Samuel Basallo 2023

[Tony-OH]

27 minutes ago, Sports Guy said:

I know Adley is the heart and soul of the big league club but does Basallo make you think twice about extending Adley well past age 30?

I've never been a fan of extending Rutschman past 30/31 years old because he's a catcher. Catcher's just have way too much volatility and while Rutschman's bat should play if he has to move to 1B/DH there's no way I'd give him some kind of huge deal past 30-years old right now. 

Watching Basallo and Willems develop shows why you just have to keep the pipeline filled.

[Tony-OH]

18 minutes ago, SpOkane said:

And just think, he was supposedly linked to the Yanks first.

 

He actually got a little more money than Maikol Hernandez despite Hernandez supposedly being rated in some top 50 International players available that year.

There's such volatility in that process so hitting on one like Basallo is a great job by Koby Perez and his scouts. 

[CallMeBrooksie]

34 minutes ago, SpOkane said:

And just think, he was supposedly linked to the Yanks first.

 

I don't know this for sure or have any insight at all.... and I'd say most O's fans were completely ignorant at the time of how that market worked (and who could blame us?)... but I got the impression at the time that Basallo came available late in the process because the Yanks reneged on their verbal agreement with him in order to sign someone they liked better. Maybe the O's were the right team to pick him up because other teams had likely committed most of their $$ to other verbal agreements.

I could be mis-remembering the timeline, but I remember thinking this at the time and guessing as to what happened, as he was a very well-regarded prospect that wasn't linked to us until late in the process.

[Sports Guy]

18 minutes ago, Tony-OH said:

I've never been a fan of extending Rutschman past 30/31 years old because he's a catcher. Catcher's just have way too much volatility and while Rutschman's bat should play if he has to move to 1B/DH there's no way I'd give him some kind of huge deal past 30-years old right now. 

Watching Basallo and Willems develop shows why you just have to keep the pipeline filled.

He is under team control through age 29. His first FA year will be at age 30.

Meanwhile, it’s much more likely that Basallo would sign a long term deal at a cheaper rate.

The angle of how important Adley is can’t be understated but I do think having Basallo gives you some flexibility and leverage.

The reality is that if you can sign Adley for a 6 year deal, that would be good. That gets you through his age 31 season and then you just see from there.

But why would Adley sign that deal? A 6/100-110 type deal makes sense for the Os..but does it make sense for Adley?  I tend to think not.

Basallo really makes this is an intriguing and tricky situation.

[Moose Milligan]

Bowden wrote an article in The Athletic today about 12 prospects he think will jump into the top 50 next year.

https://theathletic.com/4836677/2023/09/06/mlb-top-prospects-2023-2024-bowden/

Quote

4. Samuel Basallo, C/1B, Orioles (High A)

Age: 19
Bats: L Throws: R
Height: 6-3 Weight: 180
Scouting grades: HIT: 55 PWR: 55 RUN: 40 ARM: 60 FLD: 45

The Orioles are so loaded with left-handed hitting prospects that it’s scary. No organization has done a better job of developing lefty hitters recently than Baltimore and Samuel Basallo is yet another example. He hits the ball with impressive exit velocity and consistent sweet-spot contact. He has strong hands and forearms, which generate significant raw power. He also has a patient approach at the plate and will draw walks. He has some work to do defensively at catcher and first base, but the bat plays. Basallo has reached base at a 39 percent clip this year with 17 home runs and 77 RBIs in 449 plate appearances, and hit even better in High A after a midseason promotion than he did in Low A.

 

[geschinger]

1 hour ago, Sports Guy said:

He is under team control through age 29. His first FA year will be at age 30.

Meanwhile, it’s much more likely that Basallo would sign a long term deal at a cheaper rate.

The angle of how important Adley is can’t be understated but I do think having Basallo gives you some flexibility and leverage.

The reality is that if you can sign Adley for a 6 year deal, that would be good. That gets you through his age 31 season and then you just see from there.

But why would Adley sign that deal? A 6/100-110 type deal makes sense for the Os..but does it make sense for Adley?  I tend to think not.

Basallo really makes this is an intriguing and tricky situation.

I don't think an extension for Adley is in the cards, basically for the reasons you state.  It doesn't make a lot of sense for either side - O's should not consider extending him into his mid-30s and unless he's super risk averse, Adley should not consider an extension where he's a FA after he's already or at least well on his way exiting his peak. 

This will hopefully work out to be a textbook example of how this approach to team building should work.  Talent pipeline develops what is hopefully a quality replacement to plug in that makes it much easier to walk away when there is no path for a deal that makes sense for both the team and the player.

[Sports Guy]

I just don’t get how you don’t already have him as a top 50 guy. Bowden had 3 Os on his top 50 list (his list didn’t have anyone who had played in the majors this year)..Basallo, I guess, would be too 55 for him and I guess the defense dings him for Bowden but I find it hard to think he’s not top 30 right now, much less top 50.

[Sports Guy]

1 minute ago, geschinger said:

I don't think an extension for Adley is in the cards, basically for the reasons you state.  It doesn't make a lot of sense for either side - O's should not consider extending him into his mid-30s and unless he's super risk averse, Adley should not consider an extension where he's a FA after he's already or at least well on his way exiting his peak. 

This will hopefully work out to be a textbook example of how this approach to team building should work.  Talent pipeline develops what is hopefully a quality replacement to plug in that makes it much easier to walk away when there is no path for a deal that makes sense for both the team and the player.

You just wonder how much the fan favorite/leadership/importance to the team angle plays into things.

I think it should but only to a certain point. I think it also depends on how the bat develops. I don’t want a 775 OPS first baseman making 30+M a year. 
 

I can see the rationale behind going 8 or 9 years on him and I can’t say I would be upset about it. But I also wouldn’t be upset at just letting him walk either.

My bigger focus would be Gunnar and Holliday in terms of extensions.

[Just Regular]

With Adley we had some conversation whether the Bat was just too valuable to intentionally prevent it from getting 10000 PA, and now we have that answer.

'24 Basallo will ask the Org the same question, except instead of a blank slate of a roster, it will be one with Prime Adley Rutschman in place.

For '25 on, can he be Rafael Devers even if he's short of Yordan-Soto type perfection?

PIT Henry Davis has opened his career with 2 out of 50 games at catcher.

Edited September 7, 2023 by Just Regular

[Three Run Homer]

Adley/Samuel = McCovey/Cepeda, except now there's a DH so that you can play both.  

[George Zuverink]

5 minutes ago, Three Run Homer said:

Adley/Samuel = McCovey/Cepeda, except now there's a DH so that you can play both.  

Wouldn’t that be a treat?

[Three Run Homer]

A year from now we'll be asking how we make room for Rustchmann, Basallo and Aneudis Mordan.  

[luismatos4prez]

I strongly believe Basallo is a Top 20 prospect in baseball right now.

[now]

Just jacked another one (5 in 5 games) to walk off a win in the 9th after Aberdeen coughed up 4 in the top of the 9th to tie the game. A 0-2 pitch, just crushed, but an easy swing, he just watched it sail away. A man among boys (except younger than most of them...)  Looking fwd to watching this guy cruise through our system!

 

Edited September 8, 2023 by now

[733baseball]

tie game, two outs and two strikes in the ninth, and he rips one into the bullpen

first walk off home run that anyone's hit there since COVID