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O's outfield wars are about to begin


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16 hours ago, Tony-OH said:

There is more ground to cover in left field than right field at Camden Yards. They may j

 

One thing to keep in mind is that Elias and company are "the enemy" to many in the traditional scouting world. Notice how he put it on "their people" for demoting a player who wasn't even hitting .100 through a month and than totally bombed in AAA as well. This scouting take "reeks" of animosity and I'd question the take of anyone who watched Mullins this year and still though they should "live with him" when he was completely over matched day in and day out. 

Agree, someone who watched Mullins all year would have a better take.  Having said that, if this scout's POV "reeks of animosity," then he would be incapable of writing a positive report on anyone.  That is not the case at all.

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16 hours ago, Tony-OH said:

The only outfield "war" i'm concerned with is the longterm outfield situation. Who are the competitors there?

1. Anthony Santander - Really should be a corner guy but has been ok in CF though he doesn't have the raw speed you would like there. His bat this year has been one of the best things that's happened this season. He's a legitimate every day corner outfielder. (LF/RF)

2. Ryan Mountcastle - Legitimate impact bat who if he can play LF effectively will give the Orioles their best power hitting left fielder in some time. (LF)

3. Yusniel Diaz - Injuries curtailed him a couple of times but he was getting adjusted to AA when he was hurt again. He may never be an impact guy, but I could see him as a 2019 Santander-like bat. (RF)

4. Austin Hays - So much talent and the only guy of the big 4 who can play legitimate center field defensively. Injuries are constant issue with him and the question is does he become Nolan Reimold or can he finally stay healthy and become a solid everyday CFer? (CF)

5. DJ Stewart - The lefty swinging outfielder is starting to get adjusted to the major leagues both offensively and defensively and needs to stay healthy. The question is will his hit tool and average power enable him to be an everyday guy or 4th OF/DH type?

5. Ryan McKenna - I know some still like him but I think he's going to end up more of a 4th outfielder. Can play some good defense CF and LF, but has had a bit too many defensive lapses this year. Struggles to pick up spin and offspeed and will need to get better to fulfill his potential. 

6. Cedric Mullins - Awful year has dropped his stock, but could still crave out a role as a 4th outfielder. 

7. Kyle Stowers - It's been a tough first year, but let's give the Orioles hitting coaches a chance to make some adjustments over the offseason. Tools are there to be a nice player in 3-4 years.

Dwight Smith Jr., Wilkerson, Peterson, and Williams are guy that won't be here in 2-3 years.

Seems like if you move Mancini to first base you have 4 positions to fill if you include DH.  I think if any of these guys perform there will be plenty of room for them. Mountcastle seems to be the one sure thing as he has hit wherever he has been.   Worse case scenario he is DH.  

Satander I am really surprised is hitting as well as he has.  He didn't all that well in Norfolk this year or Bowie last year.  I would rank him lower as his past does not seem to indicate that he is as good a hitter as he has been so far. 

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29 minutes ago, TonySoprano said:

Agree, someone who watched Mullins all year would have a better take.  Having said that, if this scout's POV "reeks of animosity," then he would be incapable of writing a positive report on anyone.  That is not the case at all.

Scouting is not fool proof and others do a better job than some. 

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On 8/21/2019 at 1:31 AM, OriolesMagic83 said:

The O's have already paid him almost all of his $39 mill due, why would they owe him anything else.

 

On 8/21/2019 at 9:49 AM, Win Column said:

I'm a big fan of his, and I'll always appreciate his contributions towards the '16 postseason berth and his overall professionalism in general. That said, even with expanded rosters, I'll be pretty bummed if he's getting even remotely significant PT next month. 

There's something to be said for professional courtesy, and I believe he's earned that to a degree given his hard work rehabbing, but September particularly should be about "letting the kids play" and assessing what we're working with going forward. Outside of a few token appearances, we shouldn't be seeing him out there too much. 

The above on Trumbo are both correct.  I do think however, that Trumbo has been a good teammate and deserves the chance to show he is healthy if he indeed would like to continue playing next year.  I think he deserves to be in the mix for that reason and a good franchise, even rebuilding should be able to provide that opportunity.  Of course that is in a vacuum.  The Orioles have Davis wasting space and they have a plethora of potential guys they need to figure out.  On paper there seems to be some depth, but too many of these guys have questions regarding their defensive ability or their bat.  No one other than Santander is staking a serious claim to an everyday job next year, so I think their will be plenty of opportunity for someone to step up.

I wouldn't call it a war.  More like a short season of Survivor.

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1 hour ago, TonySoprano said:

Agree, someone who watched Mullins all year would have a better take.  Having said that, if this scout's POV "reeks of animosity," then he would be incapable of writing a positive report on anyone.  That is not the case at all.

I'm not sure I understand this opinion at all. The scout specifically mentioned the "people" making the decisions on Mullins which is what I was referring too as reeking of animosity towards Elias. Why would this affect their reports positive or negative about a player? They are making their reports for their organization so clearly they are going to give their honest take. Maybe I'm missing something here.

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1 hour ago, atomic said:

Seems like if you move Mancini to first base you have 4 positions to fill if you include DH.  I think if any of these guys perform there will be plenty of room for them. Mountcastle seems to be the one sure thing as he has hit wherever he has been.   Worse case scenario he is DH.  

Satander I am really surprised is hitting as well as he has.  He didn't all that well in Norfolk this year or Bowie last year.  I would rank him lower as his past does not seem to indicate that he is as good a hitter as he has been so far. 

Santander's development was stunted because of his rule 5 time and some injuries, so it's hard to really gauge a lot from his minor league numbers. What we do have is 310 major league PAs of him slashing .288/.327/.493/.820 with above average EV (89.3) xBA (.271) and xSLG (.443) which suggests he's not hitting above his ability.

I think he's an everyday big leaguer and cold end up the best Rule 5 draft pick in Orioles history (Jay Gibbons probably holds that distinction now).

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25 minutes ago, foxfield said:

 

The above on Trumbo are both correct.  I do think however, that Trumbo has been a good teammate and deserves the chance to show he is healthy if he indeed would like to continue playing next year.  I think he deserves to be in the mix for that reason and a good franchise, even rebuilding should be able to provide that opportunity.  Of course that is in a vacuum.  The Orioles have Davis wasting space and they have a plethora of potential guys they need to figure out.  On paper there seems to be some depth, but too many of these guys have questions regarding their defensive ability or their bat.  No one other than Santander is staking a serious claim to an everyday job next year, so I think their will be plenty of opportunity for someone to step up.

I wouldn't call it a war.  More like a short season of Survivor.

I thin they will give Trumbo a start or two at the end of the year so he can get his farewell at bats before retiring.

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