Orioles Interested In Ryan Shealy

[Sports Guy]

Granted, as was pointed out, he is hitting in the PCL, but he still is a very good hitter. Good hitters hit in any environment in which they are placed.

No one is saying he is not a good hitter...But we don't know how good he is or osn't because of the conditions he has played in.

If we got Shealy, i would hope he turns into another good hitting prospect who didn't get a chance until he was 26/27...Jason Lane and Lane's stats are good but not great.

http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/L/jason-lane.shtml

[davearm]

Based on what? Take away the thin air and what is Shealy? We don't know yet...Kotchman had 900+ OPS's in the minors without that.

Plus he is younger, more in shape and a GG caliber defensive player.

Salt Lake City is an extreme hitter's park too.

[Sports Guy]

Salt Lake City is an extreme hitter's park too.

I am aware of this...Kotchman has also been in hitters leagues but the thin air takes that to another level.

Long term, i will bet Kotchman is the better player and I would much rather trade Loewen for him, especially because of the age difference.

Only thing against Kotchman is he has some injury history.

[markpolis]

Only thing against Kotchman is he has some injury history.

So does Shealy. He was on the DL earlier this year with a sore elbow. The same elbow he had reconstructive surgery on while playing at the University of Florida. The Rockies tried to have Shealy play OF this spring because he is blocked by Helton, but Shealy injured his elbow and is limited to a 1B/DH role.

[66-70-83-??]

I am aware of this...Kotchman has also been in hitters leagues but the thin air takes that to another level.

Long term, i will bet Kotchman is the better player and I would much rather trade Loewen for him, especially because of the age difference.

Only thing against Kotchman is he has some injury history.

The point he was trying to make is that there is "thin air" in other PCL cities too.

Salt Lake City is a better hitters park than Colorado.

Best hitters parks in PCL (according to BP). They are all the cities located in higher elevations. What a coincidence.

1-Albuquerque

2-Tuscon

3-Salt Lake

4-Las Vegas

5-Colorado Springs

[DrungoHazewood]

I don't know either. I know a guy who lived in Colorado Springs, and he says the weather there is *way* different than in Denver. I don't know if that means baseballs act differently there.

The park effects in Colorado Springs have been somewhat less extreme than Denver. That's partially because the PCL is a better hitter's league than the NL, so Colorado Springs doesn't look as crazy compared to the higher-scoring places in that league. But it's still a very good place to hit.

But what we don't know is whether they store the baseballs in a humidor in Colorado Springs. In Denver they store all the baseballs in a high-humidity room for weeks before they're used to deaden them. They're all at the high end of the MLB weight spec. This has moved Coors from the most extreme hitting environment in more than a half-century to just a good hitters' park.

[Fan4Life]

I'm not sure if that is true that Kotchman is flat out a better player than Shealy.

After Kotchman's OBP this year is .221 and his OPS .436. (Matos territory)

Comparing Kotchman with Shealy using Kotchman's AAA performance and Shealy's this year is interesting.

Kotchman (AAA last year) OBP .373 OPS .813

Shealy (AAA this year) OBP .357 OPS .950

Comparable with more power from Shealy. We need a bigger bat and Shealey could help provide that. It's possible both Kotchman and Shealy might not hit big league pitching as Kotchman is illustrating.

Would I trade Loewen for Shealey straight up? In a heartbeat. Would I trade Penn for Shealy? No way. Would I trade Olson for Shealy? Yes.

You have more beleif in Loewen's abilities than I do.

That said I'd take Kotchman if it was a part of deal with the Angels which included Santana, or Jered Weaver, and maybe Shields or Lackey, and someone like Aybar or Wood as a larger Tejada deal ,but i'm not sure that really is going to happen. Most likely the angels will go with someone cheaper like wilson especially with OCab hitting .302 and Aybar and Woods hitting very well at AAA and AA.

I think the Rockies represent a better trading possilbity.

Why either / or.... lets get both of them...

["Clank"]

No one is saying he is not a good hitter...But we don't know how good he is or osn't because of the conditions he has played in.

If we got Shealy, i would hope he turns into another good hitting prospect who didn't get a chance until he was 26/27...Jason Lane and Lane's stats are good but not great.

http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/L/jason-lane.shtml

If the two clubs have begun talks on Shealy, then let's stop screwing around and close the friggin' deal. How much thought does it take, are the Rockies asking for the moon? We need to generate a little excitment around here. Offer Loewen, then Loewen and Rleal, then say "fuggetabowdit".

[davearm]

This whole situation leaves me confused.

There's always so much crabbing on here about how the O's didn't get DLee, didn't get Delgado, didn't get Konerko.

Well here's a guy that just might hit like those guys, and do it for the league min for the next few years, and all he costs is a guy that a) may or may not even have much of a career, and b) is replaceable in the O's system.

[Dr. FLK]

This whole situation leaves me confused.

There's always so much crabbing on here about how the O's didn't get DLee, didn't get Delgado, didn't get Konerko.

Well here's a guy that just might hit like those guys, and do it for the league min for the next few years, and all he costs is a guy that a) may or may not even have much of a career, and b) is replaceable in the O's system.

I think this board still has the same value of over-valuing our own prospects. We want to get good players, but we get the classis lines of "Don't trade Player A because he's going to be a CY Young", or "Not Player B! He had a great K/BB ratio in Middle School...and sure he sucks in the minors, but he'll turn it around!"

We obviously need a 1B. The revolving door of washed up ha beens is a bad idea at a position that should provide a solid bat. We have no 1B prospects to speak of. Some people (SG) seem to love Kotchman. And, I sort of see that. But, flat out, this guy has shown he can hit. If we have a team willing to deal us a 1B that can hit for a decent minor league pitcher, we should be jumping on it. Whether we like Kotchman better or not, the Angels don't seem to be offering him to us. If Shealy is there for taking, let's get it done before the FO screws it up.

[boogidownoriole]

Can someone summarize the 26 pages? Is there still hope on this deal?

[Dr. FLK]

Can someone summarize the 26 pages? Is there still hope on this deal?

I just notied that this was page 25, and I am now amazed. How does a group of people carry on a conversation of this many pages over a deal that more than likely won't happen? Simply amazing.

[boogidownoriole]

I just notied that this was page 25, and I am now amazed. How does a group of people carry on a conversation of this many pages over a deal that more than likely won't happen? Simply amazing.

Why is it amazing? Why else are we on this board except to discuss

[Dr. FLK]

Why is it amazing? Why else are we on this board except to discuss

It was a joke my friend. Relax.

[Fan4Life]

I think this board still has the same value of over-valuing our own prospects. We want to get good players, but we get the classis lines of "Don't trade Player A because he's going to be a CY Young", or "Not Player B! He had a great K/BB ratio in Middle School...and sure he sucks in the minors, but he'll turn it around!"

We obviously need a 1B. The revolving door of washed up ha beens is a bad idea at a position that should provide a solid bat. We have no 1B prospects to speak of. Some people (SG) seem to love Kotchman. And, I sort of see that. But, flat out, this guy has shown he can hit. If we have a team willing to deal us a 1B that can hit for a decent minor league pitcher, we should be jumping on it. Whether we like Kotchman better or not, the Angels don't seem to be offering him to us. If Shealy is there for taking, let's get it done before the FO screws it up.

Doesn't have to be an Either / Or.... we can get Kotchman and still work on Shealy... this solves 1b and dh...