Will Coby Mayo get Judge/Stanton big?

[Just Regular]

In the Fangraphs comments beneath their O's list, Kevin Goldstein gave this take on Mayo's infield vs. outfield future.

digiderek

 

Interesting that Mayo is already being projected to play RF. Is this in part due to seeing Henderson at 3B long term?

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2 days ago

 

 

 

Member

Kevin Goldstein

 

Nah. He’s 6-5/215 and getting bigger. It all screams a future in a corner.

[Can_of_corn]

Ryan Minor was 6'7" and listed at 225, he stayed at third.

[Ohfan67]

19 hours ago, Can_of_corn said:

Ryan Minor was 6'7" and listed at 225, he stayed at third.

Minor appeared in 101 games at 3B in the majors. Not exactly a success story. 

[Can_of_corn]

2 minutes ago, Ohfan67 said:

Minor appeared in 101 games at 3B in the majors. Not exactly a success story. 

Was his defense at third the issue?

[Ohfan67]

12 minutes ago, Can_of_corn said:

Was his defense at third the issue?

I can not remember anything about Ryan's defense, although I suspect it was mediocre.  Can you remember anything about Ryan's defense? I have one vague memory of Ryan making a long throw, but that is it.  I have a few memories of moon shot home rooms during his one super hot spring training, but that's it in terms of his real playing time. 

 

There have been only two 3B taller than 6'5" to play more than 100 games at 3B in the majors (as of 2018 at least). Minor was one of them. Dave Kingman played 154 games at 3B. There aren't that many position players taller than 6'5" (relatively speaking), and the relatively few who make the majors don't play 3B. That could partly be a coaching/baseball "cultural" bias, but when there's only been two 3B of that size to play more than 100 games and neither were very successful at 3B...it's pretty safe speculation. 

 

The way the Orioles play people in the minors is weird and makes it hard to predict how likely they are to stick at a position. Continuing to play Mountcastle at SS comes to mind. It would be interesting to know what the Orioles really project for Coby position wise. 

 

[Can_of_corn]

1 hour ago, Ohfan67 said:

I can not remember anything about Ryan's defense, although I suspect it was mediocre.  Can you remember anything about Ryan's defense? I have one vague memory of Ryan making a long throw, but that is it.  I have a few memories of moon shot home rooms during his one super hot spring training, but that's it in terms of his real playing time. 

 

There have been only two 3B taller than 6'5" to play more than 100 games at 3B in the majors (as of 2018 at least). Minor was one of them. Dave Kingman played 154 games at 3B. There aren't that many position players taller than 6'5" (relatively speaking), and the relatively few who make the majors don't play 3B. That could partly be a coaching/baseball "cultural" bias, but when there's only been two 3B of that size to play more than 100 games and neither were very successful at 3B...it's pretty safe speculation. 

 

The way the Orioles play people in the minors is weird and makes it hard to predict how likely they are to stick at a position. Continuing to play Mountcastle at SS comes to mind. It would be interesting to know what the Orioles really project for Coby position wise. 

 

They kept him around as a coach so I'm guessing he was adequate.  Worked with I think it was Reyes at some point.

[Frobby]

3 hours ago, Ohfan67 said:

The way the Orioles play people in the minors is weird and makes it hard to predict how likely they are to stick at a position. Continuing to play Mountcastle at SS comes to mind. It would be interesting to know what the Orioles really project for Coby position wise. 

Elias arrived prior to the 2019 season and immediately ended the pretense that Mountcastle could play on the left side of the infield (OK, he did play 9 games at 3B in 2019).   So, I don’t think Mountcastle is probative of how the current regime might handle Mayo.    But, I fully expect Mayo to stay at 3B in 2022.

[Ohfan67]

17 hours ago, Frobby said:

Elias arrived prior to the 2019 season and immediately ended the pretense that Mountcastle could play on the left side of the infield (OK, he did play 9 games at 3B in 2019).   So, I don’t think Mountcastle is probative of how the current regime might handle Mayo.    But, I fully expect Mayo to stay at 3B in 2022.

I think May will stay at third this year too...although I suspect he will get at least some reps at other positions.  Overall, I just hope Mayo makes it to Baltimore and contributes to the team for a few years. I will be thrilled if that's at 3B, but in the end it doesn't matter to me if he moves off 3B. If he plays a full season at 3B in Baltimore, then he'll make a little MLB history (emphasis on little). 

[Ruzious]

21 hours ago, Ohfan67 said:

I think May will stay at third this year too...although I suspect he will get at least some reps at other positions.  Overall, I just hope Mayo makes it to Baltimore and contributes to the team for a few years. I will be thrilled if that's at 3B, but in the end it doesn't matter to me if he moves off 3B. If he plays a full season at 3B in Baltimore, then he'll make a little MLB history (emphasis on little). 

This would follow the path that Austin Riley plowed for the Braves.  Riley's not as tall as Mayo, but he's roughly 6'3 and 235 lbs.  Last season, he didn't just have a breakout offensive season, but he was also a dynamic defensive 3rd baseman.  Before that - when they got Josh Donaldson for a year - he had been tried in LF.  

[Frobby]

Scott Rolen is listed on BB-ref at 6-4, 245.   Troy Glaus at 6-5, 220.   So, I’d say at this stage we’ll let Mayo’s play decide if he can stay at 3B.   

[Tony-OH]

I think the Orioles will keep Mayo at 3B until they think he definitely can't play the position at the major league level effectively. Mayo moved pretty well, but he doesn't have great feet and that's why he frequently throws of the wrong foot or in between steps. He's got a cannon for an arm so he can make up for some of that, but it hurts the consistent accuracy of his throws.

The good news is that if his bat continues to develop like was saw last year, his bat plays anywhere.

[connja]

Joey Gallo looks like a good comp for Mayo.  

[ShoelesJoe]

I remember about 40 years ago the O’s tried some guy at SS who the pundits said was way too big for the position. It worked out pretty well for us. Perhaps Mayo will redefine 3rd base the way Cal redefined SS. 

[Just Regular]

B-Ref has Kris Bryant 6-5, 230.    His Games Started IF/OF mix has been approximately

Age 23: 137/10

Age 24: 106/48

Age 25: 139/8

Age 26: 80/18

Age 27: 113/29

Age 28: 27/4

Age 29: 57/81    (about 40% of his career OF starts were last year)

To football it up, guys like Glaus and Rolen are linebackers in my memory, whereas Bryant and Mayo seem more like defensive ends.   Bryant's the proof of concept (though not sure Mayo is the athlete he was, I remember spectacular baserunning from young Bryant the Cubs WS year), but Goldstein's comment about still growing when he's already Bryant's height and nearing his weight left me wondering. 

Mayo 12.10.2001 celebrated his 20th birthday recently, so would guess he is as tall as he'll ever be by now, but plenty of man-strength to come.

[jamalshw]

Even if it's likely Mayo is moved, it makes sense to keep him at 3B for now. Keep him as high on the positional spectrum as possible for as long as possible. Some of where he plays is based on other players. Mayo seems to have a bat that projects at any position. That's not necessarily the case for some other prospects.