Jim'sKid26

Grayson Rodriguez. I think he has figured it out. I think his pure stuff is filthy and I think he wants to show everyone that he is a ToR SP. Oriole single season records are going to fall and everyone in baseball is going to notice.

Small sample size. Fair criticism. I will keep my opinion to myself. Critique noted. Thank you.

Until Johnson has better command/control I would be very surprised to see him in Baltimore. Yes he throws hard but he walked way too many dudes at AA last year. He's going to need to hit the target a little better or he's going to he lit up at the MLB level.

Interesting guy. He's not built like a typical SP, 6'1" 205. However, he misses bats. In both college and in MiLB he averages a little over 11 K/9. Now he walks a few too many dudes, Bowie was 6.0 BB/9, but the stuff appears to play. Of note, walks were not as big of an issue when he was with Tampa Organization, pre-TJS. There is no advanced data from Baseball Savant but if he's throwing 4 pitches effectively and touching 98 post surgery, that's a big plus. I would love to see his advanced metrics from this spring. Gotta believe he starts in Bowie and will get to Norfolk soon if he's successful. I wonder if he will be on a strict pitch count.

Mickey Rivers?

Interesting. Out of University of Oregon. Was drafted by the Marlins at 1.35 out of high school but failed his physical and didn't sign. He ended up going to College. Marlins were right. He ended up needing TJS during his freshman year. The Giants took him after his sophomore year (did not pitch) at 4.125. Sinker, Sweeper, Cutter and Change. All his pitchers are within a 7.6 mph range 88. 7 to 81.1. Throws the sinker (88.7 mph) most of the time (65.4%). Was mostly a starter in MiLB but was transitioned to a RP in 2022 at AAA by the Yankees. He is also reported to have a low to mid 90's 4SFB but it did not register on Baseball Savant. May not throw that hard anymore. Baseball Prospectus, from 2016: "Krook comes from a three-quarters arm slot. He showed an ability to repeat that arm slot, but occasionally finished the delivery short. There's some effort in the back half, but not enough to suggest he won't be a starter at the next level. There are some medical concerns here, as he underwent Tommy John in 2014." A bit of an enigma.

It's all good, no offense taken. Peace.

Run suppression can be quite entertaining if you ever saw Brooks or Mike Schmidt, Scott Rolen or Graig Nettles or even Manny in his prime platinum glove days. Indeed, defense on the left side of the infield matters. But it also helps to be able to hit the baseball. Justin Turner, Troy Glaus, Mike Lowell, and Pablo Sandoval were never thought of as defensive wizards but all manned the Hot Corner with some success. I think any of us would happily take a Justin Turner or even Troy Glaus career result for Coby Mayo.

First of all, Thank you. That was most kind. I appreciate the sentiment. Secondly, I'm just not as optimistic as you and @wildcard. He's never been the most durable of SP's and the recent trend has not done anything to make me feel like he's either going to be ready in April or that he would be shut down again in May. As I said, I hope I'm wrong and both of you are right. However, somewhere in the neighborhood of 20% of pitchers never fully recover from TJS. The data shows that when they do return they are much more prone to re-injury and other arm related injuries. Many of us focus on the guys who come back better after surgery but there are many who do not. The initial post surgery experience for Means is not reassuring to me. Ref: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7905078/ https://asmi.org/position-statement-for-tommy-john-injuries-in-baseball-pitchers/

Ouch! A down vote for suggesting that the most optimistic return date for Means may not be entirely realistic. You are a tough grader! For the record, I hope you are right but the recent setbacks that Means has endured speak to the reasoning for a more pessimistic point of view.

Does he suddenly become a 1B prospect moving forward. Apparently the bat plays higher than the catching skills. Overall value goes down if he moves off C but he might make the MLB faster as a bat first prospect. If his raw power translates into a 30 HR 1B who can otherwise rake, does he shelve the Tools of Ignorance?

So with the injury updates of Means and Bradish, are they now to be considered the O's pitching upgrade at the trade deadline? Seems to me that both will be stretched out at about that time to be expected to go 5-6 IP/start by then if everything goes as planned with their respective rehabs. Might be a real shot in the arm (pardon the pun) to the staff to have them back by the middle of the season.

I'm always interested in what kind of value an ex-player brings to coaching. The game has changed radically in the past 7-10 years. Coaching staffs, with the Braves being an intriguing exception, are getting younger and data scientists are those who can interpret the data generated are having a very large say in how the game is played. Palmer and MacDonald are entertaining color analysts, but what do they bring to the table as coaches? I ask because I truly don't know. Seems like a question for @Just Regular or @btdart20.

Thanks, Drungo. That's high praise coming from you. Appreciate the kindness.

So you are basing your opinion on a single case study? The journal article provided is about professional pitchers, mostly MLB, and there is a considerable literature available if you wish to search for it. Its up to you.

