Aglets

Don't tell Adley.

Pretty happy with how it worked out in 2019.

Significant but insufficient.

Steve Melewski reporting today that Creed Willems just joined the "Orange Team" in the FCL. https://www.masnsports.com/steve-melewski/2021/08/the-orioles-move-up-to-no-2-in-baseball-america-organization-rankings.html

Excellent news! I have some real interest in checking the Delmarva box scores again. Really interested to see how Westburg and Mundy handle AA pitching.

Guys, things are looking up. We are tied in the Win column with Arizona, only 3 "back" in the Loss column. Don't tell me what this team can't do. Still a lot of time left. I believe in them.

Interesting given Burch's stats at Aberdeen so far. 4 IP. 2 ER. 6 K's. 1.500 WHIP. Guess if you combine it with his numbers at Philly's high A affiliate it's not bad. Here is a fascinating tidbit in Roch's article this morning: "The Orioles are expected to announce more minor league promotions today, including pitcher Tyler Burch going from Aberdeen to Bowie and third baseman Coby Mayo going from the Rookie-level Florida Complex League to low Single-A Aberdeen." hmmmmmm

But on the other hand............. and I know this is extremely productive and insightful. Maybe.............. it wouldn't have been. As always I hope you guys are getting a lot out of expressing your displeasure with what we all know is going to happen.

I think there is more evidence that his approach is working vs that it isn't working. I personally am not that bothered by a team on pace for 54 wins vs a team that might be competing for 68 or whatever. Moreover, I can acknowledge that it is actually BETTER for the team to lose more at this time. I was a diehard fan for the 2005-2011 years (and still count myself in that number today) and I think what we are doing now makes far more sense. I personally have NEVER been more excited or confident about the long-term outlook of the team since I was a little kid. It's been a long wait, yes, but Elias was always upfront with it as a long-term play. You know what was even longer? 1998-2012. We are closer to the end of the tunnel now than we were at the beginning. I'm really happy about that. I expect the de facto tanking to be over starting next year, and I expect them to be "really trying" starting no later than 2023. And then I expect Elias to make good on his word that we will be perennial contenders because of this talent pipeline that he has spent YEARS building. He has been truthful with everything else so far, so yes I trust him for now on that too. And that matters, and that makes me very excited as a fan. So in short, that is why I think it makes little sense to complain about Elias doing exactly what he has promised. Being more aggressive right now with certain prospects will be a net NEGATIVE for the team at this time, not a positive. And I think that would make me kind of a poor fan if I put my own desires to see them "win more in the short term" if it hurts the team in 2022-24 and beyond. There is no reasonable scenario you could convince me that the O's would be a competing for a playoff spot this year. Given that fact, what we are doing now makes absolutely perfect sense. I agree with you that GRod and Westburg are ready to be promoted.

100% correct. Elias has been upfront with his strategy and approach to player development since he got here. He wants every prospect to (basically) compete and earn a promotion at every rung of the ladder. He has executed that strategy consistently for a couple years now. And people still seem surprised or outraged or at least mad about it. We haven't seen any dividends at the major league level yet from this (although the minors are certainly improved) but I suspect we will starting in 2022.

I would just use the top 10 on Tony's list for short-hand. Totally fair to argue that someone like Rom isn't a "premium" guy though.

Are there any premium O's prospects that you believe are at the appropriate level?

Excellent post and I'm inclined to agree with all of it. I think this draft could be seen as a HR a few years from now.....the jury is still out. It could still be a big success even if Kjerstad is unable to play although that would obviously be a huge asterisk. But no one can reasonably fault Elias for that. FWIW, Baumler had Tommy John surgery in the fall of 2020.

I'd say catching a 1 hit shutout is pretty...........ok.

Felix just struck out the side in the 9th inning to end the 1 hit shutout for Norfolk. He allowed 1 walk. EDIT - hah, fristed by Tony. ?

For once I will say I completely agree.

So an .882 OPS at Aberdeen after 56 games (261 PA). Shouldn't we be expecting to see him at Bowie soon?

Ugh, way to save money on the underslot pick Elias. Classic Orioles. Wonder if we will ever go Best Player Available. ?

And he isn't even the oldest manager in MLB!

Looking forward to this "debate" continuing for another 8 months or so. When it has already been abundantly clear since Day 1 what the plan was for Adley's development schedule. As I have said before......if it makes you guys happy to continue to rail and complain about what we ALL KNOW is going to happen then I wish you well. I see no upside to explaining why what we all know is going to happen.............is going to happen.

Even if he has some learning to do.....why not have him do it at the major league level? How is this really benefiting him to stay down?

So this guy seems pretty good eh.

Not trying to be a smart !$!@#@. But what is the Orioles incentive to do this trade? We really need the AAA roster spot or a few hundred thousand $$$? I guess he was a *non-tender* candidate with him being due for arbitration in the fall.......... ?

We should be relevant in 2023. Will ownership want to invest and supplement with FA by then? Unclear. But 2023 has to be the target for at least flirting with .500 imo.

I completely agree. I think the same thing applies to Grayson too.