Orioles Interested In Ryan Shealy

[66-70-83-??]

Can we then assume you've seen Shealy "over and over again (mostly in person) " to assess his trade value?

Yes you can assume that, but it would be a wrong assumption.

I may have come on a little strong in that post, but I felt that I was being ridiculed for my opinion, which was taken a little out of context anyway. I apologize.

You make a good point. I haven't seen Shealy play.

But, I have seen Loewen a bunch of times.

Shealy may not be the best prospect in baseball but if you compare the two players stats- one player has progress one level each year based on merit (Shealy) while the other one was stuck for two years in A ball and still hasn't gotten very good results.

So based on actual results over three years- (hype aside) why is it such an awful idea ?

[TonySoprano]

Nice response 66.

My question had been rhetorical to make a point.

[66-70-83-??]

I think this post is a huge overreation.

Trading our 2nd or 3rd best prospect for a 27 y/o AAA player is a very bold statement. You should have to defend an opinion like that with more than just character attacks on another poster who did nothing to attack you at all.

I agree that I overreacted and addressed it already.

I also offered an explanation of why trading Loewen (whether he is our 2nd 3rd or 100th best prospect is a matter of opinion, not fact) for a hitter that has progressed very well every year (and didn't I say for Loewen AND another player) is not a crazy idea, in my opinion.

But, overreacting with sarcasm is NOT a "character attack" in any way shape or form.

[bigloe]

Shealy may not be the best prospect in baseball but if you compare the two players stats- one player has progress one level each year based on merit (Shealy) while the other one was stuck for two years in A ball and still hasn't gotten very good results.

So based on actual results over three years- (hype aside) why is it such an awful idea ?

Shealy was drafted as a college Sr and should have advanced thru the minors at a quicker pace. Loewen was drafted from high school and had 1 year of JuCo of experience. Besides being less developed and getting injuried early in minor league career (and being shut down for awhile), he has moved thru the minors with improved sucess at each stop.

Shealy has put up good #'s in the minors, but has he realy improved? As for Loewen, give him time and he may just develop into the best pitcher the Orioles have on their roster in a few years.

[AgentOrange]

Shealy was drafted as a college Sr and should have advanced thru the minors at a quicker pace. Loewen was drafted from high school and had 1 year of JuCo of experience. Besides being less developed and getting injuried early in minor league career (and being shut down for awhile), he has moved thru the minors with improved sucess at each stop.

Shealy has put up good #'s in the minors, but has he realy improved? As for Loewen, give him time and he may just develop into the best pitcher the Orioles have on their roster in a few years.

Is everyone still blind to the fact that we have a big strength and big weakness in our farm system?

We all know what they are. Sometimes you have to make deals to better the ball club. Pitching is coveted more than hitting, this we all agree on. Yet, when you look at the current state of the club and look at what our farm system can do to supplement that, you should see that we have about 3-4 pitchers in the next 2-3 years that can come in and fill holes that are made in the rotation, if any.

What we keep seeing time and time again are stop gap type players at 2 important offensive positions. Corner OF and 1B. This guy could be one of those players that could solve one of them, cheaply, for the next 3-5 years...

A lot of people look at his age as a question mark. Well considering he plays in the NL and has Helton in front of him, I see that being an answer to the question mark. We have all seen his numbers (minor league) that have stacked up to both good and not so good ML players, and he comes out very favorably. I could understand being a little gun shy, but I truly feel we are over valuing our talent in the minors right now and we need to do something to improve the club, this moves could very well be one of them.

[bigloe]

I do agree with you AgentOrange, that we need to trade from our surplus of pitching prospects. I just think Loewen for Shealy isn't the deal. I think the fact Shealy being 26/27?, he could be had for a lesser quality prospect then Loewen.

[badboydrake]

I do agree with you AgentOrange, that we need to trade from our surplus of pitching prospects. I just think Loewen for Shealy isn't the deal. I think the fact Shealy being 26/27?, he could be had for a lesser quality prospect then Loewen.

I agree, if Shealy was let's say 2-3 years younger(22-24) I think the O's make that trade yesterday.

