2018 Mike Wright

[SteveA]

Not only are we talking about Wright as a starter, but he's our [spring training] Opening Day starter.

That's right, we've waited 145 days for Orioles baseball and our reward Friday is seeing the first pitch thrown by Mike Wright!

[esmd]

Well, he can't say Buck isn't giving him an opportunity to excel.  He's got the arm, I'm just not sure he has the makeup in between the ears.  But we'll see.

[Frobby]

20 minutes ago, SteveA said:

Not only are we talking about Wright as a starter, but he's our [spring training] Opening Day starter.

That's right, we've waited 145 days for Orioles baseball and our reward Friday is seeing the first pitch thrown by Mike Wright!

Meh, it’s two innings at most.    I hope he does well.

[oriole]

Putting him on display early for a possible trade? Even if he has a good spring Wright is not the type of pitcher I trust. He seems to be a head case on the mound and he's out of options. Let's see if we can see a return of any kind for him instead of DFA at the end of ST.

[jamalshw]

2 hours ago, oriole said:

Putting him on display early for a possible trade? Even if he has a good spring Wright is not the type of pitcher I trust. He seems to be a head case on the mound and he's out of options. Let's see if we can see a return of any kind for him instead of DFA at the end of ST.

The only return you will get is a similar type player: a guy out of options at a different position. Perhaps another team will be convinced he can be a solid reliever, but even so, you can get a very raw low-A player with a reasonable upside, but a low likelihood of reach it...at best.

[oriole]

16 minutes ago, jamalshw said:

The only return you will get is a similar type player: a guy out of options at a different position. Perhaps another team will be convinced he can be a solid reliever, but even so, you can get a very raw low-A player with a reasonable upside, but a low likelihood of reach it...at best.

It was just my guess as to why he is being put out so early. He doesn't have much of a chance as a starter and the bullpen is already pretty full. 

[TGO]

Any quotes from Sarasota yet on how the ball is coming out of his hand?

[jamalshw]

25 minutes ago, oriole said:

It was just my guess as to why he is being put out so early. He doesn't have much of a chance as a starter and the bullpen is already pretty full. 

I think he has a shot in the pen. The rotation has one open spot. If I had to guess, it goes to Cortes unless someone else is signed. For the pen (with Britton out) there are four locks: Brach, O'Day, Givens and Bleier. That leaves three spots. One of those spots will be a long reliever. I would imagine Miguel Castro gets one of those spots unless he makes the rotation, but he could also be sent to Triple-A to continue to be stretched out as a starter to provide much-needed depth in the rotation. If that's the case, the long reliever spot could go to Wright or Ynoa. I think one of the two doesn't make the cut and is DFA'ed or dealt for a PTNL/cash, but I think one stays. It's possible both do, but I would think at least one of vacant spots goes to a LHP (Hart) and other arms like Edgin, Melville, Wojciechowski, Mesa, Asher, Araujo, Crichton, Liranzo, etc. will all get looks, too.

[theobird]

13 minutes ago, TGO said:

Any quotes from Sarasota yet on how the ball is coming out of his hand?

I hear he is really spinning it well.

[Frobby]

Here’s a pretty strained article by Melewski trying to compare Wright’s situation to Chris Tillman’s back in 2012 or so.   http://www.masnsports.com/steve-melewski/2018/02/can-mike-wright-follow-chris-tillmans-path-to-turnaround.html

Well yeah, Wright’s like any other pitcher who ever lived who struggled for three years and was out of options.     But the Tillman analogy doesn’t hold up for at least three reasons:

1.   Tillman wasn’t out of options when he broke out.    His third option was used to send him down  at the start of 2012, he was called up before the all star break and never looked back.   

2.   Tillman was still only 24 when he finally got over the hump, and he debuted at 21.   Wright’s 28 this year and was 25 the first time he reached the majors.

3.    The article grudgingly admits about halfway through that Wright was never a top 100 prospect in baseball, unlike Tillman.   Tillman was, in fact, ranked 22nd by BA and 16th by BP going into 2009.   He was much, much more highly regarded than Wright, for good reason.  

So, nice try, Steve.   I do hope the fourth time’s the charm for Wright and he finds a way to be a productive major leaguer.   

[millertime]

I’m no scout but I just don’t see (and have never seen) why the O’s are so enamored with Wright.  I could understand if he had a few appearances where he showed flashes of being a good MLB starter but he just hasn’t.  If they’re trotting him out there “hoping” he has a few nice starts in order to try and trade him, fine but I honestly don’t think that’s the case.

[Il BuonO]

22 minutes ago, millertime said:

I’m no scout but I just don’t see (and have never seen) why the O’s are so enamored with Wright.  I could understand if he had a few appearances where he showed flashes of being a good MLB starter but he just hasn’t.  If they’re trotting him out there “hoping” he has a few nice starts in order to try and trade him, fine but I honestly don’t think that’s the case.

Enamored is a stretch, even the Orioles aren’t that blind. Out of the guys who are vying for the 5th spot, I’d put Wright at the back of the line. He’s behind the Rule 5 guys. If he looks good and can bring any value in trade then they come out ahead.

I really hope Wright does well in any case, though, just because of all he and his family have personally suffered.

[weams]

1 hour ago, millertime said:

I’m no scout but I just don’t see (and have never seen) why the O’s are so enamored with Wright.  I could understand if he had a few appearances where he showed flashes of being a good MLB starter but he just hasn’t.  If they’re trotting him out there “hoping” he has a few nice starts in order to try and trade him, fine but I honestly don’t think that’s the case.

He has the tools to be good. I've heard it stated that his only problems are within himself.  Supposedly, hope springs eternal that those failures could be corrected. As opposed to his old stablemate Tyler Wilson, who had no stuff. 

[Frobby]

15 minutes ago, weams said:

He has the tools to be good. I've heard it stated that his only problems are within himself.  Supposedly, hope springs eternal that those failures could be corrected. As opposed to his old stablemate Tyler Wilson, who had no stuff. 

I dunno.   Decent fastball but not much movement and mediocre command of it; very mediocre secondaries.    I’m not so sure I’d say he has the tools to be good.   

[Number5]

2 hours ago, Frobby said:

Here’s a pretty strained article by Melewski trying to compare Wright’s situation to Chris Tillman’s back in 2012 or so.   http://www.masnsports.com/steve-melewski/2018/02/can-mike-wright-follow-chris-tillmans-path-to-turnaround.html

Well yeah, Wright’s like any other pitcher who ever lived who struggled for three years and was out of options.     But the Tillman analogy doesn’t hold up for at least three reasons:

1.   Tillman wasn’t out of options when he broke out.    His third option was used to send him down  at the start of 2012, he was called up before the all star break and never looked back.   

2.   Tillman was still only 24 when he finally got over the hump, and he debuted at 21.   Wright’s 28 this year and was 25 the first time he reached the majors.

3.    The article grudgingly admits about halfway through that Wright was never a top 100 prospect in baseball, unlike Tillman.   Tillman was, in fact, ranked 22nd by BA and 16th by BP going into 2009.   He was much, much more highly regarded than Wright, for good reason.  

So, nice try, Steve.   I do hope the fourth time’s the charm for Wright and he finds a way to be a productive major leaguer.