Excited about Spring Training

[Frobby]

18 minutes ago, rm5678 said:

The Rays will be playing their ST games at the Trop in St. Pete because of damage to their stadium in Port Charlotte. The O's will be at the Trop on March 5th, but that's a day before you get there.

I know - very annoying.  

[Moose Milligan]

Looking forward to it, but it gets exhausting after about 3-4 weeks in.  

[OriolesMagic83]

11 hours ago, wildcard said:

I feel like Westburg will be showing off his talents to win a job in the majors.   He has power, speed, a good arm, puts up a good OBP and is an RBI machine.   He has done all he needs to do at AAA.   I think he fits in the lineup nicely.  The question is where he plays and how many at bats he  can get.

The O's need offense and Westburg can provide it.

Too bad Westburg will be in AAA.  With all the middle infield prospects the O's have, I still don't understand the Frazier signing.  Why not let a prospect earn the 2B job in spring training.

[wildcard]

34 minutes ago, OriolesMagic83 said:

Too bad Westburg will be in AAA.  With all the middle infield prospects the O's have, I still don't understand the Frazier signing.  Why not let a prospect earn the 2B job in spring training.

There is an old saying that if you hit they will find a place to play you.   That is what I think will happen to Westburg.   2B one day, DH the next,  then 1B and maybe an outfield corner or two.   If Westburg can hit they will play him because there are spots on the team that can't hit as well as I think he can.  

ST will be a proving ground.  Remember he is a 1st round pick.

Edited January 2, 2023 by wildcard

[jrobb21613]

Me too!! The guy real excited to see especially after his afl performance is Kjherstad. I don’t see any talk of him being an impact on the big league club this year and right fully so not having played above A ball but I think if he builds off the success from the afl early in he can move fast and we could see him in June. He just might be the left handed power bat we need. 

[DrinkinWithFermi]

17 hours ago, wildcard said:

The competition in the infield should be fun to watch.

What competition? The infield is set unless Mateo or Urias get traded, or an injury occurs prior to the start of the season.

[wildcard]

4 hours ago, DrinkinWithFermi said:

What competition? The infield is set unless Mateo or Urias get traded, or an injury occurs prior to the start of the season.

There will be a lot of competition in ST and it will carry into the season.   

1)  SS  - Mateo, Gunnar and Ortiz will compete to show who is best at SS.   Ortiz will start the year at AAA but what he shows in ST is a element of how long he stay at AAA.  Gunnar will bring the offense but how his range and speed compares to Mateo will determine how much he play at SS this season.  Mateo is outstanding on defense but he has to show he will hit better to hold off Gunnar and Ortiz.  Don't forget that when asked what position he plays best Gunnar says SS.  Mateo and Gunnar could split time at SS to begin the season.

3B -  Gunnar will play there some but Urias has a GG at 3B.   Urias' bat may tell how much he plays a 3B.  Will he hit for a 774 OPS like he did in 2021 or 720 OPS like in 2022?    Since Elias/Hyde likes to move their player around.  3B is not set for one player..... yet.

2B -  Frasier, Urias, Westburg, Ortiz, Vavra will be showing off their range, arm, sure handedness and bats.   While Ortiz begins the season at AAA,  the impression he sets compared to the others may determine how long he stays at AAA.   Frazier's contract gives him a leg up on winning the Opening Day  2B job.  But it does not ensure he will keep it. Urias came up as a 2B, he can play it well.  2B may be Westburg's best position and he will probably out hit all of them. IMO Vavra does not have the arm to get much time at 2B.   Its not a sure thing  who gets the most playing time at 2B over the whole season this year.

1B - Mountcastle is the starting 1B to begin the season.  There will be competition in camp to be his back up.  Westburg, McCann, Santander, Stowers and whoever else Elias/Hyde brings in and gives a chance to play will be something to watch.   If Mountcastle hits like he did in 2021 (796 OPS) he plays a lot at 1B.  If he can't figure out how to produce with the Wall like in 2022 (729 OPS), he may play less and the backups could see more time there. High fly balls to left that are caught are not Mountcastle's friend.

Remember Elias watched what he had in ST last year and trade Sulser and Scott right around opening day.   A trade could happen again.

Edited January 2, 2023 by wildcard

[waroriole]

6 hours ago, jrobb21613 said:

Me too!! The guy real excited to see especially after his afl performance is Kjherstad. I don’t see any talk of him being an impact on the big league club this year and right fully so not having played above A ball but I think if he builds off the success from the afl early in he can move fast and we could see him in June. He just might be the left handed power bat we need. 

No. You will not see Kjerstad in Baltimore this year. Especially not in June. 

[OriolesMagic83]

5 hours ago, wildcard said:

There will be a lot of competition in ST and it will carry into the season.   

