My 2016 mid-season report card

[Frobby]

I like to do mid-season grades at the 81-game mark, as opposed to the all-star break, because it's easy to see how the stats would translate over 162 games. All grades are on a curve compared to my expectations for the player.

Chris Davis, .242/.350/.512, 21 HR, 56 RBI, 2.5 rWAR: B. Offensively, he's capable of a better batting average, but he is drawing his walks and hitting about the expected number of homers. Defensively, he's been outstanding IMO, and better than I expected.

Jonathan Schoop, .301/.331/.510, 13 HR, 47 RBI, 2.1 rWAR: A-. He's about at the very top of the spectrum of what I would have expected offensively. Defensively, he's made a few mistakes that keep my from giving him an unqualified A. But I'm really happy with his performance.

Manny Machado, .329/.384/.592, 18 HR, 50 RBI, 4.1 rWAR: A. He's having an MVP-caliber season. I would have given him an A+, except for a few baserunning mistakes and plays where he didn't hustle as much as he should have. Still, he's been absolutely tremendous.

J.J. Hardy, .241/.274/.358, 2 HR, 14 RBI, 0.3 rWAR: C-. He played much better before his broken foot (.701 OPS vs. .538 OPS). Hopefully he can pick it up in the second half.

Matt Wieters, .268/.321/.444, 9 HR, 37 RBI, 1.0 rWAR: B+. He's pretty much the pre-TJ Wieters, and has had a number of key hits in important situations.

Caleb Joseph, .174/.240/.203, 0 HR, 0 RBI, -0.3 rWAR: D-. I'm being charitable here because I think Joseph has been credible defensively, though not up to last year's standards. His offense has been pathetic. There's no other way to say it.

Hyun Soo Kim, .338/.423/.477, 3 HR, 11 RBI, 1.0 rWAR: A. He's exceeded my expectations by a lot on offense. He's about what I expected on defense.

Adam Jones, .261/.310/.455, 16 HR, 51 RBI, 0.8 rWAR: C+. His power stats are decent after a red-hot June, but his slash line is lower than normal and his defense is down a bit too. I hold Jones to a high standard, hence the low grade on the curve.

Mark Trumbo, .281/.326/.559, 24 HR, 62 RBI, 1.6 rWAR: A-. His offense has exceeded my expectations and has been about as good as I could have expected. Defensively, I had fairly modest expectations, but honestly, he's been a bit worse than I hoped.

Joey Rickard, .264/.320/.381, 5 HR, 16 RBI, -0.1 rWAR: B. I'm sure I would have said that if he posted a .700 OPS I'd be very satisfied. I think his defense has gotten better as he has adjusted to playing in major league stadiums.

Nolan Reimold, .279/.336/.459, 4 HR, 11 RBI, 0.6 rWAR: B. About what I'd expected, or maybe slightly better. He's losing the playing time battle.

Pedro Alvarez, .241/.317/.461, 9 HR, 26 RBI, -0.1 rWAR: B-. He's been pretty much as I expected, and I'm factoring in the fact that he's normally a better hitter in the second half.

Ryan Flaherty, .233/.313/.353, 3 HR, 12 RBI, 0.7 rWAR: B. He's played wherever we needed defensively and held his own, and his OBP is a bit higher than normal, but pretty much it's business as usual with Flaherty.

Chris Tillman, 10-2, 3.71 ERA: B+. A few weeks ago I would have given him an A, but he has struggled lately. Still, I have no complaints about his first half performance.

Kevin Gausman, 1-6, 3.97 ERA: C+. That might seem a bit harsh for a guy with a sub-4 ERA, but I had higher expectations for him and I'm not seeing improvement in his breaking stuff.

Ubaldo Jimenez, 5-8, 6.95 ERA: F. 'Nuff said.

Yovanni Gallardo, 3-1, 5.77 ERA: D+. More like an F before he went on the DL, and a C+ since he came back. I'm giving him a bit of a break on his overall grade because I believe he was pitching hurt at the start of the year. I'm hoping for more in the second half.

Tyler Wilson, 4-6, 5.22 ERA: D. He has been OK at times, but doesn't have good command consistently enough for a guy with just so-so stuff. His demotion was warranted.

Mike Wright, 3-4, 6.12 ERA: F. He deserved to be demoted before Wilson.

Zach Britton, 2-1, 23/23 saves, 0.80 ERA: A+. Can't have asked for more.

Brad Brach, 5-1, 1.01 ERA: A+. Ditto.

Darren O'Day, 2-1, 3.15 ERA: B. He was solid before his injury. Hopefully he's back soon.

Mychal Givens, 5-1, 3.72 ERA: B-. Started off hot but has been vulnerable lately, especially vs. LHB, who did not trouble him last year.

Dylan Bundy, 2-1, 3.28 ERA: B+. Has gotten better and better as the season has progressed. I'm really looking forward to see how he does in the second half. He's learning fast and his stuff is getting crisper as he goes.

