Lack of infield heir apparents

[Luke-OH]

40 minutes ago, jabba72 said:

If he shows he has a bat im sure the Orioles would like an in-house option.  

I haven't watched him play defense, but every report I can find says he's a fringe defender at best at 3B and that he's a better fit at 1B. I don't doubt that he made a nice play or two, but I'd be skeptical about his ability to play 3B. 

[Camden_yardbird]

The last time the Orioles didn't have an heir apparent at SS they went out and bought low on JJ Hardy.  Not every answer comes from the organization, sometimes the benefit of embracing the rebuild is giving chances to guys who have the potential to produce. 

[sportsfan8703]

Why is Drew Dosch not up?  

Ok we get it. A Valencia/Alvarez platoon would give us a cheap .800 OPS DH. Unfortunately, we have Trumbo signs up for that. That doesn’t mean that we can roll with the current mess at 3rd. 

It’s time to see what Dosch can do. Dosch is 25. Has a full season in AAA (142 games, 550+ PAs). Has a .761 OPS in AAA. That’s pretty much better or equal to what Alvarez, Sisco, and Mancini, put up down there. 

In his 142 games in AAA he has 42 doubles. That’s a lot. Especially considering that some of those would be homers in a smaller OPACY.  

It’s time. What is the plan?  Wait till July and sell off Valencia and Alvarez for some some 24 year old in A ball with a .600 OPS?  Is that worth it?  A flyer on some random guy?

It’s time for some changes. We need to start seeing what players like Dosch, Corban Joseph, Tim Melville can do. Not rushing prospects but let’s see what the older/successful guys can do with a shot. Cut bait with the 2 DHs. Tillman. Caleb. Mike Wright. 

[Camden_yardbird]

5 hours ago, sportsfan8703 said:

Why is Drew Dosch not up?  

Ok we get it. A Valencia/Alvarez platoon would give us a cheap .800 OPS DH. Unfortunately, we have Trumbo signs up for that. That doesn’t mean that we can roll with the current mess at 3rd. 

It’s time to see what Dosch can do. Dosch is 25. Has a full season in AAA (142 games, 550+ PAs). Has a .761 OPS in AAA. That’s pretty much better or equal to what Alvarez, Sisco, and Mancini, put up down there. 

In his 142 games in AAA he has 42 doubles. That’s a lot. Especially considering that some of those would be homers in a smaller OPACY.  

It’s time. What is the plan?  Wait till July and sell off Valencia and Alvarez for some some 24 year old in A ball with a .600 OPS?  Is that worth it?  A flyer on some random guy?

It’s time for some changes. We need to start seeing what players like Dosch, Corban Joseph, Tim Melville can do. Not rushing prospects but let’s see what the older/successful guys can do with a shot. Cut bait with the 2 DHs. Tillman. Caleb. Mike Wright. 

I saw Dosch in Hartford last year with Bowie on a team that had Hays on it.  I remembered him, not because he had a huge game, but because his approach batting and his contact were solid.  He looked like a more finisged product than Hays.

[sportsfan8703]

4 hours ago, Roy Firestone said:

We should've signed Moustakas when we had the chance...4 years at 50million would've been an insurance policy for Manny, and they could've played together for half a season. Moustakas will be available again. He's a no brainer for us.Hits for power and plays good defense and he's relatively young....No brainer.

I see what you’re saying. But he’s low OBP, and how long will that Defense last?  

[Can_of_corn]

5 minutes ago, sportsfan8703 said:

I see what you’re saying. But he’s low OBP, and how long will that Defense last?  

That signing would have fit perfectly between the Davis and Trumbo deals.

[Legend_Of_Joey]

9 hours ago, Camden_yardbird said:

I saw Dosch in Hartford last year with Bowie on a team that had Hays on it.  I remembered him, not because he had a huge game, but because his approach batting and his contact were solid.  He looked like a more finisged product than Hays.

His defense is his big issue. It seems better now, but in a short look because he was out for a while.

If his defense improved and his bat stays good, I want to see him in Baltimore this summer.

[Three Run Homer]

If you liked Deivi Cruz, you'll love the O's shortstops for the next few seasons.  

[Luke-OH]

On 5/18/2018 at 8:38 AM, Camden_yardbird said:

I saw Dosch in Hartford last year with Bowie on a team that had Hays on it.  I remembered him, not because he had a huge game, but because his approach batting and his contact were solid.  He looked like a more finisged product than Hays.

He should be, he's three years older.

He swings and miss too much for his power production, but he's a solid hitter, contact quality is good. Like Joey said he's not good defensively, but definitely playable at 3B. It all adds up to a fringe profile and without any positional flexibility, it's going to be tough for him to make a MLB roster. 

Now the wildcard is whether his fringe average power will play up enough with the major league ball in Camden Yards to have a few years as a regular at 3B. It's not likely, but the way the season is going, why not give it a shot. 

[Lucky_13]

On 5/18/2018 at 3:35 AM, sportsfan8703 said:

Why is Drew Dosch not up?  

