Mayo, Cowser and Norby promoted to Bowie

[Just Regular]

1 hour ago, jabba72 said:

Curious why Rhodes hasnt been promoted with them, but Norby has. Rhodes leads all three with a .874 OPS.

There's $1.4 Million Dollar Pedigree, and then there's $1.7 Million Dollar Pedigree.

Adley as franchise fulcrum was THE milestone...the gravitational center pulls everything around it.    In the impatient interest of seeing the Next Really Good Team sooner rather than later, there's a chunk of me that'll be at peace with Brooks Lee even if I think it'll mean putting down all the Correa-Xander hopes and taking a fresh look at how long-term a pitcher Elias might put $$$$ into.

[Tony-OH]

1 hour ago, jabba72 said:

Norby promoted with a .736 OPS is a bit surprising to me. Not sure what the scouting report is on him. 

Mayo has really heated up the past week and Cowser has done well in June. 

Curious why Rhodes hasnt been promoted with them, but Norby has. Rhodes leads all three with a .874 OPS.

Rhodes has been in just six games since being on the IL for a month. They may just want to get him some more PAs in A+ before moving him. 

Oh, and since his red hot start in April, he's slashed .172/.364/.310/.674 in 77 PAs.

[maybenxtyr]

I think there's something to be said for pushing some of the more advanced players. I don't think they're bored, but it helps to have some pressure.

 

I also believe Elias plans on filling the infield from within... possibly next season. I won't go so far as to say Elias is felling pressure but it's beyond time to show results.

[Just Regular]

To the extent we also know there are things Clubs know about their prospects we just don't, this is also the kind of Action that speaks Louder than Words.    Fangraphs/Savant don't give crude tools like O-Swing, maxEV and Sweet Spot for minor leaguers, but I know OMARs shredding that stuff probably within minutes of real time if my guess is in the ballpark.

I am interested to see if Norby bats high or low in this week's batting orders.

Regular plug in offseason erstwhile Elias-Sig colleague Kevin Goldstein was speaking openly of Mayo as an outfielder because he's just too near Aaron Judge-sized without Oneil Cruz's special gifts.

[RZNJ]

2 hours ago, glenn__davis said:

I predict all 3 will put up better numbers at Bowie than they did at Aberdeen.

I agree EXCEPT Prieto has not.

[RZNJ]

Mayo plays 3B and DH's twice a week.  Norby plays LF/2B/DH.   Ortiz plays SS(3)/DH(2).   Prieto plays 2B/SS/3B two times per week.   I wonder if Norby is the 2B we hoped he'd be.   He's played 3 games in LF this year.   At 2B in Aberdeen he's started 72 games and been involved in 25 DP's.  That seems really low.    Prieto has played 21 games at 2B and has been involved in 12 DP's.   Westburg has 21 games at 2B and has 9 DP's.   Ortiz has 21 games at 2B and has 10 DP's.    Might be nothing.  Might be something.

Of course, the Aberdeen pitchers generally seem to be high strikeout fly ball types so maybe it's nothing.

[LookinUp]

33 minutes ago, maybenxtyr said:

I think there's something to be said for pushing some of the more advanced players. I don't think they're bored, but it helps to have some pressure.

 

I also believe Elias plans on filling the infield from within... possibly next season. I won't go so far as to say Elias is felling pressure but it's beyond time to show results.

I think you're right insofar as I think Elias is in a place where he needs to learn who he'll be able to rely on starting next year and what he needs to get externally.

I also think trades are a month away and some guys might need to go to acquire pitching. That might be more of an offseason thing, but either way building their resumes at higher levels adds value either for the Orioles or in trade discussions.

[Moose Milligan]

This is exciting news.  Looking forward to seeing how these guys do and I'm happy to see Elias being aggressive with promotions.  

2023 should be really interesting.  Lots of guys knocking on the door.  

[jdwilde1]

Why so much speculation about moving Mayo off of 3B?  As a professional, Mayo has played 106 games at 3B, 1 game at SS, and 5 games at DH (baseball reference).  His arm is rated as double plus and was said to be the best tool in the O’s minor league system last year.  He’s big and athletic (6’5” 215lbs, 16/17 in steals).  I think people are a little jaded by Mountcastle, but this is a different guy.  

