Baltimore Orioles Mid-Season Review
Aug 27, 2016 3:48:02 GMT -5
Anthony_TwinsGM, Ross White Sox, and 1 more like this
Post by Jeremiah:OriolesGM on Aug 27, 2016 3:48:02 GMT -5
Fine, it's the trade deadline, not mid-season. Saying "Trade Deadline Review" makes it sound like we're only here to talk trades though, and that's really not the point of what this article is about. This season has been a pleasant surprise, with the Orioles only 8.5 games out of the division lead. Injuries have been a massive problem, but every team can make that claim. Let's break things down.
Another season, another poor year of pitching production. Brian "The Thrill" Merrill has been uncharacteristically bad. Albert Sanchez has been decent, but not what the team was expecting when they traded for him. Not one of the young arms this team has has made a jump either. Cavazos is hot and cold, McCaa and Christopher Johnson are still figuring out AAA hitting, and Michael English looks run of the mill. If none of those guys figure it out it's time to get a new pitching coach. The bullpen has actually been a bright spot. After finishing last year 14th in the AL in bullpen ERA, the group is in 10th this year with a 4.18. With news that Raul Mendez is headed to Miami though, we could see this number inflate a bit down the stretch. Mendez has been phenomenal this year, accruing 30 saves in 37 opportunities with a 2.96 ERA.
Baltimore baseball is synonymous with one thing: home runs. This year has been more of the same. Batting for average? Overrated. Getting on base? Who needs it? Just grip it and rip it.
I wish I believed in that. While being 5th in home runs is great and all, placing 14th in batting average and on base percentage, 10th in slugging, 13th in runs scored, and 12th in OPS is awful. The only bright side? They seem to have solved the strike out issue. As I mentioned earlier, part of this is due to injuries to key players. Ralph Doolittle and Giancarlo Stanton have missed large chunks of time and are responsible for a large part of the team's offensive production. Neither has played more than 44 games. That means they've missed half or more of the season so far.
As I tend to do in this space, I'll do a quick run down position by position and then highlight a few names to watch for down the stretch.
Catcher: Jay McFadden, Donovan Lucero, Jorge Espinoza
McFadden has made everyone in Baltimore forget about what Richard Quinn could have been. Jay has been an absolute godsend offensively, and has been surprisingly solid behind the plate. Lucero was called up to be a defensive substitution when needed and was assumed to be a negative offensively. Instead he's become the team's DH hitting .259/.331/.411 in 158 at bats. Espinoza was called up due to the other two playing every day.
First Base: Alfredo Diaz
Chris Nutall was sent to the DL and is expected to be optioned to Norfolk upon his return. Diaz got off to a very slow start, but has really turned it on since. A triple slash of .252/.324/.462 is a bit below last year's production level, and his defense has been atrocious, but he's hitting lefties well enough to play every day and hasn't been injured. We'll take it.
Second Base: Mark Pearce
Pearce is another guy who's missed time to injury, having played in just 63 games. Of course, part of that could be due to his inadequacies hitting left handed pitching. He's definitely a bright spot though, and seems to have found a home defensively at second.
Shortstop: Gilbert Spencer, Bill Arnold
Spencer was a waiver claim, and has done very well in comparison to what was expected of him. Hitting .265/.320/.506 in 50 games is nothing to sneeze at. He's been playing 2B against lefties, and has provided plus defense at both spots. Arnold is a bench bat with a .337 OBP. Can't ask for much more.
Third Base: Bryan Lewis
Lewis was acquired late in the off-season, and no one saw this coming. The 24 year old is hitting .276/.336/.396 and has a +7.6 ZR at third. He's also capable of playing shortstop on the rare day the O's face a lefty.
Left Field: Paul Jennings
Jennings is kind of a boring player to talk about. His triple slash is the definition of average at .268/.315/.403. He's already got a career high in home runs with 9, and he's a +0.0 ZR in LF. At 24 his best baseball is still in front of him, but he'll never be a featured player.
Center Field: Who?
Center field is bleak. Ron Townsend, the young prospect acquired from the Yankees in the off-season has played all of 5 games this season. He'll miss the rest of the year as well. Brendon Thompson, who hit just well enough to stay on the club last year has plummeted back down to the point where if there were any other guys on this roster who could play an adequate center field, he would no longer be an Oriole. Stanford Stone got called up 2 weeks ago, hit a home run in his first game, and promptly went Stone cold after that. He's been optioned back to AAA.
Right Field: Ralph Doolittle, Giancarlo Stanton
I talked about these two earlier, and Stanton has been playing a fairly poor center field out of necessity. I'm sure it hasn't helped him health-wise. The plan had been to start Townsend in center and DH Stanton to keep him healthy, but that never materialized. In 131 at bats this season, Stanton is boasting a .672 slugging. .672! He seems to be rejuvenated every time he comes back to Baltimore. He could hit 30 home runs in under 70 games this season. Stanton has hit 30 homers in 4 of his 16 seasons. It's a shame the team should try to move him by the deadline for whatever value they can get.
Doolittle meanwhile is making the case to be considered in the conversation of top right fielders in the league. Last season he was forced to play center field and posted a hideous -16 ZR. This season he has a +2.2 in right and a +0.4 in left. Last year he couldn't stay in the lineup versus lefties. This year he's hitting .308/.357/.538 against lefties. If he can find a way to stay healthy next season he could open some eyes.
