Who is your O's left fielder in 2020?

[wildcard]

If the O's play 50-70 games this year.

Don't answer too quickly.  There is some competition here.   While the O's offense has been impacted by the loss of two of its best offensive players - Villar and  Mancini.   And the pitching was the worst in the majors last season.   This team is not positioned to win anything  but maybe a high draft choice.

We can recite the expected position starter of Davis at 1B,  Alberto at 2B,  Iglesias at SS, Ruiz at 3B, Severino at C, Nunez at DH, Hayes in CF and Santander in RF,   but  there is competition at LF.

1) Mountcastle is the name many will jump to but wait.   He may have to earn it in ST 2.0.    Some of the others may hit as well as he does and his defense is in question.   Does any runner stop at 3B with him in left?  Then there is the - Do the O's start his clock thing that I throw in just for Corn.

2) DJ Stewart.  While Mountcastle had a 871 OPS at AAA last season Stewart OPS was 944 for the same team.   And if the O's need someone to get on base Stewart had a 396 OBP at Norfolk compared to Mountcastle 344 OBP.  Stewart also hit homers at a better pace this Mountcastle at AAA in 2019.  His range is left is probably as good as Mountcastle and his arm is better.

3) Mason Williams is probably the best defensive left fielder in the competition.  And he had a 848 OPS plus a 371 OBP at AAA which could make him the leadoff hitter. 

4.  Dwight Smith Jr - Yep, he is still with the club and has more MLB experience than any of the other three.    Don't count him out yet.

So  there could be some competition for left field in ST 2.O.   

Who do you see surging to win the spot?

[glenn__davis]

Stewart is my guy, with Mountcastle getting plenty of reps out there as well.

[Aristotelian]

I don't know how service time will work this year but I assume we want Mountcastle for an extra year if we can. I would go with Williams for defense of the options on the list. DSJ should not see the light of day in the outfield. He is Delmon Young level bad and our pitchers need all the help they can get.

[Moose Milligan]

I'd like to see Mountcastle.  Pretty sure DJ Stewart isn't much but I'd like to see him out there, too, just to make sure.  Mason Williams, good defense.  

I think it'll be a lot of DJ, really.  Can't say I'm excited about any of the options, outside of Mountcastle.

[HowAboutThat]

Thank God for a baseball playing on the field question.

This is a lost season, so let’s go with Smith or Stewart. Laughs galore!

[Enjoy Terror]

Not an easy question, and I'm not sure it's one person. 

I see Chris Davis and Renato Nunez swapping time now at 1B/DH/bench with Mancini on the mend, but that's important because Mancini's absence doesn't give Davis more at bats; those will go to whatever outfielder comes up.

My current thinking is  DSJ in left, Hays in center, Santander in right, Stewart off the bench. But this an extremely inflexible situation in the field; virtually no platoon advantage, poor outfield defense on its face. I truly don't see how Mason Williams is not your fourth outfielder. DSJ's and Stewart's only usefulness (if any) are redundant in this lineup.

[BohKnowsBmore]

2 hours ago, Aristotelian said:

I don't know how service time will work this year but I assume we want Mountcastle for an extra year if we can. I would go with Williams for defense of the options on the list. DSJ should not see the light of day in the outfield. He is Delmon Young level bad and our pitchers need all the help they can get.

All of a sudden everyone is turning into @Can_of_corn and wanting to play the service time game!

I think a rotation of Mountcastle and Stewart, probably. Maybe Mountcastle gets some time at 1B against lefties (sit CD).

[VaBird1]

3 hours ago, wildcard said:

If the O's play 50-70 games this year.

Don't answer too quickly.  There is some competition here.   While the O's offense has been impacted by the loss of two of its best offensive players - Villar and  Mancini.   And the pitching was the worst in the majors last season.   This team is not positioned to win anything  but maybe a high draft choice.

