Bench Mountcastle, start O’Hearn

[Moose Milligan]

I’ve seen enough of Ryan Mountcastle. 
 

I hate to say it but I can’t stand it anymore. The valleys are too low, the peaks aren’t high enough or often enough. And he’s actually regressing, he’s worse this year than he was last year.  
 

You can’t start a first baseman with an on base percentage as bad as his. It’s unacceptable. A guy like Mateo, at least he brings a premium glove to a premium position. I do believe Mateo’s WAR last year was higher than Mountcastle’s entire career value which is absurd. Mateo, if he stays the full time SS this year, will probably lap Mountcastle’s career WAR again if he hasn’t already. 
 

But I digress. I was pretty harsh on the O’Hearn signing this past offseason but I also didn’t expect Mountcastle to be this terrible. 
 

O’Hearn is a better option right now. That’s partially because Mountcastle has made the bar so low to hurdle that it doesn’t mean much. But O’Hearn has flashed and his at bats are better than anything Mountcastle has shown. 
 

If I’m Elias, I’m admittedly selling low on Mountcastle to make room for a Santander/O’Hearn platoon at 1B and DH and bringing up Cowser to play RF.  And quite frankly, I don’t care what I get back for Mountcastle, the fact that this team gets better without his presence is enough. 

Edited June 7, 2023 by Moose Milligan

[glenn__davis]

He's fine against LHP.  He's been abysmal against RHP.  He needs to start losing AB against RHP.

BTW, our IF OPS as of this post:

Mountcastle - .697

Frazier - .703

Mateo - .654

Urias - .662

 

That's not going to cut it.

[forphase1]

I agree.   But Mateo needs benched just as bad if not worse.

[casadeozo]

With Elias coming from an analytically driven organization like Houston, I dont understand the idea of giving at bats to players like Mountcastle. As has been mentioned many times he has regressed every year and plays a bgelow average 1B. Is it just blind loyalty?

[Hank Scorpio]

“It’s about winning this year.”

Well, they’re winning with a comically bad infield.

We’ll see how it plays out I guess. But it wouldn’t be very hard to improve the offense… and when your pitching is marginal, you’d better find ways to score more runs.

[OsFanSinceThe80s]

5 minutes ago, casadeozo said:

With Elias coming from an analytically driven organization like Houston, I dont understand the idea of giving at bats to players like Mountcastle. As has been mentioned many times he has regressed every year and plays a bgelow average 1B. Is it just blind loyalty?

Mountcastle is strictly a platoon bat against LHP at this point. He does have an 1.017 OPS against southpaws and can't hit RHP to save his life.

[Brooks The Great]

Mountcastle should be strictly platooned, if not sent to Norfolk to regroup. If the Jays can demote Alek Manoah, the Orioles can demote Mountcastle.

Mateo needs to be benched as well, and Ortiz given a shot to play everyday SS. 

This team could be so much better by utilizing one of its strengths - its minor league system.

A lineup with Westburg, Cowser, and Ortiz in it would be so much better. This team keeps leaving wins on the table with poor roster management by Elias and bad game management and lineup optimization by Hyde. 

[Aristotelian]

O'Hearn has earned more looks, and Mountcastle has earned fewer.

[Ripken]

He has options.  Send him down.   He should not be in Baltimore at this point.

[Ripken]

41 minutes ago, glenn__davis said:

He's fine against LHP.  He's been abysmal against RHP.  He needs to start losing AB against RHP.

BTW, our IF OPS as of this post:

Mountcastle - .697

Frazier - .703

Mateo - .654

Urias - .662

 

That's not going to cut it.

Westburg should've been on the team from the beginning.  He should certainly be here now.  Cowser looks good, too.  There are a few very replaceable players on the current 26.  It's beyond time to make some changes.

[accinfo]

3 minutes ago, Brooks The Great said:

 

A lineup with Westburg, Cowser, and Ortiz in it would be so much better. This team keeps leaving wins on the table with poor roster management by Elias and bad game management and lineup optimization by Hyde. 

