Jorge Mateo 2023

[Frobby]

On 6/16/2023 at 9:15 AM, LA2 said:

Mateo has 20 stolen bases despite a weak .276 OBP.

I'm looking forward to the base paths glowing white-hot once his bat heats up in July/August.

IF he heats up.  

[Otter]

3 minutes ago, Frobby said:

IF he heats up.  

His at-bats have started to look much better of late...but not sure if that he means he's about to go on another hot streak or just a mirage...

[Frobby]

43 minutes ago, Otter said:

His at-bats have started to look much better of late...but not sure if that he means he's about to go on another hot streak or just a mirage...

I agree he’s looked better the last week or two.   But how much he heats up remains to be seen. 

[Three Run Homer]

On 6/16/2023 at 3:46 PM, Jammer7 said:

For me, he has just about gone from a guy that we needed to see get everyday at bats, to someone we can move on from as the starter at SS. If this was 2021, no problem. It’s 2023 and we are trying to win. 

I agree with this.  It's time to move on from him.   The O's need Jordan Westburg in the lineup and Mateo is the guy who needs to get out of the way. 

[OriolesMagic83]

3 minutes ago, Three Run Homer said:

I agree with this.  It's time to move on from him.   The O's need Jordan Westburg in the lineup and Mateo is the guy who needs to get out of the way. 

I'm a big Westburg fan, but it seems like Ortiz should be the guy to replace Mateo d/t his better defense at SS. 

[Billy F-Face3]

The thing about the shortstop position, is because who ever is playing shortstop now is just a place holder until Jackson Holiday gets the call. Unless they plan on playing Jackson at 2nd base, that is. I am really curious as to what the front office envisions for 2nd base in the long term plan.

[Sports Guy]

Lol..4 wRC+

[foxfield]

On 6/17/2023 at 10:24 AM, Frobby said:

I agree he’s looked better the last week or two.   But how much he heats up remains to be seen. 

Right now we are just hoping for a thawing. 

[Big Mac]

1 hour ago, Sports Guy said:

Lol..4 wRC+

Yeah...it's time to pull the plug for me.  I'm fine with keeping him on the roster as the 26th man for an occasional spot start and as a pinch runner/defensive replacement but it's now been 7 weeks of him flailing away looking like a pre-DH NL pitcher at the plate.  

His OPS is now lower than last season and a whopping .643 over his last 751 PA dating back to the start of last season.

[OriolesMagic83]

4 hours ago, Sports Guy said:

Lol..4 wRC+

In addition to someone at AAA replacing that production, could probably find someone at AA or even A ball.  Mateo is like a black hole in the lineup.  I see the reason to keep him on the team as a reserve for his speed, but the O's can't keep running out an automatic out every day.

[Tony-OH]

I like to look over a significant amount of time/games before deciding when to pull the plug on a player. 

Over Mateo's last 100 games covering 344 PAs he put up the following numbers:

.211/.251/.331/.582 
2B - 15
3B - 1
HR - 7
BB: 17
K: 82
SB: 28 out of 32

While he may have another hot streak in him like April or last August, he is who he is at this point. 

Does anyone here think Ortiz can not do better offensively if given the everyday SS job? Ortiz may not have the arm that Mateo has it's plenty strong and he defense will actually be more steady with less errors. 

It's is time move Mateo to a bench role and put Ortiz at SS for an extended time period to see how he does with everyday PAs, not these occasional PAs that makes it hard for any young player to find consistent success. 
 

[NCRaven]

I'd rather have Henderson play short at this point with some combination of Westburg and Urias at 2B and 3B.

[Tony-OH]

3 minutes ago, NCRaven said:

I'd rather have Henderson play short at this point with some combination of Westburg and Urias at 2B and 3B.

While I would not be upset with that over the current situation, I think the Ortiz-Henderson (SS-3B) combo is better defensively than the Henderson-Westburg combo. Urias can find some PAs all over spelling guys including 1B and DH.

[Sports Guy]

9 minutes ago, Tony-OH said:

While I would not be upset with that over the current situation, I think the Ortiz-Henderson (SS-3B) combo is better defensively than the Henderson-Westburg combo. Urias can find some PAs all over spelling guys including 1B and DH.

I think this is interesting. 
 

I know you disagree but I think Westburg would be fine at third. Just not sure if he would be better there or 2nd.

So, the question comes down to that imo.

If you feel he’s better at third than second, I’m putting him there and Ortiz can go to second.

The reality is that I’m guessing they move them all around, although I doubt Westburg plays SS.

And yes, Urias would play all over and get plenty of at bats.

Edited June 20, 2023 by Sports Guy

[Tony-OH]

1 minute ago, Sports Guy said:

I think this is interesting. 
 

I know you disagree but I think Westburg would be fine at third. Just not sure if he would be better there or 2nd.

So, the question comes down to that imo.

If you feel he’s better at third than second, I’m putting him there and Ortiz can go to second.

The reality is that I’m guessing they move them all around, although I doubt Westburg plays SS.

And yes, Urias would play all over and get plenty of at bats.

I do think Westburg would be find at 3B, but Henderson would be better.

I see the positions like this defensively:

3B: Urias, Henderson, Ortiz, Westburg, Mateo
SS: Ortiz/Mateo, Henderson, Westburg, Urias
2B: Ortiz, Urias, Frazier, Westburg, Mateo