Update on Chance Sisco

[Scrat1]

Anyone heard any recent reports about his defense? Obviously it would be best for him to stick as a catcher, but failing that, I wonder if we could give him a first base mitt and hope for a Keith Hernandez type. He may be ready as soon as 2017, so assuming Davis is gone all we would need is a one year stopgap, maybe Pearce.

[EagleOriole]

Mancini is at AA.

Yes of course, slip of the keyboard - love Sisco's bat though.

[sportsfan8703]

Our MILB coaches have coached up MW, Joseph, and Clevenger defensively. I don't know where his glove is at now. But his bat will have him in the mix for a call up sometime next year. With the O's having Joseph/Clevenger for 5+ years, it's not as important that he stick at Catcher. It would be nice, but he might be able to help the O's sooner at LF,1B, DH.

[EagleOriole]

Our MILB coaches have coached up MW, Joseph, and Clevenger defensively. I don't know where his glove is at now. But his bat will have him in the mix for a call up sometime next year. With the O's having Joseph/Clevenger for 5+ years, it's not as important that he stick at Catcher. It would be nice, but he might be able to help the O's sooner at LF,1B, DH.

You know the way that Clevenger hits and Sisco hits it is possible that they keep 3 catchers and rotate through DH. It would be odd, but I could see it if he ultimately sticks at C.

[eb45]

I think it's unwise to pencil in Joseph and Clevenger as long-term answers at catcher at this point. They're serviceable, but they're not the guys you build around as of right now.

Also, Sisco's bat is great for a catcher, but I don't know if it plays at a non-premium position. I don't know if he's going to hit enough to be a first-division regular as a 1B or corner OF. I think that if the Orioles give up on him as a catcher, they should try him at second or third. Pushing him to the bottom of the defensive value spectrum in order to get him to Baltimore faster makes him a much less valuable player, long-term.

[clapdiddy]

I think it's unwise to pencil in Joseph and Clevenger as long-term answers at catcher at this point. They're serviceable, but they're not the guys you build around as of right now.

Also, Sisco's bat is great for a catcher, but I don't know if it plays at a non-premium position. I don't know if he's going to hit enough to be a first-division regular as a 1B or corner OF. I think that if the Orioles give up on him as a catcher, they should try him at second or third. Pushing him to the bottom of the defensive value spectrum in order to get him to Baltimore faster makes him a much less valuable player, long-term.

Agree with you on Clevenger. I think he's a "hit first" catcher. I don't agree about Joseph. I think he'd be fine catching 115 games per year.

[EagleOriole]

I think it's unwise to pencil in Joseph and Clevenger as long-term answers at catcher at this point. They're serviceable, but they're not the guys you build around as of right now.

Also, Sisco's bat is great for a catcher, but I don't know if it plays at a non-premium position. I don't know if he's going to hit enough to be a first-division regular as a 1B or corner OF. I think that if the Orioles give up on him as a catcher, they should try him at second or third. Pushing him to the bottom of the defensive value spectrum in order to get him to Baltimore faster makes him a much less valuable player, long-term.

With Sisco, is it because of his power?

He is a 20 year old who has a slash line of .320/.396/.433/.829 in High A/AA. I think he has a pretty high upside. I don't think he is a first baseman, but he could play a COF position.

[eb45]

Agree with you on Clevenger. I think he's a "hit first" catcher. I don't agree about Joseph. I think he'd be fine catching 115 games per year.

I don't think we really disagree -- I think Joseph is fine, but he's not so good that I'd feel comfortable saying "yes, he's going to be playing a major role here for the next five years." He doesn't have the track record or pedigree to completely rule out the possibility that he might not play this well in a couple seasons. I wouldn't make upgrading catcher after Wieters leaves a priority, but I also wouldn't assume Joseph is going to hold down the position for the foreseeable future. There are so many guys who have had a pretty good season and a half before their numbers dropped. I'm not saying Caleb's will, but he's not so good as to make me sure that they won't.

re: Sisco, I don't think he'll ever hit for a ton of power, and that's a big part of why I'm unwilling to project him as a starter-quality corner outfielder. Hopefully, he can catch. Reports seem to indicate some improvement over the course of this season, but apparently he was really bad before so that may not mean much.

[Aglets]

I think it's unwise to pencil in Joseph and Clevenger as long-term answers at catcher at this point. They're serviceable, but they're not the guys you build around as of right now.

Also, Sisco's bat is great for a catcher, but I don't know if it plays at a non-premium position. I don't know if he's going to hit enough to be a first-division regular as a 1B or corner OF. I think that if the Orioles give up on him as a catcher, they should try him at second or third. Pushing him to the bottom of the defensive value spectrum in order to get him to Baltimore faster makes him a much less valuable player, long-term.

How many 20 year olds put up a .829 line between Frederick and Bowie? I don't think we should be worried about his bat playing anywhere at this point, it's definitely the defense that we should be primarily concerned with.

For reference Schoop put up a .710 OPS at Bowie at the age of 20.

[Frobby]

How many 20 year olds put up a .829 line between Frederick and Bowie? I don't think we should be worried about his bat playing anywhere at this point, it's definitely the defense that we should be primarily concerned with.

For reference Schoop put up a .710 OPS at Bowie at the age of 20.

Sisco has 13 PA at Bowie at age 20. Schoop had 555. I am not ready to leap to conclusions about how Sisco will fare at AA. Mike Yastrzemski was 6 for 13 in his first three games at Bowie, too, and his OPS was over .900 in his first 75 PA there, but now he has a .689 OPS there in 658 PA. So, while I'm thrilled that Sisco has started well following his promotion, I'm going to want to see a lot more before concluding that AA will be an easy jump for him.

[Aglets]

Obviously the sample size is much bigger for Frederick but I'd have to go do some more digging to see how some of these guys did at Frederick. I do know we had another good catching prospect at AA a few years back that looked quite impressive but the hitting didn't exactly translate to MLB.

[sportsfan8703]

With Sisco, is it because of his power?

He is a 20 year old who has a slash line of .320/.396/.433/.829 in High A/AA. I think he has a pretty high upside. I don't think he is a first baseman, but he could play a COF position.

We'd be talking about late next year at the earliest but it could work. I feel like Oakland has done this before. Not that it matters. Joseph would be the starter. Clevenger could be backup C/1b/DH. Cisco could play LF/1B/DH and a little C too. Of course we're talking 2017 and all. Keep him at C in the minors but if the bat is ready find a way to get him to Baltimore. We'll have 6+ years of control of him. That's plenty of ST's and in season work to make him into an average defensive C.

[MachoMachadoMan]

There's absolutely no reason to rush Sisco to the bigs. If it takes an extra year for him to really get a grasp on the tools of ignorance, let him sit in the minors, rake at the plate and improve his defense. We aren't burning service time with him in the minors.

I'd rather have Sisco competently catching and in the daily line up in 2018 than give up on catching to get him up here in 2017 at another position.

[MachoMachadoMan]

Sisco blasts his first bomb since moving up to Bowie.

2-5 with a home run.

[Ruzious]

Gotta figure he's compared favorably to what Schoop did. Schoop OPS'd .704 as a 19 year old in Frederick and .710 as a 20 year old in Bowie. Sisco's OPS'd .853 as a 20 year old splitting time between Frederick and Bowie. Yes, most of his at bats were in Frederick, but he's done better at Bowie than he did at Frederick - so far. I'm not sure how some experts don't rate him highly. I mean - it's very conceivable that he'll get his first cup o coffee in the bigs next September at age 21.