Vance Worley, 2-0, 3.12 ERA: B+. He's been better than I expected.

T.J. McFarland, 2-2, 5.63 ERA: D. Has had a few good outings but overall he's been very disappointing.

All the other hitters have 35 PA or fewer and the other pitchers have under 10 IP so I'm not grading them.

So, who do I have too high or too low, in your opinion?

[backwardsk]

For me, a little low on Davis, a little high on Gausman.

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[clapdiddy]

With those grades we should be in first place!

I think you are pretty right on with your assessments.

I'd probably have Gausman as a C, Joseph as an F, Worley as a B, and Jones as a B-. Other than that, I'm pretty much with you.

[Can_of_corn]

C+,a-,a,c,b+,f,a,c+,b,b,b,c,c,b,b-,f,c-,d,f,a,a,c,b-,a-,b,d

[JohnD]

I was hoping for more power, and more HRs specifically, from Alvarez. I was only luke warm on him from the start and not sure he isn't costing Kim and Reimold ABs that could be more productive. I guess the consolation is that his defense hasn't been as bad as advertised, though he barely gets to use his glove too.

What happened to Joseph? He has been a black hole on offense and his defense has been fine, but not stellar. I was good with letting him start and use the money Wieters got somewhere else. But you can't make a credible argument for getting Joseph more PT right now.

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[MDtransplant757]

I was hoping for more power, and more HRs specifically, from Alvarez. I was only luke warm on him from the start and not sure he isn't costing Kim and Reimold ABs that could be more productive. I guess the consolation is that his defense hasn't been as bad as advertised, though he barely gets to use his glove too.

What happened to Joseph? He has been a black hole on offense and his defense has been fine, but not stellar. I was good with letting him start and use the money Wieters got somewhere else. But you can't make a credible argument for getting Joseph more PT right now.

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I'd send Joseph down for Pena right now

[Can_of_corn]

I'd send Joseph down for Pena right now

I wouldn't have sent Pena down in the first place.

[MDtransplant757]

I wouldn't have sent Pena down in the first place.

Me neither

Sent from Neverneverland using James Hetfield's voice

[JohnD]

That said, nit picking about the backup catcher is a nice place to be.

Luckily the guys we were counting on have all pretty much carried the load we needed them to.

Now that pitching.....

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[MDtransplant757]

That said, nit picking about the backup catcher is a nice place to be.

Luckily the guys we were counting on have all pretty much carried the load we needed them to.

Now that pitching.....

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Rich Hill VS Matt Moore. That's the debate we're having now.

[Frobby]

I'd send Joseph down for Pena right now

Joseph's played what, one game since coming off the DL?

[MDtransplant757]

Joseph's played what, one game since coming off the DL?

He hasn't done well at all this year. He's killing me more than Flarethy, which is saying something.

[Frobby]

He hasn't done well at all this year. He's killing me more than Flarethy, which is saying something.

I could have seen the argument for not returning Joseph to the majors once he came off the DL. However, having recalled him, I don't think you reverse course after one game. I think the earliest the O's would consider a change would be the end of July (which is probably only 6-8 starts for Joseph).

[wildcard]

Excellent post. I agree with 99% of it.

When a 32 homer and 102 RBI pace gets Jones a C+ the standard is TOO high. Adam played through injuries for the first 2 months of the season and was still productive by the end of June. As far as his defense. Well, he was playing hurt. Did you see the superman act he put on making that diving caught in the gap to save at least two runs? He is probably pretty close to 100% healthy now but those kind of catches take a toll on his body. I love his effort. It allows him to tell Manny to stop watching the hard hit balls and run. Adam is still an important leader on this team. I am in the B+, A- range on Adam.

I think your B- for Pedro is right and am wondering if its enough to get him moved at the deadline. A team like Houston that needs more offense could use him to platoon with Gattis at DH. Have no idea what they could get in return.

That would allow Kim to be the every day LFer, Allow Trumbo to DH more. Let Reimold and Rickard platoon in right when Trumbo DHs. And it would allow the O's to promote Mancini.

[MDtransplant757]

Excellent post. I agree with 99% of it.

When a 32 homer and 102 RBI pace gets Jones a C+ the standard is TOO high. Adam played through injuries for the first 2 months of the season and was still productive by the end of June. As far as his defense. Well, he was playing hurt. Did you see the superman act he put on making that diving caught in the gap to save at least two runs? He is probably pretty close to 100% healthy now but those kind of catches take a toll on his body. I love his effort. It allows him to tell Manny to stop watching the hard hit balls and run. Adam is still an important leader on this team. I am in the B+, A- range on Adam.

I think your B- for Pedro is right and am wondering if its enough to get him moved at the deadline. A team like Houston that needs more offense could use him to platoon with Gattis at DH. Have no idea what they could get in return.

That would allow Kim to be the every day LFer, Allow Trumbo to DH more. Let Reimold and Rickard platoon in right when Trumbo DHs. And it would allow the O's to promote Mancini.

This could be an interesting idea.