Roch: Scout talks Os and Os prospects

[Os4days]

We all know Mateo has been struggling pretty bad at the plate right now but I still prefer him as our starting shortstop at least throughout the rest of the year. His defense is still pretty solid and he provides us tremendous speed and is the only true base stealer not named Mullins. I remember Ozzie Smith prior to him becoming a consistent .280 hitter was still a valuable member of the Cardinals. 
 

When we get into some close games in August, September, and hopefully October, teams will do everything they can to keep him off the bases. Having that kind of threat goes a long way! I would like to him stop swinging at the first pitch. 

[SteveO]

17 minutes ago, Os4days said:

We all know Mateo has been struggling pretty bad at the plate right now but I still prefer him as our starting shortstop at least throughout the rest of the year. His defense is still pretty solid and he provides us tremendous speed and is the only true base stealer not named Mullins. I remember Ozzie Smith prior to him becoming a consistent .280 hitter was still a valuable member of the Cardinals. 
 

When we get into some close games in August, September, and hopefully October, teams will do everything they can to keep him off the bases. Having that kind of threat goes a long way! I would like to him stop swinging at the first pitch. 

I would certainly not move him for peanuts but would not cry if he were to be included in a deal for a SP.  

It's not a matter of disliking Mateo for me, quite the contrary I respect the hell out of the work he has put in to improve his offensive game. I just think his value has substantially improved, he plays a position of organizational depth, and would I would not lose my mind if the team moved him to improve the rotation. That said, will be happy also to see him on the roster at the end of the season. 

 

Edited May 23, 2023 by SteveO

[Billy F-Face3]

1 hour ago, orioles22 said:

I hate any plan that turns Mateo into a "utility guy." It makes no sense to me to have him playing anywhere but short.

I like the idea of him playing Centerfield as a secondary position, like he's done before in the past. He's got the speed to cover some ground.

[Bemorewins]

7 hours ago, OriolesMagic83 said:

Ortiz gets most of the playing time until Mateo finally gets on a hot streak.  I assume the Analytical wizards know enough to come up with an equitable division. 

That’s not a platoon. That’s called replacing Mateo with Ortiz. I’m sure that’s under consideration by the O’s or else Ortiz would be at AAA. he appears to slowly be getting more playing time. It will be interesting to see what the O’s do when Urias comes back.

But like I said in other posts concerning this issue, either one Ortiz or Mateo are merely placeholders for Holliday. So at best, no matter which occupies the position, it is for a year at most and probably even less than that.

[Bemorewins]

7 hours ago, Os4days said:

We all know Mateo has been struggling pretty bad at the plate right now but I still prefer him as our starting shortstop at least throughout the rest of the year. His defense is still pretty solid and he provides us tremendous speed and is the only true base stealer not named Mullins. I remember Ozzie Smith prior to him becoming a consistent .280 hitter was still a valuable member of the Cardinals. 
 

When we get into some close games in August, September, and hopefully October, teams will do everything they can to keep him off the bases. Having that kind of threat goes a long way! I would like to him stop swinging at the first pitch. 

I remember the days of Ozzie Smith as well and would love for Mateo to turn into a hall of fame caliber player. But the problem with that logic is that was a LONG TIME ago. There have now been arguably 3 eras in the sport since the days that the Wizard was patrolling SS for the Cardinals (the steroid era, the immediate post steroid era [the one Adam Jones played in], and now the exit velo/launch angle/no shift era).

As to the bolded portion of your post, teams don't have to try that hard to keep him off the bases, he seems to have that covered pretty well himself. If he doesn't hit or has another 2/3 weeks of what he has done in the month of May, they will probably make a change.

I like you, really like Mateo and want him to succeed. But he has to be at least a threat with the bat in his hands or else the speed is irrelevant. Remember the old saying, "you can't steal first base".

[Bemorewins]

7 hours ago, SteveO said:

I would certainly not move him for peanuts but would not cry if he were to be included in a deal for a SP.  

It's not a matter of disliking Mateo for me, quite the contrary I respect the hell out of the work he has put in to improve his offensive game. I just think his value has substantially improved, he plays a position of organizational depth, and would I would not lose my mind if the team moved him to improve the rotation. That said, will be happy also to see him on the roster at the end of the season. 

 

Whatever the month of April did to improve his value, the month of May has done the opposite to take that all away. There are still serious questions regarding his offense. That kind of player unfortunately, especially at age 27, really doesn't have much trade value. 

