Wade LeBlanc wants to repay O's for having his back during injury

Wade LeBlanc wants to repay O's for having his back during injury
When a player uses the word "disaster" as part of the description of his season, it didn't go very well, Captain Obvious might say. For lefty Wade LeBlanc, it didn't go very well in the six starts he made for the 2020 Orioles before an injury sidelined him for the season. LeBlanc, 36, recorded an ERA of 8.06 last summer with a 1.567 WHIP over 22 1/3 innings. Then his season ended on Aug. 23, when he left a start after facing four batters in the first inning at Boston. He had a stress...
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Mentorship with Freddy Galvis and a Chris Davis take

Mentorship with Freddy Galvis and a Chris Davis take
If they turn out to be the Orioles double-play combination, the club hopes to get solid glovework out of shortstop Freddy Galvis and second baseman Yolmer Sánchez. Galvis has been a Gold Glove finalist and Sánchez won the American League Gold Glove at second base in 2019, when he beat out the other finalists, New York's DJ LeMahieu and Houston's Jose Altuve. O's manager Brandon Hyde was asked recently about Sánchez, 28, mentoring younger players. Hyde said both Sánchez and Galvis...
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Taking a look at one lineup possibility, plus more notes

Taking a look at one lineup possibility, plus more notes
Which American League team had the third-best team batting average during the 2020 season? And, yes, it was a season shortened to 60 games, 102 fewer than normal. It was the Orioles. They ranked 12th in team batting average at .246 in 2019 and were third at .258 in the AL last summer when the league average was .245. While the Orioles in 2020 produced 4.57 runs per game, under league average of .4.65, they rated eighth in OBP (.321), sixth in slugging (.429) and tied for eighth in team OPS...
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After solid 2020 season, Cedric Mullins is looking for a repeat

After solid 2020 season, Cedric Mullins is looking for a repeat
For Orioles outfielder Cedric Mullins, a 2020 season that began with him going 1-for-13 and getting optioned to the alternate site ended with him re-establishing his career while leading the majors in bunt hits. The .077 batting start reminded us of his .094 start to the 2019 year. That led to his demotion all the way down to Double-A Bowie, and Mullins ended that season playing in the Eastern League playoffs. But that was also the beginning of his road back. In 48 games last summer he hit...
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Hyde remains confident in Sulser, plus other notes

Hyde remains confident in Sulser, plus other notes
Right-hander reliever Cole Sulser's first season with the Orioles started off pretty well, but it didn't end up that way. He went 1-5 with a 5.56 ERA and with 17 walks and 19 strikeouts over 22 2/3 innings. The 30-year-old Sulser went 1-2 with five saves, a 3.46 ERA and a .116 (5-for-43) opponent's batting average in his first 10 outings. But he finished 0-3 with an 8.38 ERA and a .316 (12-for-38) opponent's batting average in his last nine outings. In this entry from last month, Sulser...
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What does Ryan Mountcastle have coming as a follow-up act?

What does Ryan Mountcastle have coming as a follow-up act?
When your debut season went as well as it did last summer for Orioles prospect Ryan Mountcastle, the encore can be challenging. "I think year two is always difficult," manager Brandon Hyde said today via Zoom of the challenges facing Mountcastle in 2021. "When you get to the big leagues, there is not a whole lot of major league data on you. But now that Ryan got some at-bats, teams are going to dissect how to try and get him out from the previous year. Year two is about making adjustments...
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Birdland farm check-in: Triple-A Norfolk GM Joe Gregory

Birdland farm check-in: Triple-A Norfolk GM Joe Gregory
After the dust has settled on Minor League Baseball, and now that we actually have schedules for the 2021 season, I'm going to check in around Birdland. Today, I start by interviewing Joe Gregory, the general manager of the Triple-A Norfolk Tides. While the primary task of a big league GM is to acquire players to win games, a minor league GM does not acquire any players. They are supplied by the big league organization. But that is about the only job they do not have. They work with all...
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For Austin Hays, health is "most important thing in my career"

For Austin Hays, health is "most important thing in my career"
It sounds much easier than it is, but most players have two basic goals in mind each year - stay healthy and stay productive. Can't do the second without the first part. After dealing with injuries earlier in his career and missing a month last year plus getting off to a slow start - he went 3-for-30 to start the year - outfielder Austin Hays is very aware that the 2021 season will be big for him. He has shown his tools and skills. Now he has to stay on the field over six months of the regular...
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Spring notes on Mancini's hitting approach, analytics and more

Spring notes on Mancini's hitting approach, analytics and more
Manager Brandon Hyde has spent some time talking about the Orioles continuing move toward more use of data, technology and analytics since the start of spring training. New pitching coach Chris Holt led a big move toward data and tech to the Baltimore farm in 2019 and it's matriculated to the big league pitchers as well. It was cited by veteran righty Matt Harvey as one reason he signed with the Orioles. But where does that leave the big league hitters? Do they have the same opportunities to...
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Rio Ruiz: "This organization is in a great spot"

Rio Ruiz: "This organization is in a great spot"
Did Orioles third baseman Rio Ruiz hit in some tough luck last year during the shortened 2020 season? A case could be made that he did. He batted .222/.286/.427 with 11 doubles, nine homers, 32 RBIs (tied for the team lead) and an OPS of .713 in 54 games. His OPS+ was 93, 7 percent short of league average. But Ruiz led the Orioles with 54 hard-hit balls, according to Statcast. Those are balls put in play at 95 mph or more. However, he ranked just 14th on the team in batting average on balls in...
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Scott up for added innings and Harvey's path to Baltimore

