Tony-OH

Tate cant pitch under the least bit of pressure.

Gotta have better pitching awareness with runners on 1st and 2nd. Wells just is not ready for this role, but I understand Hyde has limited choices.

Tyler Wells has a good future, but it's ashamed Hyde has no one else to run out there in the 9th. He's not ready for that kind of role. Either way, I don't know why it annoys me to watch this team snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. I know it's good for them to lose, but I HATE losing to the Yankees and their obnoxious fans.

Especially when you suck.

He's a reliever for me. The slider is his best pitch, but he has struggled to pitch off it consistently at the AAA level. I will need to go back and watch some more starts before making a final call but his AAA performance really highlighted his lack of stuff overall.

I will say this, when you look at his statcast data you have to scratch your head and wonder what in the world the Orioles are doing with Lowther. Lowther's best pitches in the minors leagues were his fastball and breaking balls, with the change being a distant 4th best pitch. Some days his curveball was better and sometimes his slider was better, but they both missed bats. In the majors this year, Lowther has thrown the following: Fastball: 57.1 % of the time despite averaging 91 MPH Change: 19.9% of the time despite well below average movement and only about an 8 MPH difference from fastball. Curve: 14.1% despite batters hitting .182 with a 26.3% WHIFF rate and 2554 spin rate. Slider: Just 8.9% despite no hits against the pitch and an amazing 64.3% WHIFF rate at 2634 spin rate His fastball worked a bit more in the minor leagues because his close release point allowed it to play up but that doesn't seem to work as well against major leaguers, especially when he so rarely throwing his breaking pitches that they can key on it since the change is not very good overall and needs to improve. So why have the Orioles had him throw his fastball and changeup 77% of the time despite both pitches being below average major league pitches? Lowther seems like the kind of pitcher who should be pitching backwards which would allow his fastball to play up a bit more. I'm just very confused in how the Orioles have handled this year and why they've done the exact opposite of what Tampa and other good development organizations do which is highlight what a pitcher does well. It's easy to look at Lowther's stats this year and say he's just a failed prospect. But I feel this was a lost year for him due to mismanagement and development by the Orioles and then the injury in the middle of the year that didn't help. Don't give up on Lowther. whether it's here or somewhere else, he's going to end up pitching well in the major league as a starter.

I bet. That's some dedication!

Great post, I agree. To paraphrase the farmer in "Babe": "That'll do Trey, that'll do!"

Congrats to Wildcard for being the 1,111,111st post in Orioles talk. I'm honestly not sure how many years of posts that is since we don't delete them like we used to do, but I thought it was cool to see. Kind of like one of those Odometer pictures you see. Thanks to everyone for making our community a special place on the internet.

Thanks, but I doubt very much he's losing any sleep over not talking with me either.

Of course you would say this. You are the reason Roch and I no longer talk. No worries though, I haven't lost any sleep over it.

https://forum.orioleshangout.com/forums/index.php?/topic/41238-brandon-young-2021/&tab=comments#comment-2659456

Young continues to impress with a four pitch mix and fastball that has reportedly sat 91-94 this season. The fastball doesn't have a ton of movement so when he misses he tends to get barreled up, but he's been working the pitch better up in the zone. Over his last six starts he's pitched to a 3.20 ERA with 36 K and 10 BB in 25.1 IP. He should start next season in AA.

You can definitely see the tools with Sparks and although he's not going to end up a top-30 prospect after this season, he's certainly one of those guys you keep giving at bats too because of all the missed time in the past. He struggles with breaking pitches at times, but I think this has been a pretty solid year for him all things considered. I would not be surprised to see him start next season in AA and then see how he does. He's basically a bit of a lottery ticket.

My only surprise with Lebron was that he didn't get a shot when the team was bringing up various NPS to pitch and send back of DFA. I don't think his command will allow him to have consistent success in the major leagues, but there are worse guys who've pitched for the Orioles this year.

Mine too. I won't call it a major concern until we see what happens next year because I've seen players improve those numbers or even switch them around in the minors from one year to the next. I'd call it a yellow flag of concern, but not a red flag yet.

This timeline is pretty acceptable in my opinion. I see him starting 2022 in AA and hopefully puts up good enough numbers to get AAA at bats. If that happens there is no reason he should not be on the radar for 2023 at the big league level. There's no reason he couldn't be playing in the major leagues at 22 years of age if he's going to end up an impact bat kind of player.

BTW, I think Scott went on the IL with a bruised ego after this season. That was a loud other shoe drop for sure.

I think there's a chance Mateo could be a piece. It's always been about consistency for him, but the tools are there and I liked what I saw. I think he comes into next season as the starting SS but will need to prove it over an entire year to be considered a piece.

It's not cheating to steal signs unless you are doing it electronically or through some kind of technology or spying with a camera or person from CF. If it's done from a tell or a catcher that doesn't hide his signs well, it's part of the game. Always has been.

There is a little doubt I'd want Hyde in my corner in an argument/fight.

Dorrian would probably move over to 1B if the Orioles decide to put Henderson or Westburg at 3B. I'd like to see Westburg at 2B and see what it looks like down the stretch.

Over his last 8 games Henderson is batting .290/.421/.710/1.131 with 3 HR and a 7-10 BB-K ratio. I'm guessing they are giving him a little taste of AA and gets him out of a tough hitters park in Aberdeen to end the year. Fun fact, Gunnar has hit against one pitcher for one plate appearance that was younger than him and hit hit a home run in that PA.

He was for awhile and he probably could be in the back end of the list, but he's a bit defensively challenged at 3B and can't hit left-handers. The low average concerns me since the walk percentage will go down as he moves up and if major league pitchers know how to get him out (he susceptible to off-speed) they will continue to challenge him and his OBP was crater without the ability to hit for some average. I would be surprised if he's protected though I'd probably protect him over Gutierrez, Nevin or Martin and maybe over Bannon who could probably be DFA'd with little consequence.

It's fair to go with Mayo over Cowser due to the upside, but there's still more risk in Mayo so that's a close call. I haven't made up my mind yet but it's a nice problem to have.