Tony Pente, Live on 105.7 The Fan Today

[OFFNY]

o

 

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 17th

********************************************

 

BOB HAYNIE:) Yovani Gallardo ...... is he worth the pick ???

TONY PENTE:)l I'm looking at it as a package deal right now. If we can get BOTH Gallarado AND Fowler, then I am on board with it. I am more willing to give up the picks ESPECIALLY if we can sign them to 3 years apiece, with a possible opt-out for the 4th year. BUT ....... there is no way that I want them for a single year, plus an opt-out for the 2nd year. At some point they need to pull the trigger (spit or get off of the pot), or go with what they have. Overall, I like Fowler PLUS Gallardo. Right now, they are an 83-85 win team without them, give or take 4 games. I think that Gallardo and Fowler combined will make them an 87 or 88-win team, give or take 4 games.

BOB HAYNIE:)l Is he (Gallardo) a replacement for Chen ??? Is he at least equal to Chen, if not better ???

TONY PENTE:)l I believe so. Chen was underrated by a lot of people when he was here. His ERA pretty much went down every year. He was consistent, and was almost always healthy. BUT ....... you never really got the idea that he (Chen) was a stopper.

I think they (Gallardo and Chen) are similar. I think that they are comparable, because they are both about #3 starters.

BOB HAYNIE:)l Dexter Fowler ...... are you concerned about the fact that he has been on 3 different teams over the last 3 years ???

TONY PENTE:)l I'm not concerned about that. You have to remember that guys get traded and moved around a lot these days, for a lot of different reasons. And when they do, it's not necessarily because there was something wrong with them. Just because a guy was traded a few times does not necessarily mean that that theer is/was something wrong with him. I have never heard anything bad about Fowler. At the end of the day, he is a .363 career OBP. We desperately need an OBP guy, and Fowler is it. We have Kim, who was an extremely high OBP overseas, but that was not the Major Leagues. He is an unknown, so we cannot necessarily bank on him being a .360 or .370 OBP guy. Fowler, on the other hand, is a proven commodity. He fits a need that we have, and I think that he is a great fit.

BOB HAYNIE:)l Kevin Gausman. Is he ready to take that next step, and be AT LEAST a #3 starter ???

TONY PENTE:) lI know he is YOUR guy, Bob. :laughlol: Gausman has a ton of talent. His fastball is blazing, the split-finger is dynamite ...... the question for me is his 3rd pitch (the breaking ball), plus his slider is inconsistent. Guys tend top catch up top him when he gets to the 3rd time through the lineup. What we have seen is that he has been a 2-pitch guy, while the 3rd pitch has really been just a "show-me" pitch. He needs to develop an effective/legitimate 3rd pitch, or he won't be able to take that next step. Also, even though his fastball is about 98 or 99 MPH, guys tend to pick that up. It (his fastball) does indeed have good movement, but he does not miss many bats ...... and that is strange, because I have never seen anything like it. But if we can get 15 W's out of him, we'll take that from him any day of the week. But I believe that his slider MUST come around as a true 3rd pitch, or I don't see him taking that next step.

BOB HAYNIE:)l Nolan Reimold. Do you see him as a possible 400 or 500-plate appearance guy ???

TONY PENTE:)lNo, I don't. I know that he has big support with Brady Anderson, and I understand that ...... but Nolan is a guy who is 32 years-old, and so he is probably not going to get much better. Even if we do not add Fowler, I see Reimold as a good 4th or 5th outfielder, but not as a guy who can get at least 400 plate appearances. He will battle for you, and his arm is good, though not very accurate. Even though he was healthy for the entire 2015 season, his previous chronic injuries have sapped my expectations of him.

BOB HAYNIE:)l The farm system is not highly regarded by most other GM's around baseball right now. Your thoughts ???

