Tony-OH

What part of I don't want to rehash this stupid argument did you not get? I just brought it up because of the conversation about Westburg and about how STUPID it was to block him when he's ready by every indicator but Elias and company. We've exhausted this conversation and it doesn't need to be repeated. This thread is about the top 100 prospects. Now if you wanted to make your point about how Westburg clearly is not ready to make 2B and how thankful you are that the Orioles signed Frazier for $8 MILLION dollars, that is in context of the thread. Otherwise, back to our top 100 prospects talk.

Who gives a rat's ass what "they" would argue? At the end of the day, some fans want to watch every game or at have access to every game without playing Frickn' streaming damn service Roulette. Personally, I have cable and pretty much every streaming service but it's still a damn pain in the ass. Piece mailing in streaming services when people are paying to see EVERY GAME on MASN is a bunch of short-sighted money grabbing from an organization that is always short-sighted and money grabbing.

Westburg makes every list, and both McDaniel and Law thinks he plays 55 defense at 2B. So does anyone want to tell me again why Frazier was needed at $8 million? Never mind, no need to redo that argument, and while I don't think we have enough playing time to show Westburg as a plus defender at 2B, I do think he can be average there and his bat is ready. We should be discussion the excitement of having him at 2B on opening day rather than watching his AAA at bats pile up while a 31-year old slow, slap hitting second baseman gets his major league PAs.

Elias signed Frazier to block Westburg and Ortiz, so no, I do not think he's trying to put as many rookies on one team to increase his odds that one wins ROY.

I agree the newer crowd needs to be brought in and streaming is the way to go, but making things EXCLUSIVELY on a streaming service that they may not have is a poor way or doing so. Providing on a streaming service in addition to MASN, sure.

Pretty much the mic drop in any thread that has something to do with them. lol

Not this way though. I 100% agree there needs to be a steaming service for ALL of the Orioles games, but not piece mailed across several streaming apps. There are older people that have no way of watching the games when they do this and this is nothing more than a money grab since I'm sure Peacock is paying them a decent amount to do this. I have Peacock so it doesn't affect me, but it's just annoying not to be able to go one place and watching the Orioles games.

I can't confirm one way or the other. Just something I was told by 3rd hand info. might have been a combo, who knows?

That's not how it works in the slotting system they have now. Teams will get a player's number and if they're close, they will say will you take "x". Some players will wait until the end to sign because they think they can get some of the left over cash in case a guy they were saving that money for got drafted before the team could get them. You don't see many kids not sign nowadays in the top ten rounds because teams know these guys numbers. The only time it doesn't work out now is when a player changes his number after getting drafted. I heard that's what happened with Nolan McLean. The good news is Elias took two fliers on high money guys who had slipped at the end of the draft and ended up with Carter Young who got McLean's money and some of the left over Holliday money who signed for about $690k under slot.

The knock on Fabian was he could get beat by fastball up in college. that wasn't an issue very often in his pro debut. We'll get a bigger sample size this year. Let's hope the Sally League (man it's weird to say that about A+ with Aberdeen instead of Frederick teams add more MiLBTV camera's because that league is no very good, including the embarrassing Aberdeen who didn't even supply an announcer.

Overall, he had a successful first year and it's obvious he has talent. He hits the ball hard (though I don't have consistent EV numbers) and is a solid defensive outfield with an above average arm so he has fallback skills if the bat doesn't end up special. The upside is nice though if he can make some adjustments and from every indication he's the kind of kid that puts in the work, so it will be interesting to see him in 2023.

I liked the trade then and I like the trade now. The trade allowed Bautista to close and while it did tax guys like Krehbiel, it also allowed Baker to step up a bit too. Lopez wasn't great and I definitely don't think we make up the three games if he was still an Oriole. In fact, with his blown saves, maybe we end up worse and don't have Povich and the two lottery ticket FCL guys in the system. Sure, Givens looks like an overpay a bit, but he was pretty good before his injury and the hope is he can be a consistent arm along with Tate and Baker setting up Bautista. If Wells goes to the pen, that's another guy in that mix. Obviously, whether this trade works out in the end will really be on how Povich develops or if one of the lottery tickets and Cano perform. To me, getting four arms for Lopez was a good deal and even if the young guys fail to add impact one day, the idea of the trade was right, just then you have to question the scouting analysis.

"didn’t stop hitting until he reached Triple A in September, where he was overmatched by offspeed stuff of all varieties." This was a concern for me a bit as well as inability to hit lefties and why I dropped him a bit. My concern is with his approach to get to the power, is able to get to good offspeed pitches? Was he cheating or guessing well in AA and then when the pitching got better did it expose him a bit? I don't know, but this was part of the reason why he fell a bit for me. I sill think he can overcome this, but to what extent? I do think he has a 4th outfielder floor no matter what, but he'll need to make these adjustments while trying to get to his power still. That's what he'll need to prove this year in AAA.

