Has Vavra played his way into a starting 2B job?

[wildcard]

Not for opening day.  That is symbolic.  Frazier gets OD.  

But is Vavra's bat too good for the bench?   I know there were concerns about his defense last fall.  But I have not heard that this spring.

If Vavra can get on base at a high rate does that put him ahead on Frazier and Urias?

Edited March 27, 2023 by wildcard

[Can_of_corn]

Frazier isn't getting paid to sit against right handed pitching.

[Moose Milligan]

He should start over Frazier, but that’s a low bar to hurdle seeing how bad Frazier is. But Frazier isn’t being paid to ride the bench. 

[glenn__davis]

Did we hear anything publicly about his defense last year?  I don't necessarily recall hearing anything, I think the proof was in the pudding that they didn't see him as a 2B with the way they kept running Odor out there until near the end.

I don't think they see him as an everyday 2B.  His value is probably as a high-OBP UTI. 

[Sports Guy]

Has the season started and I missed it?

[waroriole]

Westburg has earned it too. 

[Aristotelian]

It's close. He would have to be better than Stowers, Santander, or Mouncastle. If he could sustain an .850 OPS in real games that might do it. Frazier is probably a better option at 2B although not $8M better. I'd like to see him play every day somewhere but these are the problems you have when you accumulate talent. As of opening day I think he is still a bench guy.

[Flash- bd]

I'm a big believer in Vavra and his OBP skills package. I think there's a player there, that will have a successful career. 

To be fair, I also thought the same about Ryan Flaherty. 

[Tony-OH]

6 minutes ago, Flash- bd said:

I'm a big believer in Vavra and his OBP skills package. I think there's a player there, that will have a successful career. 

To be fair, I also thought the same about Ryan Flaherty. 

Interestingly Flaherty did have decent OBP in the minors, but not as good as Vavra in AAA. Now Flaherty did have 713 AAA PAs vs Vavra's 208. 

AAA Slash lines
Vavra - .324/.435/.451/.886
Flaherty - .261/.342/.443/.785

AA Slash Lines
Vavra - .248/.388/.430/.818
Flaherty - .293/.382/.492/.873

 

[Ohfan67]

We got to see a little bit of his defense this past week in Televised games. Unfortunately he missed a couple of plays and his arm seemed relatively weak. This is an extremely small sample size and a spring training game where both teams committed multiple defensive miscues, but it’s very believable that his defense is not good enough to be a starter. The Orioles seem to like second basemen who can turn the double play and fire the ball to first. It’s not clear if he can make those plays. Again, very small sample size, but his defense certainly didn’t shine. 

[wildcard]

6 minutes ago, Ohfan67 said:

We got to see a little bit of his defense this past week in Televised games. Unfortunately he missed a couple of plays and his arm seemed relatively weak. This is an extremely small sample size and a spring training game where both teams committed multiple defensive miscues, but it’s very believable that his defense is not good enough to be a starter. The Orioles seem to like second basemen who can turn the double play and fire the ball to first. It’s not clear if he can make those plays. Again, very small sample size, but his defense certainly didn’t shine. 

I watched every O's TV game this spring and somehow this did not stand out to me.   Sounds like I just missed it because his weak arm  is something I saw last year.  I thought he may have worked on improving it over the winter.    I appreciate you bringing it up.  If he can't turn the DP well it certainly should keep him from being an everyday 2B.

[Pickles]

IMO if anybody played like they deserved a starting spot it was Westburg.

[Sports Guy]

2 minutes ago, Pickles said:

IMO if anybody played like they deserved a starting spot it was Westburg.

Yea, I’m not sure why anyone would be placing Vavra over Westburg.

[Pickles]

1 minute ago, Sports Guy said:

Yea, I’m not sure why anyone would be placing Vavra over Westburg.

Vavra has been more consistently good on offense this spring, sure, but spring batting stats certainly aren't the only consideration.

[Ohfan67]

19 minutes ago, wildcard said:

I watched every O's TV game this spring and somehow this did not stand out to me.   Sounds like I just missed it because his weak arm  is something I saw last year.  I thought he may have worked on improving it over the winter.    I appreciate you bringing it up.  If he can't turn the DP well it certainly should keep him from being an everyday 2B.

The opposing teams' broadcasts don't make it easy to watch specific Orioles players, that's for sure.