TONY PENTE:)l I said this last year at this same time when I put out our top 30 prospects ...... there is just not a lot of upside for these guys (at-large.) There are not a lot of big-time guys that you are waiting for. Our two big guns (Hunter Harvey and Dylan Bundy) have gotten hurt a lot. Besides them, we have guys with potential, but nobody that you are thinking like, "WOW, I can't wait to see what this guy can do in the majors." Duquette has essentially been a "Go for it now" guy, and I believe that that mentality is coming to roost now. If they get these guys (Flower and Gallardo) and they make the playoffs, that would be great. But if they acquire Gallardo and Fowler and still wind up winning only 83 or 84 games, then I believe that we will have essentially wasted those 2 (draft) picks.

BOB HAYNIE:)l Chance Sisco.

TONY PENTE:)l He is an interesting player. The guy can REALLY hit. He laces line drives all over the place. He is not a plus defender, but he has has improved (from bad to average) in that area. There are a lot of mixed opinions on him. Most guys think he will hit for average, but not for a lot of power. You are looking at a singles and doubles guy. If he can catch at an average level and hit a lot of singles and doubles with a high OBP, then I think that he will have a nice MLB career. He has the potential to become a solid sub, but he is not like a Matt Wieters, who was a star waiting to happen when we drafted him. I've heard that he needs to become more coach-able, that he is a kind of "I know it all" type. But he is only 20 years-old, so perhaps he will mature in time. At the end of the day, he is a good-looking prospect, and we want him in the system ...... I just don't see him as a guy who will make a difference in terms of winning or not winning a pennant.

BOB HAYNIE:)l D.J. Stewart.

TONY PENTE:)l Not good, so far. There is no other way to put it. He was a guy that we drafted for his bat, and he tanked at the Advanced-Rookie League level in Aberdeen last year. If he was just coming out of high school, then that would be OK, but he wasn't. He was a guy that batted .350 at Florida State ..... a guy like that is expected to rake at the Advanced-Rookie League level. Matt Wieters raked at the AA and AAA levels coming out of Georgia Tech, and this guy tanked at Aberdeen. He had no power, no average, and his walks-to-strikeout ratio was bad.

All that said (about Stewart), you have to remember that Trey Mancini didn't hit a lick (for power) in his first season in the minors, and now he is raking, hitting 21 HR's last year ...... so, you can never say "NEVER" with these guys.

 

 

[jabba72]

Great writeup. Thanks

[Tony-OH]

Nice job on the recap OFFNY! Thanks.

[Tony-OH]

Say what? Mancini hit .328 with an .823 OPS at Aberdeen in his pro debut. That's at least a lick.

He misquoted me a bit. I said first full season.

[murph]

Nice job on the recap OFFNY! Thanks.

It was. Must spread rep.

Good reading. Come on baseball!

[25 Nuggets]

I would love to know what went wrong with D.J. Stewart. It's inexplicable. Did he get hurt?

[MDtransplant757]

Thanks guys, I appreciate the kind words.

I agree to an extent. If Tillman keep pitching like he did in his first start, Buck's not going to let him implode the season. Now I could see them sending him to the bullpen before DFAing him, but they aren't going to wait 20 starts before pulling the trigger. Let's just hope Tillman has a nice start and he gets back to the way he was throwing in 2012. He's got it in him.

If Tilly is good, then I think we'll be ok. Same with Gonzo. Gausman breaks out, even better. Ubaldo is his 1st half of 2015 self, sweet. Gallardo is good, start printing the playoff tickets. It all jells, look out, here we come!

[murph]

I would love to know what went wrong with D.J. Stewart. It's inexplicable. Did he get hurt?

He squatted himself into submission? Hopefully we get something out of him this year that gives...ummm...hope.

[OFFNY]

o

TUESDAY,JULY 26th

************************************

 

SCOTT GARCEAU:) The Orioles are riding high. What are your thoughts about that ???

