ChuckS

I would sit Mountcastle (at a minimum) against tough righties. That is an extra game a week that we can get Kjerstad in the game. Santander has to be considered for 1-2 sits a week as well. Don't see any reason Kjerstad can't be playing four days a week right now between DH, RF, and 1B.

There is some projection there. Tough not to imagine him not being a 20 HR guy in Baltimore. If he can maintain a high average/OBP that is definitely good enough to start in a corner with his defense.

This year’s team is definitively better. That won’t necessarily convert into more wins than last year. They could win 98 or 99 games with a better run differential. It’s hard to win 101 games. The upside is certainly there to win 105-110 games but with some random deviation and a shaky bullpen, who knows where we end up. The starting rotation is certainly looking like close to a best case scenario at the moment, especially considering our injuries.

Burns, Bradish, Means, Kremer, Irvin. I’m not sure how you pull any of these guys if Grayson is able to come back in a week or two. You would think these things end up working themselves out with injuries and whatnot, but it will be interesting to see how they handle the rotation with everyone dealing.

They will be cautious with Holliday now. I am sure they would hate to have to send him down a second time. I'm thinking mid-season for Holliday if all goes well in Norfolk. If he struggles down there, which isn't out of the realm of possibility, it could be delayed further. Mayo is destroying the ball and should get the call next. There is a spot for him at third with Westburg moving to second.

Well, if they don't trust him to put a glove on and catch the ball, he probably should be traded ASAP so that this severe deficiency isn't exposed. I don't think it's that simple. I think he's highly regarded by the team, but at the same time they are extremely risk averse to breaking prospects in who aren't named Rutschman, Henderson, or Holliday.

It seems it will take Santander struggling severely and Kjerstad simultaneously performing really well under limited opportunities to really effect a change in his playing time. Similar to what happened with Hays/Cowser. Possibly scenario, but unlikely. An injury to a one of our outfielders or Mountcastle/O'Hearn is a more likely path to playing time for him. They like to run the same guys out there every day. There should be more of a rotation of off days going on to get a top young prospect like Kjerstad playing time, but they don't like to do that for whatever reason.

Is Kimbrel hurt? Velocity way down? Never knew the IL was an option to stash a player after a couple bad outings.

Yep. I think Wells will be moved to the bullpen upon his return and Suarez may as well if they have to move someone out of the rotation for Bradish.

Seems like the recipe for a high floor guy who can be a starter in this league for a long time.

I'm not quite there, but I'm close. If he can't start getting it together in the next week there is too much upside (and not enough downside) not to send him down for a reset.

I don’t think Means can be anything more than a fifth starter caliber pitcher throwing 89-92. The fastball doesn’t get any whiffs at that velocity. He needs to be 92-94 and his bread and butter (the change) plays up much more.

Does he have to play that one position every day? I'm taking the guy who is +10 on offense, in hopes of finding a position that he won't kill me at whether that's 1B, DH, corner OF, or a combination of the three. There are also always late inning defensive replacements. My second pick would be the guy who is average in offense and defense and last pick would be Jorge Mateo.

Not definitively. But I can provide other examples of it. Jonathan Schoop was promoted to the big leagues after less than half a season in Triple A where he put up middling numbers as a 21-year-old. He was TERRIBLE in his first full season in Baltimore, posting a sub-600 OPS. Do I think he was rushed and would have benefited from another 300-500 at bats in Norfolk? Absolutely. But I'm sure you will have a different take on it.

Okay. You must have a different definition of what it would mean to rush someone in this context. Not going to argue semantics with an absolutist.