seak05

Including me! Hays shouldn't be anywhere near LF anymore. The Orioles don't yet agree with me though...

I think we should probably stop lumping RF and LF together. We're seeing with Stowers that the Orioles clearly don't. And with the oversize LF at Camden Yards it makes sense. So for Instance Cowser is on the CF/LF depth chart, while Kjerstad is on the 1b/dh/rf depth chart. Just like Hays and Santander don't really overlap positions.

Ortiz was pulled from tonight's norfolk lineup. With Urias in concussion protocol and Westburg out with a sore back, you wonder if he's coming to Baltimore

It will be interesting to see how this year plays out. Statistically, Mountcastle was a good defensive 1b last year. He has above average range, and posted a good UZR and OAA score. Also last year he had 18 scoops (fangraphs), second in the majors. He has 0 so far this year

It's not either/or, two things can be true at once. They were poor throws AND Mountcastle did a poor job picking them. The Mateo throw would have been a very good pick, but generally short hops aren't an atypical throw for a 1b to catch.

Sure they were poor throws, that’s where a good defensive 1b comes in. if all of your throws have to be perfect to record an out, your pitchers, infielders, and team is in for a long season. plus it will probably get into your infielders heads, as they try to hard to be perfect. Same way it happens with a catcher who does a poor job of blocking

Hays has has a very good few weeks offensively, he’s had a very bad few weeks defensively. In terms of OF defensive statistics he’s ranked at or near the bottom in every one, except arm strength. https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/savant-player/austin-hays-669720?stats=statcast-r-fielding-mlb

I think when Gibson couldn’t get through 6, I might’ve put Watkins in

Well now I do. Thanks espn

Btw the xba on the grandma double was .170

Voth? Oh cmon. Well this game is over

Fun? Fact, in terms of feet v avg santander was better then hays last year Santander isn’t fast, but for the last several years his route running has been elite. (He’s still overall below avg)

Great jump, great route, great play

Sure it was a bad throw, you’d prefer each and every throw hits the first baseman directly in the chest. If that was a reality you and I could play first base. It’s not. Which is why the job of a first baseman is to save those throws and convert them into outs. Mountcastle has done a very poor job of picking throws.

Not Adley’s day. Sometimes you hit into bad luck

Because even at the college level your first basemen is expected to be able to pick a short hopped throw. The mateo one was difficult as he was stretched out. That one was basic. Heck he even briefly caught it before dropping it. Being able to catch non-perfect throws is basically the main defensive responsibility of the first baseman

Mountcastle, come on

I wonder if we see a lineup in June with Westburg or Cowser in LF and Hays in RF

Oh Mounty, sigh

Feels like that is the sort of thing that is going to come back to bite the Orioles

Given that Mountcastle has a .924 OPS ....

Santander looks really bad. How long do they keep running him out there? (it is only mid-April)

Apologies for double post: Hays' sprint speed this year is 27.6, it was 27.8 last year, and 27.4 the year before. Overall this year though it appears major leaguers are a lot slower or something, as last year he was 226th in MLB and this year he is 68th. Other then small sample size not entirely sure why (but that's why his percentage is up).

Using baseball savant his burst (which was already below avg) is down this year. His route running has also been problematic, but it hasn’t been in the past, so that will probably even out as the year progresses. His reaction time (slightly below avg) is consistent with what it has been in the past. I’m not sure what you would call burst other then a speed component, but regardless the result is that his jump is now in the 12th percentile.

Even before the foot issue yesterday, Hays appears to be a lot slower then he was in the past. And he has not gotten to several balls that an average fielder would reach.