52520Andrew

I was thinking about Cowser in RF as well but the problem is that we may have a bit of a bottleneck between RF/1B/DH with Santander and Kjerstad going for that position along with 1B and DH having Mountcastle, O'Hearn, Adley on his off days, Mayo potentially later in the year, and keeping Gunnar's bat in the lineup when he isn't playing the field.

Hays has a better bat but isn't as good defensively, though still underrated in my opinion. More well rounded player than Mateo. OPS+ for Hays was 105 in 2022 and 114 in 2023 so he held his own offensively. Hays and Mullins are the only guys above Cowser for me on the depth chart. I feel like they can fit Cowser into the lineup to give him enough at bats to be happy. If Hays or Mullins go down to injury which is a decent possibility, then Cowser is playing every day. I think he will be given spring training to show he is ready and maybe we see him cycling with Hays more this year to keep Hays healthy as he has traditionally gotten run down towards the end of the season.

I think this can be revisited at the deadline depending on how they both play. If Cowser is playing well and looks ready to take over LF, then you have an argument to move Hays. It may be worth waiting until the offseason though just because then Beavers is closer to ready and Bradfield is making progress as well. I don't want to be counting on McKenna or Hilliard getting playoff at bats because someone got injured at a bad time.

I don't view it as a concern for the major league team for at least the next couple years. I do think there is an argument to draft someone relatively early though just because we have shown to be extremely good at developing the position. Then that player can be used as a trade chip down the line or as potential leverage when trying to get a Gunnar/Holliday extension. I don't think we need to spend one of the 1st rounders though unless there is someone we really like.

Great defender is good, question will be how the bat develops as he hits the upper levels of the minors and if he develops more power. One encouraging sign is 40 45 SO/BB at Vanderbilt this year so another player with good plate discipline. If he can develop power like Ortiz or Norby, he would be another good player for the pipeline. We don't have a slam dunk centerfielder on the farm so I think it fits a need.

Got to watch the Shorebirds Sunday and Basallo definitely showed a good arm in terms of power gunning down a couple runners trying to steal. There was also a bit of zip on some of his throws back to the pitcher. They were going against Susana who is one of the higher upside guys in the minors who can throw triple digits so Young getting 2 hits off of him is encouraging.

I wouldn't completely count out Virbitsky who posted a respectable 9.3 SO/9 and 2.3 BB/9 in A+ while being about league average for age. Not sure about his stuff overall but he can make players miss at least at that level and can limit his walks which are both worth something. Also pitched 126.1 innings last year through A and A+ and has a big frame. You can definitely tell the Orioles have a type with their pitching prospects.

I think it really comes down to how well Ortiz hits. I think Ortiz is better defensively but I view Volpe as more well rounded and seems to have a polished hit tool. But if that back half of 2022 isn't a flash in the pan then I think Ortiz will be better.

I like this one, it seems like we aren't going to get a top end starter so might as well make the bullpen elite to compensate. Plus fan service which I am not complaining about. Do think this strategy puts pressure on the young starters but if they don't have to go too long, it helps in a different way. I would like another starter still

The Frazier signing is confusing to me. I am currently assuming someone on the infield is traded but even then it is a bit rich in value to me. I was perfectly fine going into the year with Gunnar, Mateo, Urias, and Mountcastle as the starting IF with Westburg playing the utility role as he breaks in and seeing how things went from there. I can understand Norby and Ortiz needing a half season at AAA since they didn't get there until near the end of the year. A bridge to them is more understandable but that is why we have Urias and Mateo. Would he provide any value in the outfield so that Santander could be moved to DH? Or are we already better off with Stowers and Mckenna? Only way this is makes sense to me is if one of Urias, Westburg, or Mateo end up traded soon.

I went with a C but there are certain assumptions being made at this point. One is that we acquire a backup catcher and another starting pitcher. I think this latest signing means someone on the infield is getting traded. Otherwise it is hard to really understand, do they think Westburg can't handle second base defensively maybe? It is honestly a head scratcher. I don't mind Gibson as the second starter which this grade assumes. Should be solid bounceback candidate with our defense behind him and I think there is risk we need another respectable starter with so many young guys who may not be done taking their lumps. If there isn't regression in starting pitching, then it pushes someone into the pen which isn't a bad problem to have(Look how that worked for the Astros). The Frazier signing is more confusing however. I am currently assuming someone on the infield is traded but even then it is a bit rich in value to me. I was perfectly fine going into the year with Gunnar, Mateo, Urias, and Mountcastle as the starting IF with Westburg playing the utility role as he breaks in and seeing how things went from there. I can understand Norby and Ortiz needing a half season at AAA since they didn't get there until near the end of the year. So a bridge to them is more understandable but that is why we have Urias and Mateo. Would he provide any value in the outfield so that Santander could be moved to DH? Only way this is acceptable to me is if one of Urias, Westburg, or Mateo end up traded soon. I did end up going C because I do think the Orioles are a better team than last year even if the upgrades are marginal but I also think this was the year to get a bit more aggressive and we should have been able to get one of the other starters that has already signed as some of these contracts weren't that unreasonable. This offseason strikes me more as a missed opportunity as opposed to the team being worse than last year.

Yeah I think going from the Phillies to our defense is a big upgrade. I am no expert at the advanced statistics but I don't see any drop off in stuff like SO/9 or EV. I'll join the others and say if this is all we get then I would be disappointed but he should be a serviceable 4th/5th starter which we need in the event we get regression from some of our other starters.

He looked good last night. Didn't stick out in a bad way playing at short and he is a big guy. Think even if he doesn't work at short, he could easily survive at 3rd

Both strikeouts were full counts and I wanna say there were foul balls on both but I am in the camp that says he should stay in AA at least until he gets better. He will get there I think, just takes a bit of time and I think he made a decent jump to AA and this is probably the best players he has played competitive games against. He did seem to be getting along good with the pitchers though.

Fenter is warming but good night for Hall if this is it with 9Ks 2 hits, 0 walks, and 0 runs over 5 innings.

Moot point, no hitter is gone But he gets out of runners on 2nd and 3rd with a strikeout

3 more strikeouts for Hall, don't think anyone even fouled anything that inning

Strikeout for his second at bat

They are just starting to show speeds so can't confirm

Still facing the minimum though

Single to start the night off

I see I am not the only one at the game

Congrats, learned a lot just reading your posts these past few months I have been here. For everyone here, hope you help get us that next world series team. Good luck!

It sounds like the International league is a lot more hitter friendly this year with the MLB ball. Think Akin is a decent example of not wanting to hype the AA guys up too much as it looks like the jump to AAA is pretty big.

Would have been nice to have gotten more but I would rather get some lottery tickets in the DSL vs a low upside AA guy or two. I also don't think a sub 4 ERA was sustainable for Cashner and we likely sold high on him, especially considering his planned usage on the Red Sox.