OUch! er Yipes! Brandon Tripp Released

[DrShorebird]

One thing I will never get used to is to see good people who are also excellent ball players get released. It hurts! I know it hurts those who have to make the tough decisions too, but they get paid to make the tough decisions.

I am afraid that the "eight players for the Frederick outfield" that I mentioned in my last report caught up with Brandon Tripp. When Tripp was at Delmarva he was most of our offense and showed good promise defensively as well. He reported in fantastic shape this spring. I know he worked hard during the off season.

If you study the daily line-up cards that I posted, you could kind of see that something was going on. I was seeing his name too much on the "second shift."

I am sure he will catch on with an organization who needs a good outfielder. The numbers just weren't right anymore for him here.

I will never forget the dinner ceremony and night we had at OPACY when Brandon and Brandon were given their awards. Brandon Tripp was the Orioles Minor League Player of the Year then.

[Birdy09]

How many others were released today with Tripp? I think Brandon is a good player and I think the Orioles made a mistake with this one. I'm sure he will get signed with another club real soon.

[Gurgi]

One thing I will never get used to is to see good people who are also excellent ball players get released. It hurts! I know it hurts those who have to make the tough decisions too, but they get paid to make the tough decisions.

I am afraid that the "eight players for the Frederick outfield" that I mentioned in my last report caught up with Brandon Tripp. When Tripp was at Delmarva he was most of our offense and showed good promise defensively as well. He reported in fantastic shape this spring. I know he worked hard during the off season.

If you study the daily line-up cards that I posted, you could kind of see that something was going on. I was seeing his name too much on the "second shift."

I am sure he will catch on with an organization who needs a good outfielder. The numbers just weren't right anymore for him here.

I will never forget the dinner ceremony and night we had at OPACY when Brandon and Brandon were given their awards. Brandon Tripp was the Orioles Minor League Player of the Year then.

Do you realize he got cut on his birthday? Wow, that is tragic.

[Frobby]

It is sad. I remember there was a poster here last year who was a big fan of his (and perhaps a relative), who got very mad at me when I said considering Tripp's age and K rate at Delmarva, it was not very likely he'd ever reach the majors despite an otherwise good line in 2007. Sometimes, the truth hurts. Good luck to Brandon in landing somewhere else and fighting to keep his dream alive.

[AgentOrange]

That sucks. He was one of my favorite minor leaguers.

I hope he catches on somewhere soon and takes off.

[crawdad]

I liked Tripp, but when you are 23 in single A while striking out a third of the time. You are not long for baseball as a career. Solid power and a good athlete . . . he just did not advance well with respect to pitch ID.

[Jammer7]

It's a shame he didn't develop. I liked his potential and his initial full season progression. I was one of his bigger supporters on OH over the years.

It seemed that he may not have been able to continue to make the necessary adjustments. Baseball can be a cold business, but to get released on your birthday....dang that's frozen tundra cold! Maybe he'll catch on with someone else and it will come together for him. I wish him well.

[Jenius]

I liked Tripp, but when you are 23 in single A while striking out a third of the time. You are not long for baseball as a career. Solid power and a good athlete . . . he just did not advance well with respect to pitch ID.

My thoughts exactly, crawdad. On a personal level, you feel bad for the kid, especially being released on his birthday and having worked hard in the off-season. But on a business/baseball level, it's yet another data point to temper the expectations of casual fans who see that someone put up big numbers in the SAL and assume he's a top prospect. We've been here before (Ryan Minor, for just one example) and this won't be the last time (in fact, Brandon Waring looks like the next guy on the carousel). There is always room for optimism when evaluating prospects, but objective evidence has an important place as well.

[Owen21]

We are very GRATEFUL for your accomplishments within the Orioles organization. Your carrer is not DEAD. Thank you & good luck Brandon. Go on & prove that the birds made a mistake.

[Ruzious]

The odds were stacked against him - as a 24 year old repeating A ball with a terrible SO rate, but I'm disappointed they didn't give him another chance. i would have thought the .908 in 2007 - along with good "tools" and a good attitude would warrant another year.

[Jarman8675]

How many others were released today with Tripp? I think Brandon is a good player and I think the Orioles made a mistake with this one. I'm sure he will get signed with another club real soon.

