DocJJ

How does someone who throws 97 MPH yield a 6.19 ERA??? I'd think it was because of tons of walks but that doesn't seem to be the case either.... puzzling!

I don't think he's weak either. He looks lean, but muscular. I did hear his throwing arm is weak-ish... Might be interesting if he could add 5-10 lbs of muscle. But my guess is the trainers and diet people at Vanderbilt would have done so if they could...

By no means am I a professional scout and I will defer to expert's judgment. I'd have probably taken Brock Wilken or Arjun Nimmala, but I readily admit I would not have taken Kjerstad, or Cowser. I might have even been dumb enough to take Witt Jr over Rutchman and Druw Jones over Jackson Holliday. But I am leery of guys who need their swing overhauled...

I'm concerned about the swing, and exploitable holes. I know the O's have all kinds of professional hitting coaches who can try to work on it with him. But we took a very high draft pick SS a few years ago Cadyn Grenier who needed a swing overhaul and that failed miserably. Now we are trying it with Dylan Beavers, another very high draft pick needing a swing fix. So far, not very impressive results at A ball. Now we'll need to overhaul Bradfield's swing.... Not sure I like the risk in this pick considering who else we may have selected...

I was going to say, like Jud Fabian, with a weaker hit tool...! Scouting grade is a 40 for hit tool. That doesn't sound very promising...

I'll start by saying I hope Bradfield and Elias prove me wrong, and that he turns out to be a great player. I am disappointed with the pick. I don't think he'll hit enough and get on base enough at the Major League level to have his speed matter.... And we know he won't provide any power. I would have preferred Wilken (who went with the very next pick, so it will be interesting to see how that plays out over time) or Arjun Nimmala. I was disappointed with the Kjerstand and Cowser picks and was proven wrong, so I'll hope the trends continue!

Is anyone else underwhelmed by this list?? The best names on it are old and at the very ends of their careers... Lots of guys have had arm troubles or just had mixed results.... This list stinks... (mostly)...

I'd put Westburg in the Borderline Untouchable category- he will hit pretty well and he can play a lot of positions. That's a great guy to have on a roster. I'd have to really be wowed by the return. Rutchman is untouchable. Good young defensive catcher who can hit (and from both sides of the plate?). That's just not replaceable. I don't think Hall will ever have enough control/command to succeed. And his mysterious drop in fastball velocity this year is truly alarming. But we'd be selling low if we parted with him now... I'd also put Basallo in as Untouchable: good young catcher who can hit. That's proving incredibly difficult to find these days....

Year: I wanted: Elias chose: Verdict: 2019. Adley Rutschman. Rutschman. Elias was correct! (and Bobby Witt Jr has not been as successful!). 2020. Austin Martin. Heston Kjerstad. Elias was correct! (Martin tanked, so did Asa Lacy). 2021 Jordan Lawlar Colton Cowser. Elias was correct (for now...Lawlar is still pretty good, though) 2022 Druw Jones Jr. Jackson Holliday. Elias was correct! (and the fans would have killed me for picking Jones). So I'll be happy to have Elias keep making the selections for the O's!!!!!

A lot of mocks have the O's taking Waldrep. His windup and delivery and knuckle curve remind me of Mussina. Similar height and weight too. The attrition rate of drafted pitchers in the first round exceeds 60%. They leave baseball due to injuries before ever reaching the Major League level. I know we need pitching, but I agree with Elias's process of favoring hitters... Can always trade for pitching at some point...

Oh I just re-read Frobby's original post and see. My guess is he may struggle at the highest levels with a 91 MPH FB. I hope I'm wrong and he continues to get guys out....

I see he's not a real big guy, listed at 5'11 165 lbs... He's 23 yrs old and was a 19th round pick. Anyone know what kind of stuff he has? He must have a decent swing-miss pitch if he has 80 K's in 50+ innings....

Really mired in a slump at the moment, sending his average down to below .300 for the first time in a long time.... I wonder if pitchers are figuring him out, or if it's just an ordinary slump that all guys go through....

Not a lot of power and extremely limited defensively, but you have to love the contact and on base.... It will be interesting to see if they keep him or trade him.

I like Moose Milligan's arguments.... I think we are seeing of the legendary All-Time greats... and people 100 years from now will talk about him the way we talk about Ruth today....

Just saw video highlight of HR #30 last night. Superhuman- I mean we might be seeing one of the best to ever play the game.... Which spoiled brat owner is going to break the bank for him at the end of this year? If he ends up a freakin Yankee that may just end my MLB following days....

of the "just-a-guy" guys, I certainly like Urias the best. Has some pop and decent enough contact skill. He is a Gold Glove winner who can play just about anywhere. Ideal utility guy you can move around and keep in lineup many days, or start for someone else if injury happens... I'd be curious to know what McKenna could do over a whole season. He may not do a lot, but has a nice skill set and can play all 3 outfield spots. Probably not enough contact ability or plate selectivity for an everyday guy, but fun to root for....

What if we start to skid badly? I am a pessimist by nature (and the past 5 years of Orioles baseball haven't helped!) but what happens if we have to go up against 1st and 2nd place teams and we start to slide in the standings? Would you trade prospects to acquire a stud starting pitcher? And potentially hurt the future to help the team now? Would you stay the course as the fan base gets upset? Would you continue to play Frazier and Mateo or give Westburg and Ortiz more of a chance? What would you do with the abundance of "just a guy"s on our team: Mateo, Urias, Frazier, Hicks, McKenna, etc....Not that these guys are bad, but they're also not good...

He was awful last night, no question. I only go to 1-2 games a year and I had to sit through this absolute steamer.... And they ran out of bucket hats and I missed out even though I got there 40 minutes early! My concerns- Lost velocity- fastest pitch timed at 93 MPH on the stadium gun- don't know if this is accurate but many fastballs in the very hittable 90-91 range. Poor command- behind every hitter, walking leadoff batters, bouncing a lot of pitches in the dirt. He seemed to know he didn't have it last night- body language was sagging from the first inning. I certainly don't think he's tradeable... And who else can we start? I hear he's a super nice guy- I'll be rooting for him to turn it around...

Andrew Abbott is a very good pitcher. Tough assignment for Gunnar hitting cleanup- his OPS is only .544 against lefties this year.... Not sure why he's in the lineup, let alone cleanup spot? I'd be inclined to let him sit against Abbott. Play Urias at 3B, Mateo SS, Westburg 2B...

Hick's hot streak is certainly quite welcome. His last 4 seasons with the Yankees were awful, and the first part of this season too... Did we make any corrections/adjustments? Or is he just on a random hot streak?

1. Ace/TOR Starter. 2. Solid reliable middle relief 3. Solid reliable setup relief 4. MOB masher bat

Maybe package him with DL Hall for someone?

What a frustrating player to watch. He has such lightning quick hands and power potential, but terrible plate discipline and his defense at any position has become intolerable... Do you hold on to him and hope he can improve? Could he be part of a trade package? or does not have any real trade value at this point?