Samuel Basallo 2023

[Just Regular]

This is a fun area to learn a bit more about.    Here's Licey from last winter...they had Elly de la Cruz, Oneil Cruz and Triston Casas.    Cesar Valdez was their ace.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/team.cgi?id=2ad82af2

I wonder what kind of money the players make.      Season structure seems to be about 60 games total, almost half of it being semifinals and final rounds.    The ~30 game regular season only has to cut 6 teams down to 4.

 

[Frobby]

Basallo had a double and a triple today.  He’s hitting .467/.500/.667 in 16 PA this week in AA.  One game left.  

[glenn__davis]

What a phenomenal season.  I think most of the board was bullish on him before the season but no one expected this I don't think. 

[Jagwar]

55 minutes ago, glenn__davis said:

What a phenomenal season.  I think most of the board was bullish on him before the season but no one expected this I don't think. 

I think it gives the O's front office options when trying to decide whether to extend Adley or not. 

[waroriole]

3 hours ago, Jagwar said:

I think it gives the O's front office options when trying to decide whether to extend Adley or not. 

I think John already made that decision. 

[deward]

From a new BA article:

[oriolediehard]

On 4/7/2023 at 7:47 AM, btdart20 said:

Agreed.  He'll be a C until he proves otherwise.  The only other factor when he's a year out is the State of Adley.

Can he move to first base?

[owknows]

13 hours ago, oriolediehard said:

Can he move to first base?

Mountcastle, O'Hearn, Mayo, Westburg will already be standing on it.

[RZNJ]

8 minutes ago, owknows said:

Mountcastle, O'Hearn, Mayo, Westburg will already be standing on it.

Basallo has already played more 1B than any previous O’s top prospect.  With Rutschman at catcher it looks like they are preparing Basallo as either a part time or full time option at 1B.

[btdart20]

13 hours ago, oriolediehard said:

Can he move to first base?

Can he?  Yes.  Does he need to?  Not quite there.  It's definitely an option.  But he doesn't need to be forced out from behind the plate just yet.

Personally, I wouldn't let anything inhibit his bat development though.

 

MLBTR had a Basallo blurb that thinks he'll be moved to 1B of "necessity".  The green font is because the blurb is heavy on opinion and empty of stats and facts. 

Samuel Basallo, 18, C, BAL (AA)
(A/A+/AA) 483 PA, 20 HR, 12 SB, .313/.402/.551

Basallo began the year as a young power-over-hit catcher with a questionable defensive reputation. He appeared to be half a decade away from a debut – if it ever came at all. He’s now played his way onto Top 100 lists as the latest Orioles breakout. Basallo is built like a first baseman, and it’s where I expect to see him long-term. I believe it’s telling the Orioles have opted to promote him based on the development of his bat rather than his glove. Most catchers meander through the minors as they hone their defensive chops. Concerns about his hit tool appear to be overstated. Given his raw power, he looks likely to make enough contact to float at first base. Fine adjustments might determine whether he’s Rowdy Tellez redux or a first-division starter. In the grand tradition of Carlos Delgado and Kyle Schwarber, Basallo might get some play at catcher before the Orioles bow to necessity.

Big Hype Prospects: Langford, Manzardo, Mead, Jones, Basallo - MLB Trade Rumors 

[jabba72]

15 hours ago, oriolediehard said:

Can he move to first base?

I'd split AR and Basallo 81-81 at Catcher when he's ready for a full-time role and then let them DH the other games. 

1B can also be a position but AR doesn't play there. 

[Frobby]

Admittedly, minor league stats only tell you so much about catching skills.  But here’s what I was able to glean.

Basallo started 50 games at C at Delmarva.  He had a 33% CS%, runners attempted a steal 2.18 times per game, and he allowed 0.12 passed balls per game.  The Shorebirds as a whole were at 29%, 2.17 per game, and 0.146. The league as a whole was at 24%, 2.12 per game, and 0.144.  So, Basallo was better than the other catchers on the team and the league average in both CS% and PB%.  Runners attempted steals on him just slightly above a league average number of times.  

Basallo caught 15 games in the Sally League, and averaged 31% CS%, 1.98 attempts per game, and .067 passed balls per game.  The Ironbirds as a whole were 27%, 1.91 per game and .078.  The league was 24%, 1.75 per game, 0.134.  So again, Basallo was above team average and league average in CS% and PB/game, with teams running on him a bit more than team and league average.  

Badallo also caught two games at Bowie, not enough to bother analyzing.  But, overall Basallo started at C in 67 of the 113 games he played across all levels.  

So, I don’t see anything in these numbers to suggest that he’s a 1B wearing catcher’s gear.  Like I said, you can only get so much out of minor league data.  I don’t know about his pitch framing, or how he does limiting wild pitches, or calling a game.  At a minimum, it’s clear to me can throw, and he’s not an embarrassment when it comes to letting pitches get past him.  That’s not to suggest that he doesn’t have a lot more work to do to be a major league quality catcher.

 


 

[btdart20]

17 minutes ago, Frobby said:

Admittedly, minor league stats only tell you so much about catching skills.  But here’s what I was able to glean.

Basallo started 50 games at C at Delmarva.  He had a 33% CS%, runners attempted a steal 2.18 times per game, and he allowed 0.12 passed balls per game.  The Shorebirds as a whole were at 29%, 2.17 per game, and 0.146. The league as a whole was at 24%, 2.12 per game, and 0.144.  So, Basallo was better than the other catchers on the team and the league average in both CS% and PB%.  Runners attempted steals on him just slightly above a league average number of times.  

Basallo caught 15 games in the Sally League, and averaged 31% CS%, 1.98 attempts per game, and .067 passed balls per game.  The Ironbirds as a whole were 27%, 1.91 per game and .078.  The league was 24%, 1.75 per game, 0.134.  So again, Basallo was above team average and league average in CS% and PB/game, with teams running on him a bit more than team and league average.  

Basallo also caught two games at Bowie, not enough to bother analyzing.  But, overall Basallo started at C in 67 of the 113 games he played across all levels.  

So, I don’t see anything in these numbers to suggest that he’s a 1B wearing catcher’s gear.  Like I said, you can only get so much out of minor league data.  I don’t know about his pitch framing, or how he does limiting wild pitches, or calling a game.  At a minimum, it’s clear to me can throw, and he’s not an embarrassment when it comes to letting pitches get past him.  That’s not to suggest that he doesn’t have a lot more work to do to be a major league quality catcher.

Thanks for pulling that together.  And I like your summary that there's much more to catching than the numbers you shared. 

I don't think Basallo's time at 1B is inevitable by any stretch.  It's positional flexibility like they've prioritized with other athletic players and a way to get a C more PAs too.  That said, I wouldn't hold up the development of his bat waiting on the defense to catch up. 

It's not hard to envision Basallo as the McCann/O'Hearn replacement as the back-up C/LHH 1B/DH option in 2025.

[deward]

I suspect that any move to shift Basallo off catcher will be less motivated by his own capabilities at the position and more by a desire to maximize his bat.

[btdart20]

Monday's BA podcast spent the first 30 minutes recapping the O's path to clinching this year.  Nothing really earth-shattering on OH.

But there was a quick comment on Basallo at the 6:20 mark where they (Glaser or Pontes) said scouts have his arm as a 70 grade (some an 80 grade).