CHIP

Handley's home runs are the big difference between home and away stats but not too many were wall scrapers. Completely opposite of Cody Roberts who hit more on the road than at home. So how much is field vs. pitcher/team being faced. Do we discount Cody because he can't hit in a hitter friendly park? His defense has always been his calling card. However, his batting is unique in that every level (A short, A+ and AA) his numbers improve. AVG, OBP, SLG and OPS as a direct result. That is very rare for a player to improve his numbers as he goes higher in level against better pitching. Really says something about what he seems to be working on during the offseason. So I look at the following: PA AVG/OBP/SLG BB%/K% 2019 131 .202/.298/.237 8.4%/35.9% 2021 234 .201/.316/.337 11.5%/30.3% 2022 308 .236/.352/.417 11.7%/20.8% The other big comparison I see when watching him vs. Cody Roberts (which Cody has some consistent numbers over his years) is that Maverick seems to be hitting the ball with much higher Exit Velocity. Unfortunately... we don't get to see those metrics.

Comparing Payroll vs. 40 man roster before the 6 PM Deadline today... Team Rule 5 % 40-man Count Rank Payroll 2023 Payroll Projection NYM 0.00% 31 1 $237M CHC 0.00% 33 16 $127M COL 0.00% 33 11 $157M SDP 0.00% 33 2 $204M BAL 5.90% 34 29 $41M LAD 0.00% 34 8 $170M TEX 0.00% 34 17 $122M HOU 2.90% 35 9 $164M MIL 0.00% 35 15 $130M CHW 0.00% 36 7 $173M MIN 0.00% 36 22 $101M PHI 0.00% 36 6 $179M SEA 2.80% 36 14 $131M BOS 5.40% 37 13 $134M NYY 2.70% 37 5 $190M OAK 2.70% 37 30 $35M STL 2.60% 38 12 $157M WSN 0.00% 38 21 $102M ARI 2.60% 39 20 $102M TOR 0.00% 39 4 $194M ATL 0.00% 40 3 $196M CIN 0.00% 40 24 $77M CLE 2.50% 40 26 $72M DET 5.00% 40 18 $117M KCR 0.00% 40 25 $77M LAA 2.50% 40 10 $161M MIA 2.50% 40 23 $101M PIT 0.00% 40 28 $50M SFG 0.00% 40 19 $115M TBR 2.50% 40 27 $71M

and a link to the Payroll as well... https://www.fangraphs.com/roster-resource/breakdowns/payroll Team Rank Payroll 2023 Payroll Projection Guaranteed % Arbitration % Pre-Arbitration % 2024 Commitments 2025 Commitments 2026 Commitments OAK 30 $35M 0.0% 40.6% 59.4% $0 $0 $0 BAL 29 $41M 7.4% 45.9% 46.7% $0 $0 $0 PIT 28 $50M 33.3% 32.4% 34.3% $7M $7M $7M TBR 27 $71M 35.6% 51.9% 12.5% $47M $11M $15M CLE 26 $72M 26.2% 52.7% 21.1% $25M $30M $35M KCR 25 $77M 42.1% 38.9% 18.9% $30M $23M $2M CIN 24 $77M 56.3% 24.9% 18.8% $11M $0 $0 MIA 23 $101M 42.7% 44.8% 12.5% $34M $32M $25M MIN 22 $101M 49.1% 37.2% 13.6% $19M $18M $16M WSN 21 $102M 59.9% 24.8% 15.3% $70M $35M $35M ARI 20 $102M 58.3% 28.2% 13.4% $38M $18M $17M SFG 19 $115M 61.6% 28.6% 9.9% $21M $0 $0 DET 18 $117M 66.2% 22.7% 11.1% $51M $41M $39M TEX 17 $122M 77.4% 10.8% 11.8% $74M $72M $58M CHC 16 $127M 64.6% 18.4% 17.0% $50M $20M $20M MIL 15 $130M 31.8% 62.1% 6.2% $33M $31M $32M SEA 14 $131M 74.2% 18.4% 7.4% $101M $91M $82M BOS 13 $134M 62.4% 29.6% 8.0% $57M $29M $33M STL 12 $157M 71.2% 23.0% 5.8% $76M $40M $22M COL 11 $157M 82.9% 8.7% 8.4% $91M $72M $76M LAA 10 $161M 82.9% 8.2% 9.0% $91M $83M $77M HOU 9 $164M 75.5% 17.4% 7.2% $115M $47M $45M LAD 8 $170M 59.6% 34.8% 5.6% $74M $70M $61M CHW 7 $173M 78.4% 15.5% 6.0% $88M $24M $2M PHI 6 $179M 77.5% 13.6% 8.9% $116M $91M $48M NYY 5 $190M 70.2% 25.3% 4.5% $96M $90M $78M TOR 4 $194M 63.5% 32.7% 3.8% $75M $66M $66M ATL 3 $196M 83.1% 12.3% 4.6% $109M $97M $93M SDP 2 $204M 67.0% 26.8% 6.1% $95M $98M $81M NYM 1 $237M 79.6% 15.6% 4.8% $133M $75M $55M

