Steve Melewski
Steve Melewski

First offseason edition: "10 questions for O's fans"

First offseason edition: "10 questions for O's fans"
It is time for the first edition of the offseason of "10 questions for O's fans." Feel free to answer one, two, three, any amount or all 10. Here are today's 10 questions: 1. Who will lead the 2018 Orioles in wins? 2. Which player will get the most starts in right field? 3. Better candidate to have a bounceback year: Chris Davis or Mark Trumbo? 4. Which free agent pitchers should the club pursue? 5. Who will lead the Orioles in homers next year? 6. Rank these Orioles prospects from best to...
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Steve Melewski

MLB's replay review system comes under fire again

MLB's replay review system comes under fire again
I have heard and read criticism of the replay review where Jose Lobaton of the Nationals was called out on review in the eighth inning on Thursday night. Lobaton beat the tag at first as Chicago Cubs catcher Wilson Contreras tried to pick him off. On replay it was noted his foot came off the bag while the tag was held. He was correctly called out. One criticism is this was not the spirit of the rule. I am not sure what that means. In baseball if your foot comes off the base during a tag, you...
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Steve Melewski

A position-by-position look at O's offense against league average

A position-by-position look at O's offense against league average
It is just one stat, but not a bad one to look at for any hitter - OPS. That is on base percentage plus slugging added together. Anything .800 or above, as we know, is a strong number. The high 700s are not too shabby. Among qualifying hitters, there were 37 players in the American League that posted an OPS of .800 or better this year. That list includes two Orioles, as Jonathan Schoop was 22nd at .841 and Trey Mancini was 26th at .826. But for this blog, I expand that a bit and will compare...
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Steve Melewski

O's list of Rule 5 eligible players includes pitcher Pat Connaughton

O's list of Rule 5 eligible players includes pitcher Pat Connaughton
He has only pitched 14 2/3 innings on the Orioles farm, but 24-year-old right-hander Pat Connaughton is eligible to be taken this December in the Rule 5 draft. Yep, that was fast. This will be the fourth Rule 5 draft since the Orioles selected Connaughton in round four out of Notre Dame in the 2014 draft and signed him to a bonus of $428,000. With short season Single-A Aberdeen in 2014, Connaughton pitched to a 2.51 ERA and showed a fastball that touched 96 mph with secondary pitches showing...
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Steve Melewski

In playoff pressure-cooker, AL East manager job security takes a hit

In playoff pressure-cooker, AL East manager job security takes a hit
It was about this time last year, when Orioles manager Buck Showalter was the subject of heavy criticism for not using closer Zach Britton in the club's AL wild card game loss at Toronto. But almost no one suggested Showalter's job was on the line and it wasn't. He is signed through 2018. But two other AL East managers are the subject of rumors now and their job security seems less firm than it was even a week ago. Not long after the New York Yankees lost Game 2 of the American League...
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Steve Melewski

Are the Orioles ready to turn over right field to Austin Hays?

Are the Orioles ready to turn over right field to Austin Hays?
After he has had 63 plate appearances in the majors, are the Orioles prepared to turn over right field to Austin Hays in 2018? Should they make that bold move? It would be a bit of a bold move for a player that has only 166 minor league games and one full season on the farm under his belt. He was drafted in the third round of the 2016 First-Year Player Draft and became the first player from that draft class to make the majors. Hays had an amazing minor league season, one that began at Single-A...
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Steve Melewski

A few facts and a few opinions

A few facts and a few opinions
A few items worth nothing and a few opinions about them to start the second week of the offseason. Item: The Orioles offense was the best in the American League in August and the worst in September. This was a pretty stunning change. In August the team ranked first in batting average (.306), slugging (.534), OPS (.882), homers (57) and runs per game (6.0). In September they ranked 15th and last in the AL in average (.224), OBP (.273), slugging (.358) and runs per game (3.1). The Orioles hit 27...
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Steve Melewski

Orioles will reload, not rebuild

Orioles will reload, not rebuild
It is a question worth asking even though we pretty much know the direction the organization will take: Should the Orioles be rebuilding now after posting a losing record in 2017, and with several veterans not signed beyond 2018? The Orioles seem much more inclined to be reloading than rebuilding. They are still looking to add to their roster and improve their pitching to make another run for the playoffs in 2018. But we all know that free agency awaits for four key players after the 2018...
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Steve Melewski

What is the ceiling for Trey Mancini?

What is the ceiling for Trey Mancini?
After a stellar rookie season, how much better can Trey Mancini play for the Orioles? What is his ceiling? MLBPipeline.com's Jim Callis recently drew the ire of Birdland when he ranked his current top 30 major league rookies based on their future potential. Again, he was ranking not on current stats or performance, but future potential. In an interview for this article on that topic, Callis said he had some concerns about Mancini moving forward. "I worry he doesn't walk much," Callis said....
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Steve Melewski

The longball in early playoff games and league prospect rankings

The longball in early playoff games and league prospect rankings
We have heard it many times before that "good pitching beats good hitting." We have also heard the narrative that home runs "don't play well in the postseason." So far that has not been true. We are talking about a small sample size. In the wild-card games the four starting pitchers were Ervin Santana, Luis Severino, Jon Gray and Zach Greinke. They combined to pitch 7 1/3 innings allowing 20 hits and 15 runs and gave up five home runs. There were nine homers hit in the wild card games. As...
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Steve Melewski

J.J. Cooper says O's farm has "taken a big step forward"

