My second half and final report card - 2021

[Frobby]

At the 81-game mark, I posted a thread giving my first half report card on the Orioles’ players.   The first half stats and grades are repeated here for reference, and I’ve given the second half stats and a grade, plus a final grade.

I’ll do the position players first.   As before, all grades are on a curve based on what I expected from the player going into the season.   I cut it off at 100 PA, sparing guys like Domingo Leyba and Jahmai Jones from being graded.  I left Wilkerson and Sisco on though, since I already graded them in the first half, when they were DFA.

Trey Mancini  1^st half: .254/.330/.451, 14 HR, 52 RBI, 0.7 rWAR: B+;  2^nd half: .257/.322/.410, 7 HR, 19 RBI, 0.1 rWAR: C+.   Overall grade: B.   Trey’s power numbers lagged in the second half, and he wasn’t as good in RISP situations as he was earlier in the year.   Still, overall, he had a solid season, made it all the way through the year healthy, and played a leadership role on the team.   It would have been hard to expect anything more than what we got.  

Ryan Mountcastle  1^st half:  .263/.302/.468, 14 HR, 47 RBI, -0.1 rWAR: B-; 2^nd half: .246/.316/.508, 19 HR, 42 RBI, 1.1 rWAR: B.     Mountcastle settled in nicely at 1B, and hit a little less for average but more for power in the second half.   He was a fairly streaky player all year, but the overall numbers were solid.   I would have hoped for a BA about 20 points higher than what we got, but it was good to see him take some walks and hit the long ball.   He set himself up well for 2022.

Pat Valaika 1^st half: .192/.255/.256, 1 HR, 12 RBI, -0.9 rWAR: D-; 2^nd half: .209/.245/.321, 4 HR, 13 RBI, -1.0 rWAR: F.   Like a bad penny, Valaika keeps showing up.   We sent him to the minors a couple of times but he kept finding his way back to Baltimore.   I hope we have better options next year.

Rio Ruiz 1^st half: .167/.250/.300, 3 HR, 6 RBI, -0.2 rWAR: F; 2^nd half – DFA.   Overall grade: F.   (My first half comment:) The fact that he did so poorly that he was DFA even though there weren’t any replacement options better than Valaika and Wilkerson tells you all you need to know.

Stevie Wilkerson 1^st half: .167/.211/.208, 0 HR, 2 RBI, -0.5 rWAR: F.   2^nd half – DFA.  Overall grade: F.  (My first half comment:) Even by Wilkerson’s standards, he was a bust and a deserving DFA.

Maikel Franco 1^st half: .221/.265/.376, 9 HR, 42 RBI, -0.8 rWAR: D-; 2^nd half: .172/.213/.287, 2 HR, 5 RBI, -0.7 rWAR: F.   Overall grade: F.  As bad as he was in the first half, he was worse in the second half, and deservedly got the axe in late August.

 Freddy Galvis, .249/.306/.414, 9 HR, 26 RBI, 1.1 rWAR: B; 2^nd half: traded.   Overall grade: B.   (My first half comment:) He’s been pretty much what I expected, maybe a little better with the bat and slightly worse with his range.   But overall, a steady player and a bargain at what we paid him.  Note: he was injured throughout July and we traded him at the deadline, so he never played for us in the second half.

Ramon Urias 1^st half: .250/.341/.431, 3 HR, 12 RBI, 0.6 rWAR: B; 2^nd half: .289/.369/.405, 4 HR, 26 RBI, 1.4 rWAR: A-.   Overall grade: A-.   Really a solid season for Urias offensively and we hardly could have asked for more.   He’s not the rangiest guy when he plays SS, and not always the most instinctive defender, but he was solid enough.   I’m really looking forward to seeing more of him in 2022.

Pedro Severino 1^st half: .231/.309/.319, 3 HR, 14 RBI, 0.4 rWAR: D; 2^nd half: .264/.307/.442, 8 HR, 32 RBI, 0.5 rWAR: C+.  Overall grade: C-.  Severino had a very solid second half offensively, and he also did a better job avoiding passed balls and throwing out runners in the second half.   He’s still below average defensively but I kind of feel people soured on him so much in the first two months that they failed to notice that he improved as the year progressed.