Very informative page on Fangraphs: https://www.fangraphs.com/roster-resource/breakdowns/40-man-roster Team 40-man Count Homegrown % Free Agent % Trade % Waivers % Rule 5 % Rank Homegrown Rank Free Agent Rank Trade NYM 31 41.9% 19.4% 32.3% 6.5% 0.0% 16 12 18 CHC 33 51.5% 21.2% 27.3% 0.0% 0.0% 12 8 22 COL 33 57.6% 18.2% 18.2% 6.1% 0.0% 9 12 29 SDP 33 27.3% 27.3% 45.5% 0.0% 0.0% 28 4 8 BAL 34 35.3% 8.8% 23.5% 26.5% 5.9% 19 25 26 LAD 34 58.8% 14.7% 17.6% 8.8% 0.0% 4 15 29 TEX 34 38.2% 11.8% 50.0% 0.0% 0.0% 16 24 6 HOU 35 68.6% 5.7% 22.9% 0.0% 2.9% 3 28 26 MIL 35 31.4% 22.9% 42.9% 2.9% 0.0% 22 5 8 CHW 36 55.6% 13.9% 25.0% 5.6% 0.0% 4 15 22 MIN 36 55.6% 2.8% 36.1% 5.6% 0.0% 4 29 12 PHI 36 47.4% 13.2% 31.6% 7.9% 0.0% 11 15 14 SEA 36 22.2% 13.9% 52.8% 8.3% 2.8% 29 15 4 BOS 37 27.0% 16.2% 37.8% 13.5% 5.4% 27 12 11 NYY 37 32.4% 18.9% 43.2% 2.7% 2.7% 19 8 7 OAK 37 16.2% 13.5% 51.4% 16.2% 2.7% 30 15 4 STL 38 50.0% 13.2% 31.6% 2.6% 2.6% 9 15 14 WSN 38 28.9% 28.9% 26.3% 15.8% 0.0% 22 3 18 ARI 39 33.3% 12.8% 33.3% 17.9% 2.6% 16 15 12 TOR 39 38.5% 20.5% 38.5% 2.6% 0.0% 15 5 8 ATL 40 42.5% 30.0% 22.5% 5.0% 0.0% 12 1 22 CIN 40 50.0% 17.5% 25.0% 7.5% 0.0% 4 8 18 CLE 40 65.0% 7.5% 22.5% 2.5% 2.5% 1 25 22 DET 40 50.0% 12.5% 20.0% 12.5% 5.0% 4 15 26 KCR 40 62.5% 12.5% 25.0% 0.0% 0.0% 2 15 18 LAA 40 42.5% 20.0% 27.5% 7.5% 2.5% 12 5 16 MIA 40 27.5% 17.5% 50.0% 2.5% 2.5% 22 8 3 PIT 40 30.0% 2.5% 52.5% 15.0% 0.0% 19 29 2 SFG 40 27.5% 30.0% 27.5% 15.0% 0.0% 22 1 16 TBR 40 27.5% 7.5% 60.0% 2.5% 2.5% 22 25 1

Let's say the Orioles don't protect Players on the 40 man MLB list. When/what is the timeframe for setting the MiLB AAA 38 man roster to prevent being pulled during the MiLB portion? These players being discussed all seem like they should at least be on the AAA 38 man list if not the 40 man MLB.