TONY PENTE:) Oh man, winning makes following your team so much more fun. The difference between this year and last year has been a stark contrast, right from the get-go when the Orioles started the season with 7 straight wins. And especially now that they are hitting on all cylinders. The starting rotation was the Orioles' one glaring weakness all season, and even they are doing much better. They (the starters) have pitched to a SUB-3 ERA since the All-Star break. Bundy, Gausman, and Worley have all stepped up, and even Gallardo appears to have turned a corner in his last 2 starts. had.

SCOTT GARCEAU:) The comeback of Darren O'Day ???

TONY PENTE:) Getting Darren O'Day back at this point in the season is almost like getting a pick-up (acquisition.) He has only been scored upon in 3 of his outings so far this season. I think that people don't realize just how dominant he has been. With him back, we have a 3-headed monter in the bullpen (O'Day, Brach, and Britton), like the Yankees thought that they had with Betances, Miller, amd Chapman just prior to Chapman's trade yesterday.

SCOTT GARCEAU:) Are you upset about the Melvin Upton, Jr. deal falling though ???

TONY PENTE:) The only thing I was interested in regard to that potential trade was was getting rid of Jimenez. To me, it was more about that than it was about acquiring Upton. I mean, where is he gonns play if he comes here, anyway ??? With Kim back and Alvarez hitting. there really isn't any room for him. The only noticeable hole that we have right now is with Chris Davis, and we know that he isn't coming out of the lineup ...... his defense alone makes him valuable when he gioes through cold streaks.

SCOTT GARCEAU:) Chris Tillman's value ???

TONY PENTE:) I think that people just don't realize just how well he has pitched this season. He's 14-2, and the Orioles are 18-3 in games in which he has started ...... and that is NOT a coincidence. Sometimes people dismiss a pitcher's W-L record as being a relatively meaningless statistic, but there are a lot of good reasons WHY Tillman has that gaudy 14-2 record. He's been worth 4.1 WAR this year, which is tops among AL Starters. I know that you (Bob) are actually high on that statistic, also, and you often point to pitchers like Jim Palmer that often pitched to the scoreboard. He (Palmer) would know when to let up a little to allow him to go deeper into a game when his team was well ahead. So while the W-L statistic obviously can not be taken at face value, I don't think that it has no meaning at all.

SCOTT GARCEAU:) Tillamn's command ???

TONY PENTE:) The command this season is much better than it was in 2015. Whatever he did in his off-season adjustments is working, because he has limited the early struggles that he had last season. He's not getting behind guys, like he was for much of last season. He's got 3 at least average-to-above average pitches, and that is the stuff of Cy Young award winners.

SCOTT GARCEAU:) Tanner Scott ???

TONY PENTE:) Tanner Scott is a hard throwing lefty. People like him because he lights the radar gun up. The problem with him is that he literally does not know where the ball is going. He is striking baters out a lot, but he is ALSO walking alot of batters. At the Advanced-A and AA levels at Frederick and Bowie, hitters are very aggressive, so the fact that he is walking a lot of batters AT THAT LEVEL tells me that he has been really wild. His fastball is great, but he needs to improve his command with his off-speed pitches.

SCOTT GARCEAU:) Trey Mancini ???

TONY PENTE:) Mancini is having a very good year. He is the guy that has no place to play on the Orioles. He did not skip a beat from AA to AAA, and he CAN play in the Majors right now, but there is just no room for him. At the end of the day, he has value ...... he can rake, and he could easily be a serviceable DH right, plus he is pretty good defensively. He's a guy that we could looking at as a possible regular for 2017, depending on what goes on the the off-season.

SCOTT GARCEAU:) Are there any untouchables ???

TONY PENTE:) That's a great question. The organization does not have too many of those kind of guys. After Bundy and Harvey, we have decent prospects, but nobody that you'd consider "untouchable." Chance Sisco is a very good left-handed hitting catcher that is not good on defense. He has a great OBP, but he has very little power and is not good defensively, so he is not untouchable. You have to consider pulling the trigger on him if you get an offer that you like. Plus, we have more good catchers in the organization, such as Jonah Heim at Advanced-A Frederick, who is VERY GOOD defensively. Heim is a guy that you look at as a potential back-up catcher like Caleb Joseph, more so than as a starting catcher like Matt Wieters.

