LookinUp

https://x.com/osplayerdev/status/1698412038899355899?s=46&t=WJb5alQKjaHYpZYyJu65xQ

Sure. I could see him here on opening day. I could also see him traded, though I think both are unlikely. And it's been said in other threads I'm sure, but it makes sense for the penny pinching owner to trade "expensive" arbitration guys and pay less for guys like Mayo to be on the team. We'll see. Absent a scenario like the one you mentioned with Mountcastle, I think he could definitely use an offseason and a couple of months in AAA to continue his development. I could see him crushing AAA next year and essentially be a Westburg-like call up in terms of playing time and production.

I expect Hicks (for McKenna), Kjerstad (roster expansion), Means (for Voth/Fuji) and Wells (roster expansion). I think I'd prefer Cowser or maybe even McKenna for the playoffs tbh. I really value OF defense late in games, so I'd rather have them out there than Kjerstad or Santander.

Definitely still developing. No rush with him. For me, he's a 2nd half call up next year. For many orgs, he might be called up this week.

Hopefully Bradfield never gets enough games at any level to break those records! Well, at least not in A ball. Maybe AA/AAA.

It's tough. They built a nice facility to just be there for little league tournaments. At the same time, if you can't draw when Jackson Holliday plays, how are you going to draw when there's a team with mostly non-prospects? You really have to question the viability of that site as a minor league staple moving forward.

I tend to agree that he's a prime candidate to be traded, but I also agree with your last sentence. IT would be selling low at this point. If Elias values his upside, I think he holds on to Stowers in hopes that a good offseason can get him back on track. If I'm a team talking to the O's, I'd love to get Stowers as a 2/3 piece in a deal in hopes that he blows up. Stowers' season just doesn't make a ton of sense to me. He started cold. Got injured and never really blew up, even in AAA. It's almost like his previous offseason was a bust. I hope he comes back in January a better player than he is right now.

Exactly. There's nothing to really gain by bringing him back for a week. I'd err on the side of caution, congratulate the kid on a great year and get his offseason plan in place. I just wonder if they start him in Bowie next year. I'd say that's not out of the question.

I tend to think you're right, but I also think he's in the group that's creating a backlog between the majors or AAA, so a trade or trades are possible.

And Stowers.

I agree. I just that's his projection. Not what he's ready for at this point. And that's fine. This is why the minors exist.

Because it's in Aberdeen. I still think the Frederick decision was a bad one. Norfolk, Salisbury, Bowie and Frederick are all far superior to Aberdeen in terms of locations. It feels like we're beholden to it because of the Ripkens. I get it, but don't like it.

The developmental question re: the bolded is "why?" A lot of guys' mechanics kind of break down as they get tired. Others might just not have the muscle memory to repeat. To me, if he has the stuff with 3+ pitches and doesn't have obvious physical limitations, he's a starter. Now maybe he doesn't have that stuff, or does have physical limitations. If so, that's a reliever profile. But development is about building the physical profile and the muscle memory. I love the opportunity for guys like this to reset in the offseason. They get to work on getting stronger and developing that muscle memory. I feel like this org really takes advantage of that.

If he's not being pitched to, AAA should come soon. If he is being pitched to but fouling balls off and working walks, it's an entirely different story. Either way I think AAA is in his near future.

If he was in my team, he’d be a DH and closer. DeGrom would also close.

I think the O's do this essentially as a method of orientation and getting guys to know other players/staff throughout the org. It's been short-lived for most of the good ones, so it seems to be a fair approach.

Assuming production, they'll move him quickly, but I'm not sure why Dylan Crews is mentioned anywhere in this thread. He's a stud on a different level than most recent draft picks.

I've seen nothing but his stat line. 4 ip, 2 h, 1 R (a home run), 4 ks, 0 bb. So nice stat line. No clue on the underlying data.

If I remember from last year, the 9/1 cutoff is a very soft cutoff for playoff rosters. There are other ways to make sure guys are eligible, so there may not be the moves we're expecting on 9/1. It could be as simple as making sure we don't lose a guy like Voth.

I don't know anything beyond the box score, but Estrada has had a bad year. Bencosme, who you didn't list, also had a bad year. Maikol Hernandez too. Hopefully some of these other guys turn into studs, because three of the ones that I was interested in didn't progress at all this year. I am curious, do you think any of these Delmarva - Bowie arms fit? I feel like several should be above Estrada at this point, but maybe I'm just way too down on him. I'm thinking about Moises Chace, Jean Pinto, Luis De Leon, Deivy Cruz, Juan Nunez and Yaqui Rivera. I also assume Wandisson Charles' star has fallen with his bad Norfolk results, but figured I'd bring him up.

I have no problem with the fact he's been in the minors this full year and likely will next year unless he's moved. He's good enough to be in the majors now, but not in this org. So hopefully he can be determined to be the best he can be and force his way up sometime next year. The math just sucks for him. He's not the next man up and he's not the one after that. Those spots are for Ortiz and Holliday. Now I could see the 2024 Orioles jettison Frazier, Mateo and Urias, in which case Norby, Holliday and Ortiz could all have spots on the ML roster, but that seems very unlikely.

But maybe for the opposite reasons that we would assume? Older player is more likely to contribute at a top level earlier in his career, so may be worth more over 6 years. For an org that is unlikely to resign stars to long term deals, maybe the older player makes more sense?

I think the O's think they can ride solid arms through solid performances without paying premium prices. I could see Elias/Sig breaking their models for all-time great Orioles, but it will take a Mussina-like Orioles performance for any of these guys to really get paid. Rodriguez/Bradish seem like guys who have some shot at that. I don't count a new 1-2 year deal for Gibson et al as that type of contract. They happen every year. Hopefully the supposedly good arms we have in the lower parts of the minors (and a couple closer) can fill in any blanks.