7Mo

I'm the fault here.

Not trying to argue with you. Just wanted to jab you a bit.

Does that also apply to pitchers? Kremer sure looks much improved. Akin is much improved. Maybe these guys have a plan for DL Hall too.

Agreed. I think the question is whether his trade value is higher this offseason or next trading deadline? I'd bet on Mateo raising his value next season. And just to clarify, all I posted was from Meoli. I just messed up a paragraph copy when I posted.

Jon Meoli has a good article out. https://jonmeoli.substack.com/p/orioles-jorge-mateo-breakdown?utm_source=/inbox&utm_medium=reader2 Let’s start with the raw numbers. Mateo entered Tuesday’s game in Toronto with a .687 OPS and 27 steals, and thanks to his superlative shortstop defense, is tied for second on the team with 2.3 wins above replacement (WAR), according to FanGraphs. To put that into context, Cedric Mullins also has a 2.3 fWAR for a season in which he’s come back down to earth after his All-Star 2021, similarly buoyed by defensive contributions without being a top-end offensive contributor. Mateo, however, has been much more productive offensively of late. As The Sun’s Andy Kostka noted this weekend, Mateo started attacking his weakness – breaking balls away – around the beginning of July through intensive practice work on that specific thing. He’s been a different player since. From July 1 through Monday’s games, he is 21st in all of baseball with a .383 wOBA. There’s a bit of outperformance there – his expected wOBA is .312 – but it’s easy to account for considering he’s the type of player who can stretch an extra base on basically any batted ball, turning singles into doubles, and doubles into triples. He’s also struck out 20.9% percent of the time in that span, which is down from 32.3% at the end of June. It stands to reason that putting the ball in play more for someone with Mateo’s speed is a good thing, and credit to all involved for making that happen. Depending on how you slice it, you can also say there’s been improvement in his contact profile because of the changes. He hits the ball on the ground and in the air at about the same frequency before and after July 1, but since then his average exit velocity is up to 87.5 MPH from 85.1 mph through June 30, and his average

Well, in his first start he didn't get destroyed. How many hard hit balls did he give up? He's a high energy guy. It was his first major league start. He was amped to the gills. That's likely the worst he will be for a long time. And I think you mean MLB hitters but whatever. How many K's? He was throwing a fastball down the middle that was running all the way off the plate inside. The number of people who can do that is remarkably small. This guy is a special talent. Is he ready? Nope. But that doesn't matter to me. What matters is what this coaching staff believes is the very best way to develop him as a MLB starting pitcher. If they believe that next year he needs to be in the starting rotation and take his lumps, I'm good with it. I'm typically a big believer in leaving a guy in the minor leagues until he demands a promotion. But DL Hall ain't just any guy. If you believe you can develop him better, bring the dude up and start him. And live with whatever that development costs.

I'm not a huge fan of guys who rate minor league players but as a whole, they tend to generally get things right. This guy is lauded by all as a special talent. I think you treat him differently if you believe you can get a better result.

Is it possible the coaching staff and development people view it differently than you? And if so, should they change their opinion?

I think the point though is how do you best develop DL Hall to become the best he can be. Is that as a reliever? Or is it as a starter? Or more time in AAA. Or bouncing back and forth? And I don't think anyone can know the answer to that. Not even the smartest of pitching coaches until he has opportunities. I'm fine with giving him ML starting opportunities if he's showing progress and the coaching staff believes it's the best path forward.

Do you recall anything about the concept of an opener? Or pulling Snell when he was rolling? Or the number of times outside of this most recent series where they've asked a starter to pitch 3 innings or less? Do you believe the Rays require their starters to dominate for 6 IP before they're promoted?

Have you noticed what the Rays are doing with their starting pitching?

Should the O's treat every prospect the same or should we recognize that this guy is uniquely talented?

Would it matter to you if the coaching staff believed he would progress more/learn more/improve more... pitching with the big club?

Is there any thought that minority shares were being diluted such that the original % stake is lessened now?

I'd like to know what the player cost would be to acquire Brandon Woodruff, Shane Bieber, Merrill Kelly, Jose Urquidy or Zac Gallen. If we do in fact add 2 SP's, would you spend the money or trade the assets? I've thought all along that one would come via FA and one via trade but given how low payroll is, why spend any player assets? Tyler Anderson, Corey Kluber, Chris Bassitt, Taijuan Walker, Cole Irvin, Jose Quintana, Jake Odorizzi and Jamison Taillon should be reasonably priced FA's. I'd love to go big and sign Verlander and trade for Woodruff, Bieber or Gallen. And count on Wells, Grayson, Means (later), Voth, Kremer and Bradish to fill 3 spots and hope DL takes one within a few months.

I don't think music posts count.

I think the rule is the guy with the most posts is right.

What was your ERA as a softball pitcher?

I agree with all of that. Seems it's going to be important for him to figure out how to enter a game under control rather than find it in the second or third inning. But I certainly understand the guy being amped up for his first start. No criticism there in the least. Happens to almost everyone.

He's been a starter. A starter has a different warmup routine than a reliever. To me, it's not an insignificant difference. Optioning him gives him a chance to find his routine as a reliever and then they say they're bringing him back. He had a lot of run on his fastball early. I'm guessing he's used to getting a lot of strike calls on that kind of pitch he won't get the call on in MLB. Maybe he needed to see that because I'm sure he's been told.

Or they felt like it was important for Hall to see for himself what he needed to improve on to be successful at the MLB level.

Do you believe Elias' focus is this year or development for the next 10 years? He's made public statements that could offer a clue.

There's never been a good pitcher who wasn't good from game 1. See Randy Johnson.