Is November 15th the same day for setting the 38 man AAA roster? I was looking but can't find that date if different... This may be where the Orioles can find some depth to add to the farm system below AAA? What about the Minor League Rule 5 Draft? While the Major League Rule 5 Draft captures the majority of the headlines, the draft also has a Minor League portion that allows teams to select minor league prospects from other teams and add them to their farm system. In the MiLB phase, any player who meets the same eligibility requirements of the MLB Rule 5 Draft who is not added to the organization's 38-man Triple-A roster can be selected by another team. Players taken in the MiLB phase do not need to be added to the 40-Man or active roster and can be assigned to any level of their new team's Minor League system.

Tell me if I am wrong... Doesn't make much sense for a club to pay $100K to take Cumberland via MLB Rule 5 when they could get him for 'free' if he just becomes a MiLB free agent then use that money to sign a MiLB contract? Cumberland was drafted in 2016. From a Google search, "A player becomes eligible to sign with any organization as a minor league free agent when he has played six full minor-league seasons with the club that drafted him." Brett didn't choose free Agency last year (after his 6th year) likely because it was the Orioles version of the Wild West going into Spring Training and he had a pretty crappy 2021 AAA season by his standards (excluding the HBP total). So he may have thought he had a chance. His agency, you would think, would be pretty active looking for a better opportunity for him elsewhere? But if he is still with the O's going into Spring training that would mean it is still his "best chance".

So Bemboom is in for $114K for MiLB season (or more depending on if/any MLB time)... plus housing at AAA, "Meals" deserve to be in quotes, Heathcare/Per Diem are true variables... and Tuition Assistance would be covered by team that drafted him. Housing is new and adds maybe 1200-2500 a month depending on location/standards. per diem in minors for food I think was $25/day on road trips only? The NEWEST NUMBER is what Orioles have to pay MiLB players moving forward for Spring Training. (which actually leads to another sub topic of off season camps/clinics, etc... they have to pay the players that go to those now) Still a 'good' income depending on where he resides the other 4 months of the year. Would love to see what a AAA free agent contract looks like... but that is just me. BUT... BUT... Here is the real reply... is that $114K above or below the coaching salary average? Anybody know how much Tim Cossins gets paid as the MLB catching coach? Seems too much to me because didn't the O's use the same mentoring/coaching philosophy with keeping Chirinos around to coach/mentor Adley and not bring up Nottingham/Cumberland/Bemboom the last few months of the season? Maybe that is what left so much time for Cossins to be at all the Habit for Humanity houses (which is a noble cause but couldn't that time have been built building up the catchers in the system) Fact is... the 'only' time you hear from the Orioles about player development success is when coaches are latching onto the 1st and 2nd Round picks... where it appears to be more of a 'don't get in their way' process. So instead of hiring a Minor league Catching coach/coordinator to work with all the catchers or even focusing in on those at the AAA, AA, A+ & A- levels located 'near' Baltimore... we are going to start contracting players as 'player coaches' or just to be 'mentors' and 'Break Glass in case of Emergency' call ups... Seems to me the Orioles could spread that $114K across 11 minor league catchers and give each of the $10,000 to spend in the off season or in season to "BYOCC"... Buy Your own Catching Coach

Maybe Driveline will give the Orioles a group discount? https://twitter.com/Joney93/status/1581324388498276353?s=20&t=TA4iQ89_SgSOL35T25XBEQ

After Orioles picking up 2 Reds Catchers, I went to check their Depth chart. Other posts talk about MLB teams taking a flyer on Maverick Handley in the Rule 5 this year... After Tyler Stephenson, the Reds are thin/barren as can be and in a total rebuild.

I agree... August has been worse than July. The problem I see is no one is doing much better? Roberts has had two good games in August that boosted his number after a horrid July. But Bemboom/Nottingham/Cumberland aren't much better than the .480. A+ and A- catchers are all pretty close as well. Almost like the Orioles staff has ignored every catcher since Adley was promoted. Who would really want to be a catcher on the Orioles right now except for someone trying to extend their career? I had to go back to the tape for Handley's defense. I have seen a lot of weird stuff this year. Knee down, splits, etc. Fat is McDermott looked like ass all 3.2 innings. 6 walks? Two were 4 ball walks. That wild pitch in the 3rd I couldn't really tell because of the camera work but it looked like Handley's knee was down and pitch went to opposite side of where he was set up. That WP didn't score as it was followed by a fly out and 2 Ks. In the 4th, that Wild pitch hit in front of the batters box and Handley was knee down and doing the splits. So gut feeling... not anywhere close to spot. Not sure which of those Adley would have blocked. But... I have always been a Stanford fan and Pro-Handley commenter. I am starting to think he is trying to get traded or set up to be an easy pick up in December. Like when the O's got Hudgins from KC a couple years ago in MiLB rule 5.

