What do you expect from our five returning full-time position players?

[Frobby]

Chris Davis

2016: .221/.332/.459, 99 R, 38 HR, 85 RBI (665 PA)

2015: .262/.361/.562, 100 R, 47 HR, 117 RBI (670 PA)

Jonathan Schoop

2016: .267/.298/.454, 82 R, 25 HR, 82 RBI (647 PA)

2015: .279/.306/.482, 34 R, 15 HR, 39 RBI (321 PA)

J.J. Hardy

2016: .269/.309/.407, 43 R, 9 HR, 48 RBI (438 PA)

2015: .219/.253/.311, 45 R, 8 HR, 37 RBI (437 PA)

Manny Machado

2016: .294/.343/.533, 105 R, 37 HR, 96 RBI (696 PA)

2015: .286/.359/.502, 102 R, 35 HR, 86 RBI (713 PA)

Adam Jones

2016: .265/.310/.436, 86 R, 29 HR, 83 RBI (672 PA)

2015: .269/.308/.474, 74 R, 27 HR, 82 RBI (581 PA)

My feeling is, Davis, Schoop, Machado and Jones are all capable of doing better in 2017 than they did in 2016. That's not to say that all four will do better, but I think they're capable of it. Hardy, on the other hand, is not likely to improve on his rate stats, though if we are lucky he might play 15-25 more games in 2017 than in 2016.

Notably, it was a pretty healthy year for these five. Hardy missed the first month but was healthy thereafter. Jones was a bit banged up at the start of the year (didn't start for 6 games in April) and missed 5 games in September. Davis had a sore hand but only missed five games all year, Manny missed five due to his suspension, and Schoop played every game. We'd be pretty fortunate to have these five stay that healthy as a group in 2017.

[webbrick2010]

Adam Jones has been in steady decline for 5 years and is now below average offensively and defensively

I just hope he stops influencing the young players (Schoop) with his swing at everything low OBP game

Keep him away from Mancini and Sisco

[ChuckS]

I expect Davis to perform better and Manny to perform at least as well.

Slight declines can be expected with Hardy and Jones.

I have no idea what to expect from Schoop. He played like a borderline All-Star in the first half and a border line Triple A player in the second half. Improvement should be expected, but I'm not sure we will get it.

[Frobby]

I expect Davis to perform better and Manny to perform at least as well.

Slight declines can be expected with Hardy and Jones.

I have no idea what to expect from Schoop. He played like a borderline All-Star in the first half and a border line Triple A player in the second half. Improvement should be expected, but I'm not sure we will get it.

I agree that Schoop is the biggest wild card in the group (though Davis has a lot of upside). I was really disappointed with his second half. I think he's capable of putting up the kind of numbers that Adam Jones did in his prime.

[mdbdotcom]

I agree that Schoop is the biggest wild card in the group (though Davis has a lot of upside). I was really disappointed with his second half. I think he's capable of putting up the kind of numbers that Adam Jones did in his prime.

I'm not sure if Schoop is capable of putting up those kind of numbers if he plays every day. I still don't understand why he did play every day. It certainly wasn't necessary.

[mdbdotcom]

I'm not sure if Schoop is capable of putting up those kind of numbers if he plays every day. I still don't understand why he did play every day. It certainly wasn't necessary.

And by every day, I mean every single game.

[El Gordo]

I'm not sure if Schoop is capable of putting up those kind of numbers if he plays every day. I still don't understand why he did play every day. It certainly wasn't necessary.

You happy with Flaherty at 2B?

[mdbdotcom]

You happy with Flaherty at 2B?

Once every three weeks to give Schoop a blow? Sure.

[Pickles]

It's a good question.

And if you look at it dispassionately, it's hard to see regression for the group.

This group should provide at least as much value in 17 as they did in 16.

[Babypowder]

Adam Jones has declined offensively for 4 straight seasons now so it is hard not to predict another regression. He certainly was capable of better in the past but is this decline age related or something else? I don't think fans are grasping how bad he was in 2016. He was a near 5 win player just a couple seasons ago and was a 1 win player (1.1 rWAR, 1.4 fWAR) last season.

Manny is going to be somewhere in the neighborhood of where he was again. Hopefully he can put two halves together like so many Orioles couldn't last year. Plate discipline will continue hold him back from being a truly elite offensive player, but the combination on both sides of the ball will keep him an elite player overall. I expect another season somewhere near a wRC+ of 130.

Chris Davis is going to be Chris Davis. His offensive profile is the perfect storm for seasons all over the place. He will continue to be unpredictable as always. In the last 4 seasons his wRC+ has gone 168-94-148-111. So, I guess it's time for an up year? No one knows what he will do and when age will start becoming a factor on top of the wild inconsistencies.

JJ Hardy is not a good hitter anymore. Power used to make up for his other deficiencies, that's gone now too. As long as he can stay above the embarrassing line like he did in 2016 and stays solid defensively he will continue to have some value. I'd expect a slight decline to a wRC+ in the 80ish region and around 2 wins.

Schoop is also difficult to put realistic expectations on. It's really really difficult to be a good offensive player with a 3 percent walk rate. That simply has to get better or he won't develop much from what he is now, which is an average player. Unfortunately drastic changes in this area are very rare. I expect he will remain somewhere in the neighborhood of a league average 100 wRC+ and averageish defense making him a solidly average 2 win player once again. If I saw any improvement in plate discipline since he arrived I would be as optimistic as some here are, but since his rookie year he is actually swinging more often and at more pitches outside the strike zone.

[Frobby]

I'm a little more optimistic on Jones than some of you. He was hurt at the beginning of the year and I had the feeling that he was never really 100% healthy. Of course, he has a history of sustaining nagging injuries that impede him even if they don't take him out of the lineup, so you could say that 2016 was not unusual in that regard. But the fact that the injuries occurred so early in the year may have been more of an impediment than usual. I guess we'll find out.

[El Gordo]

I'm a little more optimistic on Jones than some of you. He was hurt at the beginning of the year and I had the feeling that he was never really 100% healthy. Of course, he has a history of sustaining nagging injuries that impede him even if they don't take him out of the lineup, so you could say that 2016 was not unusual in that regard. But the fact that the injuries occurred so early in the year may have been more of an impediment than usual. I guess we'll find out.

I think what we've seen lately is what we'll get through 2018.

[LAOSfan]

I'm a little more optimistic on Jones than some of you. He was hurt at the beginning of the year and I had the feeling that he was never really 100% healthy. Of course, he has a history of sustaining nagging injuries that impede him even if they don't take him out of the lineup, so you could say that 2016 was not unusual in that regard. But the fact that the injuries occurred so early in the year may have been more of an impediment than usual. I guess we'll find out.

I have this same sentiment, but about Davis. I think his hand injury bothered him more than he or anyone else let on. It's always a concern when hitters injure their hands or wrists, and I'm guessing his hand was hurt all year long and it greatly affected his swing.