Scott up for added innings and Harvey's path to Baltimore
The Orioles are looking to stretch out some of their bullpen pitchers this season to ensure enough innings to cover the long 162-game season. Manager Brandon Hyde recently said that could mean one inning plus for some relievers and could mean going two or even three innings for others. Lefty Tanner Scott, who had easily his best season in the truncated 2020 season, said he is surely up for pitching more if needed. But it has not been something he's been asked to do a lot in his career. He...
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Paul Fry on improved strikeout rate and a look at camp so far

Paul Fry on improved strikeout rate and a look at camp so far
The Orioles are not exactly featuring an abundance of bullpen left-handers. Even on a spring roster with 73 players that includes 37 pitchers. They do return Paul Fry and Tanner Scott from the left side in the 'pen. Who, if anyone, joins them this year is to be determined. Fernando Abad, who signed a minor league deal, may have a good shot. Zach Muckenhirn from the O's farm is another 'pen lefty. Josh Rogers has returned after two surgeries and Bruce Zimmermann made one bullpen appearance...
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How Dean Kremer used quarantine time to improve a difference-making pitch

How Dean Kremer used quarantine time to improve a difference-making pitch
Give a cerebral, young pitcher some time on his hands during quarantine baseball, with no games to play or spring training complex to report to, and he can do some unique and ultimately very productive things. For Orioles right-hander Dean Kremer, starting last March, that meant taking his slider, which had always been a work in progress, and morphing it into more of a cut fastball. They are similar pitches, but the cutter is often thrown a bit harder and has the nice sharp and late break...
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More with Chris Holt and another look at minor league schedules

More with Chris Holt and another look at minor league schedules
Orioles coach Chris Holt is on his third title in his third year in the organization. It just points to his growing importance to the club and how it has expanded each season. For two years, he was entrusted with overseeing pitching on the farm. Now he joins the major league staff for the first time in 2021. Holt was hired for the 2019 season as minor league pitching coordinator. That was the last full season before the pandemic, and of the Orioles' top six farm teams, four clubs led their...
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Chris Holt on six-man possibility, plus minors schedules are out

Chris Holt on six-man possibility, plus minors schedules are out
As he gets set to begin his third season in the Orioles organization, but first as the major league pitching coach, 41-year-old Chris Holt faces challenges everywhere he looks. How to continue to improve a staff that finished with a 4.51 ERA last year, up from 5.59 in 2019. How to continue to introduce more young pitching to the staff. And how to manage pitcher workloads in a 162-game season that followed a 60-game year. How do pitchers go from throwing 40 or 50 innings to getting back to, for...
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Pondering innings limits and a few other topics

Pondering innings limits and a few other topics
Orioles manager Brandon Hyde, his pitching coaches Chris Holt and Darren Holmes and the club's front office, among others, have to ponder something important about pitchers for the coming season: How do they get from here to there? In this case, the here is the innings load that pitchers were given in a shortened 60-game 2020 season, and the there is how it will work out now with 162 games facing the club. Last year Alex Cobb led O's pitchers with 52 1/3 innings and John Means was second with...
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Means ready to add leadership to his duties in 2021

Means ready to add leadership to his duties in 2021
He will turn 28 in April and is a veteran of just 202 big league innings. But in leading an Orioles rotation that could feature two rookies at the start - and more joining the fun late - left-hander John Means is likely to add leadership to his roles during the 2021 season. "It's crazy, the fact that I have two years of service time and I'm stepping into a leadership role," he said during a Zoom interview this afternoon. "But that's the way this team works and that's the way it needs to...
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As camp begins, another look at rotation candidates

As camp begins, another look at rotation candidates
When you look at the list of 73 players the Orioles have heading to spring training this week, there are 37 pitchers among that group of players. Of that group of 37, there are 15-20 that might have at least a remote shot at breaking north in the season-opening starting rotation. Realistically, the number is less, but still large. Let's take a look at groupings of pitchers that we could see in the rotation come April. TOP TIER This group includes lefty John Means, the likely opening day...
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Expanded resume: Rylan Bannon added to his during instructional league

Expanded resume: Rylan Bannon added to his during instructional league
It happened last season at the Orioles' alternate camp at Bowie. He made a joke that was not 100 percent a joke. When there was not a catcher available during a drill, infielder Rylan Bannon said they could put him back there. It didn't happen that day, but during instructional league a few weeks later, it did. Bannon, who turns 25 in April, went behind the plate. That was a first for him. In his minor league career, he had made 85 starts at second base and 172 at third base. But at...
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Dean Kremer now looks to build on impressive major league debut

Dean Kremer now looks to build on impressive major league debut
As major league debuts go, this was a really good one. Outstanding, actually. Orioles right-hander Dean Kremer faced the New York Yankees on Sunday, Sept. 6 at Camden Yards. In a 5-1 win as Baltimore took three of four in that series, Kremer allowed one run and one hit over six innings. Yankees batters went 1-for-19 against him. He walked three and fanned seven, throwing 47 of 88 pitches for strikes. His career was off and running. That afternoon Kremer became the fourth pitcher in Orioles...
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