially). They weren't going to call him up to make his debut on the road in Fenway. So it's got to be a home series. The Brewers have Hall and Ashby, but the Twins are all righties in the rotation. That would seem to be the most likely time to see Holliday if we are going to see him anytime soon.

Unfortunately, at this point, they don't seem to want to relegate O'Hearn to the bench. That's the O'Hearn role. And O'Hearn has hit in the very small early season sample size.

Meh. Of course we all would rather Jackson Holliday was on the team instead of Kemp, but as long as he's on the team, I don't hate the fact he's in the lineup as much as I hate the fact both he and Urias are. I want Westburg in there everyday. I cringe at the lineups with two of Urias/Mateo/Kemp.

It's impossible to answer because a lot depends on injury. Injuries aside, the answer is Holliday. It appears he's ahead of Mayo in the eyes of the front office and there is a clearer path for an infielder with Urias going to the bench and Kemp getting bumped off the roster. Right now, the team is struggling to find ABs for Cowser. Adding Stowers or Kjerstad to the mix just complicates things further UNLESS there is an injury to O'Hearn or one of the OFers.