Infield batting, besides 1B

[Natty]

Odor .200

Mateo .199

Nevin .192

Urias .225 (on IL)

So like why did we bring up Martin to sit on the bench? 

 

[Ohfan67]

2 minutes ago, Natty said:

Odor .200

Mateo .199

Nevin .192

Urias .225 (on IL)

So like why did we bring up Martin to sit on the bench? 

 

I can understand playing Mateo to see if he can improve a little as a hitter and to see how sustainable his defense is. I can even almost understand playing Nevin to see if there's some hope of future upside (I think we all agree unlikely, but whatever). But playing Odor over Martin is a real head scratcher. l guess they think they know what they have in Martin and they see him as a AAAA type player. Worth having on the AAA team to use as temporary IL replacement, but not good enough to hold a "regular" spot on the ML roster. Either that or Martin is banged up. Insert confused shrug emoji. 

[UMDTerrapins]

I can’t stop imagining how much happier I’ll be when Henderson, Westburg, Vavra occupy those spots in the order. Our lineup is like the movie “Stripes”…..when you get to the EM50, just look away. 

[Tony-OH]

Yes, Martin is a bench/utility guy.

Saying that, I have no issue with him playing more at SS and 2B. Mateo was given his chance to be an everyday guy and has shown he's better defensively at SS, but he can't hit. He's probably better suited to be a utility guy as well. 

 

[Natty]

Mateo has a fair chance to lead the league in stolen bases. But only if he plays. Is that alone going to keep him in the lineup? 

[Can_of_corn]

4 minutes ago, Natty said:

Mateo has a fair chance to lead the league in stolen bases. But only if he plays. Is that alone going to keep him in the lineup? 

That would be stupid.

[Frobby]

Mateo has a .343 OPS in June, with 23 strikeouts in 55 PA.   As I posted elsewhere, I think they’ll give him about another month to try to straighten things out.  At some point they’ll have to make a change is his bat continues to be this feeble, despite his stellar defensive performance.  

[Natty]

Martins BA in the majors with the O's is higher than any of the 3 guys listed above playing infield now. 

I was thinking he could be the new Mullins. Remember Mullins couldn't hit, until he could suddenly hit. 

[MCO'sFan]

I think (like most of you) that these guys are placeholders so I really don't care who plays amongst this group. Odor was brought in IMHO to be a cheap veteran presence who they hoped would play well enough to flip if possible. He is clearly a leader on the team so, I am okay with him playing. I think they may be doing the same with Mateo. I enjoy watching him play and when he does get on base... he is exciting to watch also. 

[spiritof66]

49 minutes ago, Ohfan67 said:

I can understand playing Mateo to see if he can improve a little as a hitter and to see how sustainable his defense is. I can even almost understand playing Nevin to see if there's some hope of future upside (I think we all agree unlikely, but whatever). But playing Odor over Martin is a real head scratcher. l guess they think they know what they have in Martin and they see him as a AAAA type player. Worth having on the AAA team to use as temporary IL replacement, but not good enough to hold a "regular" spot on the ML roster. Either that or Martin is banged up. Insert confused shrug emoji. 

Hard for me to see how Elias/Hyde could think they know all they need to know about Martin., but maybe they do.

On the other hand, it should be real clear what Odor is. I have to think the Orioles signed him because the IF was looking pretty empty and they thought he'd be real cheap and as good or better than the guys they already had, and if he did well he might be tradeable. All that's left of that rationale is the trade possibility, and that's looking slim.  I would like to see him gone, one way or another, in August.  

[btdart20]

10 minutes ago, Natty said:

Mateo has a fair chance to lead the league in stolen bases. But only if he plays. Is that alone going to keep him in the lineup? 

Not if/when we're looking to be more competitive.  He's been given leash this season mostly by default, and (.200 notwithstanding) he hasn't completely squandered it.  But he also hasn't proven to be anything more than a solid bench/Util option. 

The .200 with little BB contribution to OBP and the lack of hard contact means he's not the future.  But his speed and ability to play up the middle is what makes him a solid utility guy.

[Aristotelian]

39 minutes ago, spiritof66 said:

Hard for me to see how Elias/Hyde could think they know all they need to know about Martin., but maybe they do.

On the other hand, it should be real clear what Odor is. I have to think the Orioles signed him because the IF was looking pretty empty and they thought he'd be real cheap and as good or better than the guys they already had, and if he did well he might be tradeable. All that's left of that rationale is the trade possibility, and that's looking slim.  I would like to see him gone, one way or another, in August.  

If/when Odor is gone, they could go straight to Westburg. I don't see much point in auditioning Martin for a couple weeks. We have seen guys get hot in AAA before. Jahmai Jones was OPSing around .900 at this time of year (with a stronger track record) and he came down to earth hard. 

[spiritof66]

6 minutes ago, Aristotelian said:

If/when Odor is gone, they could go straight to Westburg. I don't see much point in auditioning Martin for a couple weeks. We have seen guys get hot in AAA before. Jahmai Jones was OPSing around .900 at this time of year (with a stronger track record) and he came down to earth hard. 

I think it would be beneficial to see more of Martin, but that may look very different in a couple of months. I am with you in that would like to see a "real" (that is, an expected part of the team's future) IF prospect brought up and given playing time, but to me that's a separate point. If that doesn't happen and Martin plays a lot, that makes more sense to me than running Odor out there. 

[Camden_yardbird]

2 hours ago, UMDTerrapins said:

I can’t stop imagining how much happier I’ll be when Henderson, Westburg, Vavra occupy those spots in the order. Our lineup is like the movie “Stripes”…..when you get to the EM50, just look away. 

Your faith that three prospects are going to come up, perform right away with out struggles, and maintain average or above production is wholly misplaced.

One of those guys might hit.

The Orioles are going to actually spend some money one of these days.

[sportsfan8703]

We’ll probably see a hockey style line change soon. 3B Gunnar. SS Westburg. 2B Vavra. Mateo to the bench.