Bench Mountcastle, start O’Hearn

[bpilktree]

3 hours ago, 25 Nuggets said:

The Orioles are OPSing .746 vs lefties and .744 vs righties.

Yes they are but not because of the guys that we are talking about.  O’Hearn is .472,  Frazier .615, Henderson .543.   You should not have a lineup where those 3 guys are starting vs a lefty. You add Urias and his .517 in there and it won’t be .746 long.   One of the biggest reasons we are Opsing that high is Mountcastle and his 1.017 vs lefties.  

[bpilktree]

2 hours ago, maybenxtyr said:

Mateo. Can you think of any scenario right now with the amount of call-ups over the last year where you would be pleased with a starting lineup with Mateo in it? Of course I'm not accounting for any injuries. My answer is no.

Mateo is hitting .303 and has an OPS of .776 vs left handers.  He should get some starts vs lefties with Henderson and Frazier struggling vs them. 

[25 Nuggets]

3 minutes ago, bpilktree said:

Yes they are but not because of the guys that we are talking about.  O’Hearn is .472,  Frazier .615, Henderson .543.   You should not have a lineup where those 3 guys are starting vs a lefty. You add Urias and his .517 in there and it won’t be .746 long.   One of the biggest reasons we are Opsing that high is Mountcastle and his 1.017 vs lefties.  

With Hays in the OF vs lefties I don't believe either O'Hearn or Frazier would be in the lineup.

Westburg is kind of the replacement for Mountcastle as a right handed hitter.  So you've got Hays (849), Westburg (1.100 - SSS), Rutschman (837), Santander (893), Hicks (785 including the Yankees), Mateo (775) and Mullins (804 - RS) who are hitting better vs lefties than righties this season.  Henderson and Cowser should be getting at bats vs lefties so they can learn.  That's nine right there.

[now]

Just noticed how well Cody Bellinger is doing for the Cubs. .303, 9 HR, 861 OPS (incl. a bomb agst. Rodon tonite). I love what O'Hearn has been doing in place of Mountcastle, but I remember advocating for the O's to sign Bellinger before the season and no one else on the board seemed interested. Would have been a good backup CFer too (again not knocking what Hicks did to fill in there). 

Edited July 8, 2023 by now

[Billy F-Face3]

11 hours ago, clapdiddy said:

If you could straight platoon these guys, you'd have extremely nice numbers.  

Mountcastle vs LHP:  .311/.342/.676

O'Hearn vs RHP: .320/.366/.557

I agree. I really like the idea of platooning. Something no one else seems to be talking about is the power for home runs that Mountcastle gives you especially against LHP. 22 Home Runs last season. And he hit 5 just in one series at the beginning of this season. No one on the Orioles besides Santander has hit more home runs or RBIs in the last year and a half.  Plus he seems to have good games against the Blue Jays. He's a Blue Jays killa.

[LA2]

3 hours ago, now said:

Just noticed how well Cody Bellinger is doing for the Cubs. .303, 9 HR, 861 OPS (incl. a bomb agst. Rodon tonite). I love what O'Hearn has been doing in place of Mountcastle, but I remember advocating for the O's to sign Bellinger before the season and no one else on the board seemed interested. Would have been a good backup CFer too (again not knocking what Hicks did to fill in there). 

$12.5 million / year on a two-year contract with a $5 million mutual option--for a back-up to Mullins? Only if the Yankees somehow agree to pay for it.... 

[now]

7 hours ago, LA2 said:

$12.5 million / year on a two-year contract with a $5 million mutual option--for a back-up to Mullins? Only if the Yankees somehow agree to pay for it.... 

I was actually thinking more as a replacement for Mountcastle. Some of this is monday morning QB thinking, as I'm concerned about Mountcastle's vertigo long term. But even before the season we knew he could be a liability at the bat. Bellinger also came with risk but that gamble had huge upside, a higher offensive ceiling and more position flexibility than Mountcastle.