A few Orioles observations before today's doubleheader

A sample size born 11 games into a baseball season trends much closer to small than substantial. Shouldn't overreact or make firm judgements. Can't exert too much energy celebrating the good and burying the bad.

This isn't the National Football League. They're trying to play 162.

Of course, it's only natural to react to the early successes and failures. We're only human - born to make mistakes.

Would we be wrong to assume that Cedric Mullins is going to keep hitting throughout the summer? Only if expecting his average to stay above .400.

Mullins isn't this good by accident. He didn't rub a bottle and free a genie granting three wishes.

"The league is not easy and you're going to have to make adjustments," said manager Brandon Hyde.

"DJ Stewart's going to have to make adjustments. You see Cedric making adjustments. His swing is different than it was when I saw it two years ago, and that's just going to be a continual thing is that, guys that are going to be part of championship clubs, you've got to make adjustments to this league because it's so hard. And we're going to have guys go through that this year and you hope that they deal with adversity the right way. And we're going to be there positive for them."

Mullins isn't a threat to Joe DiMaggio's record. I'm not betting on anyone extending a hit streak to 57 consecutive games - or accepting the tired argument that it's the most unbreakable record in the sport.

Cy Young, with his 511 wins, wants you to hold his beer. Cal Ripken Jr. wants to make sure you keep both hands free.

But my point holds. Mullins can be the everyday center fielder and offer more than just speed and defense. He can be a prototypical leadoff hitter in an age when teams are more likely to think outside the batter's box, as the Orioles have done many times.

On my list of worries, which unfortunately grows like my hair, Ryan Mountcastle's slow start at the plate is scraping the bottom.

And not only because it's baseball and other issues in the world are much more important. Let's maintain our perspective here.

Mountcastle is going to hit. He could roll out of bed and hit a line drive, though the damage to the room could be substantial. And because he isn't strictly a pull hitter with designs on 500-foot home runs, any slump is likely to be correctable.

Take the single, for example, that tied the score in the second game of Tuesday's doubleheader. How he reached for a pitch and poked the ball into right field. Didn't try to pull it or do too much. Waited on it, slapped it the opposite way and completed a professional at-bat.

He isn't just about power. His speed and athleticism are better than advertised. And those tools should make him at least an adequate left fielder, with defensive replacements available in the late innings.

Do you still miss Renato Núñez as the full-time designated hitter? Roster flexibility makes a lot more sense, especially with Austin Hays nearing a return from the injured list.

Also, it's unfortunate that the Orioles delayed Mountcastle's inevitable position change to first base or the outfield. I understand the clog at first and why it wasn't an ideal move, but shortstop and third base were wasted years and unfairly presented him as strictly DH material. A false and frustrating narrative.

His situation illustrated the division within the organization. How some people insisted that the left side of the infield would work, while others vented over the refusal to concede that his arm played better elsewhere. As if doing so was admitting defeat.

Mountcastle was supposed to be the DH last night after starting in left field in Tuesday's nightcap.

"It hasn't been too bad," he said. "I like just focusing on my hitting, especially early in the year, and wherever they put me in the lineup and in the field, I'm doing whatever it takes to help us win."

Trey Mancini, a first baseman-turned-outfielder who's back at his natural position, has been a useful resource for Mountcastle.

"I've talked to Trey a little bit about it and got some advice from him," Mountcastle said. "And definitely some of the guys who have played outfield their whole lives, I asked them some questions, too, and sort of a group effort and trying to become better."

Anyway, Mountcastle will be productive in the middle of the order, the fourth-to-sixth range, and there's no reason to fret over a player who retains his rookie status and is legit.

Did anyone predict that Maikel Franco would lead the club in RBIs? Does anyone care about RBIs anymore?

I know that the stat requires men on base and therefore is out of the batter's control - until he steps to the plate with men on base. So yes, it matters.

A pitcher's win total leaves me cold. If that makes me more acceptable in 2021.

Franco had a career-high 88 RBIs in 630 plate appearances in 2016. He totaled 38 in 60 games last summer.

Being the team leader this month with 12 also sheds some light on the struggles around him. He's 5-for-11 with two doubles, a home run and 12 RBIs with runners in scoring position. The Orioles are batting .235/.306/.357 with RISP.

A move to the cleanup spot theoretically gives Franco more opportunities to drive in runs. The Orioles will take all of it and hope that other players challenge him.

"We've got to put the ball in play more with two strikes," Hyde said this week.

"We have a lot of guys pressing at the plate right now. ... Hopefully, we can get some momentum going from an at-bat standpoint, to be a little bit tougher at the plate, be able to grind out at-bats a little bit more."