Well damn, that changes everything. lol I think he once went 20-for-20 against his left-handed friend in whiffle ball too, so hey, you never know.

True and I'm not saying he can't develop the ability to hit left-handers, but I just think currently this is something that stops him from being a sure fire everyday regular until he can.

Go to Baseball savant then click their minor league stats and it give splits by level!

His glory years were with the Orioles when he was a shutdown 7th/8th high leverage guy. No one was better with the bases loaded!

Too bad it's not seven teams and one was the Orioles. I still rather see him at 2b than Frazier.

I do agree that playing time at 1B will be a struggle, I'm not sure playing him at SS though is going to convince someone that he's a legitimate major league SS. Maybe more time at 2B and 3B and perhaps corner OF.

This was an impressive quote for the Orioles development system and the Holliday's ability to use it" It takes some hitters a long time to be able to rapidly recognize one pitch from another. Holliday is ahead of the curve here easily and also credits the Orioles organization for the information they provide on opponent pitchers – even at the lowest levels of the farm. “Yeah, we have a really good scouting report before each game, so you really know what the pitch shape is and where it needs to start for it to be in the zone and where it needs to start to be a ball. That is something that I pay attention a lot to. Because I’ve never seen these guys before. So, to know their release points and how their ball moves before the game even starts has been beneficial,” said Holliday, whose younger brother Ethan could be among the top picks in the 2025 draft.

Ok, just wanted to make sure you weren't saying a platoon advantage with some players/pitchers is a myth.

What's a myth?

McDermott certainly has the stuff to be a big league pitcher, but the next stage is trying to find the command or really, control to make it all work. He's a worthy project though with upside and it's good to see him continuing his offseason work to get better.

That's why you talking service time was so funny!

I don't know. Somewhere in the Sig's Orioles cave his computer has validated veteranosity as having a lot of value. I feel like this conversation occurred: Elias: Sig, we're still in the race for a wildcard and we need someone who can hit left-handed pitching. To the O's Cave!! (Meanwhile, picture the Batman-esque spinning segway and little ditty) Sig: I ran the numbers Mike, and it spit out Jesus Aguilar. Elias: But he's been terrible this year and the Marlins released him. The Marlins! And he can only really DH. Didn't Stowers hit .330/.441/.577/1.018 off Left-handers in AAA this year? Sig: Well, I ran the numbers again and it says Aguilar is the best choice and that we should bench Stowers against all lefties because he bats left-handed and my computer can't understand how that would translate. Elias: Are we sure Stowers can't hit major league lefties? Sig: I'm sure (Picture the Batman-esque spinning segway and little ditty with a title - 4 weeks later) Elias: Sig, Aguilar was even worse with us than he was with the Marlins, go check the algorithm. Sig: OK boss... Sig goes off and you can hear him mumbling: Ok, so we have one part previous OPS, one part 3-year span of stats, one part pitchers stats, one part pitcher's stuff, one part hitter's ability to hit said stuff, and six parts Veteranosity. I don't get it, it all adds up. (Picture the Batman-esque spinning segway and little ditty) Title (July 29th) Sig: Hey boss, I don't know. the algorithm gave us the amazing Odor so I don't know why it failed with Aguilar. Meanwhile, the game is going on and the phone rings. It's Hyde on the phone: Hyde: Hey boss, the Tigers took out their righties and put in a lefty and Stower is due up, should I pull him? Elias, looking over at Sig: No, no. Let's see what he does against this lefty. I mean he's hitting .000 in his lifetime with two HBP in his 3 PAs. Let's just wing it, why not? Stowers homers Elias stares over at Sig Sig looks down at his Orioles computer Sig: Umm, hey boss, let me see what I can do with that algorthim. (Picture the Batman-esque spinning segway and little ditty) Title "Off Season" Sig: Well, I redid the algorithm and it said to offer Adam Frazier $8 million, prioritize back up 1st baseman and backup catchers off the DFA list while making sure to keep Anthony Bemboom at all costs. Oh, and it said to go get Ryan O'Hearn and pay him his $1.4 million salary even though we probably could sign him as FA when he clears waivers. It said to add a reliever like Mychal Givens and by God, no matter what, find a way to get and keep Lewin Diaz in the organization. Elias: If you say so. Sig: Can't go wrong this time boss Elias mumbling: I think I'm going to trade for a pitcher too, but I'm going to do this on my own. Sig: what did you say boss? Elias: Nothing. Someone get Bemboom's agent on the phone and add him to the 40-man roster immediately!