I kind of love this year’s team

[Frobby]

The 2020 Orioles:   They’re not a good team, but they’re scrappy.    They’ll take a licking, then keep on ticking.   It’s a lot of castoffs who each have some flaws but also some skills, with just enough young talent sprinkled in to make things interesting.   

For me, the team is getting more Interesting as the season progresses, with Akin, Mountcastle, Harvey, Mullins and Stewart all up.   Hopefully Hays gets back on the field at some point.   Those are all guys I followed in the minors for years, but who are still under a year of major league service.  I don’t assume any of them have fully developed at the major league level, so every time I see them play I’m interested what they’ll show me.  Mountcastle in particular is must-see whenever he steps to the plate.   

Santander and Sisco have been around longer, but still fit into the category of players who are still developing.   They’re both 25.
 

Then there’s the castaways like Nunez, Alberto, Ruiz and Severino.   Because they come from other teams, you forget how young they are (26/27/26/26).     All of them have their moments.   

The starting pitching on this team is pretty forgettable.   Honestly, with the recent trades and injuries, this team could fall apart at any time.    But so far, they’ve managed to play competitive baseball most nights.  

So, keep scrapping, O’s.    You’ve got my attention.    These two months of baseball are a precious gift and I don’t plan to waste them.  It beats watching the news, for sure!


 

[Aristotelian]

They remind me of 2011. Still bad, but you can see some light at the end of the tunnel. The players are starting to believe they belong in the majors. Right now it's a team of role players who all have various strengths and weaknesses. Now we just need a couple of players to emerge as stars to put us over the top, and you can see Adley and Grayson being the next Jones and Manny. Maybe even Sir Mountcastle. Watching Valdez make the Yanks look silly was classic. There have been a lot more of those fun baseball moments this year than in a long time.

[luismatos4prez]

Agreed. They aren't very good, but they're trying real hard which is nice to see.

I'd rather suck with a bunch of Rio Ruiz and Pat Valaika types than a bunch of Jay Payton and Derrek Lee types like we used to.

[HowAboutThat]

4 hours ago, Frobby said:

The 2020 Orioles:   They’re not a good team, but they’re scrappy.    They’ll take a licking, then keep on ticking.   It’s a lot of castoffs who each have some flaws but also some skills, with just enough young talent sprinkled in to make things interesting.   

For me, the team is getting more Interesting as the season progresses, with Akin, Mountcastle, Harvey, Mullins and Stewart all up.   Hopefully Hays gets back on the field at some point.   Those are all guys I followed in the minors for years, but who are still under a year of major league service.  I don’t assume any of them have fully developed at the major league level, so every time I see them play I’m interested what they’ll show me.  Mountcastle in particular is must-see whenever he steps to the plate.   

Santander and Sisco have been around longer, but still fit into the category of players who are still developing.   They’re both 25.
 

Then there’s the castaways like Nunez, Alberto, Ruiz and Severino.   Because they come from other teams, you forget how young they are (26/27/26/26).     All of them have their moments.   

The starting pitching on this team is pretty forgettable.   Honestly, with the recent trades and injuries, this team could fall apart at any time.    But so far, they’ve managed to play competitive baseball most nights.  

So, keep scrapping, O’s.    You’ve got my attention.    These two months of baseball are a precious gift and I don’t plan to waste them.  It beats watching the news, for sure!


 

In large part I agree with you, but that just makes my frustration greater. We have two or three pitchers Who are ready to come up and contribute, but instead we continued with Hess way too long. I don’t mind giving Phillips and Carroll their auditions, But they are both terrible, and it’s time to let somebody else replace them. Carroll is gone, at least, but why did it take so long to give Akin an audition? Even when he was finally brought up he just sat around.

I would enjoy watching a lot more if I could see some of those arms, and not see some of the other arms.

 

[AnythingO's]

40 minutes ago, Philip said:

In large part I agree with you, but that just makes my frustration greater. We have two or three pitchers Who are ready to come up and contribute, but instead we continued with Hess way too long. I don’t mind giving Phillips and Carroll their auditions, But they are both terrible, and it’s time to let somebody else replace them. Carroll is gone, at least, but why did it take so long to give Akin an audition? Even when he was finally brought up he just sat around.

I would enjoy watching a lot more if I could see some of those arms, and not see some of the other arms.

 

Of the arms you posted you would like to see (in another thread) I believe only Kremer is on the current 40 man. He had a late start at Bowie (injury) and is now being stretched out. Lowther and Pop were both recovering from injury as well. I doubt ME makes any 40 man changes until he is forced to over the rest of this abbreviated season.

[HowAboutThat]

31 minutes ago, AnythingO's said:

Of the arms you posted you would like to see (in another thread) I believe only Kremer is on the current 40 man. He had a late start at Bowie (injury) and is now being stretched out. Lowther and Pop were both recovering from injury as well. I doubt ME makes any 40 man changes until he is forced to over the rest of this abbreviated season.

