How does the roster/lineup shake out next year

[RZNJ]

Players who could conceivably play 1B.

1. Urias

2. Vavra

3. Westburg 

With Henderson a good bet for 3B, that leaves Urias/Vavra/Westburg in the mix for 2B with Joey Ortiz (SS-2B) plus Norby (2B) and Prieto (2B-3B) in AAA.  Because of that depth, a move of Westburg to 1B at the ML level makes sense to me.  Unlike Mountcastle, this guy is a real IF who would be getting converted.  I see a potential GG 1B who would hopefully give you Mountcastle's offense or better.

[btdart20]

1 hour ago, Il BuonO said:

Based on what? First base is incredibly difficult to learn? He’s not a good enough athlete? They moved Mountcastle there, so….

The rest of my comments in this thread agree with what I think is your angle…. 1B is the easiest IF position to learn skill set wise.  Not everyone can do it but many have made that same change over the years

[Il BuonO]

16 hours ago, Sports Guy said:

I would like to see Santander and Mullins dealt for other needs….

Either way, I think the corners need to be upgraded.  I don’t think any of the guys we have out there are everyday players.  They are more platoon like options.  Mullins can probably be an everyday guy because of his defense in CF but I would still rather trade him for a starter.

I’m starting to think Mullins is a platoon guy. He hasn’t hit lefties nearly as well this year and while his throwing from CF has improved, ultimately he’s better suited to LF with his arm. He runs down a lot of balls (especially lately), but he’s always looked unsure of himself on balls against the wall or on the warning track.

However, with what the Orioles have available I agree he’s a piece that could be moved. Santander almost certainly goes this off season.

[Il BuonO]

1 hour ago, btdart20 said:

The rest of my comments in this thread agree with what I think is your angle…. 1B is the easiest IF position to learn skill set wise.  Not everyone can do it but many have made that same change over the years

And I got that. I was emphasizing the questions based on other’s responses. There’s a list of guys who could capably man 1B.

[Roll Tide]

3 hours ago, 7Mo said:

What was your ERA as a softball pitcher?

How is that relevant?  If I had to guess I’d say 8 or 9 runs per game. Which was pretty good for slow pitch almost exclusively for 10 years.

Edited August 14, 2022 by Roll Tide

[btdart20]

2 hours ago, Il BuonO said:

And I got that. I was emphasizing the questions based on other’s responses. There’s a list of guys who could capably man 1B.

And...  Gotcha.  I must be having a hard time differentiating between snarky responses and actual responses.  

Agreed that there are guys who can learn/adjust to 1B.  And the IF guys would likely transition better defensively.  But maybe I'm a traditionalist, but I would angle toward a player with average OBP and plus SLG to build a strong OPS.  Those in short supply of the in-house MLB candidates.  

Santander checks the offensive box, but not defensive.  None of the Norfolk 1B are worthy either.  Norfolk has Dorian (no offense but a .993 fld%), Gutierrez (.738 OPS at AAA but lowest fld% of this group), and Nottingham (.727 OPS at AAA and .993 fld%) with 150+ innings are 1B.  Nevin with 51+ innings (no errors, but a really bad range factor). 

Other in-house options:

Vavra - .886 AAA OPS.  I think his speed will land him in the OF.  And I'd like a little more power.  But his SSS in Baltimore has been positive for sure, but more OBP vs. SLG to build his OPS.  

Westburg - .816 AAA OPS.  He could be the guy that brings a little more power in-house.  Another reason this off-season will be interesting...

DJ Stewart - An OFer with a .897 AAA OPS.  Are we done with him?  I am.

Stowers - .903 AAA OPS.  Feels like Vavra would be better in the OF compared to Stowers given their speed.  

We do have some options.  Yet only Mountcastle has any proven track record offensively/defensively at 1B. 

But here's the thing - Mounty's .728 OPS is 19th out of 26 qualifying 1B.  Bottom 3rd offensively at 1B doesn't historically cut it on a contender!  Similar K%, BB%, BABIP...  His HH% is up pretty significantly but he's a righty with a deeper LF wall in OPACY this year too.  He could see some additional singles/doubles find gaps, but he'll need to pick-up the pace to hit 25 HRs by the end of the year.  Maybe he does, but maybe the HH% drops down to career norms too?  Which is better than average too BTW. 

Sure, there's more than one way to build a contender, but it really feels like we're average to below average at a lot of positions (at least offensively). 

Major League Leaderboards » 2022 » First Basemen » Advanced Statistics | FanGraphs Baseball

 

[Il BuonO]

3 minutes ago, btdart20 said:

But here's the thing - Mounty's .728 OPS is 19th out of 26 qualifying 1B.  Bottom 3rd offensively at 1B doesn't historically cut it on a contender!  Similar K%, BB%, BABIP...  His HH% is up pretty significantly but he's a righty with a deeper LF wall in OPACY this year too.  He could see some additional singles/doubles find gaps, but he'll need to pick-up the pace to hit 25 HRs by the end of the year.  Maybe he does, but maybe the HH% drops down to career norms too?  Which is better than average too BTW. 

Sure, there's more than one way to build a contender, but it really feels like we're average to below average at a lot of positions (at least offensively). 

Major League Leaderboards » 2022 » First Basemen » Advanced Statistics | FanGraphs Baseball

 

No, it does not. I don’t like his approach and never have. I thought last year he was maybe making strides to be more disciplined, but it was a blip.

His defense, to me, is just ok. Although, he does make some nice scoops, but I’ve also seen him look lost going after pop ups and his footwork on ground balls has never been good. 

