Tony-OH on Vinny & Haynie (105.7)

[Redskins Rick]

6 minutes ago, interloper said:

My opinion is he is kind of just a two pitch pitcher. He has the good fastball and the good split-changeup. Needs a reliable slider. Sometimes the changeup wouldn't do its thing and then he'd get into trouble. 

2 pitch pitchers dont become TOR.

He must have shown more than 2 pitches in college

[Tx Oriole]

5 hours ago, Redskins Rick said:

I get that the Gausman deal was a crappy deal, time will tell if it get a bit better for the Orioles or worse, but at the end of the day, it was a salary dump through and through.

But, at some point, we need to move on.

Everybody involved with that, are gone from the system.

The boys are in charge Elias is here with a plan.

You are right. Time to move on. 

[OFFNY]

o

 

 

WEDNESDAY, MAY 22nd

************************

 

VINNY & HAYNIE:) You were in AA-Bowie last night. Can you tell us about Dean Kremer ??? What is a realistic clock for him to come to the Majors ???

TONY PENTE:)l Yes, I saw him make his AA-level debut last night. I think that we will probably see him up with the Orioles sometime next year. He has all the stuff that you want see in a young, top prospect. He came out smoking last night, striking out the side on 14 pitches in the 1st inning ........ but then his command left him, and that is the first time that I have have seen him lose his command since he came over from the Dodgers last year. His velocity is excellent at about 96 MPH for his fastball, and he has a very good curve-ball also. He gets a lot of swings-and misses, which we know is very important for a lot of pitchers. A big question for his chances of long-term success in the Majors will probably wind up being, "how good will his change-up be?" I see him as the 3rd or 4th best prospect in our system right now.

 

VINNY & HAYNIE:) Luis Ortiz came over from Milwaukee, in the Jonathan Schoop trade. Is there any optimism about him from your angle ???

TONY PENTE:)l Considering who they are throwing out there now, yes. With Josh Lucas and company, why not ??? That said, ever since he came over from the Brewers last season, we haven't seen it. He velocity is not that great, his slider is inconsistent, his change-up is inconsistent, and he has a bloated ERA. And with him being unable to command the ball consistently, I think that it's pretty clear that something is not going right with him, BUT ........ there is no reason to give up on a guy like that, no reason why we can't keep him down at AAA-Norfolk for a long time to see if something eventually clicks. Perhaps we can make him a 2-pitch pitcher, and see if that changes things for the better.

 

VINNY & HAYNIE:)l Your assessment on David Hess ???

TONY PENTE:)l The long ball is obviously not his friend, as he leads the Majors with 17 of them ceded to opposing batters. He is who I thought he was, a fastball-slider guy that belongs in the bullpen ........ but he is getting overexposed as a starter right now because the Orioles' choices are limited, and he is being pressed into action in an area (starting pitcher) which is not beneficial to him. It's clear that guys are barreling him. Ultimately he is a bullpen guy, and he probably needs to focus on a fastball-slider combination. 

 

VINNY & HAYNIE:)l How many prospects do we have, and how many are just roster guys ???

TONY PENTE:)l The system is not as bad as some think, especially with the pitching. Grayson Rodriguez is not only one of the top Orioles prospects, he is also one of the top prospects in all of baseball. Some say that he would be the best pitcher in the SEC (Southeastern Conference) if he were a freshman in college right now, and that is a huge compliment. D.L. Hall is also a top-100 prospect in all of baseball, and these 2 guys could eventually wind up being TOR (Top-of-the-Rotation) starters. Additionally, Dean Kremer, Blaine Knight, Michale Baumann, Zac Lowther, and even Keegan Akin are all guys that could eventually be Major League starting pitchers. For position-players, there is Ryan Mountcastle, and not much else. He could probably be in Majors right now, but he will probably stay down in AAA-Norfolk for clock reasons. D.J. Stewart has hit .423 with a .492 OBP in his last 14 games down at AAA-Norfolk. If Dwight Smith Jr keeps making those defensive gaffes out in left-field, we might see him get an opportunity pretty soon.

 

o

[Frobby]

6 minutes ago, OFFNY said:

TONY PENTE:)l The long ball is obviously not his friend, as he leads the Majors with 17 of them ceded to opposing batters. 

I’m guessing this is the “Patrick Paraphrase,” not Tony’s actual words, right?    There’s only two people on this board who ever use the word “ceded,” and one of them’s me and other other one is definitely not Tony.  

Fantastic summary.   I’d planned to listen but ended up missing it, but this is just about as good!