There was a lot of conversation about that after May and June for sure when he was playing and performing. I wonder if the O's have had any conversation with Handley... either they have or they haven't. For someone as smart as Handley, no conversations or plans is often detrimental as they need feedback. NOT COUNTING ADLEY... I do find it VERY interesting that so far the ONLY noticeable promotion(s) for a catcher (above temp injury fill ins) in the O's system was Willems from FCL to Delmarva earlier this year. Where he is hitting .176 AVG with an OPS of .519 and is throwing out 25% of runners (19 of 77). I also don't count the 2022 draft picks that are both college picks a promotion from FCL to Low A. I wonder if Handley has figured out it would be better to 'tank' the remaining August/September and not be moved to AAA so another organization can grab him in Minor League rule 5? Go back to Driveline where other teams hitting coordinators work and get picked up by one of those clubs? That would be the 'smart' move

You are writing about Handley but showing a picture of Roberts? Face is different and I have never seen Handley tape his wrists.

The Orioles gave him $1.9 Million (Pick 39) in 2020 for a reason. The year before Elias the Orioles gave Cadyn Grenier $1.8 Million (Pick 37) in 2018 and somehow he is still around (only batting .224 AVG career and OPS of .681 which are both within 5% of his yearly averages). AND... they are playing Harris in AAA after a very brief 20 games hitting .315 in AA and now .115 in AAA in 50% more ABs. IF anyone can actually provide a template for what Elias and Blood are doing... I would love to see it.

How about this for a cherry pick? After Handley started 4-41 on the season, from May 10 to June 8th, he hit 0.412/0.492/0.627/1.119 with only 6 Ks. But those that don't like your opinion at the time are going to cherry pick the hot month now. Handley has maintained his numbers for the past 90 days for May/June/July hitting 0.274/0.394/0.492/0.887 over that stretch. The lack of depth in the O's catching has been apparent with ZERO moves except to cover the Travel Squad and injuries. Willems (2021 pick) was the only real promotion from FCL to Low A has been an absolute joke batting 0.155 (24-155) and defensively catching 15 of 66. Pavolony the 7th rd pick of 2020 is 0.184 (20-109) and catching 11 of 50 attempts. Ramon Rodriguez is hitting .259 in A+ over 161 AB and similar defensive numbers. He was even sent to the AZ Fall League last year. Maybe they get Handley more AB's in AA, move him to AAA for more than a couple weeks (however, I can see them keeping him down in AA if Bowie has a chance for playoffs... (because AA titles really matter in the long run) then play in the AZ Fall League. If he performs there... they would need to put him on 40 man at that point. But wait... that makes too much sense. NVM

Stanford Alumni Fan... so Pro Handley on this one. Handley is in a tough spot. He has only played in 54 games all year compared to 87 for Ortiz. 214 to 373 plate appearances respectively. Looking at Game Logs, it looks like Handley has only gotten to appear in more than 3 games in a series 5 times and only appeared in 2 games in a series 5 times (out of 17 series). I would imagine it isvery hard to keep a really good rhythm with play-sit-play-sit-play-sit. My understanding on Handley's reviews is "He just needs to get more ABs" but with all the High draft pics and Bowie having two guys trying to play 1B... there aren't enough ABs to go around. Take away his April stats after having sat in the dugout all spring training with maybe 1 AB vs Yankees... his numbers since May 1 are 0.274/0.394/0.493/0.887 over the past 3 months. His AVG was down a bit July but his OBP and SLG were still right there, but he only got 1 series with more than 3 games and also had a 5 day break. His OPS for May/June/July has been .857/.959/.835. TO Manipulate service time and 'hide' him from others, the Orioles can keep him at Bowie and keep playing 1 on and 1 off. Maybe move him to AAA for the final week or two for a few chances to bat at AAA without showing too much to the other clubs thereby getting him on the AAA roster to avoid him being taken in the MiLB rule 5 portion. He would be an easy $50K Milb get. The Orioles don't have enough depth to let him get taken or release him... but how much does a club abuse a relationship when there is such a clear gap in 'development' between Adley and everybody else that you don't support your development.

