My 2024 Midseason Report Card

[Can_of_corn]

Just now, Fiver6565 said:

I hadn’t realized that Gunnar’s OPS had actually gotten up over 1.000. When’s the last time we had a player at that mark this far into a season?

No idea how Hays is a league average player with that OPS+ at 100; I certainly would have taken the under on that. He’s been awful basically all year, and I say that as a big Hays fan. 

My guess is 2013.

[Fiver6565]

Just now, Can_of_corn said:

My guess is 2013.

Yeah. I almost put ‘Davis the year he hit 50?’ as a guess to my own question. 

[25 Nuggets]

Well done Frobby

What an offense.  It's a pleasure to watch.  Best offense I've seen in Camden Yards since... 1996 I think

[Jim'sKid26]

6 hours ago, Can_of_corn said:

 I blame the lack of interaction on the music forum.

Hey, I've been trying. You are just too prolific on that front.

[Frobby]

Here are my grades for the pitchers, in order of innings pitched, with a 20 IP minimum.   Before looking individually, I note that the staff’s first half ERA was 3.37, 3^rd in MLB.   The starters were at 3.33, 2^nd best in MLB, while the relievers were at 3.43, 6^th in MLB.   So for all the angst about our pitching staff, they were excellent in the first half.   I’ll give them an A, too.

Corbin Burnes, 106.2 IP, 17 GS, 9-3, 2.28 ERA, 1.031 WHIP, 8.4 K/9. 4.13 K/BB, 2.5 rWAR, 2.3 fWAR: A.   We brought in Burnes to be an ace, and that’s exactly what he’s been.   One thing that’s impressed me is he hasn’t had even one truly bad game.  He’s thrown 5+ innings every time he’s taken the ball, and the only time he allowed 4 runs, it was in a game where he threw 7 IP.  You know that when Burnes is on the mound, the O’s have a good chance to win.

Grayson Rodrigues, 82.1 IP, 14 GS, 9-3, 3.72 ERA, 1.239 WHIP, 9.7 K/9, 3.56 K/BB, 0.8 rWAR, 1.4 fWAR: B-.  Grayson has been very solid, but still has some growing to do.   My expectations were very high based on the second half of last season, and he hasn’t done quite as well as I expected.  Still, he can be dominant at times, and he’s been good more often than not.  I’m hoping to see more consistency in the second half.

Cole Irvin, 77.0 IP, 13 GS, 2 GR, 6-4, 3.72 ERA, 1.312 WHIP, 6.3 K/9, 3.60 K/BB, -0.1 rWAR, 1.0 fWAR: B+.  At the outset of spring training, I wasn’t expecting Irvin to be in the rotation, but thanks to injuries to Kyle Bradish and John Means, there he was.   His ERA is with 0.02 of Grod’s, with a similar IP/start.   He gets a better grade than Grayson because my expectations were nowhere near as high.  I’d be thrilled if Irvin matched his first half in the second half.

Albert Suarez, 53.1 IP, 9 GS, 7 GR, 3-2, 2.70 ERA, 1.331 WHIP, 7.3 K/9, 1.95 K/BB, 1.3 rWAR, 1.0 fWAR: A.   Simply put, I’d never heard of Suarez when we signed him, and I never expected him to play a significant role for this team.   So, making 9 starts and 7 relief appearances with a 2.70 ERA far exceeded my basically non-existent expectations.   Great half-season from Albert, and his second half got off to a nice start last night with a six-inning shutout.

Dean Kremer, 50.0 IP, 9 starts, 3-4, 4.32 ERA, 1.270 WHIP, 8.8 K/9, 2.72 K/BB, -0.4 rWAR, 0.2 fWAR: C-.  Kremer looked brilliant and dominant at times, very hittable other times, sometimes in the same game.   I actually like his pitch repertoire this year better than the previous two, and feel like he’s pitched a little better than his numbers suggest.   Now he’s missed 7 starts with a triceps injury and his rehab starts haven’t gone very well, so I’m not sure what to expect in the second half.   We’re going to need him, and he’s going to need to improve on his first half performance.

Keegan Akin, 41.2 IP, 34 GR, 2-0, 3.46 ERA, 0.960 WHIP, 9.7 K/9, 3.46 K/BB, 0.4 rWAR, 0.7 fWAR: B+.  Akin looked a lot like the version we saw in the first half of 2022.   He had a few poor outings but was solid most of the time.  What I love about Akin is the pace as which he works.  He wastes no time between pitches and he usually pounds the zone with strikes.

Kyle Bradish, 39.1 IP, 8 starts, 2-0, 2.75 ERA, 1.068 WHIP, 12.1 K/9, 3.53 K/BB, 0.9 rWAR 1.3 fWAR: A*.   I put an asterisk by Bradish’s grade, because while he was excellent while he was here, his injury is tragic for this team.   I would have loved to see Bradish pitching Game 2 of a big playoff series.   If so, it will need to be in 2025 or 2026.  