I am getting frustrated with Mountcastle and Mateo as well but just because those guys are hitting well in the minor leagues doesn't mean they will do better than Mountcastle and Mateo in the major leagues.  Look at Mountcastle's AAA production in 2019.  Now I give you they all walk more than Mountcastle.  Pretty much everyone walks more than Mountcastle.   I think Cowser would be up if he didn't get hurt.   I think if this continues much longer they will make some changes but you can't argue with the record so far.  

[Brooks The Great]

9 minutes ago, accinfo said:

I am getting frustrated with Mountcastle and Mateo as well but just because those guys are hitting well in the minor leagues doesn't mean they will do better than Mountcastle and Mateo in the major leagues.  Look at Mountcastle's AAA production in 2019.  Now I give you they all walk more than Mountcastle.  Pretty much everyone walks more than Mountcastle.   I think Cowser would be up if he didn't get hurt.   I think if this continues much longer they will make some changes but you can't argue with the record so far.  

I can argue with willingly keeping talent in the minors that could help this team. I honestly think the team would be 20 games over .500 or better with a better manager, Westburg and Ortiz called up earlier/given more playing time, and if Frazier had never been signed.

Those things can't be changed retroactively obviously, but the right moves can be made in the future to correct major issues with the team. The team and the front office should always be striving to improve. I'm not going to be satisfied with the current record when I think this team could have been even better, and could be even better moving forward by moving on from players who aren't producing.

Mountcastle, Mateo, Frazier, McKenna, Voth, Perez - we have options in the minors who can replace these guys and who have a good chance to be more productive. Just because minor leaguers frequently struggle after being promoted to the majors isn't an excuse to keep them down in every single instance. 

I'm sorry, two of the worst OBP's in major league baseball from Mateo and Mountcastle can be improved upon by almost anyone, especially prospects who have demonstrated excellent on-base skills (Cowser, and to a lesser extent Westburg) and great exit velocities (Ortiz, Westburg, and Cowser) in the minors.

Edited June 7, 2023 by Brooks The Great

[casadeozo]

9 minutes ago, accinfo said:

I am getting frustrated with Mountcastle and Mateo as well but just because those guys are hitting well in the minor leagues doesn't mean they will do better than Mountcastle and Mateo in the major leagues.  Look at Mountcastle's AAA production in 2019.  Now I give you they all walk more than Mountcastle.  Pretty much everyone walks more than Mountcastle.   I think Cowser would be up if he didn't get hurt.   I think if this continues much longer they will make some changes but you can't argue with the record so far.  

Whether or not the minor leaguers will do better than Mountcastle and Mateo is not the point. The point is you won’t know unless you give them at bats. The record is not indicative of the teams talent level. The rangers had their way with us and are a much stronger lineup. We need an injection of talent ASAP

Edited June 7, 2023 by casadeozo

[Ridgway22]

2 hours ago, Moose Milligan said:

....Ryan Mountcastle. 
 

I hate to say it but I can’t stand it anymore......

Thanks Moose for saying what needed to be said. I had high hopes for RM when he came up, envisioning him as middle of the order monster spraying hard hit rockets all over the yard. He'll learn plate discipline, I thought, he just needs the experience...... well, mark another thing I was wrong about. 

Even Gunnar, as rough as his start has been, you see the "pro" in his at bats, and he's but a pup. Mateo gave me baseball woodrow with his hot start, but "He's exactly who we thought he was!" in the end. Love his D and speed, but he's a Belanger-esque black hole at the plate. 

If you wanna run with the big dogs, you've got to get off the porch. Cowser up to RF, Santander to 1B/DH, more O'Hearn, depress the gas pedal on Heston K's arrival., and let the Joey Ortiz era at SS begin, at least until some baby-faced kid I've been hearing about in the low minors is ready. Westburg? Hmmmm.

I'm not saying I've got the answers, but change HAS to be coming with Mateo and especially Mountcastle. I'd rather do it early enough we can reverse it if it proves to be a disaster scenario. But if we're contenders, there is never going to be a perfect time to feather in the new talent. 

Come October, I want the best possible 26 settled in, and ready to reign terror on the FMY, Rays, 'Stros, etc.

[ShoelesJoe]

If Mountcastle was a LH bat and couldn't hit LH pitchers he'd have been moved to a platoon role a while ago, and nobody would have questioned it. Why are baseball managers so reluctant to make the same adjustments when it comes to RH batters who can't hit RH pitchers?