[Frobby]

1 hour ago, Gentile4 said:

Obviously, I don't have the data available, but could the Norby situation be similar to what we saw from Mountcastle early in the year and Adley in the opening two weeks of his promotion? Hitting the ball on the nose but right at a fielder.

Before getting hit in the face: 18 K’s in 106 PA, .264 BABIP.

After getting hit in the face: 31 K’s in 100 PA, .286 BABIP.

I’d say it’s not bad luck, other than the bad luck of getting hit in the face by a pitch.   He’s not the first guy to struggle after returning from an injury like that.

 

[Filmstudy]

3 hours ago, Mooreisbetter27 said:

The only thing I can think is he was injured for a bit so maybe they're just slow rolling him.  I imagine he'll be up sometime this year.  

Rhodes was out quite a while.  That has to be it.

Norby 186, Cowser 229, and Mayo 240 all have significantly more ABs than Rhodes 113 this season.

Jacob Teter (23) and TT Bowens (24) both need to move up or move out at this point as well.  Both have OPS of approximately .800 at Aberdeen. 

Edited June 27, 2022 by Filmstudy

[btdart20]

17 minutes ago, jdwilde1 said:

Why so much speculation about moving Mayo off of 3B?  As a professional, Mayo has played 106 games at 3B, 1 game at SS, and 5 games at DH (baseball reference).  His arm is rated as double plus and was said to be the best tool in the O’s minor league system last year.  He’s big and athletic (6’5” 215lbs, 16/17 in steals).  I think people are a little jaded by Mountcastle, but this is a different guy.  

Baseball Reference also shows a .913 fielding percentage in those games.  His arm is an absolute cannon too.  I'm not saying he has to move or that he will move or that he has no hope at improving (like you said, barely 100 pro games into his career).  I hope he can figure it out and improve and am sure he'll get the opportunity to do so.  Just like his hitting is a work in progress too. But where is that line drawn?  I like to think management has a line in the sand and a plan B just in case the ideal path doesn't play out.  What does that assessment and process look like?  Looking at the Bowie OF (probably the last variable to consider but the easiest in my mind), does he get his feet wet now? 

Mountcastle is just an example.  I could have easily said the Cardinals did a good job recognizing Stan Musial had a better future as a hitter than as a pitcher.  Or Cal Ripken as a 3B being moved to SS despite having more games as a 3B in the minors.

But I don't want to see Mayo's bat take off and then not have the chops to play the position.  That's not setting him or the team up for success.  

[Tony-OH]

5 hours ago, RZNJ said:

Mayo plays 3B and DH's twice a week.  Norby plays LF/2B/DH.   Ortiz plays SS(3)/DH(2).   Prieto plays 2B/SS/3B two times per week.   I wonder if Norby is the 2B we hoped he'd be.   He's played 3 games in LF this year.   At 2B in Aberdeen he's started 72 games and been involved in 25 DP's.  That seems really low.    Prieto has played 21 games at 2B and has been involved in 12 DP's.   Westburg has 21 games at 2B and has 9 DP's.   Ortiz has 21 games at 2B and has 10 DP's.    Might be nothing.  Might be something.

Of course, the Aberdeen pitchers generally seem to be high strikeout fly ball types so maybe it's nothing.

It's really hard to know how good a player is based off where the Orioles play them in the minors. The Orioles clearly have an opinion that playing most players in multiple positions help them vs the typical philosophy of trying to get a guy as much experience as possible in the positions he will most likely play in the majors. 

Personally I think the Orioles are stunting their positional players defensive growth by playing guys all over, unless they are viewed as a utility guy. 

[RZNJ]

19 minutes ago, Tony-OH said:

It's really hard to know how good a player if based off where the Orioles play them in the minors. The Orioles clearly have an opinion that playing most players in multiple positions help them vs the typical philosophy of trying to get a guy as much experience as possible in the positions he will most likely play in the majors. 

Personally I think the Orioles are stunting their positional players defensive growth by playing guys all over, unless they are viewed as a utility guy. 

I'm sure you can make a case either way.  I can see the benefit of rotating to different positions.  I also understand that there is a benefit to as many reps as possible at one position but at some point I think a plateau is reached.  Not saying any of these guys have reached a plateau but perhaps that can only be achieved at the ML level anyway. 

[Jagwar]

I like seeing these promotions, but I'd be more thrilled if there were many exciting pitching prospects to promote.