There Are Rumblings That the O's Will Not Take Rutschman

[glenn__davis]

30 minutes ago, Riggodrill44 said:

I'm not a scout, so i'm not sweating who we draft. I like to look at the big picture and find 4-5 3.0 war players from this draft.

Yeah - honestly to me having pick 1:1 is pretty exciting, but I'm always a lot more interested in rounds 2-10.  That's where you get the idea of what the general draft philosophy, was and you start seeing who those potential "overslot" picks might be.

As always, a lot of hyperbole around the top picks.  

[jabba72]

Taking a catcher 1-1 is risky, because he'll be sitting 30-35 games per year at a minimum.  The O's also have no depth at SS in the system which makes me want Witt or Abrams. I would be fine with either of those players.

[JMU_Birdfan]

41 minutes ago, interloper said:

I keep thinking back to the winter when Elias said he was losing sleep trying to figure out SS/infield options. And he proceeded to claim a million infielders and select one in the Rule 5 draft. That has always made me wonder if he prefers Witt in this draft to get some semblance of MIF talent in the organization. 

Quality post, I've had similar thoughts but am hoping he addresses this by taking some SS/infield guys in the second round and below. AR and then Mathew Lugo (Puerto Rico Academy #1 Prospect) is my dream scenario

[wildbillhiccup]

2 minutes ago, jabba72 said:

Taking a catcher 1-1 is risky, because he'll be sitting 30-35 games per year at a minimum.  The O's also have no depth at SS in the system which makes me want Witt or Abrams. I would be fine with either of those players.

...but Rutschman is great behind the dish too right? Wouldn't having a great defensive catcher who can call a great game, frame pitches, etc. also have a positive impact on our young pitchers? Also, I'm not sure I'm buying your must sit out minimums. JT Realmuto had 500+ at bats in 2016 and 2017. If he hits they'll find a way to get him the lineup. They just need to give him days off from catching not from playing. 

[jamalshw]

It's seems pretty clear Rutschman is the widely regarded best player in the draft within the industry as a whole which to me makes taking him a no brainer. Even if positionally you prefer someone else, he's got added value within the industry making him the more valuable asset. The Orioles aren't in a position where they're just needing a SS of the future and have the rest of the 2022 roster in place. We're still early enough in the rebuild that it should be about asset acquisition. Adley is the best asset.

[SteveA]

33 minutes ago, OregonBird said:

My friend teaches HS math with ARs mom.  I texted her to see if Mrs R is giving any “tells”.

I really hope it’s Adley.

You mean like maybe she comes to school with Jeremy Guthrie's old "These O's ain't Royal" shirt.

That would be a clue.

[wildbillhiccup]

...and if the Rockies stay in contention the Orioles should offer them anyone on their roster for one of their MANY 2B / SS prospects. That would solve our MI problem.  With Story, Hampson, McMahon and Rodgers at least one of them should be expendable. Offer them Bundy / GIvens for Rodgers. 

[makoman]

55 minutes ago, DrungoHazewood said:

It's the draft.  If you're not in the top 5% you've failed in the eyes of the fans and the chattering classes.  It's like championships.  You win 97 games and make it to the ALCS and lose: fail. 

About one-third of players selected at 1:1 have ended up with 5 WAR or less careers.  We all hope whomever they pick will be great, but there's about a 80-90% chance he's not going to be Buster Posey.

I cringe every time I see “I expect a borderline HOFer at 1-1” or “Ben McDonald was a total disaster.” People need to get their expectations in check or they’re just asking for disappointment. 

[jabba72]

4 minutes ago, wildbillhiccup said:

...but Rutschman is great behind the dish too right? Wouldn't having a great defensive catcher who can call a great game, frame pitches, etc. also have a positive impact on our young pitchers? Also, I'm not sure I'm buying your must sit out minimums. JT Realmuto had 500+ at bats in 2016 and 2017. If he hits they'll find a way to get him the lineup. They just need to give him days off from catching not from playing. 

Realmuto's career high in games started at Catcher is 125, they moved him to 1B for roughly 8-10 starts every year to keep his bat in the lineup. Still, his career high in games in a season is 137. Thats missing 25 games minimum and playing 1B in 10 others. 

[LookinUp]

1 hour ago, Frobby said:

Sisco is more likely to be a decent major league starting catcher than any of our shortstops are to be a decent major league starting SS.   And I don’t say that because I’m in love with Sisco.    The game gets harder as you move up the ladder and Sisco has had success at every level of the minors, was a top 100 prospect a few times and has played in the majors and is still young.    None of our shortstops has ever been considered a top 100 prospect and they are playing at much lower levels of the minors at this point so there’s no saying how they’ll progress as they move up.   

I hate that this is true, but it is true.

17 minutes ago, wildbillhiccup said:

...but Rutschman is great behind the dish too right? Wouldn't having a great defensive catcher who can call a great game, frame pitches, etc. also have a positive impact on our young pitchers? Also, I'm not sure I'm buying your must sit out minimums. JT Realmuto had 500+ at bats in 2016 and 2017. If he hits they'll find a way to get him the lineup. They just need to give him days off from catching not from playing. 

Exactly. Having Rutschman catching Hall and Rodriguez is a wonderful thing.

10 minutes ago, jabba72 said:

Realmuto's career high in games started at Catcher is 125, they moved him to 1B for roughly 8-10 starts every year to keep his bat in the lineup. Still, his career high in games in a season is 137. Thats missing 25 games minimum and playing 1B in 10 others. 

In the National League, where there's no DH.

[LookinUp]

15 minutes ago, wildbillhiccup said:

...and if the Rockies stay in contention the Orioles should offer them anyone on their roster for one of their MANY 2B / SS prospects. That would solve our MI problem.  With Story, Hampson, McMahon and Rodgers at least one of them should be expendable. Offer them Bundy / GIvens for Rodgers. 

Exactly. I was hearing today that only 1/3 of the Astros roster was drafted by Houston. Talent acquisition will take many forms.

[Hank Scorpio]

Elias is an extremely intelligent guy. He 1000% knows he cannot screw this up.

Relax and have some faith.

[Just Regular]

13 minutes ago, jabba72 said:

Realmuto's career high in games started at Catcher is 125, they moved him to 1B for roughly 8-10 starts every year to keep his bat in the lineup. Still, his career high in games in a season is 137. Thats missing 25 games minimum and playing 1B in 10 others. 

I think you only need to look to other clubs for comps if you are a new enough Orioles fan not to recall how Buck used Wieters.  130, 139, 144 and 148 games over a 4-year period.  I remember when the Jake Fox spring earned himself the backup job and then he didn't play until about the 14th game.

[Greg Pappas]

22 minutes ago, jabba72 said:

Realmuto's career high in games started at Catcher is 125, they moved him to 1B for roughly 8-10 starts every year to keep his bat in the lineup. Still, his career high in games in a season is 137. Thats missing 25 games minimum and playing 1B in 10 others. 

Which position, between catcher and SS, do you feel has more of an impact in any given game?

For me, as has been stated numerous times throughout these threads, the answer is far and away catcher. A catcher is involved in every single pitch while we are on the field, whereas a shortstop is involved in a fair number of batted balls and other situations like covering a bag or relays. 

[weams]