[AgentOrange]

I do agree with you AgentOrange, that we need to trade from our surplus of pitching prospects. I just think Loewen for Shealy isn't the deal. I think the fact Shealy being 26/27?, he could be had for a lesser quality prospect then Loewen.

Sorry if you think I was singling you out. I was just stating that a lot of our posters on here are too gun shy about making deals. It almost seems that if the deal is not heavily in our favor, we find reasons to not make it.

I really don't care how old the guy is. He has raked in the minors and he is held up from Helton and the fact the NL doesn't have a DH. This is a great case for us to get a steal of a prospect that could project .800-.850 OPS right now in the majors.

Does anyone realize how BIG of an upgrade that would be for us right now?

[markpolis]

Well, I didn't actually say Loewen for Shealy, did I.

But, I would do Loewen for him.

Ah, yes you did.

My point is that if you are going to trade Loewen you should package him and get a heck of a lot more than a 26year old AAAA DH type player. Trading one of our better pitching prospects for the Ryan Shealy's of the world is not the answer.

[davearm]

I do agree with you AgentOrange, that we need to trade from our surplus of pitching prospects. I just think Loewen for Shealy isn't the deal. I think the fact Shealy being 26/27?, he could be had for a lesser quality prospect then Loewen.

But what if he can't be had for that lesser quality prospect?

Do you refuse to make a trade that (IMO) will significantly improve the O's, both now and for years into the future, just because you think the price ought to be a couple ticks lower?

Everybody realizes that 1B and cleanup are glaring weaknesses on the O's. This guy has raked his whole career -- he's being compared to guys like Travis Hafner and Ryan Howard for goodness sakes! Dealing one from your surplus of young arms for a potential centerpiece hitter that you'd control for years seems to me like a no-brainer.

IMO it'd be a huge mistake to risk missing out on this opportunity by trying to squeeze the Rox to drop the price a few pennies.

[Sports Guy]

But what if he can't be had for that lesser quality prospect?

Do you refuse to make a trade that (IMO) will significantly improve the O's, both now and for years into the future, just because you think the price ought to be a couple ticks lower?

Everybody realizes that 1B and cleanup are glaring weaknesses on the O's. This guy has raked his whole career -- he's being compared to guys like Travis Hafner and Ryan Howard for goodness sakes! Dealing one from your surplus of young arms for a potential centerpiece hitter that you'd control for years seems to me like a no-brainer.

IMO it'd be a huge mistake to risk missing out on this opportunity by trying to squeeze the Rox to drop the price a few pennies.

Would you trade Sean Marshall for him if you didn't have DLee?

[AgentOrange]

Well, I didn't actually say Loewen for Shealy, did I.

Ah, yes you did.

My point is that if you are going to trade Loewen you should package him and get a heck of a lot more than a 26year old AAAA DH type player. Trading one of our better pitching prospects for the Ryan Shealy's of the world is not the answer.

I don't understand, what makes you think he is a AAAA type hitter?

It is his age?

[davearm]

Well, I didn't actually say Loewen for Shealy, did I.

Ah, yes you did.

My point is that if you are going to trade Loewen you should package him and get a heck of a lot more than a 26year old AAAA DH type player. Trading one of our better pitching prospects for the Ryan Shealy's of the world is not the answer.

Well, for starters, an AAAA player would be a guy that's torn up the minors but flopped in the bigs. With Shealy I can certainly see the torn up the minors part, but I must've missed where he flopped in the bigs, because the numbers I'm looking at from his '05 callup are pretty darn impressive.

And I'm not seeing how a "DH type player" that hits a ton is a bad thing to have. Not that Shealy is strictly a DH... reports are that he plays a pretty good 1B.

[davearm]

Would you trade Sean Marshall for him if you didn't have DLee?

Yep.

We've got other guys that can do what Marshall does.

Just like you've got other guys that can do what Loewen/Olson do.

You've got nobody that can do what Shealy can do.

[Moose Milligan]

My point is that if you are going to trade Loewen you should package him and get a heck of a lot more than a 26year old AAAA DH type player. Trading one of our better pitching prospects for the Ryan Shealy's of the world is not the answer.

He's an Orioles pitching prospect. Don't get your hopes up