On fire: Ohlmann and Hoes

[Frobby]

Ohlman: .975 OPS for the season, 1.083 in June

Hoes: .805 OPS for the season, .930 in June

Seems like these two guys get multiple hits almost every day right now.

[hoosiers]

Ohlman has 9 xbhs in his last 10 against 8 Ks and IIRC 4 or 5 BBs. I keep waiting to see if he is going to get promoted, but his PAs seem to get fewer each time I check! Interesting to see what the Os will do - whether they push him to Bowie for 100-150 or more PAs before the end of the season or if they let him have a monster year at Frederick.

Hoes has 43 Ks on the season v 42 BBs. Reimold might be back soon. I don't know where the room is on the major league roster and we are trying to win games, but it might be worth figuring out a way to get Hoes to the majors for a few weeks to see what he can do.

Also, one guy sneaking up after cooling off is Adrian Marin who has a bunch of multi-hit games in his last 10 for a .366 obp. Marin needs to pick up the BBs a bit, but it's not a bad first full season.

[EagleOriole]

Is Ohlman's long term position C? Just wanted to know if he is more likely looking at moving to 1B or if he is good enough defensively to stay put.

I have to think Hoes is a part of a package for a SP or RP. He is what he is, but he could slot into a lot of line-ups as the second hitter and play just fine at the ML level.

Marin - glad someone else noticed this kid - very impressed with his season so far. At age 19 and doing that well at Delmarva, good to hear his defense at least from an error perspective is good.

[Answerman]

Went to see Delmarva play in Greensboro last night. Was hoping to see Hobgood, Hader, Givens or Rutledge pitch, but they didn't get in.

Marin was really the only guy that looked like he had major league potential. There were plenty of good players (Crede Simpson and Tucker Nathans looked especially good), but they seem a little old to be playing low-A.

Marin looked like the game was fairly easy for him. He was smooth with the glove (didn't really get to see his arm), a decent runner and made nice contact. He lined one off the wall in the first inning that was a very solid hit. He also laid down a decent bunt later in the game (he was out, but it looked pretty polished).

Physically, he is small. Looks like a high schooler. Needs to hit the weight room. I don't think he'll ever be a home run guy...but still could be very valuable. Quite sure he'll be advancing through the system in the next couple years.

[EagleOriole]

Caleb Joseph blasted his 15th homer for Bowie last night - double promotion? Joseph to AAA, Ohlman to AA.

Ohlman has 153 at bats at High A as a 22 year old...he now has a slash line of:

.327/.435/.582/1.016 - with 29 BBs in 153 ABs.

After the all-star break I think it is time to move him up the chain.

[sportsfan8703]

You would think that Joseph would get promoted at some point. He's got almost 1500 PA's in AA. It wouldn't be the worst thing to let Ohlman just put up a monster year in Frederick.

[Three Run Homer]

If McLouth or Markakis gets hurt, we could do a lot worse than to plug LJ Hoes into a slot at the top of the order. Then again, Urrutia could also fill the bill.

I think I've been as guilty as anyone in assuming that Urrutia is a hot prospect whie forgetting about Hoes, but in truth, Hoes is 3 years younger and has proven that he can hit for average and draw walks at AAA. Urrutia put up the gaudy numbers at Bowie but he's 26; you'd expect any kind of propsect to mash at AA at age 26. So it's curious that everyone on this board is ready to package Hoes in a trade, but I haven't seen anyone who is willing to part with Urrutia.

[LookinUp]

It's really pretty simple. Hoes hasn't shown any power. Urrutia has. Advantage Urrutia.

[EagleOriole]

It's really pretty simple. Hoes hasn't shown any power. Urrutia has. Advantage Urrutia.

Yes, Urrutia has a higher ceiling, but Hoes looks like he will reach his ceiling - right now I am not sure Urrutia will hit his.

[Scrat1]

Is there anyone in-the-know about Ohlman's current form, both as a hitter and behind the plate? Is he a guy who will be able to play catcher at the major league level, or is this guy a likely Brandon Snyder--a positionless, AAAA bat?

For how well he's hitting, I've heard almost nothing about him. Would be very nice to have a plan B behind Wieters. I don't see a deal getting worked out.

[CharmCityHokie]

Is there anyone in-the-know about Ohlman's current form, both as a hitter and behind the plate? Is he a guy who will be able to play catcher at the major league level, or is this guy a likely Brandon Snyder--a positionless, AAAA bat?

For how well he's hitting, I've heard almost nothing about him. Would be very nice to have a plan B behind Wieters. I don't see a deal getting worked out.

Off topic, but just a note about Brandon Snyder. He's been called up by the Red Sox, played 3B in two games with them so far, is 2-6 with a 2B and 2 RBIs. I know its the Sox, and I despise the Sox, but I still root for Brandon.

[LookinUp]

Yes, Urrutia has a higher ceiling, but Hoes looks like he will reach his ceiling - right now I am not sure Urrutia will hit his.

If Urrutia doesn't reach his ceiling, he resembles Hoes ceiling (plus a few years). I like Hoes and would definitely take him on my team if I was an org that was trying to start over with young guys, or even as a bench guy if your 25 man roster set up for it.

[THELTSHOW]

Is there anyone in-the-know about Ohlman's current form, both as a hitter and behind the plate? Is he a guy who will be able to play catcher at the major league level, or is this guy a likely Brandon Snyder--a positionless, AAAA bat?

For how well he's hitting, I've heard almost nothing about him. Would be very nice to have a plan B behind Wieters. I don't see a deal getting worked out.

Defensively, Ohlman has a long way to go. His feet are slow both when blocking the ball and when trying to throw runners out. His pop times come in average not because of arm strength, but because it takes him a while to get it out. I wouldn't call him lazy behind the plate, but he is overly reliant on his glove on balls in the dirt rather than using his wide frame to control the baseball.

Offensively, I don't think Snyder is an apt comparison. Ohlman displays huge power in batting practice and shows similarly in games. He is going to have to temper his strikeouts at the next level but his power will allow him some. Snyder was always evaluated as having "gap to gap" power and I believe Ohlman has more pop than that.

In terms of a promotion given his relative inexperience due to injuries, Bowie may be aggressive for him. In Fredrick, Ohlman has the opportunity to continue to work on his defense with a familiar pitching staff and iron out some mechanical things with his swing to cut down on his strikeouts.

[THELTSHOW]

How would you rate his arm strength and accuracy on his throws?

His pure arm strength is above average but when I've seen him, his throws have been either perfect and on the bag or all over the place. Again to go back to the feet, I'd attribute this much more to his feet not being particularly quick and his inability to get into a consistent position to make his throws than anything to do with arm strength or arm slot.

[Scrat1]

Is he athletic enough for third base or the outfield? Will his bat play anywhere else?