Jacob Webb, 35.0 IP, 38 GR, 1-4, 2.83 ERA, 1.171 WHIP, 9.0 K/9, 2.06 K/BB, 0.3 rWAR, 0.6 fWAR: A-.   I did not expect a lot out of Webb, so his 2.83 ERA comes as a surprise, and he has stranded 15 of 18 inherited runners, which is a spectacular ratio.  I can’t really say I’m confident when Webb enters a game, but he has surprised me most of the time.

Yennier Cano, 33.1 IP, 38 GR, 3-2, 2.97 ERA, 1.320 WHIP, 8.6 K/9, 2.13 K/BB, 0.3 rWAR, -0.3 fWAR: B-.   I’d say Cano has done about what I expected.   He’s been a little homer prone, and has walked more batters than I would like.   When he’s on he's a ground ball machine, and it’s fun to watch him as a fielder, where he’s very agile either getting to slow rollers or covering 1B.  

Craig Kimbrel, 28.1 IP, 32 GR, 5-2, 17 saves, 4 blown saves, 2.54 ERA, 0.988 WHIP, 13.3 K/9, 3.50 K/BB, 0.5 rWAR, 0.9 fWAR: B-.   Kimbrel has proven to be a little delicate, and loses effectiveness if he’s used too frequently.  His inability to hold runners is also kind of infuriating, and turns every leadoff baserunner into a serious threat to score, hence his 0-4 performance in 1-run save opportunities.   Still, his K rate is very good and he’s been dominant in a lot of games.  Overall, he’s done about what I expected him to do.

Dillon Tate, 27.1 IP, 25 GR, 2-1, 3.62 ERA, 1.280 WHIP, 6.3 K/9, 2.11 K/BB, 0.0 rWAR, 0.2 fWAR: B-.  I didn’t really know what to expect from Tate this year after missing all of 2023 with injuries.   At times he has looked very good, especially when he has command of a devastating sweeper pitch that he has developed.   Other times, he’s very hittable.  Overall, he’s been useful, though there is room for improvement.

Danny Coulombe, 26.0 IP, 29 GR, 1-0, 2.42 ERA, 0.615 WHIP, 9.7 K/9, 9.33 K/BB, 0.6 rWAR, 0.5 fWAR: A*.   There was some feeling that Coulombe would regress to the mean this year after putting up the best year of his career last season at age 33, but this year he’s been even better.  Look at that WHIP!  Look at that K/BB!   And on top of those numbers, he stranded all 13 runners he inherited.  His injury warrants the asterisk, and let’s hope the prognosis that he can return in September proves to be correct.  We’re going to miss him terribly in the interim.

Cionel Perez,  22.2 IP, 24 GR, 1-0, 4.37 ERA, 1.279 WHIP, 7.9 K/9, 2.22 K/BB, -0.2 rWAR, 0.4 fWAR: B-.  I feel like Perez’s ERA is a little misleading.  He had a very bad first outing of the year in which he was pulled with an injury (0 IP, 2 ER), and one other stinker in mid-May (0.1 IP, 3 ER).  Since then, he’s pitched to a 2.89 ERA.  He’s also stranded 12 of the 15 runners he has inherited this season, which is excellent.   Overall, Perez has met my expectations to date.

Cade Povich, 21.2 IP, 4 GS, 0-2, 4.15 ERA, 1.292 WHIP, 5.8 K/9, 1.40 K/BB, 0.2 rWAR, 0.2 fWAR: B+.  Thrust into the majors due to injuries, Povich has held his own and kept us in the games he’s pitched.  He’s gone at least 4.2 innings each time he’s pitched.   He hasn’t struck out as many batters as his AAA performance would suggest he is capable of, but to me, he has shown a lot of poise and looks ready to learn at the major league level.  I’m optimistic about how he’ll do in the second half.

John Means, 20.2 IP, 4 GS, 2-0, 2.61 ERA, 0.871 WHIP, 7.0 K/9, 8.00 K/BB, 0.6 rWAR, 0.5 fWAR: A*.   Yikes, another gut punch!   Means looked really good in his brief return to the majors, but his elbow just would not cooperate.  Best wishes to John that his second surgery works better than the last one, and that he goes on to have a few productive years, whether in Baltimore or elsewhere.

Overall, it's  been a very good first-half performance by our staff, but we’re going to have to do it in the second half without Bradish, Means and for the most part Coulombe, all of whom were great when they were on the mound in the first half.   Hopefully the rest of the guys will step up, and hopefully we’ll get some reinforcements before the trade deadline (is there a thread on that anywhere?  ).

Anyone strongly disagree with any of my grades?  

