Jammer7

I thought a lot about Rob Neustrom, but I am going with Zach Watson. Speed and defense are outstanding, and he grinds. Hope he makes some strength gains in the off season. He’ll obviously need more contact, and better discipline, but the tools are there to have some impact. Interestingly, there could be a few guys from the DSL teams that could create a lot of buzz next year as well.

I agree. It’s just that, sometimes, he shows patience in his approach and shortens up. Sometimes, not. Sometimes, he drives the hall all over the field; and sometimes, he gets long and pull happy. But when he does make contact, he drills it. His exit velo is really elite.

?...Well, so much for the video I just watched. Hope he makes it through.

If you have not done so, watch some video of Rondon. He has a lot of defensive ability, as advertised. Very good quick soft hands and range, with about a 55-60 arm and average speed. The bat, well there is some pop there, mostly gap to gap, but he took Matt Boyd deep to RF on a pitch high and outside. I like the pickup, and I would like to see him play quite a bit just to see what he can do with regular reps. He might have a shot to be the starting 2B if Villar is not brought back in 2020. Edit: Never mind....

I would love to see Givens, Castro and Bleier all rebuild their value for Winter trades. I think some of Hyde’s handling of the pen has been rough at times in regards to these guys. I want to see Bundy have a solid finish for the same off season movement. I want to see Santander and Severino keep progressing in all phases. Same with Richie Martin. They are the only three position players, currently on the 25 man, likely to be here when we are good again. I want to see Nunez keep raking. He has really matured as a hitter, not trying to pull everything. I want to see him find a position, but I’m not optimistic. I want to see Rio Ruiz improve his conditioning and strength. I want to see him trust his hands and stop trying to pull everything. He gets long and it kills him. He has a real chance to hit, and there much more power there, but he has work to do. I want to see Hays stay in AAA until a September call up. I want him to find stability and again become the guy he should be. I was glad to see Mancini stay, but he needs to be at 1B. I love watching Trey hit. DFA Chris Davis, I know it won’t happen anytime soon, but it is severely clogging things up. He’s awful. Eat the mistake and move forward. I want to see less of Dwight Smith Jr. and more of DJ Stewart. Although I do not think Stewart is well thought of internally. I don’t particularly think he’s a long term answer either, but I want to see if he can make some adjustments and be productive. He took some really bad swings in his short time in Baltimore, and I want to see if he was just pressing and makes adjustments.

Bleier, Castro, Givens, Bundy, Wynns, Villar and Mullins could all be traded, non tendered or DFA’d this Winter. Stewart is another guy that just does not seem to be in the plans, and I would not be surprised to see him traded. Smith is a guy that can hit, but as the season has progressed, his soft body and terrible arm really show. He’s banged up, and has been for a while before the concussion I think. But I would not be upset if he’s moved as well, or even DFA’d.

Is there? No matter where you’ve been for the past 4-5 years, it’s where you are headed from here. No? I get what you’re saying, but does that really matter in the grand scheme? I mean if he takes off, prospect wise, from here, does anyone care that he has been in professional baseball for 5 years before getting to Delmarva? Does he somehow become less of a prospect? Or is he a success story of perseverance and good coaching? He seems to be another existing talent that Chris Holt and staff have helped turn a corner.

Not sure that he will be, but I really like his set up at the plate last night. Lowering his hands and eliminating the leg kick really allows him to get through the fastball on time. We’ll see what the second half brings. This thread reminds me of the negative comments once commonly heaped onto Santander. Martin is a guy that still may hit after all. I would not count him out just yet.

While that is certainly valid and fair, he was a one time top 100 prospect and had to overcome shoulder surgery and a few other things. So, maybe there’s a 4th OF there. Won’t know until he gets a chance.

Williams has never had an extended everyday opportunity above AAA. And his stats this season in a notoriously tough park to hit are pretty solid. I’d trade a little more contact for a little less range in CF. Williams has always been an athlete, so, unless there is some other reason behind the scenes, I’d like to see what he can do. He may have a ceiling of a solid 4th OF, but I will take that. https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/w/willima10.shtml

You make some solid points. I agree his walk rate is concerning, while his strikeouts are not. A few thoughts: The biggest difference there is Mountcastle uses the entire field much more. Schoop and Jones are extreme pull hitters, for the most part. Both were at their best when they used RF more, though. Buck mentioned it many many times over the years. Ryan’s ability to use the whole field may help him avoid some of the same pitfalls of those two. Norfolk is an notorious extreme pitchers park. I would love to see what Ryan’s day to day trackman data is, his exit velocities and what his barrel % is. I would like to know what the % of balls he swings at, and how many swing and misses he has. I would like to know how many pitches he sees in each at bat. How is his pitch recognition? Is he able to make solid adjustments in his approach? I would want to know all of that before I read too much into what the numbers mean for a 21 year old in AAA. Overall, I find it quite encouraging when I look at his numbers. And I think he’ll continue to fill out some and add more power. And perhaps he ends up in LF, so there can be some defensive value. He is a pretty solid athlete. My thought, hope, is he will become more and more selective. I wonder if he is a victim of his aggressiveness and barrel ability. For instance, does he swing at and hit pitches that he cannot do damage with early in counts. He certainly has not shown any signs of improving his walk rate, but it can certainly be done. We’ll see.

I watched some of his effort last night, a little in and out on that part, unfortunately. I agree with what you wrote here. Not sure if I am right on this, but it looked like his arm action on the breaking ball was telegraphed. A little stiff at the top and in the release. And it looked like a CB, but I thought he was mostly a slider guy? Thoughts?

Ok, my misunderstanding. I saw a tweet from Jon Shepherd with that figure. Thanks.