Wondering the same thing. I'm thinking that the overload of catchers at the higher levels probably ended it for a few catchers and then some pitchers probably got the pink slip as well. Doc, if you got anymore info besides Tripp, please do share, I'm running out of nails to bite. The suspense of who makes it and who doesn't kills me each year. As always we all have our group of players who we pull for to make it, and I hate to find out when they don't. Anybody read this article? http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/prospects/prospect-diary/2009/267868.html Its pretty well written from a giants minor leaguer who sums up what i'm sure it feels like for all minor leaguers this time of year.

[oriolescrew]

The odds were stacked against him - as a 24 year old repeating A ball with a terrible SO rate, but I'm disappointed they didn't give him another chance. i would have thought the .908 in 2007 - along with good "tools" and a good attitude would warrant another year.

I agree about the odds being stacked against ANYBODY, but if we review Tripps past 2yrs they're pretty good. The 2007 yr was his best, with him being: MLP of the Month for April, MLP of the Yr, Batting Champion, and hitting 19 homers that yr, also an all star...He should have been moved up to Frederick at the all star break, than he is a 22yr old in A+, 2008 was tougher, but he still managed a respectable 17 homers, and sent to the all star game..I thought he was one of the top outfielders in the league. Not sure the reasoning for the release, but I know he fully expected to be in Bowie this year, or at the very least repeat Frederick for the 1st half due to being moved to LF. It's a mystery..but he already has a few things in the works and will land somewhere and prove the "birds" made a big mistake.

[Jenius]

I agree about the odds being stacked against ANYBODY, but if we review Tripps past 2yrs they're pretty good. The 2007 yr was his best, with him being: MLP of the Month for April, MLP of the Yr, Batting Champion, and hitting 19 homers that yr, also an all star...He should have been moved up to Frederick at the all star break, than he is a 22yr old in A+, 2008 was tougher, but he still managed a respectable 17 homers, and sent to the all star game..I thought he was one of the top outfielders in the league. Not sure the reasoning for the release, but I know he fully expected to be in Bowie this year, or at the very least repeat Frederick for the 1st half due to being moved to LF. It's a mystery..but he already has a few things in the works and will land somewhere and prove the "birds" made a big mistake.

Sorry, but your argument is full of holes. I could provide all kinds of empirical and historical evidence that players with Tripp's profile simply do not have success at the higher levels of the minors, let alone the majors. Let's be clear: Tripp's last two years were not good...2007 was good, 2008 was bad. He had a lot to prove going into 07, and he earned himself a longer look by doing what he did. But going into A+ at 23, he needed to build off that, and he failed to do so. Find me one decent major leaguer who struck out in more than 30% of his PAs at A ball...or better yet, don't bother looking, because you won't find one. And as for your assertion that he was "one of the top outfielders in the league", I'm not sure what you base that on - his OPS was a full 30 points below the league average - there were literally dozens of players well ahead of him in terms of overall production.

C'mon folks, as fans we pull for guys like Tripp, and there's nothing wrong with wanting them to succeed, but any suggestion that the O's are making a huge mistake by releasing him is just silly. They are making a reasonable judgment, and if Tripp miraculously made it to the big leagues, it would be against all odds. That's where the evidence leads us, unfortunately.

[Tony-OH]

There was more besides performance in this release. Not going into the details so don't ask, but that's what I heard.

[Ruzious]

I agree about the odds being stacked against ANYBODY, but if we review Tripps past 2yrs they're pretty good. The 2007 yr was his best, with him being: MLP of the Month for April, MLP of the Yr, Batting Champion, and hitting 19 homers that yr, also an all star...He should have been moved up to Frederick at the all star break, than he is a 22yr old in A+, 2008 was tougher, but he still managed a respectable 17 homers, and sent to the all star game..I thought he was one of the top outfielders in the league. Not sure the reasoning for the release, but I know he fully expected to be in Bowie this year, or at the very least repeat Frederick for the 1st half due to being moved to LF. It's a mystery..but he already has a few things in the works and will land somewhere and prove the "birds" made a big mistake.

Well, while I would have given him one more shot, I don't think it's a big mystery. An OPS under .700 at A ball for a 23 year old is simply not performing like a prospect. Yeah, he probably deserved to be promoted to Frederick a half season earlier, but if that's an excuse for his mediocre performance at Frederick, then perhaps there's a maturity issue that contributed to his release.