Quietly, Steve Johnson has had a nice spring

[terps19]

McFail actually knew what he was talking about? Wait, really? With all those nicknames and moaning about what he was doing, you would think the Os would be in the minors now or yet a different city.

ok all sarcasm aside, the Os have a shot this year and next because of what McPhail did. He knew that pitching was most important, and when the time comes, go get the hitters. Chris Davis fell into our laps, and the FO went out and got Cruz this year. He has been raking doubles all ST, and even if he doesnt produce what he did last year, he will still outperform our DH production from last year.

If a pitcher goes down, we have OPTIONS this year. Gausman, Britton, S Johnson, all of whom can fill in and be a better #5 SP than Freddie or Hammel last year. Depth boys, McPhail knew it and now we are seeing he was very smart in what he did.

[mdbdotcom]

McFail actually knew what he was talking about? Wait, really? With all those nicknames and moaning about what he was doing, you would think the Os would be in the minors now or yet a different city.

ok all sarcasm aside, the Os have a shot this year and next because of what McPhail did. He knew that pitching was most important, and when the time comes, go get the hitters. Chris Davis fell into our laps, and the FO went out and got Cruz this year. He has been raking doubles all ST, and even if he doesnt produce what he did last year, he will still outperform our DH production from last year.

If a pitcher goes down, we have OPTIONS this year. Gausman, Britton, S Johnson, all of whom can fill in and be a better #5 SP than Freddie or Hammel last year. Depth boys, McPhail knew it and now we are seeing he was very smart in what he did.

Considering that Tillman is the only starter on the team acquired by AM, that Britton was drafted before AM arrived and Gausman was drafted after he left, this is kind of funny.

[mdbdotcom]

Considering that Tillman is the only starter on the team acquired by AM, that Britton was drafted before AM arrived and Gausman was drafted after he left, this is kind of funny.

Which isn't to suggest that AM didn't bring in some very good players. Obviously, he did.

Every new GM plays the hand left him by the guy before. DD has done a very good job with what AM left behind. I don't think AM would have done as well.

[Redskins Rick]

Which isn't to suggest that AM didn't bring in some very good players. Obviously, he did.

Every new GM plays the hand left him by the guy before. DD has done a very good job with what AM left behind. I don't think AM would have done as well.

Probably not, but look at what AM had dealt him, when he arrived.

[DanS]

Steve Johnson had a 1.07 whip in limited innings in 2012. He struck out 11 per 9 innings in the majors. He is 26 years old. His 68 mph off speed stuff has to mess with hitters' timing. I would like to see him stick with the Orioles.

[terps19]

Considering that Tillman is the only starter on the team acquired by AM, that Britton was drafted before AM arrived and Gausman was drafted after he left, this is kind of funny.

George Sherrill was traded to the Dodgers for Steve Johnson.

Troy Patton was traded for Miguel Tejada.

Tommy Hunter and Chris Davis traded for Koji.

McPhail drafted Machado, Matusz, Bundy, E Rodriguez and Mike Wright.

Not to mention he also traded for JJ Hardy and Adam Jones.

I think DD is into the growing the arms trade for bats too. Where would the Orioles be without McPhail? Sure he missed on Hobgood and some other draft picks...

[Tony-OH]

I was about to wrie up something about this, but look at Steve Johnson's splits and look at his numbers against batters he faced for one inning. Now tell me after looking at them that he might not be a closing options at some point.

[CaptainRedbeard]

I was about to wrie up something about this, but look at Steve Johnson's splits and look at his numbers against batters he faced for one inning. Now tell me after looking at them that he might not be a closing options at some point.

He's definitely got some serious deception in his fastball. It's not far-fetched that it could be Joel Peralta, Koji Uehara-esque. It barely cracks 90 mph but it gets tons of swings and misses, and has 10+ inches of vertical movement. That's elite levels like Koji and Peralta (and also Tillman, Gonzo, and Matusz, interestingly enough).

The curveball is a very interesting pitch, since he nearly throws it below the speed limit. But if he has added a splitter and it develops to more than a show-me pitch, he could actually be a very effective, high-K closer, not unlike Koji.

The biggest difficulty with Johnson is that he walks far too many guys to deserve comparisons to Koji or even Peralta. Also, as an extreme fly ball pitcher, homers are always going to be a concern in OPACY. If he can improve on those areas as a reliever, I don't think it's far-fetched to suggest he might actually be very good. I still think he should spend more time as a starter while he has options, to get mroe work with the splitter at the very least, but when he's out (I think next year?) he should definitely be in the pen.

[CaptainRedbeard]

He's definitely got some serious deception in his fastball. It's not far-fetched that it could be Joel Peralta, Koji Uehara-esque. It barely cracks 90 mph but it gets tons of swings and misses, and has 10+ inches of vertical movement. That's elite levels like Koji and Peralta (and also Tillman, Gonzo, and Matusz, interestingly enough).

The curveball is a very interesting pitch, since he nearly throws it below the speed limit. But if he has added a splitter and it develops to more than a show-me pitch, he could actually be a very effective, high-K closer, not unlike Koji.

The biggest difficulty with Johnson is that he walks far too many guys to deserve comparisons to Koji or even Peralta. Also, as an extreme fly ball pitcher, homers are always going to be a concern in OPACY. If he can improve on those areas as a reliever, I don't think it's far-fetched to suggest he might actually be very good. I still think he should spend more time as a starter while he has options, to get mroe work with the splitter at the very least, but when he's out (I think next year?) he should definitely be in the pen.

I should add that Johnson's fastball doesn't get nearly as much horizontal movement as Peralta and Uehara's do, so it's not a perfect comparison, but the vertical movement is very important for the swings and misses and popups / lazy fly balls.

[Rene88]

Everyone loves SJ, everyone is pulling for him. No question there. The question is can he get through the lineup multiple times in the AL East. I wonder if he wouldn't be starting on some NL teams right now.

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[Redskins Rick]

I think DD is into the growing the arms trade for bats too. Where would the Orioles be without McPhail? Sure he missed on Hobgood and some other draft picks...

My personal opinion is. Thank the baseball Gods for both AM and DD.

AM started the rebuilding process and started PAG on changing his ownership views and how he managed the team. He got PAG to invest in Sarasota.

To me, its both wrong to over credit AM, and at the same time wrong to under credit him too.

The same with DD, don't over credit him by sayings it's all him, and dont under credit him by saying its all AM.

[Rene88]

AM was the anti-DD: no depth whatsoever. Amazing trader and equally as appalling free agent signer:)

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[WEAVERMAN]

8 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 8 K's. He has the misfortune of having options, but I have a feeling he'll spend some time in Bsltimore this year.

Keep up the good work Stevie.

[olehippi]

Steve Johnson had a 1.07 whip in limited innings in 2012. He struck out 11 per 9 innings in the majors. He is 26 years old. His 68 mph off speed stuff has to mess with hitters' timing. I would like to see him stick with the Orioles.

This.....and where else are you going to find a 26 yr old pitcher going into his 10th year of professional baseball. He is a rare, well-seasoned, breed of pitcher....and IMO, a keeper who has figured out how to pitch effectively in any role.

[JayThomas]

Yes....I too am concerned about him being dealt. However, I'll continue to keep my mouth shut & let the regime make decisions. I defer to the Buck & Duq brain trust.

Why on earth would they trade one of the guys that they can keep off the 25-man roster, when they stand to lose so many guys? Our current need to trade isn't driven by a need to fill gaps. It's driven by a need to get return on assets that we are about to lose for nothing.