Is McKenna's spot in jeopardy?

[Frobby]

1 minute ago, Sports Guy said:

Hays should only be in CF in an emergency. His COF defense has dropped off and he was never some great defensive CFer or anything like that.

You need a legit back up CFer on the roster.

Obviously you wouldn’t want Hays playing CF for two weeks if Mullins were on the IL, but if we’re taking about an occasional day off for Mullins, I don’t think it would be a big deal.   You do lose some defense vs. McKenna, but it might me worth it in order to carry an extra player who’s a much better hitter than McKenna is.   I’d put it in the category of a close judgment call.   Saying that, I still think McKenna has a 75%+ chance of making the team.  

[jamalshw]

29 minutes ago, Frobby said:

Obviously you wouldn’t want Hays playing CF for two weeks if Mullins were on the IL, but if we’re taking about an occasional day off for Mullins, I don’t think it would be a big deal.   You do lose some defense vs. McKenna, but it might me worth it in order to carry an extra player who’s a much better hitter than McKenna is.   I’d put it in the category of a close judgment call.   Saying that, I still think McKenna has a 75%+ chance of making the team.  

To me, this depends heavily on what the Orioles think of Mullins versus LHP. Is he going to be like he was in 2021 or 2022 or somewhere in the middle? If he's OPSing .579 against LHP again, Mullins may sit a bit more often in CF against LHP since McKenna is a better defender than Hays or anyone else that would be in that spot and he seems to at least be serviceable against LHP, McKenna may make more sense than a better hitter. 

[CaptDbog]

4 minutes ago, jamalshw said:

To me, this depends heavily on what the Orioles think of Mullins versus LHP. Is he going to be like he was in 2021 or 2022 or somewhere in the middle? If he's OPSing .579 against LHP again, Mullins may sit a bit more often in CF against LHP since McKenna is a better defender than Hays or anyone else that would be in that spot and he seems to at least be serviceable against LHP, McKenna may make more sense than a better hitter. 

Agree with this.  McKenna had a .794 OPS against LHP in 2022 and has a good track record to believe he can do it again.  I wouldn't take of the "big bats" over McKenna.

[RZNJ]

From watching, I’d say McKenna looks better against LHP than RHP.  He did have a .794 OPS against LHP last year.  Does he possess that skill?  I mean, his OPS against LHP in 2021 was .468 and his two season cumalative is .613.     .794 or .700 might be repeatable but it’s premature to assume that McKenna is a solid RH platoon.   We’ll see.

[SilverRocket]

4 minutes ago, RZNJ said:

From watching, I’d say McKenna looks better against LHP than RHP.  He did have a .794 OPS against LHP last year.  Does he possess that skill?  I mean, his OPS against LHP in 2021 was .468 and his two season cumalative is .613.     .794 or .700 might be repeatable but it’s premature to assume that McKenna is a solid RH platoon.   We’ll see.

Agreed, his splits in the minors in 2021 were also reversed (and drastic enough that if you only saw that year's, you'd wonder if it was a pattern). He did get more regular opportunities vs LHP in 2022 so it's possible he was able to focus on that role and make some improvements, but I want to see more before I believe that it's a pattern.

[Frobby]

28 minutes ago, RZNJ said:

From watching, I’d say McKenna looks better against LHP than RHP.  He did have a .794 OPS against LHP last year.  Does he possess that skill?  I mean, his OPS against LHP in 2021 was .468 and his two season cumalative is .613.     .794 or .700 might be repeatable but it’s premature to assume that McKenna is a solid RH platoon.   We’ll see.

Personally, I’m skeptical of McKenna’s numbers vs. LHP last year. He did hit lefties better than righties while in the minors, but I doubt .794 will be the norm.  

