Ryan Mountcastle 2023

[jdwilde1]

6 minutes ago, sportsfan8703 said:

Wow.  He's got a 1.100+ OPS in his 16 games back.  Who saw that coming?  

Not me, but Mountcastle is a super-streaky hitter who can carry an offense when he’s in a groove.  That’s been his MO over his career.  So, I didn’t see it coming, but I am not shocked.  The question is how long he can keep it going and how quickly can he get it back when he goes into an inevitable slump.  

[RZNJ]

Mountcastle seems to be going to RF more than ever and I love it.   I’ve never been a fan but I think I could learn to love him.  

[interloper]

1 minute ago, RZNJ said:

Mountcastle seems to be going to RF more than ever and I love it.   I’ve never been a fan but I think I could learn to love him.  

I would gladly trade most of Mounty's home runs for a singles & doubles approach where he accidentally hits home runs due to the good approach. 

[vab]

How many of the folks who wanted his head would pulling their hair out right now if he was doing this elsewhere? 

[Frobby]

RMC is extremely streaky and he was overdue for a streak like this.  Based on past performance, we might get another 2-3 hot weeks out of him before he cools down. His plate approach inevitably will cause him to cook off again, hopefully not as drastically as in May and early June.

[Orioles Jim]

16 minutes ago, jdwilde1 said:

Not me, but Mountcastle is a super-streaky hitter who can carry an offense when he’s in a groove.  That’s been his MO over his career.  So, I didn’t see it coming, but I am not shocked.  The question is how long he can keep it going and how quickly can he get it back when he goes into an inevitable slump.  

And will we be inclined to reduce his playing time once he does cool off, rather than continually riding his lowest lows?

[clapdiddy]

1 minute ago, Frobby said:

RMC is extremely streaky and he was overdue for a streak like this.  Based on past performance, we might get another 2-3 hot weeks out of him before he cools down. His plate approach inevitably will cause him to cook off again, hopefully not as drastically as in May and early June.

August is historically a good month for Mountcastle.   September/October aren't bad, either.   July is normally his "low" month. 

[dystopia]

Nothing like a dose of Toronto to get Mounty going

[Sports Guy]

His batted ball data has been telling us he is a better hitter than his numbers indicated.

[banks703]

Just now, vab said:

How many of the folks who wanted his head would pulling their hair out right now if he was doing this elsewhere? 

Every single person and they would be justified in their frustration. 

I won't make excuses for him and I don't know enough about what leads to vertigo but two of my close friends have experienced vertigo; one had no indication of an issue before she woke up one day and couldn't stand and the other had headache symptoms that worsened over weeks that eventually was diagnosed as vertigo. Both folks recovered completely from their bouts and have not had recurrence. 

Again, no excuses but I do wonder if he had mild symptoms that worsened to the point that he was placed on the IL. I haven't seen that mentioned (if it was, I missed it). Is it possible that he was managing mild symptoms that were throwing him off earlier in the season?

What I like about what he's doing since returning is that he's being more selective. His K rate (23.5% this year compared to 25.3% last year and 27.5% the year before) is down overall and slightly better since coming off of the IL (22.5%) but his BB/K% is much better (4/9: 44%) than it has been for his career (111/418: 26.5%). He doesn't seem to be pressing or trying to do too much right now, which is when he is at his best. Yes, we've seen him go on absolute tears for like 10 days, two weeks at a time but I would argue that the last month has been his most solid/consistent month of his major league career. 

[banks703]

24 minutes ago, Orioles Jim said:

And will we be inclined to reduce his playing time once he does cool off, rather than continually riding his lowest lows?

I think this is important. The O's have other options that can take ABs away from him now. He really hasn't experienced that scenario during his major league career. Hyde would continue running him out there even in the midst of 3 for 38 slumps. The ability for the O's to use Urias and Ant at first (and they could even throw Adley or McCann there in an absolute pinch) should allow them to play the hot hand. If O'Hearn continues to hit well, he should continue to get ABs, the same goes for Mountcastle. 

The versatility that this team has this year has allowed them to be obnoxiously consistent. No, they don't have that one guy who is all-universe like a Judge or Acuna but they have a roster that for the most part is better than average. Maybe Ryan doesn't need 500 ABs to be productive. If he could be this type of hitter with say, 300-400 ABs, I'll take it. 

[LA2]

7 hours ago, Orioles Jim said:

And will we be inclined to reduce his playing time once he does cool off, rather than continually riding his lowest lows?

In that scenario, we're fortunate that O'Hearn has proven to be a productive alternative vs. RHP--and his stats vs. LHP (SSS of 13 PAs) have been stellar too, although even more deeply in defiance of his career record.

Edited August 2, 2023 by LA2

[ScGO's]

53 minutes ago, RZNJ said:

Mountcastle seems to be going to RF more than ever and I love it.   I’ve never been a fan but I think I could learn to love him.  

This, This! He was pulling off the bad so badly during his cold streak. If they can level out some of his streakiness, he could be a slightly above average 1B

Could you imagine if he got on one of his heaters... and it lasted 150 games?

[Rbiggs2525]

He couldn’t have picked a better time with Mullins and Hicks out. There were plenty AB’s to go around and he took advantage of every one of them.

[FlaO'sFan]

I have been as frustrated with Ryan as some others have been this season, but imo he has the best natural power on the team, including Gunnar. The ball just jumps off his bat. I am inclined to give him more time than I might someone else to work on his approach and become more consistent.