SCOTT GARCEAU:) Chris Lee's injury ???

TONY PENTE:) The Orioles are almost like the C.I.A. when it comes to disclosing information about injuries to their players. Chris Lee has been out longer than we were originally led to believe he would be. Austin Hays is another one. I was told it would be a few days, then a week, and then 2 weeks. It's July 26th now, and he still is not back yet.

But back to Chris Lee ...... Lee he has a lack of ability to miss bats. He has 19 strikeouts in 51.33 innings pitched so far this season. You can't have that low of a strikeout rate at the AA level, and expect to succeed in the Majors.

[Tony-OH]

o

TUESDAY,JULY 26th

*********************

BOB HAYNIE:) The Orioles are riding high. What are your thoughts about that ???

TONY PENTE:) Oh man, winning makes following your team so much more fun. The difference between this year and last year has been a stark contrast, right from the get-go when the Orioles started the season with 7 straight wins. And especially now that they are hitting on all cylinders. The starting rotation was the Orioles' one glaring weakness all season, and even they are doing much better. They (the starters) have pitched to a SUB-3 ERA since the All-Star break. Bundy, Gausman, and Worley have all stepped up, and even Gallardo appears to have turned a corner in his last 2 starts. had.

BOB HAYNIE:) The comeback of Darren O'Day ???

TONY PENTE:) Getting Darren O'Day back at this point in the season is almost like getting a pick-up (acquisition.) he has only been scored upon in 3 of his outings so far this season. I think that people don't realize just how dominant he has been. With him back, we have a 3-headed monter in the bullpen (O'Day, Brach, and Britton), like the Yankees thought that they had with Betances, Miller, amd Chapman just prior to Chapman's trade yesterday.

BOB HAYNIE:) Are you upset about the Melvin Upton, Jr. deal falling though ???

TONY PENTE:) The only thing I was interested in regard to that potential trade was was getting rid of Jimenez. To me, it was more about that than it was about acquiring Upton. I mean, where is he gonns play if he comes here, anyway ??? With Kim back and Alvarez hitting. there really isn't any room for him. The only noticeable hole that we have right now is with Chris Davis, and we know that he isn't coming out of the lineup ...... his defense alone makes him valuable when he gioes through cold streaks.

BOB HAYNIE:) Chris Tillman's value ???

TONY PENTE:) I think that people just don't realize just how well he has pitched this season. He's 14-2, and the Orioles are 18-3 in games in which he has started ...... and that is NOT a coincidence. Sometimes people dismiss a pitcher's W-L record as being a relatively meaningless statistic, but there are a lot of good reasons WHY Tillman has that gaudy 14-2 record. He's been worth 4.1 WAR this year, which is tops among AL Starters. I know that you (Bob) are actually high on that statistic, also, and you often point to pitchers like Jim Palmer that often pitched to the scoreboard. He (Palmer) would know when to let up a little to allow him to go deeper into a game when his team was well ahead. So while the W-L statistic obviously can not be taken at face value, I don't think that it has no meaning at all.

BOB HAYNIE:) Tillamn's command ???

TONY PENTE:) The command this season is much better than it was in 2015. Whatever he did in his off-season adjustments is working, because he has limited the early struggles that he had last season. He's not getting behind guys, like he was for much of last season. He's got 3 at least average-to-above average pitches, and that is the stuff of Cy Young award winners.

BOB HAYNIE:) Tanner Scott ???

TONY PENTE:) Tanner Scott is a hard throwing lefty. People like him because he lights the radar gun up. The problem with him is that he literally does not know where the ball is going. He is striking baters out a lot, but he is ALSO walking alot of batters. At the Regular-A level at Delmarava, hitters are very aggressive, so the fact that he is walking a lot of batters AT THAT LEVEL tells me that he has been really wild. His fastball is great, but he needs to improve his command with his off-speed pitches.

