Jammer7

I think Hyde was trying to see how Lopez would respond competitively and emotionally. At times, Lopez is like a whipped puppy out there in his body language. He’s soft, but the stuff is worth the time to see if you can unlock the competitor within. I am not optimistic, honestly.

I took the under. Mostly due to the lack of solid reliable bullpen arms. Which Hunter Harvey shows up next year, and will it matter if he's on the IL for half of the season? Then Fry, Scott, Armstrong, Tate, Lakins and ? This season saw the pen overused to win as many games as we did. That was with a 28 man roster in a 60 game season. I doubt we see any FA signings of any note, maybe a few guys on minor league deals with Spring invites. Getting Mancini back to near his old self would be a huge boost to the lineup, and perhaps guys like Severino, Santander, Hays, Mullins, Mountcastle, Stewart and Ruiz improve their swing decisions more and continue to grow. Maybe Iglesias has his option picked up and is healthy to start the season and plays in 130 games or so. Maybe Cobb is healthy and decent like he finished the year. Maybe Means is healthy and resembles the guy we saw at the end of the year. Maybe Akin, Kremer and Zimmerman work through their ups and downs and make it through the year healthy for the most part, with about 120 innings each. Maybe Baumann and Diaz come up and make a splash mid year. All of that is optimistic, and if it all happens, I still think its under. The pen is that bad with the talent as is.

I will not be upset if Alberto is at 2B again in 2021, but he isn't my first choice. He is below average at 2B, lacking arm strength and range. He seems to drop about 1/5 ground balls to him. It has cost us a few double plays this year. Offensively, there is good and bad, sure. But the league has figured him out and has stopped throwing anything close. He just keeps on swinging at pitches Vlad Guerrero would have taken. He seems badly exposed in a full time role. I was hoping he would be traded at the deadline, to get something at his peak value. I will say that the chubby fella can be fun to watch at times, but he is not a guy that should play a full time role on a competitive team. He'll be28 years old in October. I am curious to see what else is out there. The in-house candidates are mildly interesting. Pat Valaika (just turned 28)may deserve a shot, and perhaps everyday reps in the same position will benefit him. I am curious about Richie Martin playing alongside Iglesias. I want to see Martin play every day somewhere, Baltimore or Norfolk. Ramon Urias (turned 26 a few months ago) has been interesting in limited looks. The play he made in the hole at SS last night was outstanding and it made up for the clank two nights ago. His bat should produce at least the same OPS as Alberto. Neither has much power, but Urias seems to have a better plan and discipline based on a very small number of at bats. Dilson Herrera (27 in March) would likely hit better than Alberto, but not sure he is much of a middle infielder. Richard Urena (25 in February) is supposedly still in the organization, but it's telling (and disappointing) that he was not in the 60 man pool. I would like him to be re-signed and have him come into Spring in great shape. He is a talent, and was rushed into a part time role as a 21 year old from AA in 2017. And you have already talked about Rylan Bannon (25 in April). I agree that he will probably start in AAA. Andrew Velazquez....no thanks. As far as Ruiz, I want to pull for the guy, but he's definitely regressed. The swing is often long and he has slider bat speed. The struggles defensively are hard to figure. Maybe there is an injury he is playing through, IDK. It's been a crazy year and the coaching staff knows what they have in Rio. We'll see.

I liked his competitiveness, but the delivery was all over the place. Best of luck to him. Maybe we see him again.

I remember you being critical of him quickly. The national media was very polarized about him. I remember BA saying this. His swing was on a downward plane and he had 30 power. I suppose they thought they could change his swing plane, which I thought they could as well. The sad thing is that Rajsich said he considered taking him in the first round if Hunter Harvey was not there.

Yep, found it. Very polarizing kid with scouts, but a nice kid. https://www.masnsports.com/school-of-roch/2014/02/sarasota-fla---owner-peter.html

Well, the lists and organizational rankings do give us something optimistic to talk about over the Winter. I do want to see where the media lists rank him after a good showing.

Wasn't he the player that Buck asked him about Frank Robinson? And it resulted in Hart having to do an essay about Frank, I think.

Welcome to Zimm! Looking forward to seeing him pitch tonight. Wojo was what he was, filler. He had some decent moments, but it was certainly time. I hope he gets claimed, although I doubt it happens. I do not want him staying around in Bowie. Bring in another low minors player (or two) for what amounts to a ten day mini-camp.

There is no doubt they drafted some solid guys, especially in lower rounds. Eleven major leaguers in one draft is remarkable. I think Dan occasionally drafted for need with guys who were not necessarily great overall talents, but could be solid and make contributions to the major league roster sooner than later. I think Sedlock, Stewart and Grenier were all with that in mind. Lower ceiling, higher floor guys.

