McCann activated Stowers optioned

[Ohfan67]

17 minutes ago, Tony-OH said:

Now I like Vavra as a bench guy overall, but if one of them is going to sit the bench while the other plays everyday in AAA, I'm fine with sending Stowers down if the choice was between the two. 

Saying that, let's look at the two by skills.

Hitting average: Vavra edge
Vavra has a career .306 average in 1099 minor league PAs while Stowers is at .261. Vavra hits the ball better gap to gap. 

Hitting power: Stowers big edge
Stowers has a 52 homers in 1165 PAs while Vavra has 21. Stower's .158 ISO last year in limited major league play doubled Vavra's .071.

Hitting OBP: Edge Vavra 
Now Stowers is no slouch here with a 11.1% BB rate in AAA and a .377 OBP in AA and .361 OBP in AAA. Vavra though has a career minor league OBP is .410. 

Hitting left-handers: Big edge Stowers
Stowers slashed .330/.441/.577/1.018 in 118 AAA PAs and .292/.384/.567/.951 in 138 PAs in 2021. Vavra slashed .239/.372/.310/.682 in 86 AAA PAs and .162/.311/.189/.500 in 45 PAs in 2021.

Defense: Edge Stowers
Stowers has better more accurate arm with a peak max of 96 MPH to Vavra's 89.1. Feet covered are about the same though Stowers is a little better on ft vs avg on similar balls hit to him.

Player        Reaction    Burst   Route  ft vs avg   ft/sec

Vavra                -2        -4.3     0.7          -5.6       29.7
Stowers          -1.9         -2      0.2          -3.8       29.4

Running: About even
Both are surprisingly below average runners with Stowers being in the 42.7 percentile and Vavra at 44.6. 

The issue here is that OBP typically does not translate to the major leagues without a threat of power and Vavra's .327 major league OBP kinda already suggests that in a small sample size of 113 PAs. 

As bench players, it depends on what player you want and Vavra's defensive flexibility (though he's not very good at 2B and has limited experience at 3B) gives him a little edge. We've already seen Vavra's lack of experience in the outfield in the Boston series and I've seen Stowers enough in the minors to know he's an adequate, better than Santander defensive outfielder.

As a starter, I'm going to take the power from Stowers everyday of the week in my lienup over a Vavra type.

    

 

 

It sounds like Vavra is going to have a hard time sticking at the ML level as a regular or as a utility guy. 

[sportsfan8703]

Big hit for McCann last night. It’s nice to have a backup C that is a threat on offense. 

[RZNJ]

1 minute ago, sportsfan8703 said:

Big hit for McCann last night. It’s nice to have a backup C that is a threat on offense. 

He lined out to the RF his first time.  I couldn’t believe the RF was playing that close to the line against a RH hitter.   Next time a liner that hit grass pretty quickly.    It only made it to the wall because the RF was so far towards the line.   I guess that’s the book on McCann.   Two good AB’s.

[Sports Guy]

I saw Stowers got a hit off of a lefty last night.

Edited April 12, 2023 by Sports Guy

[lazyjc22]

Is the book on McCann that he can't hit RHP's?  Was surprised to see him pinch hit for after two good AB's.  

[jamalshw]

11 minutes ago, lazyjc22 said:

Is the book on McCann that he can't hit RHP's?  Was surprised to see him pinch hit for after two good AB's.  

The book on McCann over the last couple years is that he can't hit at all, but his career splits are a .777 OPS against LHP and a .635 OPS against RHP, so yes, he's much better against southpaws. 

[interloper]

I was disappointed in that PH AB by Vavra. Two pitches and chased a high fastball for a pop up. Ben mentioned he's been over-anxious and before he could even finish saying it he had popped up (BTW - Ben makes a lot of accurate calls before they happen I've noticed. Guy has a great eye for the game.) Vavra needs to stay within himself at this level. 

Not that McKenna looked any better as the next PH in that spot later on. 

Edited April 12, 2023 by interloper

[RZNJ]

1 minute ago, interloper said:

I was disappointed in that PH AB by Vavra. Two pitches and chased a high fastball for a pop up. Ben mentioned he's been over-anxious and before he could even finish saying it he had popped up. Vavra needs to stay within himself at this level. 

Not that McKenna looked any better as the next PH in that spot later on. 

Vavra looks like he’s trying too hard.  McKenna looks futile.

[interloper]

Just now, RZNJ said:

Vavra looks like he’s trying too hard.  McKenna looks futile.

Bench might be in for shakeup soon. I think O'Hearn would look pretty good on this bench if they are going to be DHing and PHing with Vavra. 

 

[Otter]

18 minutes ago, interloper said:

Bench might be in for shakeup soon. I think O'Hearn would look pretty good on this bench if they are going to be DHing and PHing with Vavra. 

 

Agreed.  We need at least one bench player with a little pop.

[Mooreisbetter27]

21 minutes ago, interloper said:

Bench might be in for shakeup soon. I think O'Hearn would look pretty good on this bench if they are going to be DHing and PHing with Vavra. 

 

O'Hearn, Diaz and Lester are all crushing the ball in Norfolk right now.  

[Tony-OH]

33 minutes ago, interloper said:

I was disappointed in that PH AB by Vavra. Two pitches and chased a high fastball for a pop up. Ben mentioned he's been over-anxious and before he could even finish saying it he had popped up (BTW - Ben makes a lot of accurate calls before they happen I've noticed. Guy has a great eye for the game.) Vavra needs to stay within himself at this level. 

Not that McKenna looked any better as the next PH in that spot later on. 

The Orioles are riding their starting outfielders hard early on and not finding ways to get anyone else any kind of semi consistent PAs. It's hard to produce when you knw if you don't, you probably won't get another PA for 3-4 games.

[interloper]

2 hours ago, Tony-OH said:

The Orioles are riding their starting outfielders hard early on and not finding ways to get anyone else any kind of semi consistent PAs. It's hard to produce when you knw if you don't, you probably won't get another PA for 3-4 games.

This is why I think if they're going that route, to just go ahead and call up O'Hearn, who is probably a much better PH option than someone like Vavra or Stowers, who need/deserve regular playing time. 

After the 3 catcher thing is done, DFA Bemboom, select O'Hearn IMO. 

[BohKnowsBmore]

27 minutes ago, interloper said:

This is why I think if they're going that route, to just go ahead and call up O'Hearn, who is probably a much better PH option than someone like Vavra or Stowers, who need/deserve regular playing time. 

After the 3 catcher thing is done, DFA Bemboom, select O'Hearn IMO. 

If McCann catching goes well tonight and he's feeling good tomorrow, I wouldn't be surprised to see the Bemboom move happen this weekend.