Ok we get it. A Valencia/Alvarez platoon would give us a cheap .800 OPS DH. Unfortunately, we have Trumbo signs up for that. That doesn’t mean that we can roll with the current mess at 3rd. 

It’s time to see what Dosch can do. Dosch is 25. Has a full season in AAA (142 games, 550+ PAs). Has a .761 OPS in AAA. That’s pretty much better or equal to what Alvarez, Sisco, and Mancini, put up down there. 

In his 142 games in AAA he has 42 doubles. That’s a lot. Especially considering that some of those would be homers in a smaller OPACY.  

It’s time. What is the plan?  Wait till July and sell off Valencia and Alvarez for some some 24 year old in A ball with a .600 OPS?  Is that worth it?  A flyer on some random guy?

It’s time for some changes. We need to start seeing what players like Dosch, Corban Joseph, Tim Melville can do. Not rushing prospects but let’s see what the older/successful guys can do with a shot. Cut bait with the 2 DHs. Tillman. Caleb. Mike Wright. 

This is what I want to know too. He doesn't hit for a ton of power but they already have enough power hitters on the team. Even if he's just average at third, that's an improvement over Valencia. 

[Legend_Of_Joey]

1 hour ago, Luke-OH said:

He should be, he's three years older.

He swings and miss too much for his power production, but he's a solid hitter, contact quality is good. Like Joey said he's not good defensively, but definitely playable at 3B. It all adds up to a fringe profile and without any positional flexibility, it's going to be tough for him to make a MLB roster. 

Now the wildcard is whether his fringe average power will play up enough with the major league ball in Camden Yards to have a few years as a regular at 3B. It's not likely, but the way the season is going, why not give it a shot. 

Right now, Dosch leads the Tides with 11 doubles, despite missing nearly a month with a hamstring injury.

I haven't seen him much this season so I'm not sure if they are "deep fly balls" doubles or "split the gap" ones. In Bowie, he was driving it into the gap.

His defense has been better, in a small sample. If Peterson or Alvarez get hurt, I wouldn't have an issue with seeing what he can do. Left handed hitter and a natural third baseman. I know Alvarez and Valencia started there too, but...

[Camden_yardbird]

9 hours ago, Luke-OH said:

He should be, he's three years older.

He swings and miss too much for his power production, but he's a solid hitter, contact quality is good. Like Joey said he's not good defensively, but definitely playable at 3B. It all adds up to a fringe profile and without any positional flexibility, it's going to be tough for him to make a MLB roster. 

Now the wildcard is whether his fringe average power will play up enough with the major league ball in Camden Yards to have a few years as a regular at 3B. It's not likely, but the way the season is going, why not give it a shot. 

Last year we saw a lot of power increase from the minors to the majors.  Is that happening again this year and could that happen for Dosch?

Maybe with a more pull happy hitting approach?

[Legend_Of_Joey]

42 minutes ago, Camden_yardbird said:

Last year we saw a lot of power increase from the minors to the majors.  Is that happening again this year and could that happen for Dosch?

Maybe with a more pull happy hitting approach?

That's a possibility. Dosch actually goes opposite field a good amount with solid contact. He is one person I wouldn't want to change their hitting approach though. As Luke pointed out, his power is fringy as is. Look at what is going on with Sisco. I can't pinpoint it, but his swing and approach seem different than the minors and he is struggling.

[Luke-OH]

9 hours ago, Legend_Of_Joey said:

That's a possibility. Dosch actually goes opposite field a good amount with solid contact. He is one person I wouldn't want to change their hitting approach though. As Luke pointed out, his power is fringy as is. Look at what is going on with Sisco. I can't pinpoint it, but his swing and approach seem different than the minors and he is struggling.

Well, it is fringy, but pulling the ball more (if a player can do it without compromising their hitting mechanics) allows power to play up. A good example of this is Brian Dozier, he hit 42 home runs in 2016. He has average raw power at best, his max exit velocity in that 2016 season was 107.7 (good for 366th in the league that year), but he was able to hit home runs because he hit a ton of balls in the air and pulled a lot of them.

JJ Hardy is a similar case, not much raw power. He hit 30 HR in 2011, and not coincidentally, he also had the highest pull rate and the highest flyball rates of his career.

Pulling the ball, especially pulling the ball in the air = more home runs. Plenty of guys are very very good MLB players without an all-fields approach. Guys like Bordick beat it into everyone's head every O's broadcast, so I think it gets seriously overrated. If you have the bat speed and ability to stay back, pulling the ball is the best option. Pull percentage has positive correlations with wRC+, HR, HR/FB rate.

Of course, a pull heavy approach isn't for everyone and it can give pitchers areas of the plate to attack a hitter with, I'm just trying to make the point that being pull happy itself isn't necessarily a bad thing and for some can be a very good thing.

 

[Frobby]

On 5/18/2018 at 12:54 PM, Roy Firestone said:

We should've signed Moustakas when we had the chance...4 years at 50million would've been an insurance policy for Manny, and they could've played together for half a season. Moustakas will be available again. He's a no brainer for us.Hits for power and plays good defense and he's relatively young....No brainer.

Disagree.    I want a younger team, not a bunch of so-so veterans.