I don't think Sedlock was a bad pick, necessarily. He logged a lot of innings in college, though. But he was a power arm and well thought of. I was ready to give up on Cisco last year, honestly. He was out of shape and just looked lost in all phases. Based on what I have seen this year, I think he has turned his fortunes around to at least a back up role. I think he can certainly hit. His swing decisions are much more controlled. He looks much more fit and confident. I thought DJ Stewart was a questionable pick, and I was among many many fans who were critical of it at the time. He has certainly had a hot few weeks here, but his mechanical changes look to be outstanding and might just have saved his career. He's got T-Rex arms, so a one handed finish makes a lot of sense to get extension through the ball. We'll see. I thought Mountcastle was a great pick, since I have seen him several times live. He lives ten minutes from me. The defensive position change should have taken place sooner. Josh Hart (2nd round 2013) was a bust, but I did not think he was a bad pick at the time. There was some red flags, but based on what I had read at the time, I thought it was a decent pick.

Not sure that I understand what "double counting" is? But wishing that they kept the picks is an endorsement, of sorts, of their ability to draft fairly well.

I did not read the article since I got rid of the Athletic. So my comment is general, not specific to the article necessarily. Without a doubt, Duquette and Rajsich drafted some talented players, particularly in the last 3-4 years of their time in Baltimore. They deserve recognition for that, certainly. My thought is that these same players we see making splashes recently, who were acquired by Duquette and Rajsich, would they have developed as well under the old regime? I do not believe so. Many players have had dramatic growth in their games since Elias and staff have arrived. Perhaps you could argue Duquette wanted to make the changes on the player development side Elias has, but simply did not have the resources because he had to allocate so much of the budget to keep the competitive window open at the major league level. IDK, but I would say that our player development staff is leaps and bounds more effective than it was two years ago. They made some questionable picks as well, Cadyn Grenier is one that comes to mind. And I wish Dan had kept the Comp picks he traded.

Currently, there are 39 players on the 40 man roster. This does not include Mancini (45 IL), Martin (45 IL) and Kohl Stewart (Restricted List/Opt Out). I am not sure Kohl Stewart is brought back, but I will assume for now that he does come back. LeBlanc is a free agent at season's end. So, that makes 42 players. The players of note that are eligible for the Rule 5 draft: Yusniel Diaz OF Mike Baumann RHP Zac Lowther LHP Bruce Zimmerman LHP Alex Wells LHP Rylan Bannon 2B Isaac Mattson RHP Zach Pop RHP Cody Sedlock RHP Brenan Hanifee RHP Gray Fenter RHP Brian Gonzalez LHP Zach Muckenhirn LHP JC Encarnacion 3B Brett Cumberland C# Mason McCoy UT Ofelky Peralta RHP Cameron Bishop LHP Ryan Wilson LHP Felix Bautista RHP Zach Matson LHP Nick Vespi LHP I believe the five players bolded, Diaz, Baumann, Lowther, Zimmerman and Wells are certainly added. Bannon is likely added in place of Urias as INF insurance. Mattson is likely added. Not sure Pop will be added since he is coming off TJ, but lets say he does get added. That would make eight (8) rule 5 protection additions. I left off Sedlock and Fenter since they were not protected last year, and neither one was added to the 60 man player pool. I left off Hanifee, though I pause just a bit with that. Single A starter in 2019, but his profile is one that might intrigue someone. I left off Brian Gonzalez as I think he is just LH inventory for the player pool. That makes 50 players to account for. I need a minimum of ten subtractions, but I'll make eleven for a rule 5 possible addition at the meetings. I would subtract by DFA or trade: Austin Wynns Bryan Holaday Asher Wojciechowski Cesar Valdez Branden Kline David Hess Chris Davis Evan Phillips I would look to trade: Hanser Alberto (trade - arbitration eligible, below average defender, atrocious plate discipline, heavy for a middle infielder) Renato Nunez (trade - If Mancini comes back, he's very expendable) Alex Cobb (trade - get rid of that salary if you can, may not go until July 2021) I keep Velazquez for now, since we do not know what season will look like for 2021. He can play very solid defense everywhere, if only he could do more than bunt and run. I think his defensive prowess keeps him here, but I could see him DFA'd depending on a few things. I keep Cody Carroll for now. My thought is that he just needs more time after the injuries to get back in sync. He has two options. I keep Kohl Stewart for now, but I can see letting him walk. Lopez and Eshelman seem ahead of him, unless they can move Cobb. If they cannot move Alberto, Nunez and Cobb, then subtract Stewart, Carroll and/or Velazquez.

I believe Shane Baz was included in that deal as well. Awful deal for the Pirates. The Rays have made some very astute trades in the past several years.