After giving $600K to Creed... maybe the Os realized your catchers can develop their own hit tools but the Orioles aren't capable of developing defensive tools. Then again... simply stated, the Orioles don't develop their catchers. They promoted Adley because of his offense (justified) and they signed 3 short time MLB catchers for AAA and have smothered all of the other catchers in their system splitting time equally. Looking specifically at Roberts and Handley at AA. They were a couple of the hottest guys getting left over AB's and split catching time and the O's didn't do anything to get them more AB's or move them. Their recent struggles seem to suggest a loss of drive because performance for catchers doesn't get a move up. I would love to see the trade Maverick Handley to the California Angels for a pitching prospect where he has a chance to be something other than a 'future back up'. Also gets him back out to CA so I can take my son to watch him play again.

Looking at AAA Norfolk there is no 'true' 1st Baseman position player on the roster. They will play 1 of their four (yes 4) catchers to get them AB's while another catches and another DH's. But the DH spots have gone down since promotion of Henderson and Westburg and the return of Vavra. SO... no 1st baseman by definition. Looking at AA Bowie, we have Daschbach & Mundy. Daschbach is striking out at a 37% rate but has increased his walk rate to 13%. Mundy has a 27% K rate and 7% walk rate. Ultimately, right now, Daschbach has a OPS of 0.685 and Mundy is at 0.677. Are these good enough for 1st baseman? Mundy had a 2 day surge to really help his numbers. THE FACT IS, in my opinion of FACT anyway... Mundy has no position! if anyone actually watches the games, he is a liability at 1B and he isn't good enough to be a pure DH. Daschbach is a high level 1B defender and can play LF on occasion. I think it is time to cut MUNDY LOOSE. We need a spot to put Welk when he returns from the IL. In the mean time, Handley and Roberts could be getting Mundy's AB's. Handley more C time and Roberts gets more time in OF and 1B. Looking at A+ Aberdeen (I don't watch the games because I can only handle so much 'sounds of the game background noise') we have Bowens & Teter respectively. Bowens has improved is OBP by doubling his walk rate. His SLG numbers down. But he is still sitting at 0.815 OPS. Teter has a higher AVG ad SLG but a bit lower OPS. I don't know how the play defense. But their numbers seem okay for getting game AB's. Ultimately, isn't 1B in MLB for a strong bat with the ability to NOT BE A LIABILITY defensively? I just don't know if we have those bats in the middle minors to justify taking AB's from infielders/outfielders/catchers that could be using those AB's.

My understanding of the Rule 5 draft is an MLB team can take anyone not already on a MLB 40 man roster as long as that club has not filled out their 40 man roster. But the AAA version of the draft is the same. They can take anyone that is not on a 40 man MLB or 38 man AAA roster as long as they have less than 38 on their roster. And in only costs about $25K vs. $100K to get them. So Handley likely will wind up on AAA before the Rule 5. Cumberland is 27 and Roberts just turned 26. Handley just turned 24.