I like his speed, but on this team there’s more than enough of that. He needs to hit. If not, start thinking of teams to which they can move him.

[wildcard]

8 hours ago, RZNJ said:

Players who could conceivably play 1B.

1. Urias

2. Vavra

3. Westburg 

With Henderson a good bet for 3B, that leaves Urias/Vavra/Westburg in the mix for 2B with Joey Ortiz (SS-2B) plus Norby (2B) and Prieto (2B-3B) in AAA.  Because of that depth, a move of Westburg to 1B at the ML level makes sense to me.  Unlike Mountcastle, this guy is a real IF who would be getting converted.  I see a potential GG 1B who would hopefully give you Mountcastle's offense or better.

Wing span is important at 1B.

Urias   6' 0"

Vavra  6'1"

Westburg   6'3"

[Can_of_corn]

2 minutes ago, wildcard said:

Wing span is important at 1B.

Urias   6' 0"

Vavra  6'1"

Westburg   6'3"

So what is their wing spans?

I've known 6' 0" guys with longer wing spans than some 6' 3" guys I've known.

[Roll Tide]

8 hours ago, RZNJ said:

Players who could conceivably play 1B.

1. Urias

2. Vavra

3. Westburg 

With Henderson a good bet for 3B, that leaves Urias/Vavra/Westburg in the mix for 2B with Joey Ortiz (SS-2B) plus Norby (2B) and Prieto (2B-3B) in AAA.  Because of that depth, a move of Westburg to 1B at the ML level makes sense to me.  Unlike Mountcastle, this guy is a real IF who would be getting converted.  I see a potential GG 1B who would hopefully give you Mountcastle's offense or better.

They need to find a place for Vavra to play regularly. He and Adley are the 2 best bats on the team.

[wildcard]

3 hours ago, btdart20 said:

And...  Gotcha.  I must be having a hard time differentiating between snarky responses and actual responses.  

Agreed that there are guys who can learn/adjust to 1B.  And the IF guys would likely transition better defensively.  But maybe I'm a traditionalist, but I would angle toward a player with average OBP and plus SLG to build a strong OPS.  Those in short supply of the in-house MLB candidates.  

Santander checks the offensive box, but not defensive.  None of the Norfolk 1B are worthy either.  Norfolk has Dorian (no offense but a .993 fld%), Gutierrez (.738 OPS at AAA but lowest fld% of this group), and Nottingham (.727 OPS at AAA and .993 fld%) with 150+ innings are 1B.  Nevin with 51+ innings (no errors, but a really bad range factor). 

Other in-house options:

Vavra - .886 AAA OPS.  I think his speed will land him in the OF.  And I'd like a little more power.  But his SSS in Baltimore has been positive for sure, but more OBP vs. SLG to build his OPS.  

Westburg - .816 AAA OPS.  He could be the guy that brings a little more power in-house.  Another reason this off-season will be interesting...

DJ Stewart - An OFer with a .897 AAA OPS.  Are we done with him?  I am.

Stowers - .903 AAA OPS.  Feels like Vavra would be better in the OF compared to Stowers given their speed.  

We do have some options.  Yet only Mountcastle has any proven track record offensively/defensively at 1B. 

But here's the thing - Mounty's .728 OPS is 19th out of 26 qualifying 1B.  Bottom 3rd offensively at 1B doesn't historically cut it on a contender!  Similar K%, BB%, BABIP...  His HH% is up pretty significantly but he's a righty with a deeper LF wall in OPACY this year too.  He could see some additional singles/doubles find gaps, but he'll need to pick-up the pace to hit 25 HRs by the end of the year.  Maybe he does, but maybe the HH% drops down to career norms too?  Which is better than average too BTW. 

Sure, there's more than one way to build a contender, but it really feels like we're average to below average at a lot of positions (at least offensively). 

Major League Leaderboards » 2022 » First Basemen » Advanced Statistics | FanGraphs Baseball

 

I would not be surprised if Elias trades Stewart.   He is not on the MLB roster and he is not in the O's future.

[Can_of_corn]

1 minute ago, wildcard said:

I would not be surprised if Elias trades Stewart.   He is not on the MLB roster and he is not in the O's future.

I think that if a team expresses interest in Stewart it would not take much at all to get a deal done.

I would not be shocked if Stewart, during the off-season, is given an opportunity to seek employment overseas.

[waroriole]

3 hours ago, Il BuonO said:

No, it does not. I don’t like his approach and never have. I thought last year he was maybe making strides to be more disciplined, but it was a blip.

His defense, to me, is just ok. Although, he does make some nice scoops, but I’ve also seen him look lost going after pop ups and his footwork on ground balls has never been good. 

I like his speed, but on this team there’s more than enough of that. He needs to hit. If not, start thinking of teams to which they can move him.

Are other teams gonna be interested in an average fielding 1B who swings at everything?

[ChuckS]

30 minutes ago, Roll Tide said:

They need to find a place for Vavra to play regularly. He and Adley are the 2 best bats on the team.

Pretty bold statement.

I like Vavra too but he has what? 40 major league at bats. 
 

Edited August 15, 2022 by ChuckS

[Babkins]

1 hour ago, Can_of_corn said:

I think that if a team expresses interest in Stewart it would not take much at all to get a deal done.

I would not be shocked if Stewart, during the off-season, is given an opportunity to seek employment overseas.

I bet DJ would mash in Japan. Renato Nunez is OPSing 1.069 for the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters right now.