 

 

 

Edited Saturday at 20:54 by Frobby

[Can_of_corn]

Just a minor correction, Kimbrel is now 1 for 5 in 1-run save opportunities.

I imagine you did this before the game yesterday.

[Malike]

I can't fathom how Cano would be rated a B-. 

[Frobby]

6 hours ago, Can_of_corn said:

Just a minor correction, Kimbrel is now 1 for 5 in 1-run save opportunities.

I imagine you did this before the game yesterday.

The game yesterday wasn't in the first half of the season.

[Frobby]

6 hours ago, Malike said:

I can't fathom how Cano would be rated a B-. 

What grade would you give him?   What did you expect him to do?

[Malike]

11 minutes ago, Frobby said:

What grade would you give him?   What did you expect him to do?

I'd give him a C-. I didn't think he'd replicate the success of last year but he's been terrible in leverage situations this year.

[Allan Bryant]

8 hours ago, Frobby said:

Here are my grades for the pitchers, in order of innings pitched, with a 20 IP minimum.   Before looking individually, I note that the staff’s first half ERA was 3.37, 3^rd in MLB.   The starters were at 3.33, 2^nd best in MLB, while the relievers were at 3.43, 6^th in MLB.   So for all the angst about our pitching staff, they were excellent in the first half.   I’ll give them an A, too.

Corbin Burnes, 106.2 IP, 17 GS, 9-3, 2.28 ERA, 1.031 WHIP, 8.4 K/9. 4.13 K/BB, 2.5 rWAR, 2.3 fWAR: A.   We brought in Burnes to be an ace, and that’s exactly what he’s been.   One thing that’s impressed me is he hasn’t had even one truly bad game.  He’s thrown 5+ innings every time he’s taken the ball, and the only time he allowed 4 runs, it was in a game where he threw 7 IP.  You know that when Burnes is on the mound, the O’s have a good chance to win.

Grayson Rodrigues, 82.1 IP, 14 GS, 9-3, 3.72 ERA, 1.239 WHIP, 9.7 K/9, 3.56 K/BB, 0.8 rWAR, 1.4 fWAR: B-.  Grayson has been very solid, but still has some growing to do.   My expectations were very high based on the second half of last season, and he hasn’t done quite as well as I expected.  Still, he can be dominant at times, and he’s been good more often than not.  I’m hoping to see more consistency in the second half.

Cole Irvin, 77.0 IP, 13 GS, 2 GR, 6-4, 3.72 ERA, 1.312 WHIP, 6.3 K/9, 3.60 K/BB, -0.1 rWAR, 1.0 fWAR: B+.  At the outset of spring training, I wasn’t expecting Irvin to be in the rotation, but thanks to injuries to Kyle Bradish and John Means, there he was.   His ERA is with 0.02 of Grod’s, with a similar IP/start.   He gets a better grade than Grayson because my expectations were nowhere near as high.  I’d be thrilled if Irvin matched his first half in the second half.

Albert Suarez, 53.1 IP, 9 GS, 7 GR, 3-2, 2.70 ERA, 1.331 WHIP, 7.3 K/9, 1.95 K/BB, 1.3 rWAR, 1.0 fWAR: A.   Simply put, I’d never heard of Suarez when we signed him, and I never expected him to play a significant role for this team.   So, making 9 starts and 7 relief appearances with a 2.70 ERA far exceeded my basically non-existent expectations.   Great half-season from Albert, and his second half got off to a nice start last night with a six-inning shutout.

Dean Kremer, 50.0 IP, 9 starts, 3-4, 4.32 ERA, 1.270 WHIP, 8.8 K/9, 2.72 K/BB, -0.4 rWAR, 0.2 fWAR: C-.  Kremer looked brilliant and dominant at times, very hittable other times, sometimes in the same game.   I actually like his pitch repertoire this year better than the previous two, and feel like he’s pitched a little better than his numbers suggest.   Now he’s missed 7 starts with a triceps injury and his rehab starts haven’t gone very well, so I’m not sure what to expect in the second half.   We’re going to need him, and he’s going to need to improve on his first half performance.

Keegan Akin, 41.2 IP, 34 GR, 2-0, 3.46 ERA, 0.960 WHIP, 9.7 K/9, 3.46 K/BB, 0.4 rWAR, 0.7 fWAR: B+.  Akin looked a lot like the version we saw in the first half of 2022.   He had a few poor outings but was solid most of the time.  What I love about Akin is the pace as which he works.  He wastes no time between pitches and he usually pounds the zone with strikes.

Kyle Bradish, 39.1 IP, 8 starts, 2-0, 2.75 ERA, 1.068 WHIP, 12.1 K/9, 3.53 K/BB, 0.9 rWAR 1.3 fWAR: A*.   I put an asterisk by Bradish’s grade, because while he was excellent while he was here, his injury is tragic for this team.   I would have loved to see Bradish pitching Game 2 of a big playoff series.   If so, it will need to be in 2025 or 2026.  