[Frobby]

11 hours ago, Os4days said:

We all know Mateo has been struggling pretty bad at the plate right now but I still prefer him as our starting shortstop at least throughout the rest of the year. His defense is still pretty solid and he provides us tremendous speed and is the only true base stealer not named Mullins. I remember Ozzie Smith prior to him becoming a consistent .280 hitter was still a valuable member of the Cardinals. 
 

When we get into some close games in August, September, and hopefully October, teams will do everything they can to keep him off the bases. Having that kind of threat goes a long way! I would like to him stop swinging at the first pitch. 

To steal bases, you have to be on base.  He stole 10 bases in April, but only 4 in May, for the simple reason that he hasn’t been on base much this month.  

Honestly, he will lose his starting job if he keeps hitting like this.   His slash line for May is .107/.136/.125 in 60 PA.   That is about as bad a performance over 60 PA as I’ve ever seen.  How anyone can have a 1.062 OPS one month and .261 the next is beyond my comprehension.  
 

[Can_of_corn]

1 minute ago, Frobby said:

To steal bases, you have to be on base.  He stole 10 bases in April, but only 4 in May, for the simple reason that he hasn’t been on base much this month.  

Honestly, he will lose his starting job if he keeps hitting like this.   His slash line for May is .107/.136/.125 in 60 PA.   That is about as bad a performance over 60 PA as I’ve ever seen.  How anyone can have a 1.062 OPS one month and .261 the next is beyond my comprehension.  
 

And Frobby was here for the Chris Davis 54 at bat hitless streak  (62 plate appearances)!

Edited May 23, 2023 by Can_of_corn

[RVAOsFan]

1 minute ago, Frobby said:

To steal bases, you have to be on base.  He stole 10 bases in April, but only 4 in May, for the simple reason that he hasn’t been on base much this month.  

Honestly, he will lose his starting job if he keeps hitting like this.   His slash line for May is .107/.136/.125 in 60 PA.   That is about as bad a performance over 60 PA as I’ve ever seen.  How anyone can have a 1.062 OPS one month and .261 the next is beyond my comprehension.  
 

Not making excuses for him but I wonder if that hip injury has been more of a lingering thing than they have let on.

[Hank Scorpio]

4 minutes ago, RVAOsFan said:

Not making excuses for him but I wonder if that hip injury has been more of a lingering thing than they have let on.

I don't think he is THIS bad, but he's definitely not the guy we had in April either. It was encouraging to see him lay off of balls early on, but his pitch recognition abilities are .... lacking. 

I prefer Joey Ortiz, honestly. I think his offensive upside far exceeds Mateo's.

[RZNJ]

Mateo isn’t going anywhere but his playing time needs to be cut back.  Ortiz has shown that there is little, if any, drop off defensively when he’s in the game.   Ortiz and Urias can coexist on the same team.  Mateo can start 2-3 times a week and pinch run.   Ortiz can get the other starts at SS and the occasional game at 2B against a LHP when Urias is also spelling Gunnar at 3B.   Urías starts against all LHP and at least one start per week at 1B.   Vavra or O’Hearn are the odd man out.

[RVAOsFan]

7 minutes ago, Hank Scorpio said:

I don't think he is THIS bad, but he's definitely not the guy we had in April either. It was encouraging to see him lay off of balls early on, but his pitch recognition abilities are .... lacking. 

I prefer Joey Ortiz, honestly. I think his offensive upside far exceeds Mateo's.

If Ortiz can take over the starting SS position this year that would make our 26 man so much deeper.  Having Mateo available to come in off the bench late in the game to pinch run then take over at SS and slide Ortiz over to 2B for an elite middle infield defense.  What manager wouldn't love to have that option?

I know there have been a lot of discussions around trading Mateo for pitching but I wouldn't just give him away.  I think he would be an incredible option to bring in late off the bench.

[Hank Scorpio]

8 minutes ago, RVAOsFan said:

If Ortiz can take over the starting SS position this year that would make our 26 man so much deeper.  Having Mateo available to come in off the bench late in the game to pinch run then take over at SS and slide Ortiz over to 2B for an elite middle infield defense.  What manager wouldn't love to have that option?

I know there have been a lot of discussions around trading Mateo for pitching but I wouldn't just give him away.  I think he would be an incredible option to bring in late off the bench.

He's definitely valuable. If he can give you a .750 OPS he's extremely valuable.

I dunno. I think I just prefer a more steady offensive threat. If he could just get on base at a .310 clip, I wouldn't be beating the drum.