I understand that Pop is still recovering from TJ surgery, so I wasn’t referring to him. But as I understand the rostering this season, anyone can be added to the forty-man and called up, so not being on that roster is no impediment. I wanted/want to see Lowther, Baumann, Kremer and Akin. 

[HowAboutThat]

1 hour ago, AnythingO's said:

Of the arms you posted you would like to see (in another thread) I believe only Kremer is on the current 40 man. He had a late start at Bowie (injury) and is now being stretched out. Lowther and Pop were both recovering from injury as well. I doubt ME makes any 40 man changes until he is forced to over the rest of this abbreviated season.

I also just checked the prospect list to make sure Zimmerman is still around, and he’s also pegged for a 2020 debut. As long as they are healthy, wouldn’t you rather have them than at least Phillips?

Valdez and Lopez are lateral acquisitions. Valdez certainly isn’t going to be around for long, even if he’s great, and I’d rather focus on our prospects than give time to Lopez. He may be fine, but let’s see about the guys who are ready now.

[Roll Tide]

Honestly most nights the offense is pretty interesting and actually fun. 
 

The team would be in the mix if they had ant starting pitching at all. For me it’s nice to see Akin get some starts and hopefully some more of the long guts are going to get a look. I’m hoping to see Baumann, Kremer, Lowther etc.

Id like to see the team clear the dead weight

[SteveA]

14 minutes ago, Philip said:

I also just checked the prospect list to make sure Zimmerman is still around, and he’s also pegged for a 2020 debut. As long as they are healthy, wouldn’t you rather have them than at least Phillips?

Valdez and Lopez are lateral acquisitions. Valdez certainly isn’t going to be around for long, even if he’s great, and I’d rather focus on our prospects than give time to Lopez. He may be fine, but let’s see about the guys who are ready now.

You keep saying, over and over again, that they are "ready".   Not saying you are wrong, but how do you know?

Kremer has 19.1 innings at AAA and an 8.84 ERA there.

Zimmerman has 38 innings at AAA and a 4.89 ERA there.

Baumann has never pitched at AAA and didn't get a full season at AA yet.

Lowther has never pitched at AAA.

 

I'm not saying these guys aren't ready.   I've never seen them pitch and am not qualified to judge.   But you seem absolutely certain that they are.   What information are you basing that opinion on?

 

[SteveA]

3 minutes ago, Roll Tide said:

Honestly most nights the offense is pretty interesting and actually fun. 
 

The team would be in the mix if they had ant starting pitching at all. For me it’s nice to see Akin get some starts and hopefully some more of the long guts are going to get a look. I’m hoping to see Baumann, Kremer, Lowther etc.

Id like to see the team clear the dead weight

It's a process that's been happening constantly.   Since the start of last year we've cleared a lot of "dead weight";  Keon Broxton, Jace Peterson, Jesus Sucre, Aaron Brooks, Andrew Cashner, Josh Lucas, Jimmy Yacabonis, Matt Wotherspon, Dan Strialy, Yefry Ramirez, Ty Blach, Nate Karns, Mike Wright, Luis Ortiz are all gone from last year's team.   While a few of these guys are still in Bowie, we have for the most part probably seen the last of Hess, Carroll, Dwight Smith this year.

We've stashed Davis on the DL for a while.  We've traded veterans (Villar, Bleier, Givens, Castro, Milone, Villar, Bundy) to clear space for players to come up when they are ready.

I don't see a ton of dead weight left.   Yeah, we have a bunch of utility guys floating around in Velazquez, Valaika, Urias, and Herrera.   On the pitching staff Eshelman and Phillips are derided by a lot of people on here.  But I think dead weight is a harsh term for them.   They both have contributed at times, and they are both just 26 years old.

Elias has shown that he moves prospects up slowly.   Like it or not, that is what he does.  We're stuck with it.   I completely agree that Mountcastle should have been up sooner.   I can't say for sure about some of the pitchers in Bowie because I haven't seen them every day.   But for all of them but Akin, this was to be their "AAA year" if it had been a normal season.   And Akin is now up and in the rotation.

We're all impatient for the future to get here.  And Elias is certainly deliberate when it comes to promoting prospects.   But it is what it is.   

[rudyrooster]

1 hour ago, Philip said:

I understand that Pop is still recovering from TJ surgery, so I wasn’t referring to him. But as I understand the rostering this season, anyone can be added to the forty-man and called up, so not being on that roster is no impediment. I wanted/want to see Lowther, Baumann, Kremer and Akin. 

I would add Grey Fenter to that list of young pitchers.

[Roll Tide]

24 minutes ago, SteveA said:

It's a process that's been happening constantly.   Since the start of last year we've cleared a lot of "dead weight";  Keon Broxton, Jace Peterson, Jesus Sucre, Aaron Brooks, Andrew Cashner, Josh Lucas, Jimmy Yacabonis, Matt Wotherspon, Dan Strialy, Yefry Ramirez, Ty Blach, Nate Karns, Mike Wright, Luis Ortiz are all gone from last year's team.   While a few of these guys are still in Bowie, we have for the most part probably seen the last of Hess, Carroll, Dwight Smith this year.