[makoman]

This thread is great cause I can avoid listening to Vinny 

I will say that it's pretty disappointing for him to say we've got "Mountcastle and not much else" as position players, when still have former top-100 guys Hays, Diaz, and Sisco down there...disappointing because the truth hurts, since they haven't done much at all this year other than Sisco's insane hot streak that seems to have ended. Hopefully they can get themselves back on track.

[OFFNY]

23 minutes ago, makoman said:

 

This thread is great, because I can avoid listening to Vinny.  ) 

I will say that it's pretty disappointing for him to say we've got "Mountcastle and not much else" as position players, when still have former top-100 guys Hays, Diaz, and Sisco down there ........ disappointing because the truth hurts, since they haven't done much at all this year other than Sisco's insane hot streak that seems to have ended.

Hopefully, they can get themselves back on track.

 

o

 

Keep in mind that I am paraphrasing ........ hence, a thing or 2 may get lost in translation over the course of the interview(s.) 

I thought that that was what Tony said, but I wouldn't swear to it.

 

o

[Dark Helmet]

On 5/10/2019 at 12:11 AM, Mendoza Line said:

The Gausman deal wasn't good. But he's not the next Arrieta like a bunch of people were clamoring he was after his hot start post-trade.

He's not some guy that was suffering from poor coaching during his tenure in Baltimore.  The numbers, projections, and results seem to suggest he is what he is.  Basically a number #3 starter.  Yes we should have gotten more, and it was salary dump, but it wasn't like we gave away a CY caliber pitcher for peanuts.

Chris Archer isn't much if any better than Gausman, and they got Glasnow for him. The Orioles wasted if not a great, atleast a good SP in a pitching starved market to save money on O'day.  It was a bad trade no matter how you slice it.

[theocean]

On 5/9/2019 at 9:06 PM, OFFNY said:

o

 

Please keep in mind that when I post radio interviews of Tony Pente and Roy Firestone, I am paraphrasing ...... subsequently, there may be a thing or two in my transcriptions that may be somewhat amiss.

 

o

Thanks for everything you do here. You make OH a much better place with your contributions!

[LookinUp]

2 hours ago, OFFNY said:

oKeep in mind that I am paraphrasing ........ hence, a thing or 2 may get lost in translation over the course of the interview(s.) 

I thought that that was what Tony said, but I wouldn't swear to it.o

I didn't listen, but I suspect the question was either about top prospects or about prospects performing well now. I'm guessing he wouldn't think Hays and Diaz are non-prospects at this point.

1 hour ago, Dark Helmet said:

It was a bad trade no matter how you slice it.

I get your point, but it was a great trade financially. The O's saved over $10 million on O'Day. We can act like that's not a big deal, but if it were my money, I'd have probably taken that deal and hoped I could get my own prospects for a much smaller investment.

[Tony-OH]

3 hours ago, Frobby said:

I’m guessing this is the “Patrick Paraphrase,” not Tony’s actual words, right?    There’s only two people on this board who ever use the word “ceded,” and one of them’s me and other other one is definitely not Tony.  

Fantastic summary.   I’d planned to listen but ended up missing it, but this is just about as good!

Haha, yes, Patrick does a great job of paraphrasing a live interview and I appreciate him doing so, but don't think these are my actual words. 

[Tony-OH]

3 hours ago, makoman said:

This thread is great cause I can avoid listening to Vinny 

I will say that it's pretty disappointing for him to say we've got "Mountcastle and not much else" as position players, when still have former top-100 guys Hays, Diaz, and Sisco down there...disappointing because the truth hurts, since they haven't done much at all this year other than Sisco's insane hot streak that seems to have ended. Hopefully they can get themselves back on track.

Just be clear, I meant not much else close to helping or becoming everyday starters. I would have included Hays but he's been scuffling since coming back from his injury. I still think Diaz has a shot despite his struggles and injury, but Mountcastle is honestly the only impact bat in the system, with Hays probably second when it come to upside.

[Tony-OH]

36 minutes ago, LookinUp said:

I didn't listen, but I suspect the question was either about top prospects or about prospects performing well now. I'm guessing he wouldn't think Hays and Diaz are non-prospects at this point.

I get your point, but it was a great trade financially. The O's saved over $10 million on O'Day. We can act like that's not a big deal, but if it were my money, I'd have probably taken that deal and hoped I could get my own prospects for a much smaller investment.

Nope, I think they are probably the #2 and #3 best hitters in the system behind Mountcastle. I just didn't think they were close to helping right now with their injuries and lack of success so far this season.

[LookinUp]

6 minutes ago, Tony-OH said:

Nope, I think they are probably the #2 and #3 best hitters in the system behind Mountcastle. I just didn't think they were close to helping right now with their injuries and lack of success so far this season.

