Orioles calling up Westburg.

[Getz]

39 minutes ago, Bemorewins said:

And he should. He is thought of much more as a prospect by the consensus of the baseball scouting/talent evaluation community.

Not all prospects are created the same and nor should all be treated the same. The ones with more talent/upside will be given more opportunities than the others, as it should be and IS in ALL organizations.

They gave no opportunity to Ortiz. I get it they might not find him that good, but no one can convince me that they even gave him a chance.

[Bemorewins]

1 minute ago, Getz said:

They gave no opportunity to Ortiz. I get it they might not find him that good, but no one can convince me that they even gave him a chance.

It's true that he wasn't given much of a chance. But it is also true that they way our org has gone about the draft for the last 5 years and the choice to sit out on competing for 3 consecutive seasons after being one of the worst teams in the history of baseball in 2018. We have WAY TO MUCH positional talent inventory for everyone to get a shot let alone even make it to the Majors as an Oriole. The reality is that some will have to find chances elsewhere when given opportunities. There is just simply no place to play everyone.

[deward]

8 minutes ago, Bemorewins said:

It's true that he wasn't given much of a chance. But it is also true that they way our org has gone about the draft for the last 5 years and the choice to sit out on competing for 3 consecutive seasons after being one of the worst teams in the history of baseball in 2018. We have WAY TO MUCH positional talent inventory for everyone to get a shot let alone even make it to the Majors as an Oriole. The reality is that some will have to find chances elsewhere when given opportunities. There is just simply no place to play everyone.

I like Westburg better as a prospect than Ortiz, but Ortiz should have been given much more of an opportunity to supplant Mateo.

[interloper]

2 minutes ago, deward said:

I like Westburg better as a prospect than Ortiz, but Ortiz should have been given much more of an opportunity to supplant Mateo.

I think by the time they were ready to start benching Mateo more, Ortiz had been rotting on the bench while Westburg has been playing consistently in AAA. And that might have been the difference between Westburg starting against these upcoming LHPs over Ortiz. One guy is rusty, one isn't. 

[glenn__davis]

1 hour ago, Bemorewins said:

It's not like who they choose is some sort of random selection. They choose the best/most talent/highest ceilinged prospects that they believe are future cornerstones/starters/stars of the team. I think it would be unreasonable to "hype" and make a big deal about every single player debuting with the team, especially given how many they are at this time.

I don't need "hype" videos for every player.  Frankly I'd prefer they not give them to any player.  Is Westburg going to get a "Welcome to the show" shirt?  Was Ortiz's callup any less meaningful to him that we didn't get the video of him getting the news that he was called up?

Just creates unnecessary prospect class-status as far as I'm concerned.  I got it for Adley, he was the 1st and kind of represented a change.  But all the rest - if you're going to do this for some players but not others it makes it very clear where you stand with the organization.  

[jabba72]

6 minutes ago, glenn__davis said:

I don't need "hype" videos for every player.  Frankly I'd prefer they not give them to any player.  Is Westburg going to get a "Welcome to the show" shirt?  Was Ortiz's callup any less meaningful to him that we didn't get the video of him getting the news that he was called up?

Just creates unnecessary prospect class-status as far as I'm concerned.  I got it for Adley, he was the 1st and kind of represented a change.  But all the rest - if you're going to do this for some players but not others it makes it very clear where you stand with the organization.  

It is interesting the differences here between Stowers/Ortiz and Westburg's promotion. Elias is clearly telling us where he stands on certain prospects. Even had Passan breaking the news. 

[deward]

1 minute ago, jabba72 said:

It is interesting the differences here between Stowers/Ortiz and Westburg's promotion. Elias is clearly telling us where he stands on certain prospects. Even had Passan breaking the news. 

Agreed, it is definitely an interesting approach. Makes me wonder how much direction the Marketing/Social Media team gets from Elias on this kind of stuff.

[24fps]

14 minutes ago, glenn__davis said:

I don't need "hype" videos for every player.  Frankly I'd prefer they not give them to any player.  Is Westburg going to get a "Welcome to the show" shirt?  Was Ortiz's callup any less meaningful to him that we didn't get the video of him getting the news that he was called up?

Just creates unnecessary prospect class-status as far as I'm concerned.  I got it for Adley, he was the 1st and kind of represented a change.  But all the rest - if you're going to do this for some players but not others it makes it very clear where you stand with the organization.  

Agreed.  Additionally in underscoring that difference in status they're hardly enhancing the trade value for players on the wrong side of the calculus.  Ortiz would have been better served staying in Norfolk IMO.  Maybe the Orioles too.

[NCRaven]

Just now, 24fps said:

Agreed.  Additionally in underscoring that difference in status they're hardly enhancing the trade value for players on the wrong side of the calculus.  Ortiz would have been better served staying in Norfolk IMO.  Maybe the Orioles too.

Other GM's aren't basing trade offers on PR videos when players are promoted.

[owknows]

11 minutes ago, jabba72 said:

It is interesting the differences here between Stowers/Ortiz and Westburg's promotion. Elias is clearly telling us where he stands on certain prospects. Even had Passan breaking the news. 

I think you're ascribing too much intent to Elias in this regard.

He would not in my opinion, intentionally devalue assets that he will likely have to trade at some point.

[owknows]

2 minutes ago, 24fps said:

Agreed.  Additionally in underscoring that difference in status they're hardly enhancing the trade value for players on the wrong side of the calculus.  Ortiz would have been better served staying in Norfolk IMO.  Maybe the Orioles too.

Sounds like we all hopped on that response.

[Tony-OH]

2 hours ago, Sports Guy said:

 

That was my thought on what would happen. so some reason they have decided Ortiz is more of a spare part than top prospect so he goes back to the minors to play SS everyday. Maybe they looking to trade him and need him to play SS everyday to increase his value. 

The key to this making sense though is for Frazier to be moved to the bench. It will be interesting to see if that happens against the first right-handed starter that they face.

[Tony-OH]

2 hours ago, 86this said:

That moment...

 

I love these videos! 

[Sports Guy]

6 minutes ago, Tony-OH said:

That was my thought on what would happen. so some reason they have decided Ortiz is more of a spare part than top prospect so he goes back to the minors to play SS everyday. Maybe they looking to trade him and need him to play SS everyday to increase his value. 

The key to this making sense though is for Frazier to be moved to the bench. It will be interesting to see if that happens against the first right-handed starter that they face.

I had been under the assumption that they valued Ortiz higher than Westburg with defense being the primary reason.

However, it’s possible they prefer to trade Ortiz as a SS than keep him as a second baseman (which is his long term role here because of Holliday).

[Tony-OH]

It's worth noting that Westburg has really improved the consistency of his defense over all three positions. He's mainly played SS and 3B, with only 6 starts at 2B all season, so it makes me wonder if they plan to make Henderson the everyday SS, Westburg to 3B and still keep Frazier platooning with Urias.

Urias has hit righties well this year and has played a better 2B than Frazier, so perhaps he ends up there more often and Frazier becomes a valuable bench piece along with Mateo. That's what I would do.