Machado to Frederick on June 23

[Frobby]

Maybe. And for every Cal who stuck at shortstop there have probably been a thousand 6-3/6-4 shortstops who've been forced to move.

Well, he seems to have some things going for him that suggest he could stick at SS even if his range is mediocre. Those thousand guys don't all have a great pair of hands, a very strong arm and good instincts for the game. So, we will see.

[fansince1988]

Second AB with the Keys, Machado murdered a 2-1 pitch WELL over the left field wall!

I've seen many many Keys games in Frederick over the years and that was one of the hardest hit balls I have seen at Harry Grove.

[allstar1579]

Well, he seems to have some things going for him that suggest he could stick at SS even if his range is mediocre. Those thousand guys don't all have a great pair of hands, a very strong arm and good instincts for the game. So, we will see.

Yep, I would leave him at short. Like I mentioned before, positioning himself can help the lack of range problem, but you can't teach hands or arm strength, he's got those two covered pretty well. Does remind me a bit of Cal's situation, but Cal was the best at knowing where to be so he didn't have to move too far, and would lay out for those balls he couldn't get to what seemed like twice a week.

Side note: Hope you had a great vacation.

[AVencill]

Having seen Machado a half dozen times this year, I'm not the least bit concerned about his range. In fact, tonight he made two of the rangiest plays to his right deep into short I've seen by a Keys shortstop to get baserunners out at first base. In yesterday's game he snared a line drive diving full extension to his right close to the spot where he made an unbelievable throw in tonight's game.

When I saw Manny at Hagerstown before the SAL All-Star break, he fielded a ball going to his left and made the spin behind the base and fired over to first for the out. I know some of you are going off of limited Machado action here in Frederick, but he's got the range to stick at SS. He's also got the frame (he's a legit 6'3" now) with plenty of muscle to develop over the next couple of years.

[RVAbird]

Well, he seems to have some things going for him that suggest he could stick at SS even if his range is mediocre. Those thousand guys don't all have a great pair of hands, a very strong arm and good instincts for the game. So, we will see.

Essentially my stance from day 1.

[NewMarketSean]

Seeing Machado tonight at the Keys game. I'll chime in with my thoughts.

[Scrat1]

This isn't an I-told-you-so post, because obviously it's too early for any of that, but I did want to update what I'm sure everyone already knows: Both Schoop and Machado are struggling in Frederick.

Schoop: .574 OPS

Machado: .555 OPS

Machado's is a particularly small sample, but I don't feel bad using it since he was also slumping in Delmarva before the promotion.

Yeah, yeah, scouting and all that. They're 18 and 19 years old. What exactly is the rush?

[DrShorebird]

The Shorebirds gave out Machado Bobb;le Heads on Friday and a few are available on eBay.

[HokieOs]

Machado hasn't been the same since the knee injury. That's a fact. I would have been fine, leaving both Schoop and Machado at Delmarva but I have no problem with them struggling at Frederick. They'll be ok. It would have been nice to see them put up the numbers over a full season at Delmarva though.

Given this, it makes one wonder what the rush to get Machado to Frederick really was. If MM had come back from the injury and looked as he had before, sure. But he wasn't even looking good in Delmarva post-injury. While I know it's very early, MM has seemed to be struggling mightily in Frederick. Frankly, short of a late season blowup, it would probably be best if he starts next year in Frederick and maybe moves to Bowie late in the year. No more of this arbitrarily moving guys to move guys. Let them earn their stripes in one level.... THEN move them up. Why did we have to announce a move a week ahead of time?

[Flosman]

Given this, it makes one wonder what the rush to get Machado to Frederick really was. If MM had come back from the injury and looked as he had before, sure. But he wasn't even looking good in Delmarva post-injury. While I know it's very early, MM has seemed to be struggling mightily in Frederick. Frankly, short of a late season blowup, it would probably be best if he starts next year in Frederick and maybe moves to Bowie late in the year. No more of this arbitrarily moving guys to move guys. Let them earn their stripes in one level.... THEN move them up. Why did we have to announce a move a week ahead of time?

I don't understand this view much at all. He is an elite level talent who is struggling for the first time in his life. This is part of the process. From what every scout says he is going to be fine in Fredrick. I don't think the 35 ABs are evidence of some misstep. Fredrick is a very good team and that group is going to experience a championship chase and this has value for him IMO.

