2023 Orioles #2 Prospect Samuel Basallo - C/1B

[Jagwar]

1 hour ago, Sports Guy said:

He should be the back up C…and play first or DH the other days he plays.

I'd swap Adley and Basallo between 1B and C, keep them in the lineup. If that were to happen would the O's carry a third catcher? Is there any need for one?

[Just Regular]

It'll be a fun one to watch play out.    Mastering the skillset of a MLB catcher may not be an efficient use of a rare Bat.    I think his career potential as Mike Piazza or the guy who outplays Adley Rutschman for a starting job is roughly similar to if he can be Yordan Alvarez or momentary teenage catcher Bryce Harper.

That said, he's 19.4 years old and his ballplayer identity is probably, "I'm a catcher".

A scientific decision process might be a 2 out of 3 hug contest judged by Kyle Bradish, Felix Bautista and Grayson Rodriguez.     The loser has to sacrifice their catching gear and chance to chase Yogi Berra for lefty catcher greatness, but gets the consolation prize of 7000 plate appearances the next 10 seasons.

 

 

[now]

51 minutes ago, Jagwar said:

I'd swap Adley and Basallo between 1B and C, keep them in the lineup. If that were to happen would the O's carry a third catcher? Is there any need for one?

A third catcher either sits on the bench taking up roster space, or takes at bats away from the top two. Either way, it's a net value loss, since it offsets the potential value of the top two.  Same principle as Weaver used to complain about with the 5-man rotation vs. the 4-man. Taking up space with less than your best.

[PHRESH]

On 11/17/2023 at 10:22 AM, Say O! said:

Sounds like second coming of Yordan Alvarez as a hitter. 

With some wheels. 

[Tony-OH]

19 hours ago, LookinUp said:

He's an amazing guy to follow either way. He'll be in Baltimore in September if he has another year like last.

Not unless there is a huge need. He doesn't need to be on the 40-man roster this offseason so unless he's tearing it up in AAA and the team has a need at 1B, C or DH, I don't see Basallo making his debut in 2024. 

Now 2025 is a different story.

[Tony-OH]

17 hours ago, Frobby said:

It’s four games and I’d read virtually nothing into it.  People say he “made it to AA.”   Well, yes he did, but it was just a cup of coffee because the A+ season was over and AA had a few days to go.  I’ll bet if A+ had still been running, Basallo would have stayed there.   The best thing about the promotion is that it virtually guarantees that Basallo starts there this year, rather than being sent back to A+ to begin the season on the grounds that he’d have played only 27 games there.   

I agree that you really can't read too much into 4 games playing anywhere, but the fact that he struck out just once and had a .500 OBP showed that he was not intimidated or overwhelmed by the jump and that's impressive. 

In fact, Basallo has not been one of those guys that has needed a lot of time to adjust to different levels. That's one of the reason I bumped him over Mayo even though Mayo has done well in AAA and has an impact bat too. That ability to not stumble upon promotion and last year, even doing better, is what makes him that impressive. 

[Tony-OH]

15 hours ago, Sports Guy said:

He should be the back up C…and play first or DH the other days he plays.

That's how I see it working once he's ready while Adley is here too. If he has another year like he had this year and ends up putting up Mayo like numbers in AAA this year, I would not be surprised if that's not by the start of 2025..

[Frobby]

2 minutes ago, Tony-OH said:

I agree that you really can't read too much into 4 games playing anywhere, but the fact that he struck out just once and had a .500 OBP showed that he was not intimidated or overwhelmed by the jump and that's impressive. 

In fact, Basallo has not been one of those guys that has needed a lot of time to adjust to different levels. That's one of the reason I bumped him over Mayo even though Mayo has done well in AAA and has an impact bat too. That ability to not stumble upon promotion and last year, even doing better, is what makes him that impressive. 

I can’t disagree with any of this.   

[Sports Guy]

53 minutes ago, Tony-OH said:

That's how I see it working once he's ready while Adley is here too. If he has another year like he had this year and ends up putting up Mayo like numbers in AAA this year, I would not be surprised if that's not by the start of 2025..

Think about that roster advantage too.  Most teams the back up C is a black hole. 

[Greg Pappas]

This kid may be the second coming... or the 3rd or 4th, depending on your point of view. LOL!  God I love our (offensive) system!

[OriolesMagic83]

18 hours ago, Just Regular said:

It'll be a fun one to watch play out.    Mastering the skillset of a MLB catcher may not be an efficient use of a rare Bat.    I think his career potential as Mike Piazza or the guy who outplays Adley Rutschman for a starting job is roughly similar to if he can be Yordan Alvarez or momentary teenage catcher Bryce Harper.

That said, he's 19.4 years old and his ballplayer identity is probably, "I'm a catcher".

A scientific decision process might be a 2 out of 3 hug contest judged by Kyle Bradish, Felix Bautista and Grayson Rodriguez.     The loser has to sacrifice their catching gear and chance to chase Yogi Berra for lefty catcher greatness, but gets the consolation prize of 7000 plate appearances the next 10 seasons.

Going forward this will be called hWAR.

 

 

[Sports Guy]

 

[interloper]

7 minutes ago, Sports Guy said:

 

Wow. Adley who? Lol. 

[webbrick2010]

On 1/19/2024 at 7:10 PM, RZNJ said:

In another organization, Basallo would be the catcher of the future and looked at as a regular, full time catcher.  He throws out over 30% of base stealers and “improved” his blocking and receiving.   At 18!   This ain’t Chance Sisco!   

A bold and very Tampa Bay move would be to move Adley for pitching and slide in Basallo as catcher in 1 to 2 years

Adley looks to be a .260 ish 20 homer guy that is not  even a great defensive catcher who is already 26

[RZNJ]

3 minutes ago, webbrick2010 said:

A bold and very Tampa Bay move would be to move Adley for pitching and slide in Basallo as catcher in 1 to 2 years

Adley looks to be a .260 ish 20 homer guy that is not  even a great defensive catcher who is already 26

I hope Rutschman has more in the tank but I wouldn’t minimize what he is, which is one of the best overall catchers in baseball.   26-29 doesn’t bother me at all.