[PsychoBird68]

Daz is having a good spring and has a higher floor/ceiling than Mckenna so yea he's in big jeopardy and there will be a couple spots opening up on the 40man when Means and I believe Johnson are put on the 60day 

Floor my be even but I think Daz has more upside 

Edited March 24, 2023 by PsychoBird68

[wildcard]

Daz Cameron  spring numbers:  282/341/568/905

Ryan McKenna spring numbers:   171/277/195/472

 

Something else of note:

Jorge Mateo spring numbers:  278/350/389/739

Edited March 24, 2023 by wildcard

[eddie83]

1 hour ago, wildcard said:

Daz Cameron  spring numbers:  282/341/568/905

Ryan McKenna spring numbers:   171/277/195/472

 

Something else of note:

Jorge Mateo spring numbers:  278/350/389/739

Are the Orioles going to create a 40 man spot to keep Cameron over McKenna?

[CaptainRedbeard]

22 minutes ago, eddie83 said:

Are the Orioles going to create a 40 man spot to keep Cameron over McKenna?

Seth Johnson and John Means will be moved to the 60-day IL so they will have 40-man spots available for the bench. There aren’t any pitchers in contention to need one.

[maybenxtyr]

3 hours ago, wildcard said:

Daz Cameron  spring numbers:  282/341/568/905

Ryan McKenna spring numbers:   171/277/195/472

 

Something else of note:

Jorge Mateo spring numbers:  278/350/389/739

I was going to post comparisons of Daz and Ryan as far as their MLB numbers but there's really no point. I don't think they'll keep Daz as the 4th OF but I would not be disappointed if they did. 

 

He's only 26 and he had a lot of hype when drafted. I'm sure there are other people on here that know more about him, but he seems like a decent project guy. 

[eddie83]

1 hour ago, CaptainRedbeard said:

Seth Johnson and John Means will be moved to the 60-day IL so they will have 40-man spots available for the bench. There aren’t any pitchers in contention to need one.

You also have all the 1B/ corner OF types who aren’t on the 40 man. 
 

It also may allow team to pick up an arm off waivers. 

[Frobby]

5 hours ago, wildcard said:

Daz Cameron  spring numbers:  282/341/568/905

Ryan McKenna spring numbers:   171/277/195/472

 

Something else of note:

Jorge Mateo spring numbers:  278/350/389/739

Here’s the thing about these numbers.  As of Sunday, Cameron was at .695 OPS and Mateo was at .472.   These guys have so few at bats that 2-3 good or bad days can totally change how their stats look.   And, you can’t really make decisions based solely on that.   

Now, I’m not saying that Cameron won’t beat out McKenna.   He might.  But it won’t be based solely on what his and McKenna’s spring numbers happen to look like when the spring training music stops.  
 

[wildcard]

4 hours ago, Frobby said:

Here’s the thing about these numbers.  As of Sunday, Cameron was at .695 OPS and Mateo was at .472.   These guys have so few at bats that 2-3 good or bad days can totally change how their stats look.   And, you can’t really make decisions based solely on that.   

Now, I’m not saying that Cameron won’t beat out McKenna.   He might.  But it won’t be based solely on what his and McKenna’s spring numbers happen to look like when the spring training music stops.  
 

They are similar players.  Both fast. Both right-handed.  Both 26.  Both centerfielders that can play all three OF spots.   Neither has hit much in the majors.

The difference is Elias drafted Cameron as a 1st rounder.  McKenna was drafted by Duquette on the 4th round.  McKenna is on the 40 man roster.  Cameron is not.  McKenna has an option.  Cameron is out of options.

[RZNJ]

The difference is that teams think a guy like Cameron has potential to be something and they think maybe they can get him to his potential.    Now, they might want him to play everyday at Norfolk to continue working on things.   This assumes that the Orioles actually have him working on something.    When we initially acquired Cameron I watched his highlights from last year and most of those were balls he hit to RF and CF.   Not too many pull shots.    This spring, first of all, he seems bigger.  Secondly, he seems to be turning on a lot of pitches.    Perhaps it's the Orioles "secret sauce" of tapping into power.     I think McKenna and Cameron are pretty interchangeable but I do think the Orioles might see more than a 5th outfielder with Cameron, potentially.