Most important player for 2018?

[weams]

ESPN 

 

American League

Baltimore Orioles: Mychal Givens, RP. Hey, a relief pitcher! (It will be a theme.) The Orioles don’t really have another strong candidate, especially with Jonathan Schoop getting some love with his breakout, All-Star performance in 2017. Givens has thrown 153 1/3 innings the past two seasons with a sub-3.00 ERA, which is something. Do you ever get the feeling Buck Showalter could find eight guys at a tryout camp and turn them into a useful bullpen?

 

 

[now]

28 minutes ago, foxfield said:

If Tillman and Bundy are great but they are the only two to be above average that will still not be enough.

Sure, and you could say the same about, say, Machado and Schoop.

[foxfield]

34 minutes ago, now said:

Sure, and you could say the same about, say, Machado and Schoop.

Exactly.  The Orioles have made the post season with Manny hurt and with Chris Davis suspended....

It's the starting pitching. If it is average or better this team will compete.

If not...it won't.

[now]

On 2/26/2018 at 8:52 AM, theobird said:

Colby Rasmus.  His defense makes this team much better, and I just have a feeling.

Plus, there's the Delmon Young factor: postseason moxie

.423 / .571 / 1.038 / 1.610

[Frobby]

7 hours ago, foxfield said:

Exactly.  The Orioles have made the post season with Manny hurt and with Chris Davis suspended....

It's the starting pitching. If it is average or better this team will compete.

If not...it won't.

It was not average or better in 2016.   It was 13th in the league.    Also not in 2012, when we were 9th.   And I’d say we competed in 2013, when we were 12th.

So, I don’t know that our starting pitching needs to be average or better for the team to compete.    Obviously, that would put us in a far better position.

[now]

Here's another way to answer the question: age.

Here's the age composition of the key players on this year's roster (rounding ages to years from https://www.rosterresource.com/mlb-baltimore-orioles)

23 Cisco, Santander, Cortes, Castro, Hays
24
25 Bundy, Ynoa, Mesa
26 Machado, Schoop, Mancini
27 Gausman
28 Beckham, Givens
29
30 Tillman, Bleier, Britton
31 Cashner, Brach, Alvarez
32 Davis, Trumbo, Rasmus, Joseph
33 Jones
34 Gentry
35 O'Day

summary:

23-25: 5
26-28: 6
30-32: 10
33-35: 3

Typically good teams are led by a core of players in their prime: ages 26-28. Much of the Orioles core has aged past that tier into their thirties, while the new crop (23) is just breaking in. In the middle we can look to Machado, Schoop, Mancini, Gausman, Beckham, and Givens to have career years and carry the club... or not. Again I would point to the lone man in the middle, Gausman at 27, as the keystone. But, based on his track record, no expectations of him living up to it!

[Frobby]

2 minutes ago, now said:

Here's another way to answer the question: age.

Here's the age composition of the key players on this year's roster (rounding ages to years from https://www.rosterresource.com/mlb-baltimore-orioles)

23 Cisco, Santander, Cortes, Castro, Hays
24
25 Bundy, Ynoa, Mesa
26 Machado, Schoop, Mancini
27 Gausman
28 Beckham, Givens
29
30 Tillman, Bleier, Britton
31 Cashner, Brach, Alvarez
32 Davis, Trumbo, Rasmus, Joseph
33 Jones
34 Gentry
35 O'Day

summary:

23-25: 5
26-28: 6
30-32: 10
33-35: 3

Typically good teams are led by a core of players in their prime: ages 26-28. Much of the Orioles core has aged past that tier into their thirties, while the new crop (23) is just breaking in. In the middle we can look to Machado, Schoop, Mancini, Gausman, Beckham, and Givens to have career years and carry the club... or not. Again I would point to the lone man in the middle, Gausman at 27, as the keystone. But, based on his track record, no expectations of him living up to it!

That core in the middle is pretty nice, but it’s certainly the case that we now have a number of guys who are past their prime.    

[MarCakes21]

Bump.

So anyone have new stances on the most important player?  Or who is the most important player from here on out?  

 

Machado has established that he's elite, and should (NEEDS) to be traded.

Maybe at this point its Britton/Brach as they have potential value that needs to be revived.  Or Jones to get him to a contender and revive value.