Loved watching him as a Terp, and he had a plus slider and solid change up in college. He is fat, looks bigger than 240, and has not developed well in Boston. That said, I would take him over Hess, and he has options this year and next. He would take a 40 man spot, and those might be getting tighter this Winter. Nah, pass.

I have seen this a few times through the years. Great stuff! Drafting HS kids is such a crap shoot, especially when you look at the bottom half of this. A little maturity and solid college coaching/program has turned around the lives of many young ballplayers. And of course, bad coaching/program has ruined many a promising career as well. Some of these things are either there, or they are not. Many of these things can be taught and/or greatly improved upon depending on the athleticism, determination and the aptitude of the player. But someone worthwhile had to believe in you. Amateur scouts have a tough job. Many MLB players, even all-stars, have told me that they were very fortunate to have the careers they have. I used to think they were being disingenuous, but I realized over time that they were sincere in that sentiment. They would talk about guys that had more talent, but had terrible HS or college coaches sabotage them, or a drug/alcohol problem, or a bad relationship, or got into a car wreck, or too many bar fights, or etc... They really are a bit lucky that things clicked for them. I used to wonder why major league organizations did not do much more to mentor and look out for the immature HS kids they drafted and signed. They have improved greatly these days to teach these young men about basic responsibility, professionalism, nutrition, workout plans and financial issues than they used to. On a side note, I always had a favorite sign posted on a MLB Spring Training hitting cage. It's message was simple, "Mechanics stay in the cage." Meaning, once you leave the cage, no more thinking about mechanics. Just hit as you are today and compete, and get back in the cage tomorrow and put in your work. It seems so simple, right?

I hear good things as well. I think we will see several DSL prospects begin to rise in the next two years. Another to watch is Raul Rangel, a RHP, who is beginning to fill out and add velocity. He was reportedly into the mid 90’s last Fall after signing.

The lefty Ortiz has a very bright future, but the RHP version...not so much. Surprised the RHP is still in the organization. As far as Westburg, I think they believe in his most recent batting improvements prior to the draft. They put a lot of stock in his upside, certainly. Personally, I think he and Henderson are quite similar in profile. Westburg, who has played with Miss. State and Team USA and Cape Cod League, has accomplished more and has higher level experience than Henderson l, who has half a season in the GCL. Haskin and Baumler were mild surprised to me in how highly they are thought of. With no games to observe for most of these guys, any ranking is much more about projections.

That was the first thing that stood out to me. Until Diaz stays healthy and produces like he is expected to, he is going to start to slide. The ranking of Haskin and Baumler stood out a bit as well. Personally, I have Baumann and Kremer after Mountcastle and ahead of Henderson, Westburg and Diaz. Bannon at 23 was a mild surprise. Overall, a fair list, for what it's worth. A few weeks ago, I listened to the Orioles Magic post-draft podcast with Jim Callis. It was a solid recap, and Callis was a good bit higher on some of the draftees than before, especially Haskin. He also had additional good things to say about the Kjerstad pick, Westburg and Baumler. https://art19.com/shows/orioles-magic-the-podcast

MLB Pipeline (Callis and Mayo) put out their take on the Orioles top 30. A few mild surprises. https://www.mlb.com/prospects/orioles/

I have been a big supporter of Severino, until now. He can be fun to watch, at times. He brings great energy, enthusiasm and above average athleticism to the game. He has a plus accurate arm, and I think he will hit for power and average. That said, his lackadaisical effort should get him benched. Blocking balls in the dirt is just anticipation and effort. I noticed occasional lapses in effort last year and I thought it could be that he was just banged up or tired from midseason on. But there is no excuse for his poor performance early in 2020. With Hyde and Cossins around him, you have to imagine he is getting quality feedback and coaching. Its hard not to question his maturity and desire to remain a major league catcher at this point.

I still believe Kjerstad was a steal for the amount of his bonus. I guess saving 300k, if that’s what happens, can be viewed as cheap. But all of that aside for a minute, the Orioles are paying their employees for the entire year despite the shutdown. That’s not cheap. Maybe that 300k can go toward that. Nah, never mind.

I suppose so. It’s disappointing to see how Bruce’s career plateaued at a fairly young age. Burnitz was a little better than I remembered.

Nothing about a draft is certain. Martin may have had a major slump, an injury, or whatever. No? A leg injury to Martin that limits his speed would be huge for his value. The bat would have to carry him more. The model that Sig and Elias had apparently believes it was likely that Kjerstad would ascend in a similar way as Bleday. Young players improve, sometimes in a rapid fashion at this age. That is what we all hope for. The Orioles front office are standing behind their work. It’s a gamble, sure. But it’s an educated one. You have to admit, they are ballsy. They are strong in their belief in their system.