We can recite the expected position starter of Davis at 1B,  Alberto at 2B,  Iglesias at SS, Ruiz at 3B, Severino at C, Nunez at DH, Hayes in CF and Santander in RF,   but  there is competition at LF.

1) Mountcastle is the name many will jump to but wait.   He may have to earn it in ST 2.0.    Some of the others may hit as well as he does and his defense is in question.   Does any runner stop at 3B with him in left?  Then there is the - Do the O's start his clock thing that I throw in just for Corn.

2) DJ Stewart.  While Mountcastle had a 871 OPS at AAA last season Stewart OPS was 944 for the same team.   And if the O's need someone to get on base Stewart had a 396 OBP at Norfolk compared to Mountcastle 344 OBP.  Stewart also hit homers at a better pace this Mountcastle at AAA in 2019.  His range is left is probably as good as Mountcastle and his arm is better.

3) Mason Williams is probably the best defensive left fielder in the competition.  And he had a 848 OPS plus a 371 OBP at AAA which could make him the leadoff hitter. 

4.  Dwight Smith Jr - Yep, he is still with the club and has more MLB experience than any of the other three.    Don't count him out yet.

So  there could be some competition for left field in ST 2.O.   

Who do you see surging to win the spot?

I would put Santander in left and Diaz in right.  Mountcastle at first.

[BohKnowsBmore]

 

2 minutes ago, Enjoy Terror said:

Not an easy question, and I'm not sure it's one person. 

I see Chris Davis and Renato Nunez swapping time now at 1B/DH/bench with Mancini on the mend, but that's important because Mancini's absence doesn't give Davis more at bats; those will go to whatever outfielder comes up.

My current thinking is  DSJ in left, Hays in center, Santander in right, Stewart off the bench. But this an extremely inflexible situation in the field; virtually no platoon advantage, poor outfield defense on its face. I truly don't see how Mason Williams is not your fourth outfielder. DSJ's and Stewart's only usefulness (if any) are redundant in this lineup.

I will say the one thing Stewart adds is a bit better plate discipline and IMO has a bit more raw power that could be yet unlocked.

[BohKnowsBmore]

4 minutes ago, VaBird1 said:

I would put Santander in left and Diaz in right.  Mountcastle at first.

Definitely seems like it would be silly to burn a full year of Diaz for an abbreviated season, particularly when he hasn't played an inning in AAA. Maybe a late season call-up, with the plan of starting him in Norfolk next year?

[Number5]

9 minutes ago, BohKnowsBmore said:

All of a sudden everyone is turning into @Can_of_corn and wanting to play the service time game!

I think a rotation of Mountcastle and Stewart, probably. Maybe Mountcastle gets some time at 1B against lefties (sit CD).

I'm not certain, but I believe COC is actually against delaying a deserving player's promotion solely due to the service time factor.

[oriole]

I’d like to see Mountcastle out there. There’s nowhere else for him to play and I think he’s ready for the mlb level. 

[HowAboutThat]

10 minutes ago, oriole said:

I’d like to see Mountcastle out there. There’s nowhere else for him to play and I think he’s ready for the mlb level. 

@VaBird1  offered an excellent solution. Put Mountcastle at first. I don’t see any immediate problem with that solution. Plus, we need to see if he can handle first anyway. Not because he would not be an acceptable leftfielder, but because we are collecting outfielders, And One of them will probably push Mountcastle out of left field within a year or so.

[survivedc]

1 hour ago, BohKnowsBmore said:

Definitely seems like it would be silly to burn a full year of Diaz for an abbreviated season, particularly when he hasn't played an inning in AAA. Maybe a late season call-up, with the plan of starting him in Norfolk next year?

On the other hand, with a guy like Diaz not playing in the Majors you also burn a year of development. I’d rather he and Mountcastle get plenty of burn instead of an extra year 7 years from now.

[BohKnowsBmore]

3 hours ago, Number5 said:

I'm not certain, but I believe COC is actually against delaying a deserving player's promotion solely due to the service time factor.

Yes