Potential surprise players in the 2nd half

[interloper]

The first half surprise player has to go to Yennier Cano. A truly memorable organization-wide success story.

Runner up for me is probably Ryan O'Hearn. You either hated that signing or you waved it off as a whatever move. So of course it stands to reason that he's now basically a platoon-only version of 2008 Aubrey Huff and has fully usurped Mountcastle's 1B throne. A result absolutely no one would have predicted. 

The 2nd half is sure to have a surprise player or two of its own. Here are my picks:

• Wandisson Charles. He's only pitched 5 innings at AAA, and they haven't gone well (9.00 ERA). However, his strikeout numbers have carried over from AA at 12.6/9. Whatever went wrong with his AA stint for Oakland went extremely right with his AA stint for Baltimore. The O's made the right call to challenge him at AAA and see if he can be the next flamethrowing reliever they sort out in the mold of Lopez, Perez, Bautista, and Cano. 
• Justin Armbruester. Great numbers at Bowie, and still finding his way a bit after 15 innings in Norfolk (4.11/1.43), but if he rounds into form he could be a nice boost to the middle/long relief area. So far he's only been starting, but I wonder what he looks like in shorter stints. Maybe that 92mph fastball plays up better.
• Ryan Mountcastle.  But in all seriousness, it wouldn't surprise me. As someone who's had vertigo, it's not always the extreme "I'ma fall over" sensation. It can be mild, which in Mounty's case might have been worse because you might think, eh I'm just dehydrated or feeling off, and continue to play, which it sounds like is exactly what happened. If he sticks on the roster, and he's feeling better, I think he's going to hit in the fewer opportunities presented to him. 
• Easton Lucas. Such good numbers at Bowie, but the walks are way up in Norfolk so far in his 11 innings of work. Was he promoted too quickly with only 17 innings in Bowie this year after a lackluster season in Bowie in 2022? Or did they see something that gave them confidence he's about to pop? If he adjusts to the level and maintains his good k-rate, he's a lefty reliever to watch. 

Who you got?

[Sports Guy]

Watch out for McDermott. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him in the BP in a month or so. 
 

 

[interloper]

Just now, Sports Guy said:

Watch out for McDermott. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him in the BP in a month or so. 

Yep, that's a good one.

[vab]

You can add Aaron Hicks to the surprises. I think everybody groaned when he was picked up but he almost completely mitigated the loss of Mullins and continues to contribute with Mullins back. I think it's Mountcastle for the 2nd half. This guy has shown too much to just fall off the way he did without something physical going on so if that's behind him now I think he'll get it going. Could be Roenicke/Lowenstein all over again but at 1B for the old-timers. 

Edited July 13, 2023 by vab

[interloper]

3 minutes ago, vab said:

You can add Aaron Hicks to the surprises. I think everybody groaned when he was picked up but he almost completely mitigated the loss of Mullins and continues to contribute with Mullins back. I think it's Mountcastle for the 2nd half. This guy has shown too much to just fall off the way he did without something physical going on so if that's behind him now I think he'll get it going. Could be Roenicke/Lowenstein all over again but at 1B for the old-timers. 

Hicks I'm still kind of in disbelief about. Orioles twitter was melting down when we signed him. What could be worse than a washed up Yankee to replace Mullins, and with Cowser right there but who just got injured himself? A truly bad scenario.

And yet... 

 

 

[24fps]

Cole Irvin.  The surprise part is because most people here have already completely written him off. 

Since June 10 he's started 5 games and pitched to a 2.92 ERA (4.05 FIP).  He's got a lot of innings left in his arm and they will be needed as the season wears on.  It won't be all that impressive - think 4.15 ERA or so - but incredibly useful nonetheless.

[SilverRocket]

Cionel Perez has been good in his last 5 appearances and I think there's still something left in him. The velocity's there. He'll get a rest from this IL stint/all-star break. I'm not expecting what he did last year but I can see him being a solid mid-leverage guy in the second half.

[Jim'sKid26]

Grayson. I think he's ready to come back up to the big club and pitch well. He's got too much talent not to be effective. I hope he dominates.

[Aristotelian]

I'm going with Cionel Perez. Seemed like he was just turning a corner before he went down. They said it was precautionary. I'm hopeful he comes back rested looking like last year. 

[CHIP]

On 7/13/2023 at 9:39 AM, interloper said:

Wandisson Charles. He's only pitched 5 innings at AAA, and they haven't gone well (9.00 ERA). However, his strikeout numbers have carried over from AA at 12.6/9. Whatever went wrong with his AA stint for Oakland went extremely right with his AA stint for Baltimore. The O's made the right call to challenge him at AAA and see if he can be the next flamethrowing reliever they sort out in the mold of Lopez, Perez, Bautista, and Cano. 

Who you got?

I think this breakout pick may become a throw away pick sooner than later.  In AA with Texas he had a 2.57 Whip over 37 innings.  He has the exact same 2.57 after7 innings in AAA.  AA with TX he had 38/34 BB/K and and with AAA he has 11/11.  98 will strike out AA early but not going to intimidate AAA players if you can't hit your spots.  And I am being generous to average his games over his 8 relief appearances in AAA.

Charles first 3 games in June with Norfolk I was really impressed.  Like Dr Jekyll impressed.  3.0 innings, 0 runs, 1 Hit, 0 walks, 3 K.  0.30 whip. This is the stuff that says maybe he can help the club in Baltimore.

His last 5 games in July with Norfolk out came the 'Hyde' and not the manager kind.  3.2 innings, 6 H, 11 BB, 11K, 24.55 ERA, 4.64 Whip.

More importantly to me is the body language.  I can almost see the physical cues of 'please get me the hell off this mound' as I don't want to lose this game for us... again.

 

[Moose Milligan]

Easton Lucas was surprising, for sure.

[LA2]

3 hours ago, Moose Milligan said:

Easton Lucas was surprising, for sure.

He got Transformered into something much more powerful

[LA2]

Hoping for surges from here on out from Cionel, RMC, Grayson, and Urías--and less optimistically from Baker. When and with what level of performance can Mullins and Means return is a big Q. Only a faint wisp of fantasy left of Mateo recovering his magic....

[webbrick2010]

Colton Cowser, he can hit and he can play an adeqate CF

[dzorange]

I'm going to go with Mountcastle as well. His power is still there, and he's probably the Orioles best HR bat even with his struggles. He'll get the opportunity to hit, especially with Mullins and Hicks down now. And we'll see if O'Hearn (whose walk rates aren't better than Mountcastle's historically) can continue to hit but I'm skeptical.

Mountcastle is historically a consistent 7%+ walk rate guy. He's at 4.8% this year. I know it's tough to watch when he's in a funk, but he's historically not worse than guys like Hays, Urias or O'Hearn in this department.

I'm putting Mountcastle in the lineup every day right now with the injuries the O's have and see if he can get hot. There is too much upside and I'm a bit worried that we're going to see second half slumps out of O'Hearn and Hays, and whatever injuries the O's have going on.

I'm really not surprised with Perez's struggles this year as he is nowhere near as good as he was last year. I'm not getting my hopes up with him. They're going to have to recreate him. Fujinami has a better chance to impress, in my opinion.

Edited July 26, 2023 by dzorange