Here is a question from the 'pro Maverick' gallery... last year I wrote about getting him out of Aberdeen for his numbers to start taking off. We are 20 weeks into the season and his numbers have been getting better and better since his 1 for 25 start. Here is the question... what do the Orioles do from here? How do the O's develop a 'back up' catcher for Rutschman or is it time to start trading the assets (if there are any worth trading)? Taylor and Bemboom were both signed right before and during Spring Training and are 32 years old. Then you have Nottingham (27) who has gone thru hot and cold streaks in Norfolk but overall seems to be in a rough patch in June going 5-45 so far dropping his average to 0.216. Cumberland (turns 27 this month) had his hamstring/ankle injury and is rehabbing, but he has been with the Orioles 4 years now since the trade with the Braves in 2018. Roberts turned 26 today. He has hit well at Bowie in April and June but had a rough May. Overall he is still hanging around his .250 career average as a bat first catcher. He has a strong arm, which showed with Bowie played him in the OF to get more ABs while Handley caught. Handley is still just a young 24. His 5-9 190lb label on MiLB seems like it never changed from 2021 when he came in light at Aberdeen. The Driveline videos of him prior to Spring Training sure look like he put on some good weight there in the offseason which also matches up with his improved power numbers. As mentioned in the post and others... his offense has 'clicked'. Besides his AVG/OBP/SLG/OPS constantly improving... his Walk rate has continued to rise while is K rate is around 17%. The past two months he BB/K ratio is about 1:1... Ramon Rodriguez is only 23-1/2 and is covering in AA while Roberts is in AAA this week. The Orioles did send Rodriquez to the Arizona Fall league last year but then put him back at A+ Aberdeen. He is hitting well enough at A+ to justify a move to AA if a AA were to move up to AAA Pavolony and Willems are working their way through A+ and A- but seem like they aren't ready to move up both hitting aroung .170 +/- 10pts. So now with Adley on the MLB club, what do the O's do to develop his back up or improve the system thru trade(s)? Chirinos is a good mentor and popular in the clubhouse by all accounts... and the O's still don't seem to 'need' to win right now. So unlikely for O's to give Nottingham a shot at MLB from AAA. Nottingham was available for the O's... Bemboom was available... Taylor was available. But are any of these 3 worth promoting to 40 man and trimming Chirinos and then having to cut come Rule5 draft protection time? So... are any of our catcher's trade bait? Roberts Rule5 year was 2021. Handley is Rule5 this year. Are either good enough to get taken by another club? Are either of these guys going to get a real (more than 1 series shot) in AAA this year? AA ends 9/18/22. AAA ends 9/28/22. Not much time for 1 or 2 weeks to see what is left at the end of the year. Who is most valuable as trade piece come the trade deadline? Do the O's give Roberts or Handley a shot (should they both clear trade deadline) in the AFL this year? Do they protect either from the Major or Minor league rule5 draft in December? There are almost 10 weeks in (59 games) with 13 weeks (79 games) to go. So not quite to the half way point... but it seems our best offensive catchers are working their way thru splitting time in AA. Eventually they need to get real opportunities at AAA to see what there is to see.

Starting this off as a big Stanford Fan and thus fan of Stowers, Daschbach, and Handley. Biased in favor of Handley especially with time at Stanford and my son being a big follower of his. We were looking at the Individual Statistics on the Bowie page today and a few things got our attention... Handley started the year 1-25 or 0.040 in his first 8 games over 2.5 weeks. Now the last 30 days he is slashing .302/.380/.442 in 13G/43AB w/ 5 BB/5K. The last 15 days he is slashing .370/.419/.556 in 8G/27AB w/ 3BB/2K. Last 7 days slashing .462/.500/.769 in 4G/13AB w/ 2BB/1K (He DH'd two games at end of last series). 36 games into the season. Henderson and Westburg have played in 36 of 37 games and have batted in top 4 getting them 160 and 159 plate appearances. Then Ortiz (33/140), Haskin (32/136) and Watson 33/130). With Henderson, Westburg, and Haskins being picked in the top early rounds (picks 42, 30, and 39 respectively) their G/PA are easily justified. Handley has the LEAST amount of Plate Appearances of the position players currently with Baysox at only 80. Handley seems to be doing what he can after not getting any playing time in Spring Training as I believe he was the "Just in Case" player on the Major league roster all spring training and not getting any 'real' minor league games. Now he is batting the bottom of the line up every other day but this past weekend. So he has started to hit but will he be given the time to continue to hit? Meanwhile... Adley has gotten his deserved call up to play with Chirinos (38) resulting in Bemboom (32) being DFA'd while at AAA Cumberland (27) is Injured (hammy or ankle?) has had a couple 3 hit games to boost his average this year and has thrown out 4 of 16: Nottingham (27) had a good April after not making the MLB club but has cooled in May with a nice 3 hit performance last game bumping his numbers up 43 pts to 0.283 and throwing out 2 of 7. Leaving 32 year old Beau Taylor a late Spring training addition batting 0.115 in 26 AAA ABs while spending most of his time on the Travel Squad. He was 1-7 (.143) in April and so far 2-19 (.105) in May and has yet to throw out a runner. As the limited pick offs to first base and pitch clock continue to impact the stolen bases and caught stealing, Handley's defense seems to be where it should be. My son said he hasn't had a chance to even throw down on 1/2 of the stolen bases against him. Our lingering questions are will Handley get enough time to get the attention of other teams for the Minor League Rule 5 draft? Will the Orioles move him to AAA at the end of the season (or sooner). Will they trade him? Angels seem like they could use the depth and potential without a standout catcher in their system like Rutschman. Should be interesting and we will keep rooting for him. I explain to my son that Minor League baseball is a grind and it takes a lot of internal fortitude to continue to chase the dream when things don't get challenging.