1)  SS  - Mateo, Gunnar and Ortiz will compete to show who is best at SS.   Ortiz will start the year at AAA but what he shows in ST is a element of how long he stay at AAA.  Gunnar will bring the offense but how his range and speed compares to Mateo will determine how much he play at SS this season.  Mateo is outstanding on defense but he has to show he will hit better to hold off Gunnar and Ortiz.  Don't forget that when asked what position he plays best Gunnar says SS.  Mateo and Gunnar could split time at SS to begin the season.

3B -  Gunnar will play there some but Urias has a GG at 3B.   Urias' bat may tell how much he plays a 3B.  Will he hit for a 774 OPS like he did in 2021 or 720 OPS like in 2022?    Since Elias/Hyde likes to move their player around.  3B is not set for one player..... yet.

2B -  Frasier, Urias, Westburg, Ortiz, Vavra will be showing off their range, arm, sure handedness and bats.   While Ortiz begins the season at AAA,  the impression he sets compared to the others may determine how long he stays at AAA.   Frazier's contract gives him a leg up on winning the Opening Day  2B job.  But it does not ensure he will keep it. Urias came up as a 2B, he can play it well.  2B may be Westburg's best position and he will probably out hit all of them. IMO Vavra does not have the arm to get much time at 2B.   Its not a sure thing  who gets the most playing time at 2B over the whole season this year.

1B - Mountcastle is the starting 1B to begin the season.  There will be competition in camp to be his back up.  Westburg, McCann, Santander, Stowers and whoever else Elias/Hyde brings in and gives a chance to play will be something to watch.   If Mountcastle hits like he did in 2021 (796 OPS) he plays a lot at 1B.  If he can't figure out how to produce with the Wall like in 2022 (729 OPS), he may play less and the backups could see more time there. High fly balls to left that are caught are not Mountcastle's friend.

Remember Elias watched what he had in ST last year and trade Sulser and Scott right around opening day.   A trade could happen again.

There;s no way the O's spent $8 million on Frazier for him to be anything but the starter.  This organization is as cheap as any and they won't cut guys making $2 million or less.  Is there room on this team for Urias and Westburg as play anywhere guys?

[Brooks The Great]

On 1/1/2023 at 10:04 AM, wildcard said:

I feel like Westburg will be showing off his talents to win a job in the majors.   He has power, speed, a good arm, puts up a good OBP and is an RBI machine.   He has done all he needs to do at AAA.   I think he fits in the lineup nicely.  The question is where he plays and how many at bats he  can get.

The O's need offense and Westburg can provide it.

I totally agree on Westburg, but Frazier is going to block Westburg at 2B. Which is the main reason I hate the Frazier signing.

[Teddy OBP]

I’m looking forward to see if the surprise minor league contract/spring training invite veteran SP/RP they sign sticks with the team. 

[wildcard]

5 hours ago, OriolesMagic83 said:

There;s no way the O's spent $8 million on Frazier for him to be anything but the starter.  This organization is as cheap as any and they won't cut guys making $2 million or less.  Is there room on this team for Urias and Westburg as play anywhere guys?

Sure, he begins the season as a starter.   But he is going to have to play and hit well to keep that role.   Mainly because he will not play every day and there are others on the team or at AAA that may perform better than him.  

He could evolve into a platoon player  or one who shares a position and is traded in June or July.   Especially because he is on a one year contract and Elias does not like to see player walk if he can get something for him.

[Can_of_corn]

2 minutes ago, wildcard said:

Sure, he begins the season as a starter.   But he is going to have to play and hit well to keep that role.   Mainly because he will not play every day and there are others on the team or at AAA that may perform better than him.  

He could evolve into a platoon player  or one who shares a position and is traded in June or July.   Especially because he is on a one year contract and Elias does not like to see player walk if he can get something for him.

Like Odor did?

[RZNJ]

5 minutes ago, Can_of_corn said:

Like Odor did?

Westburg has 300-400 appearances at AAA.  Ortiz has 100.   Who was breathing down Odor's neck last year?   Richie Martin?  Jamai Jones?

Having said that, if Frazier struggles, I think Urias will just start to get more time at 2B.   But I don't think it's comparable to Odor last year although I think Frazier gets a pretty long leash.

Edited January 2, 2023 by RZNJ

[Frobby]

1 minute ago, RZNJ said:

Westburg has 300-400 appearances at AAA.  Ortiz has 100.   Who was breathing down Odor's neck last year?   Richie Martin?  Jamai Jones?

Having said that, if Frazier struggles, I think Urias will just start to get more time at 2B.   But I don't think it's comparable to Odor last year although I think Frazier gets a pretty long leash.

You’re right, the presence of Urias means Frazier could lose playing time if he struggles notwithstanding his veteranosity.