Ryan Flaherty's OPS is now .385

[srock]

[Trackmaster]

Whatever happened to Schoop? He started for the minor league international all-star team for the futures game two years ago. He's supposed to be a top prospect. Would he really be much of a downgrade to Flaherty? I'm surprised his name isn't being thrown into the ring.

[RichmondOsFan]

Flaherty has the distinction of posting the lowest batting average for any major league regular through the first couple months of the season since Greg Vaughn hit .099 for Tampa, back when they were still the Devil Rays, 11 years ago in 2002. He retired the next year.

Per FanGraphs: http://www.fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=all&stats=bat&lg=all&qual=y&type=8&season=2002&month=4&season1=2002&ind=0&team=0&rost=0&age=0&filter=&players=0&sort=14,a

Before that, you have to go back to the legendary J.R. Phillips, who put up a .098 for the Giants in the first couple months of 1995 during his quest for a lifetime .188 average, to surpass Flaherty's Futility this spring.

[srock]

Whatever happened to Schoop? He started for the minor league international all-star team for the futures game two years ago. He's supposed to be a top prospect. Would he really be much of a downgrade to Flaherty? I'm surprised his name isn't being thrown into the ring.

His bat is over matched in AAA OPA is .647, which is not surprising for a 21 year old. Defensively he should be fine, but so is Flaherty.

I'm not saying Schoop doesn't get a nod this year, but right now would be rushing him and he doesn't need that. Navarro/Casilla/Flaherty are still our best in house options...for now.

[Oldorioles]

Let's keep in mind that Flaherty has only played 58 games at AAA...ever. The only reason he was on the club last year was because of his Rule 5 status. He clearly needs to play at AAA and learn down there. At this point, he's not a major league hitter. Maybe he can develop into one, but that shouldn't be at the expense of the big league club - even if he is a favorite of Buck's.

[waroriole]

Casilla needs to be playing against more RHP.

[Can_of_corn]

I will admit to being wrong about his defense at second.

[MDK02]

The crazy thing is, we are still winning with that huge hole in our lineup everyday. Imagine if we had some decent production out of that spot, we could be 2 or 3 games better than we are right now.

[ACDC27]

Yes, we are winning batting 8 guys with an automatic out.

[LookinUp]

The crazy thing is, we are still winning with that huge hole in our lineup everyday. Imagine if we had some decent production out of that spot, we could be 2 or 3 games better than we are right now.

The crazier thing is that even Casilla's bat would be a significant upgrade at this point. I expected a .240ish BA with good power and average at best defense from Flaherty. Basically the opposite of what he's done.

[bobmc]

I will admit to being wrong about his defense at second.

When do you plan to do just that? Any plans for your thoughts about BRob?

[Camden_yardbird]

Keep in mind as well that sending Flaherty down requires a ripple effect through the organization. If Schoop doesn't come up, and it looks like he is not ready for that, then you have to move Schoop down. That would hamper the development of the Orioles best position prospect.

If you decide instead to move Flaherty from 2B to another position then you are moving perhaps the teams best defensive second baseman from his best position. If you move Schoop you threaten to remove the attribute that perhaps makes him most valuable, which is his plus bat at 2B.

I agree with the frustration. In the best case scenario you are getting the best production you can out of every hitter. However, over a month into the season, the Orioles are the second best team in baseball, even with a gaping hole. So what really is there to complain about?

[bobmc]

Flaherty has a terrible 10.5 LD%, a terrible 13.0 IFFB% and a very poor 25% K rate. Anyone who thinks he's hitting the ball hard but has been really, really unlucky is kidding themselves.

I will admit to being wrong about Flaherty and also admit to kidding myself!

:agree:

[EddieO'sSC]

The sad part is Ryan has the tools to make a contribution. He displays a high baseball IQ, decent base runner, above average defense, and pop in his bat.

Unfortunately, Ryan missed out on development last year because of Rule 5. Now injuries prevent him from going down and get that development now. This is compounded by the fact that Ryan is 26 and will turn 27 in July.

It would have been nice to send Ryan to Norfolk right out of spring training.

[waroriole]

Keep in mind as well that sending Flaherty down requires a ripple effect through the organization. If Schoop doesn't come up, and it looks like he is not ready for that, then you have to move Schoop down. That would hamper the development of the Orioles best position prospect.

You don't move Schoop around to accommodate Flaherty. Flaherty's future is likely as a utility guy, so him getting used to playing different positions is a good idea.