The most significant element in this discussion is not available to anyone but Bradish, his physician and the folks in the O's front office who have access to his medical information. What is the degree of injury to his UCL and surrounding tissue? The fact that they are starting a throwing program early after a PRP injections implies a strain that is either grade I or II. PRP is not effective and therefore not used on Grade IV strain/tears. Most Grade III tear/strains require extensive rest and usually end up with operative treatment. If he has a grade I or II strain, PRP and a rehab program can deliver good results without surgery. I know there is a lot of doom and gloom on the board today but it may be a bit premature. Here's a quote from a recent journal article: "Ultrasound-guided UCL PRP injection, a minimally invasive technique, has gained traction due to its potential to facilitate tissue healing and repair. PRP has demonstrated success in returning pitchers to throwing quickly and successfully 73-96% of the time following medium-grade UCL tears or UCL insufficiency. In prior studies, use of PRP to treat partial tears resulted in an 88% success rate in returning athletes to play after an average of 12 weeks." Ref: 1) Mills FB 4th, Misra AK, Goyeneche N, Hackel JG, Andrews JR, Joyner PW: Return to play after platelet-rich plasma injection for elbow UCL injury: outcomes based on injury severity. Orthop J Sports Med. 2021, 9:2325967121991135. 10.1177/2325967121991135 Case study: https://www.cureus.com/articles/213637-from-dugout-to-the-mound-a-tale-of-platelet-rich-performance#!/

Does Kenley want to be a closer? Seems like the O's have one already. Do you think he would be ok sharing the role?

Thanks for all the research @Frobby, yet another awesome thread. None of our current outfield were highly thought of prior to being drafted. As you stated, Mullins was a 13th rounder out of Campbell, not a baseball powerhouse. Hayes was a 3rd rounder out of Jacksonville and Santander was signed by the Cleveland Indians as an international free agent in July 2011. Conversely, Heston Kjerstad (1.2) and Colton Cowser (1.5) are both very high draft picks with significant pedigrees. Additionally, Bradfield Jr. was also a first rounder (1.17) out of a very good SEC school. It makes me hope that the current crop of outfield prospects might be able to exceed what Mullins, Hayes and Santander have accomplished.

They have slightly different meanings. Its a matter of agency. Foreordination = Agency or choice Preordination = No Agency or choice Foreordination: One is ordained or called to something and may still decline, either willfully or through one's actions. Preordination: One is ordained or called to something and will be that something no matter what an individual might want or might otherwise choose.

Helpful vocabulary builder: read all of @Frobby's posts and look up the words you don't know. Foreordained: (of God or fate) appoint or decree (something) beforehand. "progress is not foreordained" Awesome!

One question beyond the issue of who has an option left is who misses bats. Baker, 27.4 K%, 51 Ks in 45 IPs (10.2 K/9), 4SFB= 95.7 Webb, 24.6 K%, 57 Ks in 53.2 IP (9.5 K/9) 4SFB=94.5 MPH Baumann, 22.3 K%, 61 Ks in 64.2 IP (8.4 K/9) 4SFB= 96.4 MPH Tate (2022), 20.5 K%, 60 Ks in 73.2 (7.3 K/9), Sinker = 94.0 MPH Irvin, 20.2 K%, 68 Ks in 77.1 IP (7.9 K/9), 4SFB= 92.2 MPH Vespi, Heasley and Akin didn't have enough MLB IP to serve as a reasonable comparison. The hole in the BP is late innings, high leverage RP who can get you a K when you need it. Baker and Webb appear to be the best options here if you are going by past performance. YMMV.

Just because I am a very proud Titan, I would like to point out that while Phil Nevin never had the professional career that Jeter did, (few have), however he was a very accomplished college player. He was the Golden Spikes award winner, the Baseball American and Collegiate Baseball Player of the Year and he won the Big West Conference Triple Crown in 1992. Dude was a stud. Fun fact: he was an All American kicker for CSUF his freshman year. It was not a complete stretch to say Nevin was quite a bit more accomplished than Jeter when he was drafted. Go Titans, Tusks Up!

30 Hrs in limited action as a DH? at OPACY? Really? My point is that one of the posters on this board had endorsed the acquisition of Martinez by quoting his projected HR total for 2024 at 30. I see that as highly unlikely as he will be playing half his games at a park that suppresses HR for RHH. Now if we are using this spray chart: https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/savant-player/j-d-martinez-502110?stats=statcast-r-hitting-mlb I count 17 HRs to right and center field. So let's say half of the other 16 are hit in OPACY, they are likely outs. He's now about a 25 HR guy if he hits as well as he did in 2023 and he gets 430 ABs. How likely is that? And this is also not accounting for the fact that the opposing team will be pitching in such a manner as to encourage him to pull the ball. I could be very wrong but I don't think he is worth the money Boras is likely to extract as a part-time RHH DH for the O's.

Right handed power hitters without elite power are not likely to perform at OPACY quite like folks want them too. Projecting JD to have 30 HRs as the, likely part-time, DH for the O's is pure fantasy. Look at the effect Mt. Walltimore has had on Mountcastle over the last couple of years. Now imagine that effect on 36 yo J.D. Martinez. It won't be pretty.

Is this a guy you take a flyer on? If he's healthy he could be dominant. https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2024/02/matt-barnes-throws-for-scouts.html "Time will tell whether Barnes can ever recapture the form he showed from Opening Day through early August in 2021, though with a shoulder injury and notable hip surgery separating present-day Barnes from that peak version, it feels like something of a long shot. But even if Barnes never gets back to fanning more than 40% of his opponents, there’s a middle ground where he can be an effective late-inning reliever. "