Steve Melewski
Steve Melewski

Orioles' instructional league roster

Orioles' instructional league roster
The Orioles may have wrapped up the 2020 regular season and ended activities at the Bowie alternate site, where some young players got critical development time this summer. But today they are starting their fall instructional league. It's an opportunity for more young and developing players to get individual and team work in at the organization's Ed Smith Stadium complex in Sarasota, Fla. "Our instructional league camp allows us to further develop and evaluate young players in our system,"...
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Steve Melewski

Rule 5 pick to MVO: Another look at Anthony Santander's 2020

Rule 5 pick to MVO: Another look at Anthony Santander's 2020
When Orioles outfielder Anthony Santander slumped late in the 2019 season, he hurt his final numbers. They looked good at the time, but not great. This year, there was no late-season slump, although there was an injury. But while his batting average stayed the same in 2020, most of the other numbers were significantly better. Santander did enough in 37 games of a 60-game season to win the Most Valuable Oriole award. When he played, he was among the American League stat leaders in several...
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Steve Melewski

The MLB postseason: On to the next round

The MLB postseason: On to the next round
One big difference in the Major League Baseball playoffs this year, beyond the obvious ones like no crowds at games, is very few off-days. There will be two off-days in the World Series. But no off-days before that. We saw the wild card round of three games (if needed) in three days. The American League Division Series will begin Monday with five games in five days, if needed. The National League Division Series starts Tuesday and will be played for five straight days, if necessary. Same with...
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Steve Melewski

A look at O's rotation improvement in 2020

A look at O's rotation improvement in 2020
The Orioles' rotation ERA this year was 5.09 for the 60-game season. They had it down to 4.75 with just a few games to go. But short outings by Jorge López, where he gave up eight runs, and Dean Kremer, where he gave up seven, raised it again. The O's finished 11th in the American League in rotation ERA. Had they kept their ERA in the 4.75 range, they still would have finished 11th. That is still the best for an O's team since the 2016 team that won 89 games and made the postseason. O's...
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Steve Melewski

A few random notes and some chat about the skipper

A few random notes and some chat about the skipper
The Orioles public relations staff put out some excellent season wrap-up notes and stats on the club. Some of these stats were posted throughout the season, and here are some of the final numbers: * The Orioles led the major leagues with a batting average of .409 when putting the first pitch in play. San Diego was second at .408, followed by Atlanta at .399, the New York Mets at .394 and Washington at .373. * While O's shortstop José Iglesias did not have enough at-bats to qualify for the...
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Steve Melewski

Comparing Ryan Mountcastle's major league start to Manny Machado's

Comparing Ryan Mountcastle's major league start to Manny Machado's
Not only did Ryan Mountcastle have a stunningly good rookie year for the Orioles, but if you compare his first 35 big league games to Manny Machado, Mountcastle comes out ahead. Well ahead. It was one strong performance and probably better then we had a right to expect. He walked more, he defended fine, he ran very well and he hit. Man, did he hit. Over 35 games and 140 plate appearances, Mountcastle batted .333/.386/.492 with five doubles, five homers, 23 RBIs and an OPS of .878. His OPS+ of...
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Steve Melewski

Sizing up the 2020 Orioles offense

Sizing up the 2020 Orioles offense
In judging the 2020 Orioles offense, a rating may be in the eye of the beholder. And it may heavily depend on when that person watched this team. If they saw them only play National League teams, they may rate the offense as one of the best in the game. If they saw only games against the American League, they will have a few questions about the bats. If they saw only the last few weeks, they will ponder if this group is just terrible. But more on the timing later. Let's first take a look at a...
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Steve Melewski

A look at the MLB 16-team playoffs that start today

A look at the MLB 16-team playoffs that start today
The truncated 2020 regular season is over, and it was used this year to eliminate just 14 teams. Now 16 play on in search of the World Series championship. Bracket playoff baseball is about to begin later today with four American League playoff games. The National League series begin tomorrow. So on Wednesday, there will be eight playoff games. Yep, eight. They'll start at Noon, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7 and 10 p.m. Should be a wild day and night of baseball. There will be at least four more games on...
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Steve Melewski

It was a season of progress and improvement for the Orioles

It was a season of progress and improvement for the Orioles
For the Orioles, the 2020 season, turned out to be about progress and improvement. They moved the organization forward in bringing young talent onto the team, much of it homegrown, that performed well. They made improvement in the won-loss record. But, yes, the bar was low for that latter achievement. * The 2018 Orioles went 47-115 and played .290 baseball.* The 2019 Orioles went 54-108 and played .333 baseball.* The 2020 Orioles went 25-35 and played .417 baseball. The club had finished in...
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Steve Melewski

O's rally to win finale, finish 25-35

O's rally to win finale, finish 25-35
Given one last chance to get a win this year, the Orioles did just that, beating the Toronto Blue Jays 7-5. They take the final game in this series and season to finish at 25-35. After playing .312 ball in losing 223 games over the last two seasons, the Orioles finished in fourth place this year, playing .417 ball. They went 13-20 at home and 12-15 on the road. They went 14-26 versus the American League and 11-9 against the National League. They end with a win after coming into Sunday with four...
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Steve Melewski

