Bench production must improve in 2017

[billw76]

34 minutes ago, El Gordo said:

What team is that dependent on their bench?

With injuries, rest, and platoons the bench got quite a few at bats last season, the starters at C, SS, LF & DH were all right around 400 AB or less. I know Rickard was starting before he got hurt and did ok, but Reimold, Joseph and Flaherty were pretty bad. Pearce, Pena, Janish and Stubbs were all even worse although they didn't see as much playing time.

This season Castillo will need rest, probably Hardy too. Without injuries were still looking at an OF platoon, maybe a DH platoon, and probably a Rule V outfielder. Whoever is on the bench this season we need better production than what we got last year.

[Frobby]

44 minutes ago, thezeroes said:

If you go by the B-R Splits which is not what the OP used but is a split between starters and substitutes it would be as follows:

Starters slash line .259/.322/.426/.749

Subs slash line .202/.279/.313/.592

This is for only the AL and includes pitchers when in NL Parks.

Using this method, the O's subs were at .600, slightly better than league average.   

[thezeroes]

9 hours ago, Frobby said:

Using this method, the O's subs were at .600, slightly better than league average.   

That was not the criteria that was used in the initial post of this thread But is readily available to view on B-R.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/play-index/split_stats_lg.cgi?full=1&params=stsub|as Sub|AL|2016|bat|AB|

[Frobby]

24 minutes ago, thezeroes said:

That was not the criteria that was used in the initial post of this thread But is readily available to view on B-R.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/play-index/split_stats_lg.cgi?full=1&params=stsub|as Sub|AL|2016|bat|AB|

Yes, it's a much more limited criterion.    The O's had only 143 PA for hitters playing as a sub, and 46 of those came from starters who were taking a day off.    Most of the stats of the players I mentioned in the OP came on days when they were in the starting lineup.   

[LA2]

16 hours ago, Frobby said:

In the month he played the most (May - 23 games, 61 PA), Flaherty posted a .505 OPS.   So I'm not sure it matters how much he plays.   He did hit well in June while playing a fair amount.   

The "fair amount" Flaherty played in June was basically the same as "the most" he played in May:

May 2016: 53 at-bats (61 PAs), .505 OPS

June 2016: 53 at-bats (59 PAs), .865 OPS, incl. 3 homers, 3 doubles, 10 RBIs.

As such, Flaherty merely hit as the Orioles have learned he would during his now-five years with the team: poorly at the beginning of the season, followed by a strong burst, and then a regress until the fall--plus the bonus of reliability in the postseason (.830, 2 homers in 36 PAs). Broken down by months, his career split is: April .550; May .534; June .728; July .544; August .662; Sept./Oct. .788.

 

[Frobby]

While Flaherty has usually been a slow starter, in the end, he is what he is.    Five years in the majors and his OPS has ranged between .610 and .683.

[thezeroes]

In 2016 the American League had 189 players that matched the criteria of having less 301 Plate Appearances.  Of those 189 players, 36 had an OPS of .750 or better.

Chris Parmelee	1.875	8
John Hicks	1.500	2
Trey Mancini	1.471	15
Jesus Sucre	1.232	29
Dariel Alvarez	1.167	4
Gary Sanchez	1.032	229
Matt Davidson	1.000	2
Charlie Tilson	1.000	2
Brett Nicholas	0.906	45
Jimmy Paredes	0.886	17
Jonathan Lucroy	0.885	168
Ryon Healy	0.861	283
Chris Young	0.850	227
Mike Freeman	0.846	13
Sandy Leon	0.845	283
Andrew Benintendi	0.835	118
Kennys Vargas	0.833	177
Josh Reddick	0.816	272
Geovany Soto	0.809	86
Drew Butera	0.808	133
Mike Moustakas	0.801	113
Robinson Chirinos	0.797	170
Michael Bourn	0.793	55
Alex Bregman	0.791	217
Steven Moya	0.790	100
Jefry Marte	0.790	284
Mike Zunino	0.787	192
Franklin Gutierrez	0.780	283
Marlon Byrd	0.778	129
Nick Franklin	0.771	191
Tyler Austin	0.758	90
Jorge Polanco	0.757	270
Shin-Soo Choo	0.756	210
Richie Shaffer	0.752	54
Billy Butler	0.752	274
Justin Ruggiano	0.750	4

[LA2]

Played at the right time, the combination of his defensive skills and versatility and bat--and he doesn't screw up on the basepaths--make Flaherty good enough to have rested Manny and Schoop more, with the hope that it would also increase their levels of performance. In general, I just don't like how Buck runs his regulars into the ground.

[Frobby]

6 minutes ago, LA2 said:

Played at the right time, the combination of his defensive skills and versatility and bat--and he doesn't screw up on the basepaths--make Flaherty good enough to have rested Manny and Schoop more, with the hope that it would also increase their levels of performance. In general, I just don't like how Buck runs his regulars into the ground.

Yes, I agree.    However, it's hard to argue with his September record.   You'd think the team would slump then if they were tired, but they generally have played very well then.  

[LA2]

47 minutes ago, Frobby said:

Yes, I agree.    However, it's hard to argue with his September record.   You'd think the team would slump then if they were tired, but they generally have played very well then.  

Yes, that is a mystery isn't it? Pitching is a big part of that equation and I have no qualms about how Buck handles that. I guess a devil's-advocate's question is whether they would have done even better in September/October if they had been rested earlier and presumably had more gas in the tank. I think that under Buck we'll never know, although to his credit he hasn't hesitated to play late additions like De Aza, Morse (oh well), Clevenger, and Bourne.

[El Gordo]

Our Bench players combined for 916 AB 20 HR and .266 BA.

[25 Nuggets]

Alright then, how do the Orioles increase bench production?  They're counting on Flaherty again it seems -- if he posts career average numbers next season it'll be a minor improvement, but will he?  And a number of posters here seem fine with Caleb Joseph as the #2 C... are they really going to rely on him again?

If the Orioles sign two more guys -- an OF and someone to play DH -- the bench would probably look like this:

#2 C - Joseph or Pena

IF - Ryan Flaherty

OF - Joey Rickard or Aneury Tavarez

DH/1B - Trey Mancini

Is this acceptable?  I would think someone like Luis Valbuena would really help the team, even if it means they don't sign that DH (Mancini can be primary).

[wildcard]

Flaherty, Mancini, Tavarez, Castillo/Joseph

[Frobby]

3 hours ago, 25 Nuggets said:

Alright then, how do the Orioles increase bench production?  They're counting on Flaherty again it seems -- if he posts career average numbers next season it'll be a minor improvement, but will he?  And a number of posters here seem fine with Caleb Joseph as the #2 C... are they really going to rely on him again?

At least Joseph has nowhere to go but up.  

[UpstateNYfan]

I am not sure if that is true with Joseph. He may be a guy that just needs regular AB's to  be a least average. I think Buck is pretty set with his 7 guys and not overly worried about his bench players being ready. I think some of the guys at AAA and AA are more "ready" offensively than the O's bench players. Buck is pretty much a go by the "book" guy, he looks for the guy that will give him D more closely than a quality AB.