I believe I read a recent comment from Elias that quoted him as saying the O’s would spend nearly all of the International Signing Bonus $ in this year. Makes me wonder what he and Koby have up their sleeve. A bigger name Cuban defector, perhaps? They have about 4 million left.

Yeah, different guy for a while now. I suspect there is another injury there before the concussion. I noticed his throws are worse than before. I thought I saw a more accurate, tick below average, arm from him late Spring. Now, his throws are just terrible. Weak, and way off target. Maybe I am wrong, but I thought his arm was passable in LF. I’ve seen him stretching his shoulder frequently, but who knows.

I’m addition to what others have already said: At 3B, first step quickness and a strong arm are huge. Still need soft hands, and agility important on bunts and such. At SS, should ideally be the strongest arm and ability to release the ball from a variety of angles with accuracy. Double plays, OF cuts and such make the need for a strong arm beyond just plays in the hole. Soft hands, great feet, At least a 60 arm, exceptional range, quick release, and a high baseball IQ are ideal. Makes you appreciate what Cal did for so many years in that he was remarkably agile for a large fella and so very well prepared each day.

It’s his first full season of professional ball. It’s the first time he’s really struggled. The demands on his body going from every 7 days to every 5 days will take him some time to adjust. Could be some dead arm periods in there as well. I will look for him to develop for the next two years and then see what he is then.

Definitely a nice play. Where was the runner? Was that the VMart play? Part of the impressive nature of Richie’s play for me yesterday was the fact he threw out a speedy runner hustling down the line. Swaggy T still made a nice play there though. Great memory.

I almost spit my coffee all over my phone. ?

Good for Yaz. I wish him well. Significant injuries cost him in Baltimore. I think he was a better player than Rickard, offensively and defensively. I don’t think he’s the hitter that Dwight Smith Jr. has been, but Yaz is a better defender. He probably should have gotten an opportunity at some point last year. 40 man spots were a bit scarce due to the pitching woes, but they should have found a way. Good to see him doing well, but then Yaz won’t be facing the Yankees, Red Sox and Rays 57 games a season. The AL East is a different arena than the NL West.

A fantastic article! Thank you for sharing that. Heard the name many times, but never knew the story. It sounds as though I would have loved to have seen him play.

Exactly. God has blessed me in many ways, Part of that is a love for the game of baseball. I’m just trying to find things to be upbeat about. It’s difficult to do that this year. This board has been a lot of doom and gloom. Too many snarky and/or angry people. I enjoy the game. I enjoy watching men play this kids’ game, especially when they play with passion and energy. I love the College World Series for the same reasons. I love coaching youth baseball of all levels for the same reasons. I love seeing many of the kids I know and/or have coached get to play ball in college, and in several cases get drafted and sign. I have loved meeting people like Bob Boone, Dave Tremblay, Joe Oliver and John Hart, to name a few. Talking baseball with these guys who truly love the game, and to see how down to earth and grateful they are to have played or coached or been an executive. It was just humbling. Baseball is a lifestyle for those guys, not just a job or just a game. I get the feeling, watching Pedro, that he is the same type of individual. Adam Jones had a similar passion and energy for many years in an Oriole uniform. Brian Roberts too, before he cracked his noggin with his bat. Ed Murray was similar with his playfulness and the way he had a flair for the dramatic. These guys were fun to watch.

LOL! Ok. I’ve been a fan of the Orioles since 1977, when I was 8. So, no, not that young. All of those catchers you named in Orioles’ history certainly had their merits. I enjoyed watching all of them. It’s subjective on my part, and I don’t need a big sample size for what I like about the game of Pedro. As I said, it’s his flair, passion, athleticism and the way he has fun out there. The way he plays the game. He plays like an energetic kid out there. I truly enjoy watching him play. Before Severino, Dipper was my favorite. And for similar reasons. The time he filmed a fishing trip and dove into the water, coming out with a fish in his mouth. Or the rain delay antics...that is entertainment to me. Baseball isn’t all about statistics or wins/losses for me. Wieters was an above average catcher in many ways, and he got beat down being the workhorse. He may have not reached the potential tauter by most, but he was very productive. Hoiles had some dramatic moments and a solid offensive resume. Fruit Loops was a solid offensive catcher. A switch hitter with power. I appreciated all of the things they brought to the team each night. But none of them were dynamic athletes behind the plate. When I see Severino throw behind a runner, or block balls in the dirt, or just in the way he sets up or relates to his pitcher or other teammates. He’s the guy that I would have wanted to pitch to, or play with, out of all of the catchers in O’s history. I never said he was the greatest Oriole catcher of all time. Just that he is my personal favorite. He’s the closest we have come to some of my favorite catchers that I’ve seen in any uniform, such as: Yadier Molina, Benito Santiago, Pudge Rodriguez, Tony Pena and others. Posey and Varitek are in there somewhere, but for different reasons. You disagree, cool. Who is your favorite Oriole catcher? And why?

I believe you, and I’ll agree he was capable of those kinds of plays, just not consistently capable of making the routine plays. I definitely slighted Tim, and I was wrong. Someone posted a video that was a very nice play similar to the one tonight. Martin is just more athletic and dynamic at SS than even Beckham. Oriole shortstops over the 40 years I have been watching have usually been the steady workman like guys who make the routine plays consistently, but rarely wowed with a dynamic play of that ilk. Through the ups and downs, Richie has had periods of time where he has been consistent with the glove and fun to watch overall. His speed and arm, to me, are his best assets. It’s not Manny’s arm, but it’s plus. I like the way he plays, and I can only hope he improves with the bat. His barrel awareness is pretty bad.

Well, it’s my opinion that you’re arguing with me about...lol. You disagree, cool. He is still MY favorite Oriole catcher of all time. I loved Dipper, but Wieters and Hoiles were not dynamic and passionate behind the dish. Who is your favorite Oriole catcher? And why?