linedrive

Don't get me wrong. I like Sulser. And I trust Hyde's judgment. But I see no reason to commit to a closer. Not unless doing so turns him into a valuable trade commodity.

I don't know if Hyde has made up his mind on a closer, but I see no reason to commit to anyone at this point. Not unless someone clearly earns it.

When there's no clear closer, or the closer has been ineffective, I'm all for a bullpen by committee.

Will be sad not to hear Palmer on a regular basis, but glad he'll still be involved in some capacity.

3 or 4 years ago we couldn't have done that, but I think we are getting closer. Hopefully teams who have a #1 starter we covet will agree.

I'd like to think you're right, but what did the Manny Machado trade get us? I know it's still early, but did we get anyone who could be a top of the rotation starter? Kremer? If not, what would it take to get back a #1 starter? How much would we have to give up? I'd like to be optimistic, but It's hard to imagine a scenario where we obtain a starter that could bring us a Championship.

lol. My point being that the more top pitching candidates we have, the more likely we'll find 2-3 that will pan out and take us OVER the top. Baumler could be one of those, but if he doesn't pan out, we don't have a lot left.

Grade B Yes, like many, I give Elias the benefit of the doubt. Prior to the draft he said they were considering 5-7 players for the 2nd pick. I didn't think he was serious. I figured the O's would take the best player available, and maybe they had 2-3 real candidates. But now I get what he was saying. He really was looking at all those players because he had a strategy, and I think he did get the best player available- as he would define it. They did their homework, and I'm sure they like the makeup of these kids, their, character, upside, and their ability to develop. One analyst said he believed the O's had a deal in place with several of their picks, and that played into their strategy of taking Kjerstad. I wouldn't be surprised if all the teams passing on Martin were concerned about being able to sign him, and how that would impact later picks. Was he really the best player available? I don't know much about his character and makeup, or if there were other concerns or issues, but maybe some unknown factors played into the decision. Even if he is as good as advertised, if the O's strike it rich with Kjerstad, maybe he will end up playing longer in an O's uniform than what Martin would have. Who knows... I am disappointed we didn't get more pitching though. I would love to have taken Lacy, or another top HS arm. I'm guessing some of the arms Elias wanted were snagged ahead of him. But I think we did well in this draft.

I desperately want to love this draft, but I'm sold on the idea that you can't win a Championship without elite pitching. We need to draft guys like a Madison Bumgarner, David Price, Stephen Strasburg, Max Scherzer, Gerrit Cole and Chris Carpenter in the first round. Teams like the Nationals, Dodgers and Royals all drafted four pitchers this draft, and the Braves, who only had four picks, took three. In my opinion, that's what we should be doing. Sure, we can get to the playoffs by knocking the ball out of the park, but we're not going to go deep into the playoffs or win a World Series without 2 or 3 top starters to carry us to the end. If we don't draft them, where are we going to get them??? Do we have deep enough pockets to outbid NY, LA, Boston, etc.? This draft was okay, but if Baumler doesn't pan out, I don't like our chances of winning a Championship this decade.

WooHoo! Finally...

I was genuinely optimistic coming into this draft. I quickly became pessimistic after the second and 3rd pick. Then genuinely disappointed. Now alarmed. I think the only way this draft could have worked for us is if we could trade down 5-6 or 15-20 slots to take the guy we really wanted.

I'm holding out hope for him. He may end up being a pleasant surprise this season. It's sad that he hasn't been healthy for us, but it's not too late for him to turn things around. I'm not overly optimistic, but he has the stuff to bring stability to the rotation, and perhaps bring in a better return than what we got for Cashner.

Bummer. This was the first I noticed this post and thought it was a good idea.

Very nice- congrats!!!

I was hoping one of our teams from 2012- 2018 would have won a World Series, but, as good as they were, we didn't have the starting pitching, and it didn't happen. Now, with this rebuild, I'm expecting at least one Championship by 2030, and it would be nice to have a few Cy Young winners to boast about too...

Like 2019, I'm realistically expecting a last place finish. However, if a miracle happens, we could have a worst-to-first season. But even to finish .500, a lot of things would have to go right. Truthfully, I'd be ecstatic if 5 or 6 players end up exceeding our expectations in 2020. Last year Means, Villar, Mancini and Alberto were the ones to exceed my expectation, and I'd be happy if two of them (Means and Mancini) were to repeat or improve upon last year. So, if we have 7 or 8 players finish with a strong season, along with trades to bring in more talent, and we don't have too many injuries, we could finish .500 or above. Aside from repeat seasons by Means and Mancini, I'd like to see Hays, Givens, Cobb, Akin, Harvey and Mountcastle have breakout seasons, and also see more improvement from Santander and Stewart. Maybe Brandon Bailey or Michael Rucker will make the opening day roster and one of them will be a bright spot for us, and perhaps we'll sign another free agent infielder or sign a pitcher off waivers who will pan out. I'm a little reserved about Alberto repeating; I'm sure the league will be better prepared for him next year, so he'll have to work hard to have another successful season. And I'm writing off Chris Davis, although I predict (if he remains on the team the entire season) he'll hit better than 179 and hit more than 12 home runs.

This season I found the ushers to be more hospitable and accommodating than usual, and I'd like to see that continue. There were two occasions where an usher offered us a seat upgrade rather than our usual spot. That was unexpected, and very welcomed! Another time we complained about some rowdy fans behind us, and we were upgraded. Things like this definitely make the ballpark experience better in times like these.

I want another World Series victory at the very least. But I'm greedy. What I really want is a dynasty worthy of making Yankee fans envious!

Very disappointed with this move. We can't keep our best player because he's too expensive, and we can't get rid of our worst player because he's too expensive... Sure, Villar has his faults, but he was exciting to watch, and it seemed like he wanted to stay. I guess this is another reason why they cancelled FanFest. They knew moves like this would deflate fan excitement.

I was hoping for a better showing from him down the stretch, but I can understand how the season may have worn him down. However, I really like that he grades high on make-up and hope he's ready for a full season next year and moves himself up on this list.

I get your point, but I'm assuming there won't be many better options, and I'm sure they want to give him every opportunity to prove himself.

I’m expecting a lot of moves this offseason, and I’ll assume Villar, Mancini and Alberto will be traded, and that Martin, despite having a strong spring, will start the year in AAA. It should be no surprise that Davis will start at 1B. I predict Ruiz won’t make the team out of Spring Training, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see players not on our current roster start the season at 2B, SS and 3B. I think Sisco will have a strong spring and start at C, and, lastly, Mountcastle will have a hot spring and start at DH. 1B: Chris Davis 2B: Player to be named SS: Player to be named 3B: Player to be named ? Chance Sisco DH: Ryan Mountcastle

I think it depends on who is considered a prospect, so I’ll only consider those listed on the current O’s top 30 prospect list. And among those not mentioned, I’d expect Austin Hays, Hunter Harvey, and Dillon Tate to spend considerable time on the roster. Possibly Ryan McKenna, Brett Cumberland, and Alex Wells, if they have a solid season in AAA. And if he's healthy, I think Zach Pop gets called up.

I'm sure there will be plenty of movement before Opening Day, but for now I'd like to see: LF: Santander CF: Hays RF: Stewart Ideally, I'd like to see Davis released and Mancini traded before Opening Day, giving Mountcastle a chance at 1B. I think it's about time for Elias to make a blockbuster trade and bring in some true talent.

I see he only had one at bat before being pinch hit for. Was that the plan, or was there an injury? Hope he's ok.