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...
All you have to do is remember that catcher Jake Fox once looked like an All-Star during spring training. Some fans were clamoring for him to play over Matt Wieters. Yep, that did happen.
Every year, we see players crush the ball in spring training but struggle when the season starts. And the reverse is often true.
Every year, we wonder how much stock, if any, to put into spring training stats. It's all we have throughout February and March. I've always felt we certainly can't just dismiss...
Among a few adjustments Orioles fans have to get used to with minor league baseball in 2021 is seeing Aberdeen play as their high Single-A full-season affiliate and no longer as a short-season club. As of yesterday we also have to get used to new and very generic league names for these farm clubs.
In many cases their league will be similar to where they have been in terms of the teams they will play, but no longer will those clubs play in the International, Eastern, Carolina or South Atlantic...
After watching a record 6.776 homers leave ballparks during the 2019 season, Major League Baseball officials are taking an action that could produce fewer longballs this year. According to sources cited by several outlets, MLB will slightly deaden the baseballs for the 2021 season.
According to an Associated Press report, MLB anticipates the changes will be subtle, and a memo to teams last week cites an independent lab that found the new balls will fly one to two feet shorter on balls hit over...
The Orioles farm system got some further positive recognition yesterday when it was ranked No. 7 by Baseball America in organizational rankings. That is up from No. 12 last year. In MLBPipeline.com's latest organizational rankings, released in the fall, the O's moved up from No. 13 to No. 8.
It should be pointed out that not every outlet sees the O's farm as top 10 or even top 15. The Athletic rated the O's No. 18 when it released ratings for every MLB club yesterday.
Baseball America noted...
We now know some of the rules that will govern the 2021 Major League Baseball season. MLB and the MLB Players Association announced the health and safety protocols that will be in place starting when spring training begins next week.
By the way, as a reminder, O's pitchers and catchers report Tuesday, Feb. 16 with the first workout set for the next day. The first full-squad workout in Sarasota is Feb. 22.
Some things that were agreed on include:
* Doubleheaders will feature two seven-inning...
Neither player is currently on the Orioles' 40-man roster. Of the two, one has played in the majors, while the other has yet to play a single inning of pro ball. Both could play in Baltimore at some point in the 2021 season.
In this recent entry, I got the take and opinions from a National League scout on the O's possible double play combo of Freddy Galvis and Yolmer Sánchez. Today, the scout takes a look at Chris Shaw and Garrett Stallings.
Shaw is a 27-year-old lefty-hitting...
He got a taste of big league camp with the Orioles in Sarasota last season. Now as a new season is about to begin, Zac Lowther is ready to leave his home near Cleveland and head south. He's a bit leaner than last year, and after a 2020 season spent trying to get better without games, looks forward to putting his best forward soon at Ed Smith Stadium.
The 24-year-old lefty has quite the minor league resume. An All-Star with short-season Single-A Aberdeen in 2017, the O's co-Minor League...
The Los Angeles Dodgers now have a rotation featuring three Cy Young Award winners, and the Orioles of a few years ago know what it is like to challenge that.
I think the Dodgers made a smart move with the free agent signing of right-hander Trevor Bauer. Yes, Bauer can opt after the first or second years of the deal, but Los Angeles hopes to get the top-of-rotation quality Bauer and maybe win another World Series or two over the next two years. For that, they could be out $40 million for his...
He may have ultimately opted out of the 2020 big league season, but the Orioles would certainly take a repeat of Félix Hernández's spring training performance from last year when the right-hander takes the mound in Sarasota over the next few weeks.
Signed by the club this week to a minor league deal that will pay him $1 million if he's in the majors, Hernández recorded a 1.98 ERA with 14 strikeouts over 13 2/3 innings. He was well on his way to wrapping up a spot in the Atlanta...