We've stashed Davis on the DL for a while.  We've traded veterans (Villar, Bleier, Givens, Castro, Milone, Villar, Bundy) to clear space for players to come up when they are ready.

I don't see a ton of dead weight left.   Yeah, we have a bunch of utility guys floating around in Velazquez, Valaika, Urias, and Herrera.   On the pitching staff Eshelman and Phillips are derided by a lot of people on here.  But I think dead weight is a harsh term for them.   They both have contributed at times, and they are both just 26 years old.

Elias has shown that he moves prospects up slowly.   Like it or not, that is what he does.  We're stuck with it.   I completely agree that Mountcastle should have been up sooner.   I can't say for sure about some of the pitchers in Bowie because I haven't seen them every day.   But for all of them but Akin, this was to be their "AAA year" if it had been a normal season.   And Akin is now up and in the rotation.

We're all impatient for the future to get here.  And Elias is certainly deliberate when it comes to promoting prospects.   But it is what it is.   

Dead weight still on the teams pitching staff = Wojo, Eshelman, Phillips, Valdez and Sulser

None of these guys are part of the next winning team.

 

[wildcard]

34 minutes ago, SteveA said:

It's a process that's been happening constantly.   Since the start of last year we've cleared a lot of "dead weight";  Keon Broxton, Jace Peterson, Jesus Sucre, Aaron Brooks, Andrew Cashner, Josh Lucas, Jimmy Yacabonis, Matt Wotherspon, Dan Strialy, Yefry Ramirez, Ty Blach, Nate Karns, Mike Wright, Luis Ortiz are all gone from last year's team.   While a few of these guys are still in Bowie, we have for the most part probably seen the last of Hess, Carroll, Dwight Smith this year.

We've stashed Davis on the DL for a while.  We've traded veterans (Villar, Bleier, Givens, Castro, Milone, Villar, Bundy) to clear space for players to come up when they are ready.

I don't see a ton of dead weight left.   Yeah, we have a bunch of utility guys floating around in Velazquez, Valaika, Urias, and Herrera.   On the pitching staff Eshelman and Phillips are derided by a lot of people on here.  But I think dead weight is a harsh term for them.   They both have contributed at times, and they are both just 26 years old.

Elias has shown that he moves prospects up slowly.   Like it or not, that is what he does.  We're stuck with it.   I completely agree that Mountcastle should have been up sooner.   I can't say for sure about some of the pitchers in Bowie because I haven't seen them every day.   But for all of them but Akin, this was to be their "AAA year" if it had been a normal season.   And Akin is now up and in the rotation.

We're all impatient for the future to get here.  And Elias is certainly deliberate when it comes to promoting prospects.   But it is what it is.   

Two excellent posts.   

I thought it was interesting that Elias promoted Kline.   He also has to make decisions this off season on Hanhold and Brian Gonzalez.   As relievers these three may slip through the Rule 5 draft but that is not for sure.

I will be surprised if we see any of the starter prospects you mentioned this season.   But I have been surprised before.

[SteveA]

7 minutes ago, Roll Tide said:

Dead weight still on the teams pitching staff = Wojo, Eshelman, Phillips, Valdez and Sulser

None of these guys are part of the next winning team.

 

I guess it comes down to whether those guys are just holding a place until someone is ready, or blocking someone who is ready.   I don't think the relievers on the list are blocking anybody.   We got rid of GIvens, Bleier, and Castro.   We have several young relievers who have been on prospect lists (Harvey, Scott, Tate, trying to establish   permanent foothold in MLB on the roster now).   So I have no problem with Phillips/Valdez/Sulser being in the bullpen.   And one of them probably goes when Armstrong comes back.

So the whole thing comes down to Wojo/Eshelman getting starts instead of guys like Kremer. Lowther, Bauman, Zimmerman, etc.   None of those guys has had any success at AAA, most have never pitched at AAA, one lost time this year to Covid-19.   I guess I don't see this as an issue of guys being blocked yet, so I guess we just disagree.

[Can_of_corn]

3 minutes ago, SteveA said:

I guess it comes down to whether those guys are just holding a place until someone is ready, or blocking someone who is ready.   I don't think the relievers on the list are blocking anybody.   We got rid of GIvens, Bleier, and Castro.   We have several young relievers who have been on prospect lists (Harvey, Scott, Tate, trying to establish   permanent foothold in MLB on the roster now).   So I have no problem with Phillips/Valdez/Sulser being in the bullpen.   And one of them probably goes when Armstrong comes back.

So the whole thing comes down to Wojo/Eshelman getting starts instead of guys like Kremer. Lowther, Bauman, Zimmerman, etc.   None of those guys has had any success at AAA, most have never pitched at AAA, one lost time this year to Covid-19.   I guess I don't see this as an issue of guys being blocked yet, so I guess we just disagree.

I think they can be developed better in the majors than with what they are doing at Bowie.  I think you quickly hit a point of diminishing returns with the type of setup they are forced to run.