O's game blog: The season finale arrives

O's game blog: The season finale arrives
The Orioles began the delayed and shortened 2020 season on July 24 in Boston. And this 60-game campaign will end today in Buffalo as they face the Toronto Blue Jays in the season finale. As recently as Sept. 8, the Orioles were 20-21 after beating the New York Mets 11-2 and were just a half-game back of the New York Yankees for the final American League playoff spot. But they have gone 4-14 since then falling to 24-35 and now are eight games behind Toronto, which is currently the No. 8 AL...
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A look at Mike Elias' season-ending presser and other notes

A look at Mike Elias' season-ending presser and other notes
On the next to last day of the 2020 season, Orioles executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias talked at length about this year and what lies ahead for the Orioles. It was another Zoom interview, but we didn't really zoom through it. He was asked a lot of questions and there was a lot to absorb and wrap our heads around. No news was really made, nor were there any proclamations. Elias didn't commit to having an instructional league in the weeks ahead, but it sure sounds like the...
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Steve Melewski

O's game blog: John Means faces Toronto

O's game blog: John Means faces Toronto
The Orioles return to Buffalo's Sahlen Field tonight for the next-to-last game of the 2020 season. It's the second of their three-game series with the Toronto Blue Jays, who beat the Orioles 10-5 last night. Toronto led that game 10-0 in the fifth inning and losing pitcher Jorge López allowed eight runs in two-plus innings. The Orioles scored the game's final five runs. Ramón Urías, Cedric Mullins and José Iglesias all hit solo homers. The O's have hit three homers in a game 11...
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Hyde's protocol props, plus notes on the MVO and more

Hyde's protocol props, plus notes on the MVO and more
Entering this weekend, almost all the teams in Major League Baseball were on pace to be at 60 games played through the end of the regular season on Sunday. My take is this is a real accomplishment for MLB. The sport had many doubters leading up the start of the year. And as some teams had in-season COVID outbreaks, no one could take for granted that the season would be played to its conclusion. But it surely appears headed in that direction. Issues could still pop up along the way during the...
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Steve Melewski

O's game blog: The final series begins

O's game blog: The final series begins
The Orioles begin the final series of the 2020 season tonight when they play at Buffalo's Sahlen Field against the Toronto Blue Jays. The Orioles (24-33) could finish 27-33 and would be playing .450 ball for the year if they sweep this series, but they are just 1-6 on the season against Toronto. The Blue Jays (30-27) beat the New York Yankees 4-1 last night to clinch their first playoff berth since 2016. They are two games behind New York for second place in the American League East and a...
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Steve Melewski

Santander on MVO: "It's such an honor to receive this award"

Santander on MVO: "It's such an honor to receive this award"
His season ended in early September due to a right oblique strain and it wasn't long after that the Orioles were straining to score runs. They miss outfielder Anthony Santander, who today was named the 2020 Most Valuable Oriole. The Orioles do not release results of the voting by local media that cover the team on a regular basis, but in a year with several worthy contenders, Santander is the winner. He finished the year batting .261/.315/.575 with 13 doubles, one triple, 11 homers, 24 runs...
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Steve Melewski

Trying to evaluate players in a 60-game season

Trying to evaluate players in a 60-game season
If this were a normal season, players currently slumping would have over 100 games to do something about it. But now those same players have three more games. It's probably not enough time to overcome slumps that have lasted a week or more. Some players' stats are falling big-time and they are going to have to look at them all winter. Does that create a complicated evaluation process for the Orioles? They have 60 games of a body of work and not 162 to look at. Some players that were key...
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Steve Melewski

Mullins' early big hit helps O's offense break out at Boston

Mullins' early big hit helps O's offense break out at Boston
As the Orioles offense broke out tonight and they won the final game of a three-game series, a somewhat unlikely source had an early big hit. It was center fielder Cedric Mullins. It's not that he had been hitting poorly; he had not. But Mullins had struggled this year as a right-handed batter facing lefties. However, his two-run, bases-loaded double tonight was a key hit that gave the Orioles an early 3-0 lead in the second inning. They went on to beat Boston 13-1 to avoid being swept three...
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Steve Melewski

O's game blog: Looking to avoid a sweep at Fenway

O's game blog: Looking to avoid a sweep at Fenway
The Orioles will fall into a tie for fourth place in the American League East with Boston if they lose to the Red Sox tonight. They began this series three games ahead of the Red Sox in the standings. But after 8-3 and 9-1 losses, they could find themselves even with another defeat. The Orioles (23-33) have scored one run or less nine times in the last 14 games after Wednesday's loss. The team is in an extended slump, but it wasn't always this way. It wasn't always this way even this month....
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Steve Melewski

Pat Valaika finishing strong even as team has not

Pat Valaika finishing strong even as team has not
Orioles utility player Pat Valaika had an uncertain offseason, one where he was claimed by the Orioles, then Arizona, then the Orioles again. He was outrighted off the club's 40-man roster on Feb. 11. But one day before the shortened season was set to begin, his contract was selected by the club on July 23. It was bumpy ride in the winter, but has been a much smoother one during this season for Valaika. He's been on the roster all year. Over 50 games, the 28-year-old has hit .263/.300/.451...
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