BOB HAYNIE:) Trey Mancini ???

TONY PENTE:) Manicni is having a very good year. He is the guy that has no place to play on the Orioles. He did not skip a beat from AA to AAA, and he CAN play in the Majors right now, but there is just no room for him. At the end of the day, he has value ...... he can rake, and he could easily be a serviceable DH right, plus he is pretty good defensively. He's a guy that we could looking at as a possible regular for 2017, depending on what goes on the the off-season.

BOB HAYNIE:) Are there any untouchables ???

TONY PENTE:) That's a great question. The organization does not have too many of those kind of guys. After Bundy and Harvey, we have decent prospects, but nobody that you'd consider "untouchable." Chance Sisco is a very good left-handed hitting catcher that is not good on defense. He has a great OBP, but he has very little power and is not good defensively, so he is not untouchable. You have to consider pulling the trigger on him if you get an offer that you like. Plus, we have more good catchers in the organization, such as Jonah Heim at Advanced-A Frederick, who is VERY GOOD defensively. Heim is a guy that you look at as a potential back-up catcher like Caleb Joseph, more so than as a starting catcher like Matt Wieters.

BOB HAYNIE:) Chris Lee's injury ???

TONY PENTE:) The Orioles are almost like the C.I.A. when it comes to disclosing information about injuries to their players. Chris Lee has been out longer than we were originally led to believe he would be. Austin Hays is another one. I was told it would be a few days, then a week, and then 2 weeks. It's July 26th now, and he still is not back yet.

But back to Chris Lee ...... Lee he has a lack of ability to miss bats. He has 19 strikeouts in 51.33 innings pitched so far this season. You can't have that low of a strikeout rate at the AA level, and expect to succeed in the Majors.

Thanks for the recap but the questions were asked by Scott Garceau and Jeremy Conn.

[OFFNY]

Thanks for the recap, but the questions were asked by Scott Garceau and Jeremy Conn.

I know, I fixed it.

[OFFNY]

OFFNY said:

 

TUESDAY,JULY 26th

************************************

SCOTT GARCEAU:) Tanner Scott ???

TONY PENTE:) Tanner Scott is a hard throwing lefty. People like him because he lights the radar gun up. The problem with him is that he literally does not know where the ball is going. He is striking baters out a lot, but he is ALSO walking alot of batters. At the Advanced-A and AA levels at Frederick and Bowie, hitters are very aggressive, so the fact that he is walking a lot of batters AT THAT LEVEL tells me that he has been really wild. His fastball is great, but he needs to improve his command with his off-speed pitches.

o

 

The very next day .........

Scott entered the game, and faced 5 batters ....... 4 of which he walked. ) :eektf:

TANNER SCOTT PITCHING:

Rosell Herrera walks.

Ryan McMahon walks. Rosell Herrera to 2nd base.

Correlle Prime flies out to center fielder Jay Gonzalez. Rosell Herrera to 3rd base. Ryan McMahon to 2nd on the throw.

Ashley Graeter walks.

Jackson Williams walks. Rosell Herrera scores. Ryan McMahon to 3rd. Ashley Graeter to 2nd.

Pitching Change: ) Jimmy Yacabonis replaces Tanner Scott.

 

 

[OFFNY]

o

 

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 10th

************************************

 

SCOTT GARCEAU:) Pitchers and catchers are about to report. Are you excited ???

TONY PENTE:)l You know, every year at this time, a cold spell almost always seems to come along. But yeah, just watching and reading about it reminds you that baseball is once again on the way.

 

SCOTT GARCEAU:)l Are you surprised that the Orioles just acquired Gabriel Ynoa from the Mets ???