My only concern is the knee has thrown him off a little. I would suspect he is not getting his foot down with the proper timing.

[HokieOs]

I don't understand this view much at all. He is an elite level talent who is struggling for the first time in his life. This is part of the process. From what every scout says he is going to be fine in Fredrick. I don't think the 35 ABs are evidence of some misstep. Fredrick is a very good team and that group is going to experience a championship chase and this has value for him IMO.

My only concern is the knee has thrown him off a little. I would suspect he is not getting his foot down with the proper timing.

Except it's not "just 35 ABs". He was struggling in Delmarva as well post injury. I'm not saying he had to stay in Delmarva all year (though that wouldn't have been bad either). I'm sure Machado will eventually be OK in Frederick. Noone is disputing that. I'm not just not sure he needed to be called up so quickly. There's no need to rush a guy through.

[DrShorebird]

As a side note, Bryce Harper was promoted to AA Harrisburg today or yesterday.

[Tony-OH]

This isn't an I-told-you-so post, because obviously it's too early for any of that, but I did want to update what I'm sure everyone already knows: Both Schoop and Machado are struggling in Frederick.

Schoop: .574 OPS

Machado: .555 OPS

Machado's is a particularly small sample, but I don't feel bad using it since he was also slumping in Delmarva before the promotion.

Yeah, yeah, scouting and all that. They're 18 and 19 years old. What exactly is the rush?

Honestly, I just didn't get either promotion. What was the harm of allowing your 18-year old uber prospect and your top 19-year old positional prospect to have a good solid year in the SALLY League? If they were dominating the league and starting to get pitched around I could understand challenging them, but neither had gone through the league enough to see a lot of teams several times so there was no way to know how they would deal with adjustments. I'm not sure why John Stockstill is in such a hurry with these guys. Machado was dominating before his injury but never really got settled when he was rushed up to Frederick.

I don't think it's going to harm either guy longterm, but I just don't see why you don't allow them to get a full season of success under their belts before going aggressive. Both could of started at Frederick next year and could have been to Bowie by mid-season if they were doing well. Both would still be way ahead of the curve. I'm not sure what's to be gained by being so aggressive early on in their development.

Personally, I think there's value in getting your top prospects an early foundation of success.

[GoldGlove21]

Honestly, I just didn't get either promotion. What was the harm of allowing your 18-year old uber prospect and your top 19-year old positional prospect to have a good solid year in the SALLY League? If they were dominating the league and starting to get pitched around I could understand challenging them, but neither had gone through the league enough to see a lot of teams several times so there was no way to know how they would deal with adjustments. I'm not sure why John Stockstill is in such a hurry with these guys. Machado was dominating before his injury but never really got settled when he was rushed up to Frederick.

I don't think it's going to harm either guy longterm, but I just don't see why you don't allow them to get a full season of success under their belts before going aggressive. Both could of started at Frederick next year and could have been to Bowie by mid-season if they were doing well. Both would still be way ahead of the curve. I'm not sure what's to be gained by being so aggressive early on in their development.

Personally, I think there's value in getting your top prospects an early foundation of success.

Personally, I think there's value in getting your top prospects an early foundation of success.

It would at least give them a confidence boost. Now if either guy struggles it will be in their head the entire offseason. The feeling that a guy is closer to the big leagues because of the affiliate he is playing with is false security as well. Machado will move quickly because we paid him a ton, but he is good enough to earn his way up. What are we going to do, go from 5th to 4th next season? Personally I think 3 years is aggressive for an 18 year old. By the time most kids are a junior in college you are a shortstop on a ML team.

[Can_of_corn]

Personally, I think there's value in getting your top prospects an early foundation of success.

It would at least give them a confidence boost. Now if either guy struggles it will be in their head the entire offseason. The feeling that a guy is closer to the big leagues because of the affiliate he is playing with is false security as well. Machado will move quickly because we paid him a ton, but he is good enough to earn his way up. What are we going to do, go from 5th to 4th next season? Personally I think 3 years is aggressive for an 18 year old. By the time most kids are a junior in college you are a shortstop on a ML team.

There is quite the list of players that were regulars on MLB rosters within the apparent timeline the O's have for Machado.