Middle of the Orioles order

[Yardball85]

4 hours ago, Tony-OH said:

It's starting to look like the Orioles have a solid core of young middle of the order hitters.

Trey Mancini (1B) - The "elder"; statesman at 29 looks like he's back to his 2019 self. Probably doesn't count as young anymore but he's still within his prime window.
Anthony Santander (RF) - The 26 year old put up a .890 OPS last year and this spring has added a team leading walk to show an improved plate discipline.
Austin Hays (CF/RF/LF) - The 25-year old will play all over the outfield and has always been a guy who had a ton of potential but just held back by injuries. Has been the Orioles best player this spring, bar none.
Ryan Mountcastle (LF) - The 24-year old is a rookie of the year candidate and leads the team with four home runs this spring.

I see these guys batting some kind of 2-5 order though Hays could move up to leadoff when Cedric Mullins is not in the lineup. 

This doesn't even count former #1 pick DJ Stewart (27) who's been slowed by a hamstring injury but who put up a .809 OPS last year in limited play and had hit two home runs in three games this spring. Add in 26-year old Mullins who's a plus defender in center field and has been effective while batting just left-handed this spring, and that's a decent amount of young talent. 

Add in the potential to have Adley Rutschman (23) here this year or next, and that's a pretty good core offense.


 

Very very excited about Hays.   150 games or so from him would be fantastic

[luismatos4prez]

A good core of hitters is forming here again. But it is a clear step down from the Showalter/Duquette teams which had a stacked core of position players. Maybe the next playoff Orioles will be more balanced though. The 2012-6 Orioles never developed the pitching.

On a side note, the Orioles absolutely have the budget to sign some of the top FAs next year and put a contender together. They won't, but they could. I think next year it's time to start trying to win, but maybe I'm impatient.

[Morgan423]

8 hours ago, Sports Guy said:

I think you forgot about Davis!

He does help keep everyone else cool with his whiffy bat fanning.  Of course, we could use an oscillating fan to replace this particular production from Chris Davis, and we wouldn't have to pay it twenty three million dollars a season.

[Yossarian]

4 hours ago, spiritof66 said:

I'll be interested to see how they do tonight against Gerrit Cole. 

How's it looking for you today as they face Cole?  One hit through 4.

[foxfield]

10 minutes ago, Yossarian said:

How's it looking for you today as they face Cole?  One hit through 4.

In fairness, the ball is really coming out of Cole's hand well.

[now]

A tangent to this topic is the crowded (in a good way) outfield picture:

1. Mountcastle - Hays - Santander

2. Stewart - Mullins - Diaz - McKenna

Very happy with how things are shaping up there: enough talent to cover for injuries with quality depth.

[Frobby]

17 hours ago, DrungoHazewood said:

Mancini and Sisco are the only players on the team projected by Fangraphs to have a .325 OBP.  Mountcastle is going to need about 800 PAs to have a decent shot at 100 RBI.

I expect Santander and Hays to have an OBP of at least .400, based on spring training!   Santander .487, Hays .440.    

There’s a fair bit to be optimistic about with our middle order hitters.   It will be fun to watch who lives up to their promise.   
 

[foxfield]

I am very excited about what I think will be an interesting year.  We are gonna lose, but we are going to begin to see what the future holds.  

[Aristotelian]

I am excited we finally have an OF that can catch the ball. Remember when we were running Jones, Mancini, and Trumbo/Seth Smith out there? 

I wish we had one high OBP impossible-to-get-out type and while arguably it's a plus group I would like one Nelson Cruz type 1.000 OPS masher. I know we can't have it all.