J.J. Cooper says O's farm has "taken a big step forward"
The Orioles' minor leagues had a good year in 2017. That is the opinion of several national analysts I have spoken to in the last two weeks. Today, here is the second part of a series of interviews with national analysts on the O's farm. For the Orioles, 2017 was a year where outfielder Austin Hays moved from Single-A Frederick to Double-A Bowie and then to the majors. He was a finalist for Baseball America's Player of the Year Award. The Orioles had four players ranked among the top 20...
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Steve Melewski

Not a dynamic duo: Davis and Trumbo need to increase production in 2018

Not a dynamic duo: Davis and Trumbo need to increase production in 2018
Improving their starting rotation is the biggest issue facing the Orioles as the offseason begins. But that is not the only one. In 2016, Chris Davis and Mark Trumbo combined for 85 homers and 192 RBIs. This season they combined for 49 homers and 126 RBIs. Add to that Manny Machado's slow first half and the middle of the Orioles order too often came up short. Bounceback seasons by Davis and Trumbo next year would go a long way toward helping an offense that fell off a bit overall in 2017....
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Steve Melewski

Mancini on the minors, plus other topics and notes

Mancini on the minors, plus other topics and notes
You will find few players to provide a stronger endorsement for the job done by the Orioles minor league staff and coaches than Trey Mancini. After all Mancini is a one-time unheralded eighth-round draft pick that was one of the top rookies in the majors this year. He hit .293/.338/.488 with 26 doubles, four triples, 24 homers, 78 RBIs and an .826 OPS. This is a player that was never ranked in anyone's top 100 prospects list. But he just worked very hard during four seasons on the O's farm to...
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Steve Melewski

Key questions the Orioles face as the offseason begins

Key questions the Orioles face as the offseason begins
Finishing in last place is not what the Orioles organization or their fans had in mind. Not for the 2017 season. Not after leading the league in wins from 2012-2016. Not after the Orioles began the year 22-10. On May 9 they had the best record in the majors, playing .688 ball. That was better than three teams that would go on to win 101 or more games. Also not after where the Orioles stood heading into September. On the night of Aug. 30, the Orioles won their seventh straight game. They were 1...
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Steve Melewski

O's game blog: Kevin Gausman pitches season finale

O's game blog: Kevin Gausman pitches season finale
The Orioles (75-86) put a wrap on the 2017 season today at Tropicana Field as they conclude a three-game series versus the Tampa Bay Rays (79-82). The Orioles will finish with their first losing record and fewest wins since going 69-93 in 2011. From 2012 through 2016, the Orioles averaged 88.8 wins per year and made the playoffs three times. But they will miss out this year. They enter today with four straight losses, during which they have been outscored 26-7. The Orioles have lost six of...
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Steve Melewski

In September, homers and runs were hard to find

In September, homers and runs were hard to find
It seems that more so than most teams the Orioles ability to score runs is pretty much directly related to their ability to hit home runs. When they hit them often they score a lot more than when they don't. August and September provide clear evidence in that regard. The Orioles have averaged just 1.00 homer for every game played in September, easily their worst month of the year for homers. And they averaged just 3.07 runs per game in the month. They hit homers at a prolific clip in August,...
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Steve Melewski

O's game blog: Miguel Castro gets the start for the Orioles

O's game blog: Miguel Castro gets the start for the Orioles
The Orioles are certainly staggering to the end of the 2017 season. It is an end that will come tomorrow and may be about 24 hours away. The Orioles (75-85) play the Tampa Bay Rays (78-82) tonight in the second game of a three-game series. Three O's pitchers walked 10 batters last night and the Orioles had just four hits in a 7-0 loss to the Rays. Wade Miley took the loss, allowing four runs over four innings, to end his year at 8-15 with a 5.61 ERA. Over the last four games, O's starters...
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Steve Melewski

The end is near: O's get shut out as current slide continues

The end is near: O's get shut out as current slide continues
Hey, at least Trey Mancini had a hit. He did indeed, extending the longest hitting streak ever by an Orioles rookie to 17 straight games. He's playing well to the end. He just hasn't had many teammates join him. The Orioles put up little resistance Friday night in a 7-0 loss to the Rays, as the end of their 2017 season drew closer. Just two games to go now with the team at 75-85. The Orioles began this year playing great baseball as they went 22-10. They are ending it playing terribly....
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Steve Melewski

O's game blog: The final series of the year begins

O's game blog: The final series of the year begins
The Orioles (75-84) begin their final series of the season at Tropicana Field tonight against the Tampa Bay Rays (77-82). The Rays begin the series in third place, two games ahead of the Orioles and Blue Jays. The Orioles would need a three-game sweep to finish ahead of Tampa Bay in the final standings. Before Thursday's off-day, the Orioles lost by scores of 10-1 and 5-3 at Pittsburgh. They have lost four of their last five and 16 of 20 games. The Orioles are 29-49 in road games and are...
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Steve Melewski

O's road woes a big factor in 2017 losing record

O's road woes a big factor in 2017 losing record
It is one of the failings of the 2017 Orioles. They are one of the worst road teams in the American League this year and it cost the team. Had an Orioles club that went 46-35 at home this season won the same percentage of road games, they'd be a 92-win team. That would be enough wins to host the wild card game and also keep the team in the hunt in an AL East led by Boston, which currently has 92 wins. But the Orioles, while going 11 games over .500 at home, are 20 games under on the road. The...
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