Wilkerson can help as the Utility Infielder

[Roll Tide]

He can play all 4 infield positions and also COF. He looks to have a pretty good bat. As far as I'm concerned he replaces Flaherty, he makes the minimum, and can't possibly be any worse than Flaherty at the plate.

 

 

http://www.masnsports.com/school-of-roch/2017/10/orioles-facing-roster-decision-with-wilkerson.html

[wildcard]

12 minutes ago, Roll Tide said:

He can play all 4 infield positions and also COF. He looks to have a pretty good bat. As far as I'm concerned he replaces Flaherty, he makes the minimum, and can't possibly be any worse than Flaherty at the plate.

 

 

http://www.masnsports.com/school-of-roch/2017/10/orioles-facing-roster-decision-with-wilkerson.html

I hasn't played much SS which is where most of the UIF playing time would come from.  I don't see Wilkerson being the O's UIF this coming year.   The O's may put him on the 40 man roster but if will be hard for him to make the O's 25 man roster without an injury IMO.

[Roll Tide]

50 minutes ago, wildcard said:

I hasn't played much SS which is where most of the UIF playing time would come from.  I don't see Wilkerson being the O's UIF this coming year.   The O's may put him on the 40 man roster but if will be hard for him to make the O's 25 man roster without an injury IMO.

I agree with the article that it would ge a good idea to slide him to SS in the AFL.

[Il BuonO]

1 hour ago, wildcard said:

I hasn't played much SS which is where most of the UIF playing time would come from.  I don't see Wilkerson being the O's UIF this coming year.   The O's may put him on the 40 man roster but if will be hard for him to make the O's 25 man roster without an injury IMO.

The Orioles have three guys in the IF who can play SS right now. If this guy can play the other positions reasonably well, slide either Machado or Schoop over to SS. Typically, you do want the UIF to be able to play SS, but most teams don’t have multiple starters who can play there.

[Luke-OH]

1 hour ago, wildcard said:

I hasn't played much SS which is where most of the UIF playing time would come from.  I don't see Wilkerson being the O's UIF this coming year.   The O's may put him on the 40 man roster but if will be hard for him to make the O's 25 man roster without an injury IMO.

I agree with Il BuonO, you don't need to be able to play SS to be the O's utility IF, Manny or Schoop can handle it just as well (or better in Manny's case) than a guy like Flaherty in a pinch.

My concerns with Wilkerson are not fielding related.  I like his swing and I think he'll be able to hit for a decent average but my concern is that without much power, pitchers won't respect him and therefore his walk rate will vanish.  This is what happened to Joey Rickard at the MLB level.  I do like Wilkerson's swing better than Rickard's, but Wilkerson doesn't have the plate discipline that Rickard has.  That being said, Flaherty hasn't been any good since 2014, so I think Wilkerson could provide that level of production. 

If the Orioles are trying to compete in 2018 they should bring in someone better though.  Eric Sogard would be my target, walked more than he struck out in 2017, really good defense at 2B, solid at 3B, can play SS or OF as well.  He can actually help with the bat and is good enough to let the regulars get some days off so they don't fade at the end of the year.

[Redskins Rick]

44 minutes ago, Il BuonO said:

The Orioles have three guys in the IF who can play SS right now. If this guy can play the other positions reasonably well, slide either Machado or Schoop over to SS. Typically, you do want the UIF to be able to play SS, but most teams don’t have multiple starters who can play there.

If Buck is the manager of this team, his rule of thumb is, the first utility guy on the bench has to play good defense at SS, everything is secondary.

 

[Luke-OH]

30 minutes ago, Redskins Rick said:

If Buck is the manager of this team, his rule of thumb is, the first utility guy on the bench has to play good defense at SS, everything is secondary.

 

Flaherty was not a good defensive SS, yet he was the first utility guy on the bench for 5 seasons after his rule 5 year.

[Redskins Rick]

1 minute ago, phillyOs119 said:

Flaherty was not a good defensive SS, yet he was the first utility guy on the bench for 5 seasons after his rule 5 year/

Buck felt he was, he said it multiple times over the years, and he must have believed what he said, or there would have been others there instead.

I think Ryan did a commendable job in 2014, filling in for Manny at 3rd.

Can Ryan play better at 3rd, yes, without a doubt, but he isn't Jeter at Short either.

[wildcard]

I am with Rick.   I am betting that Buck and Dan will have a utility infielder that can backup SS well defensively.   They don't want to design a team that requires moving Manny or Schoop when they want to gave Beckham a break.

[Luke-OH]

3 minutes ago, Redskins Rick said:

Buck felt he was, he said it multiple times over the years, and he must have believed what he said, or there would have been others there instead.

I think Ryan did a commendable job in 2014, filling in for Manny at 3rd.

Can Ryan play better at 3rd, yes, without a doubt, but he isn't Jeter at Short either.

I honestly feel like Buck's appraisal of defensive value is just whether or not Buck likes a player, it doesn't seem to have any basis in any verifiable fact.

Derek Jeter's worst season at SS was -27 DRS over 1352 innings, Flaherty is -8 DRS in his MLB career in 391 innings, which is on pace for about -27.5 DRS over 1352 innings.  So yeah, he's Jeter at his worst bad. 

[Redskins Rick]

1 minute ago, phillyOs119 said:

I honestly feel like Buck's appraisal of defensive value is just whether or not Buck likes a player, it doesn't seem to have any basis in any verifiable fact.

Derek Jeter's worst season at SS was -27 DRS over 1352 innings, Flaherty is -8 DRS in his MLB career in 391 innings, which is on pace for about -27.5 DRS over 1352 innings.  So yeah, he's Jeter at his worst bad. 

You cant put a player on the bench and play him periodically and then try and look at his metrics, they wont compare to an everyday player, Buck has said that more than once. I think Ryan also proved that when somebody got hurt and he became an everyday player, he did bat and field better. His performance in 2014 was commendable.

Sorry, you can disagree with somebody opinion, and we all have opinions. But, keep in mind, Buck's number 1 goal is to "win baby, win" and so his decisions on based off that.

To say his MLB appraisal of defensive value is just whether he likes the person is really out there and I strongly disagree, but its all good.

 

[Redskins Rick]

10 minutes ago, wildcard said:

I am with Rick.   I am betting that Buck and Dan will have a utility infielder that can backup SS well defensively.   They don't want to design a team that requires moving Manny or Schoop when they want to gave Beckham a break.

Buck has said, that its easier for left side of the diamond players to move mid-game and cover right side of the diamond positions, then vice versa.

[Il BuonO]

48 minutes ago, Redskins Rick said:

If Buck is the manager of this team, his rule of thumb is, the first utility guy on the bench has to play good defense at SS, everything is secondary.

Yeah I’m aware, but it’s ok to think outside the box.

[Redskins Rick]

1 minute ago, Il BuonO said:

Yeah I’m aware, but it’s ok to think outside the box.

Outside the box, thats more like putting Jones in leadoff.

[Luke-OH]

9 minutes ago, Redskins Rick said:

To say his MLB appraisal of defensive value is just whether he likes the person is really out there and I strongly disagree, but its all good.

 

It's cool, agree to disagree, but ever since Buck said Mark Reynolds was a good defender after the 2012 season, I've been paying close attention to how he uses rhetoric about defense in interviews and it seems suspect to me.