Joey Ortiz 2022

[RZNJ]

Skepticism is healthy but common sense is even better.   Ortiz was coming off of labrum surgery on this left shoulder the year before.    Watch this interview.   

There are reasons why he had a very poor first half and an off-the-charts 2nd half.   One was the shoulder getting stronger and the other was the change in hand placement which allowed him to hit the ball in the air more often.   I think you (as in anyone who believes) are missing the boat if you see both halves and think one was simply a cold streak and the other was simply a hot streak.

[wildcard]

1 hour ago, Frobby said:

If he’s ready to be better than Mateo or whoever else he’d be replacing, then there’s a hurry, if we are trying to win as many games as possible in 2023.   If he’s not ready to do that, then there’s no hurry at all.  It’s about that simple.  

The key word here is "If".  And its true for Ortiz, Norby, Cowser and Hall.  If and when they are ready.  And we may not know that his off season.  We may not know that in ST because they are not playing against major league talent most days  plus the wind is a big factor.

It will probably take some time after the season begins  for these players to to show they are ready.

Mateo played GG defense and hit well for 2 months in the 2nd half.  Will ST allow him to improve his hitting?  I don't think we know.  What we do know is that the O's manager and coaching staff have been pretty good at helping players improve.

[RZNJ]

13 minutes ago, wildcard said:

The key word here is "If".  And its true for Ortiz, Norby, Cowser and Hall.  If and when they are ready.  And we may not know that his off season.  We may not know that in ST because they are not playing against major league talent most days  plus the wind is a big factor.

It will probably take some time after the season begins  for these players to to show they are ready.

Mateo played GG defense and hit well for 2 months in the 2nd half.  Will ST allow him to improve his hitting?  I don't think we know.  What we do know is that the O's manager and coaching staff have been pretty good at helping players improve.

If they can only show they are ready against ML pitching, how are they going to ever show they are ready while they are in the minors?

[Tony-OH]

43 minutes ago, Jagwar said:

Technically, with Gunnar's eligibility, that would be a rookie 3B-SS-2B combo. 

In that scenario, what do you think Elias does with Urias? Make him the utility infielder or trade him?

I think Urias sticks around as a super sub that still gets 300 PAs or so. In the perfect world he would be left-handed with Westburg and Ortiz being RH. This is one of the reasons I think Mountcastle may be dealt. Houston could be a partner there since Mountcastle would have hit I think something like 37 home runs if he played there vs Camden Yards.

Then I think the Orioles look for a left-handed hitting left-handed first baseman with some pop and OBP skills.

 

[Can_of_corn]

1 minute ago, RZNJ said:

If they can only show they are ready against ML pitching, how are they going to ever show they are ready while they are in the minors?

They could always win the AAA MVP, that would show they are ready.

[RZNJ]

3 minutes ago, Can_of_corn said:

They could always win the AAA MVP, that would show they are ready.

Haha.  Not exactly.

[Jagwar]

28 minutes ago, Tony-OH said:

I think Urias sticks around as a super sub that still gets 300 PAs or so. In the perfect world he would be left-handed with Westburg and Ortiz being RH. This is one of the reasons I think Mountcastle may be dealt. Houston could be a partner there since Mountcastle would have hit I think something like 37 home runs if he played there vs Camden Yards.

Then I think the Orioles look for a left-handed hitting left-handed first baseman with some pop and OBP skills.

 

Could Urias potentially handle 1B? 

[Tony-OH]

3 hours ago, Jagwar said:

Could Urias potentially handle 1B? 

Sure, but he doesn't have the bat for 1B.

[IPlayGM]

6 hours ago, Tony-OH said:

Sure, but he doesn't have the bat for 1B.

I feel like Josh Bell would be a really interesting guy for that spot. I’m assuming he would be pretty expensive, but I think he has the tools mentioned. 

[NCRaven]

I’m a Mountcastle booster, but will all the left handed bats in the outfield, I could see moving Kjerstad to 1B freeing up an outfield spot for a right hander like Mayo.

[RZNJ]

5 minutes ago, NCRaven said:

I’m a Mountcastle booster, but will all the left handed bats in the outfield, I could see moving Kjerstad to 1B freeing up an outfield spot for a right hander like Mayo.

If Mayo is a better RF than Kjerstad then it makes sense.   Otherwise, why not just keep Kjerstad in the OF and move Mayo to 1B?  You'd still have the same number of LH and RH hitters in the lineup.

[Tony-OH]

1 hour ago, RZNJ said:

If Mayo is a better RF than Kjerstad then it makes sense.   Otherwise, why not just keep Kjerstad in the OF and move Mayo to 1B?  You'd still have the same number of LH and RH hitters in the lineup.

I'd like to see Kjerstad get some 1B experience next year to see what he looks like. Then you can start figuring out where guys could fit in and which guys will be trade bait.

[NCRaven]

On 10/25/2022 at 11:10 AM, RZNJ said:

If Mayo is a better RF than Kjerstad then it makes sense.   Otherwise, why not just keep Kjerstad in the OF and move Mayo to 1B?  You'd still have the same number of LH and RH hitters in the lineup.

My thinking on this was that Kjerstad is left handed, an asset at 1B, while Mayo is a righty.  Also, Mayo is reported to have a strong arm which would be an asset in RF.  We can optimize how we can best use both players.

[RZNJ]

16 minutes ago, NCRaven said:

My thinking on this was that Kjerstad is left handed, an asset at 1B, while Mayo is a righty.  Also, Mayo is reported to have a strong arm which would be an asset in RF.  We can optimize how we can best use both players.

Kjerstad throws RH.  Mayo has a better arm but we don’t know who is the better overall OF.  Odds are that Mayo is the better 1B.

[NCRaven]

Didn’t realize that about Heston.  Good catch.