 Chance Sisco 1^st half: .154/.247/.182, 0 HR, 3 RBI, -0.3 rWAR: F; 2^nd half – DFA.  Overall grade: F.   (My first half comment:) Well, here’s a catcher I can give an F.   His bat, not terrible the last couple of seasons, just completely disappeared.  The guy made almost no hard contract whatsoever.   He actually did surprisingly well at throwing out runners, but otherwise was very poor defensively and was deservedly DFA.

Austin Hays, 1^st half: .249/.307/.434, 8 HR, 26 RBI, 1.2 rWAR: B-; 2^nd half: .261/.308/.478, 14 HR, 45 RBI, 2.0 rWAR: B+.  Overall grade: B.   Hays stayed healthy enough to stay on the field the entire second half, and really kicked into high gear the last 40 games or so.   I think he’s capable of hitting for higher average and hope to see him do that next year without sacrificing power.   Definitely one of the bright spots of 2021.

Cedric Mullins 1^st half: .322/.391/.550, 14 HR, 30 RBI, 15 SB, 4.0 rWAR: A+; 2^nd half: .258/.326/.485, 16 HR, 29 RBI, 15 SB 1.7 rWAR: A.   Overall grade: A.   Even though Mullins slipped a bit in the second half, especially at the very end of the season after reaching the 30/30 mark, I’m giving him an A for the second half and an A for the season.   Remember, there was a lot of debate about whether he’d be good enough to stick as a 4^th outfielder when the season started.   He exceeded expectations more than anyone else on the team.

 Anthony Santander 1^st half: .239/.281/.388, 5 HR, 18 RBI, -0.2 rWAR: D-; 2^nd half: .243/.291/.472, 13 HR, 32 RBI, 0.4 rWAR: C-.  Overall grade: D.   Santander showed more power in the second half, but never really had a long run of consistent play.   One of the bigger disappointments of 2021 in my view.   I do think that he was rarely if ever 100% healthy, and we might see better things next year if he can avoid the injury bug (which is a big if).

 D.J. Stewart 1^st half: .209/.317/.360, 7 HR, 21 RBI, -0.3 rWAR: D; 2^nd half: .194/.336/.398, 5 HR, 12 RBI, 0.0 rWAR: D.   Overall grade: D.   Stewart played less in the second half, since Hays and Santander avoided a return to the DL.  He had trouble making contact all year.   He eventually went on the IL with a knee injury requiring surgery, and I’d like to think that this injury may have explained some of his subpar performance, but my expectations aren’t real high.  He may have trouble staying on the roster with the OF talent that’s coming.

Ryan McKenna 1^st half: .200/.290/.255, 0 HR, 4 RBI, 0.4 rWAR: C-; 2^nd half: .175/.293/.272, 2 HR, 10 RBI, -0.6 rWAR: D.  Overall grade: D+.   His second half offensive numbers were equally feeble to the first half, and apparently his defense wasn’t enough to keep his rWAR above water in the second half like it did in the first half.   He hit very well in AAA whenever he was down there, so it’s odd he was so helpless vs. major league pitching.  I think he’s another guy who will have to fight for his roster spot next year.

 Austin Wynns 1^st half: .171/.209/.341, 2 HR, 7 RBI: Incomplete; 2^nd half .191/.242/.292, 2 HR, 7 RBI, -0.6 rWAR: D-.   Overall grade: D-.   Wynns flat out can’t hit.   He’s good at controlling the running game and blocking pitches, but he’s not a good pitch framer and his moving around while the pitcher is in his delivery is, IMO, distracting to pitchers and impairs his framing.   Good clubhouse guy and respected by his teammates, but not very talented IMO.

Kelvim Gutierrez 1^st half: DNP; 2^nd half .248/.327/.336, 2 HR, 12 RBI, 0.8 rWAR: B.   Overall grade: B.  Gutierrez was excellent with the glove from the day we called him up, and his weak bat sort of came around in his last 25 games or so.   I expected absolutely nothing from him, so it’s easy to give him a B grade despite his overall .663 OPS and very little power.  0.8 rWAR in 45 games is a nice number.  He’s shown a decent batting eye at times, too.

Jorge Mateo 1^st half: DNP; 2^nd half: ,280/.328/.421, 2 HR, 8 RBI, 0.3 rWAR: B.  Overall grade: B.  We really only got a glimpse of this guy.   I think he hit better than I expect he will in a larger sample, but I’m grading him on the sample we got.   I saw him make some careless or uninstinctive plays on defense, but the tools are pretty good.   Another guy I had no expectations for, so he gets an easy B in his small sample.