Exactly what I would have guessed! I'm sure you don't get to flesh out every single angle possible while on a few minute radio spot. lol

[OFFNY]

o

 

 

THURSDAY, AUGUST 8th

**************************

 

VINNY & HAYNIE:) The Chris Davis/Brandon Hyde situation ???

TONY PENTE:)l After reading up on it and watching the videos multiple times, I believe 100 percent that Davis needs to go ........ there is nothing else to do. He is a veteran who, from many accounts, was dogging it. Hyde called him on it, pinch-hit for him, and Davis went off after his manager. I love that Hyde stands up and voices his frustrations, regardless of the team's overall record (in fact, largely because of it) ........ when you get your butt kicked, you should be frustrated, not acting like it's a beer league softball game. I hope that it's time to move on from Davis, I hope that ownership will let it happen. There is simply nothing left for him to do on the field, and now he has become an additional distraction off of the field. In regard to the suggestion that this incident could "Light a fire" under Davis' butt, there is no more fire to light. He obviously is not a productive MLB hitter anymore, as his numbers clearly illustrate. It's not for a lack of trying, it's because of a lack of ability/diminished skills.

 

VINNY & HAYNIE:) in light of the barrage of home runs by the Yankees in Baltimore, Hyde frankly stated that the Orioles' pitching is simply not good enough. For people who don't follow Minor League affiliates closely, who would be the closest pitcher(s) that could help as soon as the 2020 season ??? 

TONY PENTE:)l I have a lot of optimism in the upper levels of the Minors (AAA, AA, and Advanced-A), especially with the pitching. One caveat is that it may be 2 or 2 and-a-half years away, though. Guys like Zac Lowther, Alex Wells, and Dean Kremer are all almost undoubtedly headed to the Orioles ........ it's simply a question of how fast they will push forward to get there. At the AAA-level, the only guy that stands out is Keegan Akin. As the season has progressed, his velocity has fallen off and he has taken a step back. He was pitching a lot better earlier in the season. It could be simply that he has a tired arm. But he is definitely in the conversation as to whether or not he will be up with the Parent Club in 2020.

 

VINNY & HAYNIE:)l Would you say that it's highly likely that Dillon Tate and Hunter Harvey will be strictly bullpen pitchers from here on out ??????

TONY PENTE:)l Yes, that would be the the quickest way for them to arrive at (and remain at) the Major League level. When you don't have secondaries and you want a quick hike/promotion, this (the bullpen) is the best way. Guys like D.L. Hall and Grayson Rodriguez will be starters no matter what level l they are pitching at, but yeah, you will probably will be seeing Tate and Harvey strictly in relief roles in the foreseen future. 

 

VINNY & HAYNIE:)l How do you anticipate Ryan Mountcastle's role/early career at Major League level ???  And has he been showing that he can be good (or at least serviceable) defensively at at least one position ???

TONY PENTE:)l I talked with Gary Kendall (the MGR of the AAA-Norfolk Tides), and he said that he has improved at both 1B at LF ........ he simply needs more time to continue to develop his skills at both positions. I have not seen him challenged much in terms of having to track down balls hit at hard/difficult routes in the outfield, but his arm looked really good on one specific throw that I saw him make recently. I love the prospect of him getting a shot at LF with the Orioles, because if he can be successful out there, that would increase his value more so than if he were to land at 1B. This is due to the fact that 1B is a position in which more players can be proficient at than those who play LF. In regard to his offense, I am not overly concerned about his lack of Walks because he his hitting above .300. If a guy is batting only .260, I would be particularly concerned about his corresponding Walk rate ........ but if a guy is batting .300 or higher, that high Batting Average can atone for somebody if said player draws Walks at a low rate.

 

VINNY & HAYNIE:)l What about Austin Hayes and his injury issues over the last 2 seasons ??? 

TONY PENTE:)  He is still a guy with lots of talent, despite the injuries. He is solid defensively in CF, as he has the tools and the speed to stay out there. Offensively, he has power to all fields, and he can barrel the ball ........ BUT ........ the injuries are starting to mount up, and that factor is likely affecting his development because of it. It is hard to make that assessment right this minute because of the injuries, as I suspect that he will slip back because of them. I would love nothing more than to see a break-out season for him next year, but it's not easy to predict that because you don't know whether or not he will stay healthy. And even if he does, he may not necessarily be as productive as might be hoped for in light of his missing so much time due to all of his recent injuries. That said, Anthony Santander missed a lot of playing time in 2017 and 2018 due to injuries, and he came up and rose to the Major League level pretty quickly (9 HR, 13 2B, and a line of .297/.342/.840 in 53 Major League games so far this season), so anything is possible. 

 

o

[Greg Pappas]

Thank you so much @OFFNY for transcribing @Tony-OH's appearance. That's a lot of work... much appreciated.