Rickard?

[Enjoy Terror]

Here is the problem....both corner OFs would be this way.

So, an upgrade from 2015?

[Frobby]

Nolan had a bit more wrong and needed a 2nd surgery on his neck.

I think what Nolan can do, when healthy, is worthy of trying to see if he can play a whole season.

I think Nolan will get his opportunities in 2016.

[Aristotelian]

John Sickels ranks Rickard as the 18th best prospect in our system, Grade C:

http://www.minorleagueball.com/2016/2/13/10983046/baltimore-orioles-top-20-prospects-for-2016

My baseline assumption is that he's not a starter, and will be lucky to survive spring training. But maybe he'll show us something.

The same thing could have been said about Flaherty, Almanzar, TJ. DD will do what he can to hold onto his nuggets. He certainly fills a need in the system with Pearce and Lough gone and no elite prospects at AAA. I think he is David Lough at minimum, the the possibility of evolving into Austin Jackson. I am curious to see what he can do, especially since we aren't getting Fowler.

[Redskins Rick]

The same thing could have been said about Flaherty, Almanzar, TJ. DD will do what he can to hold onto his nuggets. He certainly fills a need in the system with Pearce and Lough gone and no elite prospects at AAA. I think he is David Lough at minimum, the the possibility of evolving into Austin Jackson. I am curious to see what he can do, especially since we aren't getting Fowler.

Flaherty will survive ST and can start in the bigs.

With Fowler out of the picture, at this point, it does look like there might be room on the bench for Rickard.

[Tx Oriole]

Nolan had a bit more wrong and needed a 2nd surgery on his neck.

I think what Nolan can do, when healthy, is worthy of trying to see if he can play a whole season.

I sure hope DD doesn't think that. Sorry.

[Tx Oriole]

I think Nolan will get his opportunities in 2016.

I thought he had already had his opportunity? Gosh I hope the FO can get some

player that's better than Nolan for RF. IMO

[Redskins Rick]

I thought he had already had his opportunity? Gosh I hope the FO can get some

player that's better than Nolan for RF. IMO

Buck said in Roch today. When Nolan is healthy, and he looks like he is, he will surprise people.

[DrungoHazewood]

Buck said in Roch today. When Nolan is healthy, and he looks like he is, he will surprise people.

It is a surprise when Nolan is healthy.

[baltimoreO's22]

Buck said in Roch today. When Nolan is healthy, and he looks like he is, he will surprise people.

I think the surprise will be that Nolan is healthy. He is going on 32 and hasn't been healthy since his rookie year.

[Roll Tide]

I'm certainly intrigued to see what he does in ST, but I'm not ready to say he's as good as even Reimold yet, much less Fowler.

As Frobby often points out, the Rays couldn't find a spot for him on their 40-man. Whether or not that's because they weren't convinced about him, or whether they just didn't think he'd get picked, or whether they just really have a stacked 40-man, who knows.

One thing to note about Rickard is his BABIP. Last year, he had a .322, .379, and .457 BABIP in A+ (94 PA), AA (282 PA), and AAA (104 PA) respectively. Career .314 though, so maybe nothing to see here.

So maybe the light came on last year? Fowlers BABIP 2013 .323, 2014 .353, 2015 .308. So his last 2 full years in the minors were .571, and .442.

A pitcher's average on batted balls ending a plate appearance, excluding home runs. Based on the research of Voros McCracken and others, BABIP is mostly a function of a pitcher's defense and luck, rather than persistent skill. Thus, pitchers with abnormally high or low BABIPs are good bets to see their performances regress to the mean. The league average for modern pitcher BABIP is around .300.

Hitter BABIP is much more of a skill, based on how well they are able to hit and place the ball, along with their speed.

Equation:

BABIP = (H - HR) / (AB - K - HR + SF + SH)

[Redskins Rick]

I think the surprise will be that Nolan is healthy. He is going on 32 and hasn't been healthy since his rookie year.

So last year was his rookie year?

[FlipTheBird]

That's OK. The rest of the lineup is stacked. If Davis hits we could actually be better than 2014. .330 OBP and good defense would be upgrades in those spots over last year, plus we have Teumbo.

It would not be OK for this team to have blackholes in both corners in 2016. Given the pitching staff, they're going to be somewhat reliant on outhitting a lot of clubs. And forfeiting two outfield spots is not how you do that. They have to make a move.

[Redskins Rick]

It would not be OK for this team to have blackholes in both corners in 2016. Given the pitching staff, they're going to be somewhat reliant on outhitting a lot of clubs. And forfeiting two outfield spots is not how you do that. They have to make a move.

Why do you automatically assume Kim is a blackhole?

DD is all-in this year, if he can find something, that is an improvement and fits within the $$$$$, I suspect he will pull the trigger, or ink the man to the dotted line.

I think without any further additions, that this club is on paper, stronger than last year.

[FlipTheBird]

Why do you automatically assume Kim is a blackhole?

DD is all-in this year, if he can find something, that is an improvement and fits within the $$$$$, I suspect he will pull the trigger, or ink the man to the dotted line.

I think without any further additions, that this club is on paper, stronger than last year.

I'm not, really, I'm just countering the folks that are automatically assuming he'll be a decent player. We honestly don't know at this point. It's not good practice to have TWO outfield spots that you're saying that about.

[Frobby]

I'm not, really, I'm just countering the folks that are automatically assuming he'll be a decent player. We honestly don't know at this point. It's not good practice to have TWO outfield spots that you're saying that about.

I agree. It could work out, but that's awfully risky.