Coby Mayo 2023

[Sports Guy]

1 minute ago, Orioles Jim said:

Honestly, given his walk rate, saying that his OBP will be “solid” may be underselling him.

Well it depends on how high of an average he hits for.

[Gurgi]

Watching Mayo at first base today.  Obviously he is new at the position.  But from what I have seen he has made three mistakes today.  Throwing to the wrong base.  Having glitches with the pitchers trying to cover first.  

He needs lots of work to be adequate.  

[Tony-OH]

21 minutes ago, Gurgi said:

Watching Mayo at first base today.  Obviously he is new at the position.  But from what I have seen he has made three mistakes today.  Throwing to the wrong base.  Having glitches with the pitchers trying to cover first.  

He needs lots of work to be adequate.  

Which is why he should be playing there everyday. Get him the reps he needs to be adequate then he's the 1B next year. 

[Sports Guy]

3-5 with a double and 3 RBIs today.

[Sports Guy]

1 hour ago, Tony-OH said:

Which is why he should be playing there everyday. Get him the reps he needs to be adequate then he's the 1B next year. 

How is he not playing there everyday at this point? Just doesn’t make sense.

[Just Regular]

Fun side by side here for so far this afternoon, though for the Astros big man that's probably half strength swing.

Top Exit Velocity			MPH
		Coby Mayo	111.8
		Yordan Alvarez	108.0

[PeteCanes]

13 hours ago, Just Regular said:

Fun side by side here for so far this afternoon, though for the Astros big man that's probably half strength swing.

Top Exit Velocity			MPH
		Coby Mayo	111.8
		Yordan Alvarez	108.0

Side note.  Both of those logos are magnificent.

[ChuckS]

17 hours ago, Sports Guy said:

How is he not playing there everyday at this point? Just doesn’t make sense.

There are scenarios where he could play some or a lot of third base in Baltimore. 

Perhaps they want him to keep developing those skills.  A third baseman is also worth more in a trade than a first baseman.

But I agree, he should be playing a lot of first base since that is the most likely position for him to play in the big leagues.  I wouldn't completely phase out his playing time at third.  We know this FO likes flexibility 

[Sports Guy]

2 minutes ago, ChuckS said:

There are scenarios where he could play some or a lot of third base in Baltimore. 

Perhaps they want him to keep developing those skills.  A third baseman is also worth more in a trade than a first baseman.

But I agree, he should be playing a lot of first base since that is the most likely position for him to play in the big leagues.  I wouldn't completely phase out his playing time at third.  We know this FO likes flexibility 

He can still play third but 70%+ of his starts should be at first at this point.

[Mooreisbetter27]

I think first base is the best position for him to get into our lineup.  But man, it hurts wasting one of his biggest tools, the 70 arm, on first base.  Boy what a change it would be from Mountcastle's arm to Mayo's arm. 

[Alasdaire]

For @Sports Guy and others suggesting 1B for Coby, I'm genuinely curious: why not even entertain RF?

It's hard to imagine Mayo is all that much slower than a guy like Anthony Santander. And if the LFer of the future is going to be someone like Kjerstad, is Heston that much quicker that it override's Coby's arm? It's not like a debate between a fast CFer with a noodle arm vs a middling CFer with a cannon where the range trumps. We're probably talking a guy with average speed and an average arm (eg Heston) vs a guy with average/below average speed and a cannon in Mayo.

I get the risk/reward not being enough for justify left field given the new dimensions at OPACY and the arm strength there not being as important as right. But RF at OPACY sounds manageable even for a guy with limited range. And 70-grade arms don't grow on trees.

Plus between Fabian/Bradfield/Mullins, it seems likely there will be a plus CFer next to him at all times. And because there are three of them, one will probably be moved to left. They could have the CFer lean toward RF to help Mayo like how an offensive line in football shifts guys over to help at certain spots because you're strong in others.

Now if he's a good first baseman because of his size and ability to pick balls from his 3B experience, then fine. First is arguably a more important position than left. But the org not even trying right field at all is a bit disappointing.

[RZNJ]

I think people are way too worried about wasting Mayo’s arm at 1B.    First, we don’t know what kind of 1B he’ll be but it seems to make the most sense for him because.

1.  He’s subpar according to most at 3B

2.  He is already an infielder.

3.  Kjerstad apparently didn’t take to 1B.

4.  Kjerstad and Cowser are probably better OF than Mayo and neither has a noodle arm.

5. Baseball America has Mayo rated at 45 for speed which is a little below average.  Kjerstad is rated a 45 as well although he looks at least 50;(average) to me.  Take both 45s with a grain of salt.

6.  If Mayo can handle 1B he’s probably the best prospect candidate by reason of deduction.

[Alasdaire]

9 minutes ago, RZNJ said:

5. Baseball America has Mayo rated at 45 for speed which is a little below average.  Kjerstad is rated a 45 as well although he looks at least 50;(average) to me.  Take both 45s with a grain of salt.

Perfect Game had Kjerstad at a 6.56 60-yard dash out of high school in 2017. Now that was six years ago, pre-myocarditis, and before a college/professional weight-lifting program, but even if he has slowed down by .2 to a 6.76, that would still be fast for a corner outfielder. Coby didn't run for PG, but I would imagine Heston is faster than Coby.

Perfect Game also measures infield velocity, and Coby was clocked at 94 with Heston at 84. 84 is at the very low end of what you would want, and 94 is at the very high end.

My gripe is just why they won't try Coby in RF. If he doesn't stick or they don't have room for him there or whatnot then fine. But not even a trial run given that arm? Doesn't seem like there's much to lose.

[btdart20]

I was all about Mayo's arm in RF last year.  Now I'm "trusting them to do what they think is best."  If we didn't have other hitters who can play a solid RF, it would be a bigger issue for me.  But the RF list is pretty long even if we're only looking out to the second half of 2024 (Santander, Hays, Cowser, Hicks, Kjerstad, and a number of other JAGs).

1 hour ago, Alasdaire said:

Now if he's a good first baseman because of his size and ability to pick balls from his 3B experience, then fine.

I suspect this has as much to do with it as anything else.  Keep him on the dirt as much as possible too.  Especially compared to other 1B options.

[Sports Guy]

I assume Mayo’s transition to first is asked than Kjerstad’s.