Jacob Webb, 35.0 IP, 38 GR, 1-4, 2.83 ERA, 1.171 WHIP, 9.0 K/9, 2.06 K/BB, 0.3 rWAR, 0.6 fWAR: A-.   I did not expect a lot out of Webb, so his 2.83 ERA comes as a surprise, and he has stranded 15 of 18 inherited runners, which is a spectacular ratio.  I can’t really say I’m confident when Webb enters a game, but he has surprised me most of the time.

Yennier Cano, 33.1 IP, 38 GR, 3-2, 2.97 ERA, 1.320 WHIP, 8.6 K/9, 2.13 K/BB, 0.3 rWAR, -0.3 fWAR: B-.   I’d say Cano has done about what I expected.   He’s been a little homer prone, and has walked more batters than I would like.   When he’s on he's a ground ball machine, and it’s fun to watch him as a fielder, where he’s very agile either getting to slow rollers or covering 1B.  

Craig Kimbrel, 28.1 IP, 32 GR, 5-2, 17 saves, 4 blown saves, 2.54 ERA, 0.988 WHIP, 13.3 K/9, 3.50 K/BB, 0.5 rWAR, 0.9 fWAR: B-.   Kimbrel has proven to be a little delicate, and loses effectiveness if he’s used too frequently.  His inability to hold runners is also kind of infuriating, and turns every leadoff baserunner into a serious threat to score, hence his 0-4 performance in 1-run save opportunities.   Still, his K rate is very good and he’s been dominant in a lot of games.  Overall, he’s done about what I expected him to do.

Dillon Tate, 27.1 IP, 25 GR, 2-1, 3.62 ERA, 1.280 WHIP, 6.3 K/9, 2.11 K/BB, 0.0 rWAR, 0.2 fWAR: B-.  I didn’t really know what to expect from Tate this year after missing all of 2023 with injuries.   At times he has looked very good, especially when he has command of a devastating sweeper pitch that he has developed.   Other times, he’s very hittable.  Overall, he’s been useful, though there is room for improvement.

Danny Coulombe, 26.0 IP, 29 GR, 1-0, 2.42 ERA, 0.615 WHIP, 9.7 K/9, 9.33 K/BB, 0.6 rWAR, 0.5 fWAR: A*.   There was some feeling that Coulombe would regress to the mean this year after putting up the best year of his career last season at age 33, but this year he’s been even better.  Look at that WHIP!  Look at that K/BB!   And on top of those numbers, he stranded all 13 runners he inherited.  His injury warrants the asterisk, and let’s hope the prognosis that he can return in September proves to be correct.  We’re going to miss him terribly in the interim.

Cionel Perez,  22.2 IP, 24 GR, 1-0, 4.37 ERA, 1.279 WHIP, 7.9 K/9, 2.22 K/BB, -0.2 rWAR, 0.4 fWAR: B-.  I feel like Perez’s ERA is a little misleading.  He had a very bad first outing of the year in which he was pulled with an injury (0 IP, 2 ER), and one other stinker in mid-May (0.1 IP, 3 ER).  Since then, he’s pitched to a 2.89 ERA.  He’s also stranded 12 of the 15 runners he has inherited this season, which is excellent.   Overall, Perez has met my expectations to date.

Cade Povich, 21.2 IP, 4 GS, 0-2, 4.15 ERA, 1.292 WHIP, 5.8 K/9, 1.40 K/BB, 0.2 rWAR, 0.2 fWAR: B+.  Thrust into the majors due to injuries, Povich has held his own and kept us in the games he’s pitched.  He’s gone at least 4.2 innings each time he’s pitched.   He hasn’t struck out as many batters as his AAA performance would suggest he is capable of, but to me, he has shown a lot of poise and looks ready to learn at the major league level.  I’m optimistic about how he’ll do in the second half.

John Means, 20.2 IP, 4 GS, 2-0, 2.61 ERA, 0.871 WHIP, 7.0 K/9, 8.00 K/BB, 0.6 rWAR, 0.5 fWAR: A*.   Yikes, another gut punch!   Means looked really good in his brief return to the majors, but his elbow just would not cooperate.  Best wishes to John that his second surgery works better than the last one, and that he goes on to have a few productive years, whether in Baltimore or elsewhere.

Overall, it's  been a very good first-half performance by our staff, but we’re going to have to do it in the second half without Bradish, Means and for the most part Coulombe, all of whom were great when they were on the mound in the first half.   Hopefully the rest of the guys will step up, and hopefully we’ll get some reinforcements before the trade deadline (is there a thread on that anywhere?  ).

Anyone strongly disagree with any of my grades?  

 

 

 

Well done Frobby and thank you