TONY PENTE:)l Yes. In fact, we essentially got him for nothing. He has been rankled in top 20 prospects of Mets' system by almost everybody. He has power sinker and a 4-seam fastball. I don't know if he will have a chance to start, but I definitely see him as getting a chance to be a reliever for us later on this year. Also, he is the 2nd youngest guy on 40-man roster. I think that he'll probably be a 4th or 5th starter at AAA-Norfolk to start the season, and we can see what he has from there. At worse, he seems like a good bullpen piece because of that power sinker that he has, along with and a slider, which should be good for inducing  a lot of double plays. He's definitely a better option than either Mike Wright or Tyler Wilson. 

 

SCOTT GARCEAU:)l Chris Lee and Chance Sisco  ???

TONY PENTE:)l We don't have a ton of top prospects at the upper levels of the minors right now, other than those 2 guys. Sisco has a good arm, but his delivery is slow and his footwork is not guy. He hasn't been able to throw out runners, and you know Showalter ........ if you can't play defense, you aren't going to get much (if any) time behind home plate. Sisco's bat looks good, it's just a matter of how much he will be able to catch.

 

SCOTT GARCEAU:)l What about Chris Lee ???

TONY PENTE:)  Lee's shoulder injury has shut him down for almost all of last season. He appears healthy now, though. He got a lot of rest and some extensive rehab. He will probably end up in the bullpen in the long run, He dominated left-handers, and if they need that type of role, he will be there for it. But I believe that his slider MUST come around as a true 3rd pitch, or I don't see him taking that next step.

 

SCOTT GARCEAU:)l Jesus Liranzo ???

TONY PENTE:)l He is a  22 year-old right-hander that is very similar to Brad Brach. He has an ice slider and a good change-up. He made a big jump  last season from Regular-A Delmarva to AA-Bowie.

 

SCOTT GARCEAU:)l What do you think about the two Rule 5 guys, Anthony Santander and Aneury Tavarez ???

TONY PENTE:)l Santander appears to be a legitimate prospect. He is a toolsy guy out of Cleveland system. He had a solid full season at Advanced-A ball last year, hitting 20 home runs, 42 doubles, batting .290 with a .368 OBP, and he even stole 10 bases. He had shoulder surgery in the off-season, but Dan loves his Rule 5 guys. They can keep him on DL to start the season, then they can put him on a rehab stint, and then they can stick him on the roster for 50 days, and all of a sudden you have a guy in your system. 

I see Tavarez as a possible 4th or 5th outfielder, in competition with Joey Rickard. He is going to have to really show something though, because  making jump from AA to the Majors is not easy. He does a bunch of things on at least a pretty good level. I don't know if he can make the jump, but again he is a Rule 5 guy, which we know that Duquette loves.

 

SCOTT GARCEAU:)l Do you see a possible trade before Opening Day ???

TONY PENTE:)l They could, I just don't understand why they would, because I don't see much of a chance for an upgrade at this point. I think that they have to go have top go with what they have. And I like Dariel Alvarez, You can put him out there, and he could give you a Benny Ayala type of offense. He doesn't strikeout a lot, and he has an excellent arm on defense. Plus, he will do it for you cheaply. I think Alvarez is as good an option for a 5th outfielder as any right now. 

 

SCOTT GARCEAU:)l What do you see the Orioles doing with Dylan Bundy this season, in terms of his usage ???

TONY PENTE:)l I think the gloves are off. I have heard that he is going to go back to the cutter. At the end of the day, he should have no problem going between 150 and 180 innings. I know he won't do 200 innings, but the again, there aren't too many 200 overall IP guys anymore. He is definitely going to be a starter. He could easily be the #1 or the #2 starter this year. We saw flashes of that (#1 and/or#2 starter ability) last year. You look at Gausman and Bundy ..... then you add Tillman ...... I think Miley is going to bee much better this year, also ...... and you could be looking at a solid rotation this season. And as usual. Ubaldo Jimenez is the wildcard in all of it.

 

o

[SteveA]

Gotta love a Benny Ayala reference!

[SteveA]

Thanks for transcribing Patrick!