All told, I don't see this team making a push for the playoffs this year, but an even record isn't out of the question. That may sound like nothing, but remember the Orioles haven't been at or above .500 since the first year of Davis's run as GM. This is his seventh season. I need to end this before I start getting depressed again.
Another season, another poor year of pitching production. Brian "The Thrill" Merrill has been uncharacteristically bad. Albert Sanchez has been decent, but not what the team was expecting when they traded for him. Not one of the young arms this team has has made a jump either. Cavazos is hot and cold, McCaa and Christopher Johnson are still figuring out AAA hitting, and Michael English looks run of the mill. If none of those guys figure it out it's time to get a new pitching coach. The bullpen has actually been a bright spot. After finishing last year 14th in the AL in bullpen ERA, the group is in 10th this year with a 4.18. With news that Raul Mendez is headed to Miami though, we could see this number inflate a bit down the stretch. Mendez has been phenomenal this year, accruing 30 saves in 37 opportunities with a 2.96 ERA.
Baltimore baseball is synonymous with one thing: home runs. This year has been more of the same. Batting for average? Overrated. Getting on base? Who needs it? Just grip it and rip it.
I wish I believed in that. While being 5th in home runs is great and all, placing 14th in batting average and on base percentage, 10th in slugging, 13th in runs scored, and 12th in OPS is awful. The only bright side? They seem to have solved the strike out issue. As I mentioned earlier, part of this is due to injuries to key players. Ralph Doolittle and Giancarlo Stanton have missed large chunks of time and are responsible for a large part of the team's offensive production. Neither has played more than 44 games. That means they've missed half or more of the season so far.
As I tend to do in this space, I'll do a quick run down position by position and then highlight a few names to watch for down the stretch.
Catcher: Jay McFadden, Donovan Lucero, Jorge Espinoza
McFadden has made everyone in Baltimore forget about what Richard Quinn could have been. Jay has been an absolute godsend offensively, and has been surprisingly solid behind the plate. Lucero was called up to be a defensive substitution when needed and was assumed to be a negative offensively. Instead he's become the team's DH hitting .259/.331/.411 in 158 at bats. Espinoza was called up due to the other two playing every day.
First Base: Alfredo Diaz
Chris Nutall was sent to the DL and is expected to be optioned to Norfolk upon his return. Diaz got off to a very slow start, but has really turned it on since. A triple slash of .252/.324/.462 is a bit below last year's production level, and his defense has been atrocious, but he's hitting lefties well enough to play every day and hasn't been injured. We'll take it.
Second Base: Mark Pearce
Pearce is another guy who's missed time to injury, having played in just 63 games. Of course, part of that could be due to his inadequacies hitting left handed pitching. He's definitely a bright spot though, and seems to have found a home defensively at second.
Shortstop: Gilbert Spencer, Bill Arnold
Spencer was a waiver claim, and has done very well in comparison to what was expected of him. Hitting .265/.320/.506 in 50 games is nothing to sneeze at. He's been playing 2B against lefties, and has provided plus defense at both spots. Arnold is a bench bat with a .337 OBP. Can't ask for much more.
Third Base: Bryan Lewis
Lewis was acquired late in the off-season, and no one saw this coming. The 24 year old is hitting .276/.336/.396 and has a +7.6 ZR at third. He's also capable of playing shortstop on the rare day the O's face a lefty.
Left Field: Paul Jennings
Jennings is kind of a boring player to talk about. His triple slash is the definition of average at .268/.315/.403. He's already got a career high in home runs with 9, and he's a +0.0 ZR in LF. At 24 his best baseball is still in front of him, but he'll never be a featured player.
Center Field: Who?
Center field is bleak. Ron Townsend, the young prospect acquired from the Yankees in the off-season has played all of 5 games this season. He'll miss the rest of the year as well. Brendon Thompson, who hit just well enough to stay on the club last year has plummeted back down to the point where if there were any other guys on this roster who could play an adequate center field, he would no longer be an Oriole. Stanford Stone got called up 2 weeks ago, hit a home run in his first game, and promptly went Stone cold after that. He's been optioned back to AAA.
Right Field: Ralph Doolittle, Giancarlo Stanton
I talked about these two earlier, and Stanton has been playing a fairly poor center field out of necessity. I'm sure it hasn't helped him health-wise. The plan had been to start Townsend in center and DH Stanton to keep him healthy, but that never materialized. In 131 at bats this season, Stanton is boasting a .672 slugging. .672! He seems to be rejuvenated every time he comes back to Baltimore. He could hit 30 home runs in under 70 games this season. Stanton has hit 30 homers in 4 of his 16 seasons. It's a shame the team should try to move him by the deadline for whatever value they can get.
Doolittle meanwhile is making the case to be considered in the conversation of top right fielders in the league. Last season he was forced to play center field and posted a hideous -16 ZR. This season he has a +2.2 in right and a +0.4 in left. Last year he couldn't stay in the lineup versus lefties. This year he's hitting .308/.357/.538 against lefties. If he can find a way to stay healthy next season he could open some eyes.
All told, I don't see this team making a push for the playoffs this year, but an even record isn't out of the question. That may sound like nothing, but remember the Orioles haven't been at or above .500 since the first year of Davis's run as GM. This is his seventh season. I need to end this before I start getting depressed again.