Are we giving Urrutia a fair shake?

[25 Nuggets]

I remember not long ago that people on this board (not all, but some) were excited to see Henry Urrutia in the big leagues. Now it seems like he's an uneasy fall back option. The Orioles need a LH bat to take over DH duties against RHP and patrol LF now and then. Urrutia fits that bill.

So are we ready to call this guy a marginal major leaguer after 58 plate appearances last season? Or do we think he can actually carry his weight on the 25 man roster in 2014?

[OsLuvrInKy]

I have no problems with him as a LH DH. The questions I have seen raised about him that concern me more is his defense. Can he carry his weight on a MLB team? I think that depends entirely on the role he is asked to play.

[eddie83]

I want to see the guy play everyday at AAA. I think he needs more seasoning myself. I don't want a guy that raw being handed a job because we have no one better for it. He needs to work on his defense and the minors is the place to do it.

[Tony-OH]

I remember not long ago that people on this board (not all, but some) were excited to see Henry Urrutia in the big leagues. Now it seems like he's an uneasy fall back option. The Orioles need a LH bat to take over DH duties against RHP and patrol LF now and then. Urrutia fits that bill.

So are we ready to call this guy a marginal major leaguer after 58 plate appearances last season? Or do we think he can actually carry his weight on the 25 man roster in 2014?

The problem is his 58 PAs in the majors confirmed the concerns about his approach in the minor leagues. It also opened up concerns over his bat speed and whether he can handle good major league fastballs on the inside of the plate without cheating. I will feel better once I start seeing Urrutia turning on pitches for power, but a slow opposite field singles hitter is not going to cut it in the major leagues.

Now saying that, he appeared to take some steps in the AFL so hopefully it's just a matter of him making some adjustments. It's too early to make a definitive assessment yet, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't see some yellow flags last year.

[Redskins Rick]

I remember not long ago that people on this board (not all, but some) were excited to see Henry Urrutia in the big leagues. Now it seems like he's an uneasy fall back option. The Orioles need a LH bat to take over DH duties against RHP and patrol LF now and then. Urrutia fits that bill.

So are we ready to call this guy a marginal major leaguer after 58 plate appearances last season? Or do we think he can actually carry his weight on the 25 man roster in 2014?

I think Manny's breakout in the bigs, which wasn't expected, raised the bar and hopes for the fans. Some people expected Henry to be the next Manny and come up and repeat the performance and that's allot of pressure to put on a young ballplayer still learning the game at the big league level.

[Tony-OH]

Here's Urrutia's spray chart against types of pitches. Notice how many he just serves into left field that are hard. That might be enough to keep his batting average respectable, but he won't provide much power with this approach.

[atomic]

Put him in left field opening day and see what he can do. He has hit everywhere he has played. Make him the starter opening day and let him loose. Buck never gave him a chance. It annoys me so badly. I think this is the reason DD didn't even reach out to Mclouth. He knows if Mclouth is on the team Hank never gets a chance.

[twinedenter]

He hit .350 or better at every level and we all know power is the last thing to come. His 450ft homer in the AFL shows it's there. The guy deserves a chance to play every day.

Especially if:

1) They don't acquire a quality starter. 2014 would be a non-contending year anyway

AND/OR

2) They acquire a solid DH. Then, if he struggles early, his bat isn't quite as important.

Since I don't expect a DH or a starter to be acquired, I say start him in LF.

[Ruzious]

Are we a minor league team? Maybe AAAA is a better description. He's a singles hitter with terrible plate discipline, an awful LFer, and a poor baserunner. And he's not a kid, so where's the upside?

[Roll Tide]

I remember not long ago that people on this board (not all, but some) were excited to see Henry Urrutia in the big leagues. Now it seems like he's an uneasy fall back option. The Orioles need a LH bat to take over DH duties against RHP and patrol LF now and then. Urrutia fits that bill.

So are we ready to call this guy a marginal major leaguer after 58 plate appearances last season? Or do we think he can actually carry his weight on the 25 man roster in 2014?

The guy has a slow bat ..therefore all the opposite field hits...Or perhaps a terrible approach comparable to a guy being pull happy.

[Tony-OH]

He hit .350 or better at every level and we all know power is the last thing to come. His 450ft homer in the AFL shows it's there. The guy deserves a chance to play every day.

Especially if:

1) They don't acquire a quality starter. 2014 would be a non-contending year anyway

AND/OR

2) They acquire a solid DH. Then, if he struggles early, his bat isn't quite as important.

Since I don't expect a DH or a starter to be acquired, I say start him in LF.

I don't think you really understand scouting with these statements. He'll be 27-years old, so the power he has is the power he has. Hitting one bomb does not indicate anything other than he hit a bomb. His approach is more important than the occasional long home run. His spray charts in the major and minor leagues shows a guy who does not have a game time approach that is conducive to hitting for power in the major leagues. Raw power does not equate to game time usable power in some hitters. Now, could Urrutia change his approach and add more power to his game? Sure. But it's not likely he will end up an every day player in the major leagues with his current approach.

[twinedenter]

Have you got actually watched him hit?

He swings from the inside out. IE He stays inside the ball with the barrel of the bat. So, it looks like his bat is slow to normal people.

Kinda funny, a certain SS for the NY Yankees hits that exact same way. He was/is kinda good.....

[Tony-OH]

Have you got actually watched him hit?

He swings from the inside out. IE He stays inside the ball with the barrel of the bat. So, it looks like his bat is slow to normal people.

Kinda funny, a certain SS for the NY Yankees hits that exact same way. He was/is kinda good.....

No, never! This scouting stuff is kind of new to me so I like to make up things to see if people will believe me.

[Can_of_corn]

Have you got actually watched him hit?

He swings from the inside out. IE He stays inside the ball with the barrel of the bat. So, it looks like his bat is slow to normal people.

Kinda funny, a certain SS for the NY Yankees hits that exact same way. He was/is kinda good.....

Big difference between a mediocre SS with good speed and a mediocre LF with poor speed.

[twinedenter]

I don't think you really understand scouting with these statements. He'll be 27-years old, so the power he has is the power he has. Hitting one bomb does not indicate anything other than he hit a bomb. His approach is more important than the occasional long home run. His spray charts in the major and minor leagues shows a guy who does not have a game time approach that is conducive to hitting for power in the major leagues. Raw power does not equate to game time usable power in some hitters. Now, could Urrutia change his approach and add more power to his game? Sure. But it's not likely he will end up an every day player in the major leagues with his current approach.

I don't disagree and maybe I don't know scouting, but I do know hitting. I am a former minor league shortstop.

Him hitting a 450ft home run PROVES he has power. IMO there is not debating that. You can either hit a 450ft homer or you can't. It takes a ton of bat speed to hit a ball that far or your very strong. Since Henry is a bean pole, I will go with bat speed.

Power is learned by a hitter from adjusting his approach based on a variety of situations. The count, pitchers tendencies, guessing on pitches and location etc. That all comes from experience and Henry doesn't have it yet. BUT by no means does it mean he won't. He has the power.

To say that his current approach isn't conducive to him hitting home runs, is like saying Bundy needs to work on his fastball command to be a good major league pitcher. Its true of every pitcher and takes time and experience, just like Henry needs. He needs to learn WHEN to adjust his approach.