Jim Henneman: Joey Rickard Playing His Way Into Orioles' Corner Outfield Discussion

[PressBoxOnline]

Jim Henneman says Joey Rickard has effectively played his way into the Orioles' corner outfield discussion, but the Rule 5 pick is battling long odds. http://www.pressboxonline.com/2016/03/09/joey-rickard-playing-his-way-into-orioles-corner-outfield-discussion

[Tx Oriole]

Jim Henneman says Joey Rickard has effectively played his way into the Orioles' corner outfield discussion, but the Rule 5 pick is battling long odds. http://www.pressboxonline.com/2016/03/09/joey-rickard-playing-his-way-into-orioles-corner-outfield-discussion

I wouldn't mind him earning the starting role in RF but I don't think happen.

[Redskins Rick]

I wouldn't mind him earning the starting role in RF but I don't think happen.

I see him as the bench OF, defensive sub, and pinch runner for this team, taking over the David Lough slot.

[webbrick2010]

The only COF candidate that can catch a fly ball

Sadly, he may be our best bet even if he hits .200

[Tx Oriole]

I see him as the bench OF, defensive sub, and pinch runner for this team, taking over the David Lough slot.

You could be right Rick.

[Ohfan67]

After like 10 spring training games? The Orioles are likely to keep him for as long as they can because that is what they do, but no way has he "played his way" into anything besides what he is.

[sylvester]

Liked him from the start. Just needs to beat out Kim which should not be to hard. Rickard is the leadoff hitter this team needed for years.

[sportsfan8703]

For a rule 5 guy he hast compiled some AB's recently. 109 AB's in AAA last year in Durham. 279 in the Dominican winter league. 24 AB's already this ST. Hopefully he stole a years time of AAA development with all of these AB's.

Not your typical rule 5 guy with that much experience. He'll only get more over the rest of ST. The perfect guy you want as a 5th OF'er.

[DJHJR86]

He's literally David Lough's replacement.

[bobmc]

Liked him from the start. Just needs to beat out Kim which should not be to hard. Rickard is the leadoff hitter this team needed for years.

That's some glittery praise and hope you are right with that prognostication! From these eyes, he looks like a typical DD acquisition, some mild promise but not any answer. He's a good fielder, a grinder and decent tools but a Lough prototype (rich man's Lough at best) is my guesstimate also. Let's see how it all pans out. DD was talking him up on MASN yesterday, predictably.

[Beef Supreme]

This article was a waste of time. It's not about what Rickard has done to impress this spring training. It's about how he hits righty but throws lefty. And how "rare" that is; Henneman uses some variation of that word five times. Despite being titled. "Rickard playing His Way into Orioles' COF Discussion" all we read is "Rickard has done nothing to hurt his chances,' "has displayed excellent defensive skills and has done enough with the bat..." No examples, no specifics, not even a single statistic or mention of a play. An absolutely pointless waste of space.

[Ruzious]

OBP is what hopefully sets Rickard apart from Lough. Rickard's OBP combined from 3 levels last season was .427. Lough had solid OBP's in the minors but nothing like that.

[DrungoHazewood]

OBP is what hopefully sets Rickard apart from Lough. Rickard's OBP combined from 3 levels last season was .427. Lough had solid OBP's in the minors but nothing like that.

We'll see. Rickard hit .332 over the last 2/3rds or so of 2015. Prior to that he'd never hit .280. It's exceptionally unlikely he hits anything like .332 in the majors. His projections are somewhere between a .620-.680 OPS, with an OBP in the .310-.330 range.

If he's a plus glove and beats those OBP projections he'd be quite a find. If he's an average glove with a .620 OPS he's not really a major leaguer.

[DrungoHazewood]

This article was a waste of time. It's not about what Rickard has done to impress this spring training. It's about how he hits righty but throws lefty. And how "rare" that is; Henneman uses some variation of that word five times. Despite being titled. "Rickard playing His Way into Orioles' COF Discussion" all we read is "Rickard has done nothing to hurt his chances,' "has displayed excellent defensive skills and has done enough with the bat..." No examples, no specifics, not even a single statistic or mention of a play. An absolutely pointless waste of space.

You gotta write something when you have 10 random spring games under your belt, nothing's really happened of note, and you have a deadline and an editor asking for 750 words. It's Joey Rickard fluff pieces, or write about Jim Palmer's dog.

[Redskins Rick]

We'll see. Rickard hit .332 over the last 2/3rds or so of 2015. Prior to that he'd never hit .280. It's exceptionally unlikely he hits anything like .332 in the majors. His projections are somewhere between a .620-.680 OPS, with an OBP in the .310-.330 range. If he's a plus glove and beats those OBP projections he'd be quite a find. If he's an average glove with a .620 OPS he's not really a major leaguer.

Like with Flaherty. Defensive Sub, and ability to play more than one position, make him valuable. Anything you get from his bat, is just a bonus. And unlike Flaherty. Rickard has some speed and can pinch run. The upside is, if Rickard bats well, he will find his way into playing more and could end up as a daily player.