I think you are giving Maverick Handley the short end of the stick... Pun intended. I have followed him (and Adley) since there time in the Pac12. Defensively, Maverick's defense will help win more games than Adley's. Offensively, without a doubt, Adley has the gifts for his bat to help win more games. If statistics are true, Aberdeen was the LAST PLACE ballpark for batting average (but had a high HR rate) since they remodeled the field and lights before this season. It had more to do with than just the worst hitting coach (1st one fired at end of season) Here is an example: Gunnar Henderson played at 3 levels and every day. Of his 65 games played for Aberdeen, 29 were away and 36 were at home. Gunnar hit 0.192 at home and 0.271 on the road. His OPS was 0.718 at home and 0.835 on the road. Maverick played 70 games for Aberdeen. 27 home and 33 away. He hit 0.125 at home and 0.261 away. His OPS was only 0.446 at home but 0.835 away. With Adley starting at AA before moving to AAA, and then Handley getting injured, it appears he never got the chance to move up. While his average didn't change much overall, his OBP, SLG, OPS all went up while his SO rate went down. Tells me... pegging his bat as dead may be a bit premature. If he continues to put the work in at Driveline out in Kent, WA (there is a good blog from them on what he did last offseason) and gets stronger, heals up, and doesn't get stuck back in Aberdeen, he may be able to get the reps in and make it to AAA before end of 2022. I think he will continue to improve, I just don't know if the Orioles will make him a Rule 5 protected player in 2022... or even what that will be like after the new CBA. His defense can definitely play at the MLB level... but he has to get his reps in and work his way up.

If I noticed anything during the two weeks Handley was on the IL was the difference in the game flow and comfort of the pitchers. Loeprich and Peek didn't look this comfortable previously at A+. At this point in the season... comparing his May/June to his July/August it is like two different seasons. Split Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB IBB SO SB CS AVG OBP SLG OPS May ABD 15 49 8 11 3 1 0 5 8 0 13 7 1 0.224 0.367 0.327 0.693 June ABD 17 57 5 9 3 0 2 9 7 0 22 4 0 0.158 0.250 0.316 0.566 May + June 32 106 13 20 6 1 2 14 15 0 35 11 1 0.189 0.289 0.321 0.610 July ABD 10 35 5 11 4 0 1 14 3 0 12 0 0 0.314 0.385 0.514 0.899 August ABD 3 10 2 5 0 0 1 7 2 0 4 1 0 0.500 0.538 0.800 1.338 July + August 13 45 7 16 4 0 2 21 5 0 16 1 0 0.356 0.420 0.578 0.998 Any other team would have moved the 23 year old catcher up to AA by now. However, the Orioles keep finding something for Rutschman to refine at AA which blocks Handley from the move. Orioles have moved Roberts to AA, AAA, and MLB Away Scout team, Hudgins is now the bouncer up at AAA, Rodriguez has bounced from A- to A+ to AA back to A+. All to be back ups. Has to be frustrating for those guys as well. WHEN WHEN WHEN will they move Adley? Cumberland's AVG has dropped every month: May 0.254: June 0.194: July 0.161: August 0.083 Time to move him to DH/1B and get Adley his time at C and ABs at AAA and move Handley up to AA. December 2022 is coming in 16 months. Will Handley continue to stay healthy and perform? Will the Orioles be able to hang onto him past 12/2022 Rule 5 if they procrastinate with their entire system?

Baseball Reference has his games split between C and 1B in 2017, 2018, and 2019. But they and the Pac-12 don't break up the hitting. I did find this game interesting as it faced off against Stanford and Stowers/Handley/Daschbach. https://stats.pac-12.com/sports/bsb/2018-19/boxscores/20190517_i1g0.xml

From the Todd Karpovich article quoting Cannon, "As for Cannon, he is still nursing a hamstring injury from earlier this month against Lynchburg. He heard a pop as he was running for first base and then had trouble walking." Handley didn't look comfortable his last AB on 16th (where he did a late check swing). Ironbirds put him on 7 day IL on the 20th so he could return on Wednesday the 28th. Having watch the Ironbirds put him back into games/series early in the year when he clearly wasn't healthy makes me think the medical staff if finally protecting the players by placing them on IL