Tony-OH

Perhaps true, but Pittsburgh still ended up winning a World Series at our expense with him there.

His 26.9 (ft/sec) sprint speed is good for 57.2# rank in MLB. In other words, he's a little above average at 23 years old. As I've said before, Mountcastle is not a base clogger and moves well for his size. Glad to see his early statcast numbers prove that.

Please start new threads for specific credible Orioles rumors from legitimate sources instead of just updating this thread. General talk is fine here.

Well I saw both all through their minor league careers and Bedard was way more dominant consistently. Bedard also got some velocity bump at the major league level and his breaking ball was consistently plus and occasionally plus-plus. Akin can flash a plus slider, curve or even change depending on what day. which is why I think they still want to see what he can do as a starter. It's understandable really, and again, if they want to put him in the rotation right now I'd be fine with that. I'm just saying that I personally think his best role in the major leaguers will be as a reliever.

That has been clear since day one, but last year when I watched him a bunch at AAA, it really became apparent how quick he can get the barrel to the ball against upper level pitching. If he takes his game to the next level by becoming a student of the pitchers based off video and statcast tendencies like Mancini does, the sky is the limit for his upside with the bat. This was one of the reason why I discounted his BB-K ratio last year. He really spent most of last year still hitting off pure talent with little to no plan. At the major league level he will have all that data to work from and a coaching staff that should help prepare him. If he takes this information and start to have a plan at the plate and understand the tendencies of the pitchers and what they are trying to do to him, he's going to be special.

Huh? You do know most of the posts above were tongue and cheek, right. Can you point the straw man posts?

That's hilarious. He can be the next Tom Emanski!

I would agree with this. I'm not sure what Elias thinks of Akin's ultimate role but I do know he was pretty high on him as a starter last year despite the so-so numbers and command. Akin has major league stuff, but has never been able to be consistent enough to play as a starter though on occasion he'll have those wow performances that tease you a bit. I would not be against giving him starts this year if that's the route they go, but I think he'll end up as a really good reliever.

I just don't see Akin as a starter in the big leagues. He's just never been consistent enough inning to inning as a starter and I think he'll get a jump in stuff in relief. I don't think Eshelman is to the answer to other than who is a decent stop gap, but I do root for the guy. Eshelman is a pure pitcher who adds and subtracts off pitches, moves the ball around and pitches off of plus plus command. He's fin t watch when it works because he defies all statcast analytics.

I wanted to give myself some time before answering this poll but I have to say, as much as I didn't like it in the minors, I have become a fan of it at the major league level because it adds immediately excitement to the inning and we have not seen those ridiculous 14 inning or more games that destroy bullpens. I was against it at first, but call me a fan. I hope it stays.

It's probably not going to hold up but I find it pretty funny that Mountcastle has walked three times in three games after hearing from some how he will never take a walk. He's now 3-for-9 with two doubles and .500 OBP through his first three games. I really like the way he's gone to the opposite field a few times with authority though today both doubles were pulled. He looks like a guy ready for the big leagues. He still will need to make adjustments and will probably struggle at times, and i certainly don't expect his walk rate to stay up, but it is an interesting start for him.

https://www.masnsports.com/school-of-roch/2020/08/leblanc-leaves-game-with-apparent-injury.html Could this be the end of LeBlanc in Baltimore. Eshelman pitched great in relief and may be best in his place right now until Kremer can get stretched out. I like Akin going to the pen for now.

This is perfect example of a new thread that should be made, not a bump!

Well, he didn't exactly have much to work with last year so I gave him a pass. I get what he's trying to do, but I think he has to make adjustments when it's clear his pitcher lost it. The problem is that Castro has struggled so bad against lefties this year and Hyde doesn't seem to trust Fry.

This was a fun game to watch, from the 8th inning on!

Severino and Alberto really are fun guys to have on a team. They have infectious enthusiasm.

Crap, I think I jinxed us. Barnes has really made some nice pitches here...

That was the perfect pitch. Velazquez needed to hit that center cut fastball the pitch before.

The good news here is the Velazquez hits a lot of flyballs.

Alberto with an Alberto special!

Barnes is one of those guys that can't handle pressure...

Great job by Castro. Really strange to see him quickly Sulser lost the ability to throw a strike.

Hey look, a strike.

I like a lot of things about Hyde, but I beginning to have issues with his bullpen management.

Sorry, can't count on a pitcher who can't throw strikes in close moments. Just piss poor.