This time next year Adley/Basallo will be our catching duo. How valuable is that?

[Otter]

48 minutes ago, RZNJ said:

Really?   They moved Henderson pretty fast.  They moved Holliday pretty fast.   

You mentioned the two unicorns that were both the #1 prospects in all of baseball.  For prospects that are not the #1 prospect in baseball, the O's usually have them at AAA for a while and even when promoted have a hard time getting at bats.

[RZNJ]

Just now, Otter said:

You mentioned the two unicorns that were both the #1 prospects in all of baseball.  For prospects that are not the #1 prospect in baseball, the O's usually have them at AAA for a while and even when promoted have a hard time getting at bats.

Basallo could be in the running for #1 prospect by the end of the year.  Good chance he’s in the top 10.   He’s closer to Gunnar and Holliday as a prospect than he is to Westburg, Cowser, Kjerstad, and Norby.   

[IPlayGM]

If Basallo is on the roster early ‘25, that means the bat is as advertised. That being said, it might cause more of a roster issue because you have to think they carry another catcher to be able to have both bats in the lineup.

[Greg Pappas]

54 minutes ago, interloper said:

There's basically no way Basallo is going to be the backup catcher by 6/25/25. I give a higher chance of the O's signing McCann for 1 more year. 

A agree that it's unlikely Basallo is here this time next year... at least as a catcher.  I would be very surprised to see McCann brought back.

[Sports Guy]

55 minutes ago, interloper said:

There's basically no way Basallo is going to be the backup catcher by 6/25/25. I give a higher chance of the O's signing McCann for 1 more year. 

Saying there’s no way is absurd

[Sports Guy]

5 minutes ago, IPlayGM said:

If Basallo is on the roster early ‘25, that means the bat is as advertised. That being said, it might cause more of a roster issue because you have to think they carry another catcher to be able to have both bats in the lineup.

They put 2 catchers in the lineup all the time now…and this catcher may also be able to play first, so you wouldn’t lose the DH spot if you had to put him behind the plate.

[justD]

3 hours ago, gamiliel said:

It might be 2026 this happens, but it will be a nice advantage.....wonder if a 3rd catcher will be needed if these guys DH when not catching.

Blake Hunt? Or is he just AAA filler? I know he's on the 7-day IL, I know his slash line is not spectacular (currently .252/.309/.480) but he has shown some power and 3rd catcher is more for defense, right? I haven't seen him but remembered we had recently acquired him. 

This is a clip from earlier this year when he was still with the Mariners AAA: 

Quote

At Triple-A Tacoma, catcher Blake Hunt (No. 23 prospect) doesn’t have the clearest path to the Majors, given that Cal Raleigh has been a stalwart and Seby Zavala is out of Minor League options. But is he continuing to tap into the power he showed before a January trade with the Rays and the plus glove he’s been touted with?

May 8, 2024

 · 

0:29

Blake Hunt's third homer of the season

 

Gillman: “The biggest thing for a guy like that is you make your money defensively. You're a catcher, and it doesn't mean the offense doesn't matter. But it does mean that it has to be a certain level of dependability. You just can never be a zero and can't be an auto-out. And I think for him, finding that sort of balance. ... He's doing it without giving away at-bats, which for me is the most important piece -- just seeing the whole player, the whole picture. I've been really happy with Blake.”

 

[RZNJ]

25 minutes ago, IPlayGM said:

If Basallo is on the roster early ‘25, that means the bat is as advertised. That being said, it might cause more of a roster issue because you have to think they carry another catcher to be able to have both bats in the lineup.

We have two catchers in the lineup now in 40% of the games.  That being said a 3rd catcher who can play other positions would be a nice fit.  

[RZNJ]

1 hour ago, interloper said:

There's basically no way Basallo is going to be the backup catcher by 6/25/25. I give a higher chance of the O's signing McCann for 1 more year. 

Both could happen.   

[Just Regular]

What if in the next 90 days Samuel Basallo demonstrates himself to be evidently more powerful a ballplayer than Coby Mayo or Jackson Holliday?    His elbow is all better, the air is warm, his gameplay shows less vulnerabilities to soft stuff than Mayo, Cowser, etc.

He hasn't, and he probably won't, but there's only a few that might.     I know he hasn't gotten tested by that AAA batting practice yet, but maybe after the Futures Game.      This time last year Evan Carter was also working through AA.

How important is it to play your best talent the one year you have Corbin Burnes?    If you card count the deck sharply enough, you know when basic strategy principles get fuzzier.     Some of the basic strategy prescribed actions are only 51-49 winners over the other path, but in blackjack you don't have the external factor what Adley Rutschman thinks of your organization.

[CHIP]

2 hours ago, sportsfan8703 said:

3. Robo ump/automated Strike Zone will be at the MLB level soon. So framing becomes less of an issue. 

ROBO UMPs are going away in AAA starting today.  Rest of season will be Challenge only.  International League is dropping from 3 challenges to 2 and PCL is staying at 3 challenges.

"Only 47% of all challenges to this year’s calls have been successful thus far, the Associated Press reported, citing the MLB. That means the human umpires were found to be correct about half of the time after their calls were challenged. But, it also means they were incorrect on controversial calls about half of the time, depending on how you look at it.

Still, the latter method — with human umpires making the calls, and only using ABS for challenges — is also the preferred option among players and fans, officials indicated Tuesday’s memo"

Even then 2026 will be the earliest it may be seen in the MLB.

"MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred, speaking last month at a news conference, also indicated that robot-assisted calls likely won’t be used in the Major League until at least 2026"

So, pitch 'framing' is still going to be as important to the game and the manipulation of the zone.  The umpires are getting better.   So it gets back to defense first catchers or offense first catchers and what teams consider to be more important to their W/L total.

The move I would like to see, and has been discussed elsewhere, is the worst umpires in MLB get demoted to AAA and the best umpires in AAA get promoted to MLB.  But the MLB Umpire Union sure isn't going to let that happen to its members.  I wonder when that contract is up for renegotiation?

 

[DirtyBird]

3 hours ago, sportsfan8703 said:

Back in 2014/2015 we had Wieters and Ramon Hernandez.

This did not happen. We had Caleb Joseph at Wieters

[Alasdaire]

Basallo projects to have plus-plus power; he has a future grade of 70 by Fangraphs. That would make him one of the best power hitters in baseball. Those types of players hit homers north of six percent.  To put that in perspective, Gunnar currently has a 6.8% HR% and McCann has a 1.7% HR%. So imagine that McCann hit homers as frequently as Gunnar did.

You're not going to have any difficulty finding at bats for a guy with that kind of a HR% even if it's usually at DH since that would make him one of the best DHs in baseball. The fact that that player can slot into being the rest-day catcher when the primary catcher needs rest is even more of a comparative advantage over every other team since you're not experiencing the usual dropoff that teams incur when they are forced to put in catchers who hit below the Mendoza line.

The other benefit of having two catchers you are happy to slot in on any given lineup card is that it theoretically extends the lifespan of them both since you can measurably reduce their workloads. You have the luxury of giving the primary catcher as much rest as you want because the backup catcher isn't such an anchor as a hitter.

[InsideCoroner]

Basallo won’t be up that fast. I would be perfectly comfortable bringing McCann back on a one-year deal while Basallo “seasons” in the minors. 

[Three Run Homer]

Basallo should get whatever seasoning he needs.  But McCann has been awful this year.   His OPS+ this season is 48 according to BBRef, and he is at -0.4 WAR.