Matt Blood: “we want to continue to challenge players”

[Frobby]

https://www.masnsports.com/steve-melewski/2020/12/director-of-player-development-matt-blood-on-players-skipping-levels.html

Asked about whether Orioles players would be skipping levels next year:

“It’s going to be a case-by-case basis,” said Blood. “But there are definitely players that made jumps this year and are ready for a challenge. I feel like our philosophy is, we want to continue to challenge players. We want to put them in environments where they are challenged. And if they have already surpassed, in our evaluation, a certain level, we want to move them to the next level so they are continually building skills.”

So, Can_of_corn, what say you?

 

[Legend_Of_Joey]

The funniest part is going to be that year or two it takes to realize going from Delmarva to Aberdeen is actually a PROMOTION.

I wonder if they will also be more aggressive with in season movements?

[Tony-OH]

22 minutes ago, Legend_Of_Joey said:

The funniest part is going to be that year or two it takes to realize going from Delmarva to Aberdeen is actually a PROMOTION.

I wonder if they will also be more aggressive with in season movements?

That will take a little getting used to.

[Can_of_corn]

That I agree with that strategy and hope they follow through with it.

[Chuck A]

I'm curious to see if this was specifically towards Gunnar, based on all of the ravings previously bestowed upon him.  I'm wondering if he starts at Bowie or goes to Aberdeen for a month or two then Bowie.  It would be nice to see an actual young player going up the chain to reach the majors before he's 24.

[jabba72]

I dont want to see players over rushed. If they dominate over a week or two and think they can be promoted thats great, but at least give them a taste of every level. IMO.

[Can_of_corn]

12 minutes ago, jabba72 said:

I dont want to see players over rushed. If they dominate over a week or two and think they can be promoted thats great, but at least give them a taste of every level. IMO.

What do you mean by over rushed?  Why do you think over rushing is something to be concerned about?

[Redskins Rick]

10 hours ago, Tony-OH said:

That will take a little getting used to.

And wondering how the Keys are doing.

[Frobby]

47 minutes ago, Chuck A said:

I'm curious to see if this was specifically towards Gunnar, based on all of the ravings previously bestowed upon him.  I'm wondering if he starts at Bowie or goes to Aberdeen for a month or two then Bowie.  It would be nice to see an actual young player going up the chain to reach the majors before he's 24.

FWIW, since 2010 I count 21 players who debuted with the Orioles before age 24.   Here are the ten youngest, in order:

Bundy 19.303

Machado 20.034

Schoop 21.344

Hays 22.064

Avery 22.133

Gausman 22.137

Garcia 22.138

Sisco 22.190

Hoes 22.204

Santander 22.303

Of those, only Machado and Schoop didn’t go back to the minors for more seasoning at some point.    

 

[Can_of_corn]

The only one of those names that I would even consider the idea that he was negatively impacted by early promotion is Gausman, which is funny considering that he's had a decent enough career to date.

[Sports Guy]

Rushing a prospect is a term that people use but it’s largely bs.

[Can_of_corn]

Just now, Sports Guy said:

Rushing a prospect is a term that people use but it’s largely bs.

Brooks put up a .182 OPS in the majors at 18.  He turned out OK.

[Frobby]

9 minutes ago, Can_of_corn said:

The only one of those names that I would even consider the idea that he was negatively impacted by early promotion is Gausman, which is funny considering that he's had a decent enough career to date.

Seems to me that Avery, Hoes and Sisco really weren’t “rushed” despite their relatively young ages when they reached the majors.   They all had roughly 2000 minor league at bats under their belts including several hundred at AAA.

Bundy and Hays were just up for a September call-up, so it didn’t interrupt their minor league development.   

Garcia and Santander were Rule 5 guys and you can say they were rushed.    Garcia just never had the velocity the O’s had seen from him in fall instructs before they selected him, so I don’t consider his failure to have been because he was rushed.    Santander I think might have been ready to succeed in the majors faster if he’d spent all of 2017 and the first half of 2018 in the minors, but the O’s didn’t have that option.   He’s turning out fine.

So that leaves Manny, Schoop and Gausman.    Certainly none of them were ruined for the long term.   Schoop did struggle a lot as a rookie but he eventually figured it out.    Manny is Manny, you can’t judge him with mere mortals.    Gausman I do think would have had a smoother glide path if he’d been kept in the minors for all of 2013 and maybe some of 2014, but we’ll never really know.   

 

[Can_of_corn]

2 minutes ago, Frobby said:

   Gausman I do think would have had a smoother glide path if he’d been kept in the minors for all of 2013 and maybe some of 2014, but we’ll never really know.   

 

My thinking is that some more time in the minors might have helped him develop and refine a proper third pitch.  But in hindsight it probably wouldn't have happened anyway. 

[Sports Guy]

They jerked Gausman around too much.  I don’t think he was brought up too early persay but they needed to just make a damn decision on him, one or another.  It took a while for them to do that.