If Freddy Galvis is at shortstop and Yolmer Sánchez is at second base for the 2021 Orioles, their up-the-middle infield defense will no doubt be very solid. And they could have some real durability. Between 2017-19, Sánchez played in 148 games per year for the Chicago White Sox. From 2015-19, Galvis averaged 156 games per season.
I had a recent conversation with a National League scout, who noted that durability in assessing what the O's might be getting with these two players.
The...
Normally, the signing of a pitcher to a minor league contract who went 1-8 with a 6.40 ERA in his most recent season would not garner much interest. Or much enthusiasm. There would be a story here and fans would await the pitcher getting his shot to prove he still has it during spring training.
But it's not every day a rebuilding team can sign someone with the resume of right-hander Félix Hernández.
Some fans, certainly not all, did express some excitement last night when the Orioles...
Baseball America recently released its prospect position rankings, which followed up its release of the publication's top 100, where the Orioles placed five players.
Adley Rutschman, ranked No. 2 in the Baseball America top 100 (subscription may be required), is rated as the No. 1 catcher in what Baseball America calls a loaded group of catchers, with nine of their top 10 rated also in their top 100. Baseball America points out that it was only three seasons ago that there were only four...
With right-hander Alex Cobb expected on his way via trade to the Los Angeles Angels, the Orioles rotation, thought to have at least one opening, now has at least two.
It's two if you have John Means atop that rotation, which anyone certainly must at this point. But that is if you also have at least penciled in Dean Kremer and Keegan Akin, who combined to make 10 starts late last year.
Their chance to make up 40 percent of the starting five may be more secure today than yesterday.
But the...
Welcome to February. The month, we think, when teams will report to spring training in Florida and Arizona. Orioles pitchers and catchers remain scheduled to report to Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota on Feb. 16. The first spring training game is set for Feb. 27. Opening day is scheduled for April 1 at Boston.
And that's no joke.
Those are the dates as of this morning. It's all subject to change, of course. We're still in a pandemic. Most teams still could not sell tickets to any fans if they...
Those of us who work in baseball in this area and region today are feeling such a loss. Our friend here at MASN and MASNsports.com, our treasured colleague, Mel Antonen, passed away last night.
Mel was 64 and battled a rare autoimmune disease and other health issues that made his battle against this disease one that was beyond challenging. That word just doesn't do it justice here. Baltimore-area media and friends of Mel would get updates over about the last year this was all going on. Mel...
Just a short entry today that features a few questions. As always, feel free to answer one, two or all of them. Respond with comments on the answers of your fellow readers too.
Feel free to pose any of your own questions with topics you may be wondering about as we are now weeks away from the scheduled start of spring training.
We certainly have a few unanswered question about the coming season but we are now less than a few weeks away from report dates around Major League Baseball.
So, on to...
Even though anything he does good or bad for the Los Angeles Angels in 2021 won't help or hurt the Orioles, no doubt O's fans will still be quite interested in the performance of former shortstop José Iglesias. After the O's traded Iglesias to the Angels, they signed Freddy Galvis to replace him.
So the comparison of the two and how well or not they do this coming season is an obvious one. But it is only a one-season comparison since both players were signed by their respective clubs just...
If you could bat .500 in baseball, you would probably win a few awards and set several records. And if the Orioles can bat .500 with their top two pitching prospects, that might be impressive as well.
They dream on going 2-for-2 and producing a pair of No. 1 starters out of right-hander Grayson Rodriguez and left-hander DL Hall. But what if they turn one but not both of that duo into a No. 1 starter? Well, that would still put them ahead of most clubs. Producing an elite starter is very hard to...
The news of the death of former Triple-A Norfolk manager Ron Johnson this week hit hard throughout the Orioles organization and beyond. He managed the Tides for seven years through 2018 and sent many a player to help the O's during a period when they made the playoffs three times from 2012 through 2016.
Johnson served the Orioles very well. Players were made better having played for him. His last Norfolk team in 2018 included the likes of DJ Stewart, Cedric Mullins, Austin Wynns, Chance Sisco,...