Richie Martin 1^st half: DNP; 2^nd half: .235/.269/.286, 1 HR, 8 RBI, -1.0 rWAR: F.  Overall grade: F.  Martin is another guy who flat out can’t hit.   And, while he came to us with a very good reputation as a glove man, both in 2019 and 2021 his defense has been erratic and is graded as well below average on the advanced metrics.   I’m not sure his defense is as bad as those metrics say, but it’s nowhere near good enough to carry his anemic bat.   Give me Mateo any day over Martin.

So, who was I too generous or stingy with?     I will get around to the pitchers later (sigh).

[OriolesMagic83]

Looking at these guys as a group, its no surprise the O's lost 110 games.  That's before even looking at the pitchers, which will be even scarier.  Other than a few guys like Mullins, Mountcastle, Hays and Urias, most of these guys played like they had no business being in the majors.  The O's could improve a lot in 2022 by getting actual replacement level guys at areas of weakness. 

[Frobby]

56 minutes ago, OriolesMagic83 said:

Looking at these guys as a group, its no surprise the O's lost 110 games.  That's before even looking at the pitchers, which will be even scarier.  Other than a few guys like Mullins, Mountcastle, Hays and Urias, most of these guys played like they had no business being in the majors.  The O's could improve a lot in 2022 by getting actual replacement level guys at areas of weakness. 

Roughly 1/3 of the PA went to players I graded D or F.    That’s way too many.   

[waynebug]

I was "ALL IN" until the Draft.  That's when I lost interest in the "Rebuild

I'm content to just wait until the Short season leagues resume playing.

And we'll have an all new class of Internationals to enjoy and post about.

I'll continue to watch for your posts, Mr Solicitor.

 

[wildcard]

I'd give Gutierrez a B for his defense and a D for his offense.  Overall a C for a backup player.  A C- if he is a regular.

[Moose Milligan]

Let me help with the pitchers, @Frobby: Everyone gets an F outside of Means and Tyler Wells.  

 

 

[Sports Guy]

7 minutes ago, Moose Milligan said:

Let me help with the pitchers, @Frobby: Everyone gets an F outside of Means and Tyler Wells.  

 

 

Yea, not a lot of “analysis” needed here.

[Can_of_corn]

8 minutes ago, Moose Milligan said:

Let me help with the pitchers, @Frobby: Everyone gets an F outside of Means and Tyler Wells.  

 

 

Can we give Tate an F-?

[Can_of_corn]

9 minutes ago, Moose Milligan said:

Let me help with the pitchers, @Frobby: Everyone gets an F outside of Means and Tyler Wells.  

 

 

Harvey actually exceeded my expectations so I'd give him a passing grade.

[Sports Guy]

Wait a minute..isn’t an F grade offensive now?  Is this allowed?  

[HowAboutThat]

4 hours ago, Moose Milligan said:

Let me help with the pitchers, @Frobby: Everyone gets an F outside of Means and Tyler Wells.  

 

 

What? No love for Spenser Watkins??

[HowAboutThat]

I think you were too hard on McKenna. He was average or better at all three OF positions and his sprint speed is 25th out of several hundred. He may not hit well but he’s a great late inning defender or pinch runner. And his hard-hit rate was just a little below average at 47th percentile. Until Neustrom or Stowers displaces him, he’s got to be the 4OF heir apparent.

And if Santander goes down or away, we can expect Stowers to leapfrog McKenna so even then, he’s be our 4OF.

[Aristotelian]

4 hours ago, Can_of_corn said:

Can we give Tate an F-?

Why the hate for Tate? Of all the terrible pitchers in our bullpen, he was not even close to the worst. Positive WAR, 109 ERA+, there are much worse guys to pick on. 

[Aristotelian]

4 hours ago, Moose Milligan said:

Let me help with the pitchers, @Frobby: Everyone gets an F outside of Means and Tyler Wells.  

 

 

Can Sulser get a B or C? 

[Can_of_corn]

2 minutes ago, Aristotelian said:

Why the hate for Tate? Of all the terrible pitchers in our bullpen, he was not even close to the worst. Positive WAR, 109 ERA+, there are much worse guys to pick on. 

Who did I reply to?

 

It's a thing we go back and forth about.