Steve Melewski
Steve Melewski

Pondering a few baseball questions before the feast

Pondering a few baseball questions before the feast
Sending out a wish today that everyone has a great Thanksgiving and weekend with family and friends. It remains as true today as ever: I'm thankful for the readers of this blog and that so many post questions and comments to keep a great conversation going through the year. During this offseason to this point we have written about here and debated several questions surrounding the Orioles. Today I will throw out a few topics from recent weeks. Feel free to add your own in and around trips to...
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Steve Melewski

Wins Above Replacement: useful metric or nonsense?

Wins Above Replacement: useful metric or nonsense?
WAR, what is it good for? In a baseball statistical sense, it may be a useful metric that allows us to compare players and takes into account hitting, fielding and even baserunning among position players. There are WAR stats for pitchers, as well. It has become more prominent in the game in recent years and is used more by media and fans. But in my humble opinion, it remains a stat/metric still trying to find its way into the mainstream. It is still often misunderstood by some who then tend to...
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Steve Melewski

Hunter Harvey and David Hess on getting added to the 40-man

Hunter Harvey and David Hess on getting added to the 40-man
When the Orioles made talented, young right-hander Hunter Harvey the 22nd pick in the First-Year Player Draft in 2013, it was inevitable that he would make the 40-man roster someday. But Harvey had no idea it would come after he had dealt with several injuries and one major surgery. Harvey once again has the look of a top 100 pitching prospect and now he is one of 33 on the Orioles' 40-man roster. He joined pitcher David Hess and catcher Austin Wynns as 40-man additions yesterday. Now that...
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Steve Melewski

Is there a preference for Cobb or Lynn? (plus Rule 5 talk)

Is there a preference for Cobb or Lynn? (plus Rule 5 talk)
If the Orioles pursue either or both of free agent right-handers Alex Cobb or Lance Lynn, they would probably be delighted to get either pitcher. And either would be a huge addition to their rotation for 2018 and beyond. But is one the better choice? Lynn went 11-8 with a 3.43 ERA over 186 1/3 innings last season for the St. Louis Cardinals, the team he has pitched for since 2011. He has been a consistent winning pitcher for that club, posting ERAs between 2.74 and 3.97. With a 3.38 career ERA,...
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Steve Melewski

Week in review: Givens' future role, trade talk and more

Week in review: Givens' future role, trade talk and more
It is time for another week in review entry, where we take a look back at some of the stories and dicussions featured here in the last week. On Monday, we looked at reliever Mychal Givens and his possible future as a closer for the Orioles. Givens went 8-1 with a 2.75 ERA and 1.042 WHIP last season. His average against dropped from .220 in 2016 to .200 and he reduced his walk rate from 4.3 per nine innings, which was much too high, to a more workable 2.9 walks per nine. Givens seems to have the...
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Steve Melewski

Another look at pace of play, plus final AFL statistics

Another look at pace of play, plus final AFL statistics
Once again, Major League Baseball is talking about pace of play. They don't refer to this as time of game, which was up in 2017 and the longest we've ever seen. But MLB wants more on-field action and wants it to happen it seems, in a more timely fashion. But let's talk time of game for a moment. In 2015 - the first year of new pace of play rules - the average time of game was 2 hours, 56 minutes. That went up to 3 hours in 2016 and to 3 hours, 6 minutes last season. In the 2017 postseason,...
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Steve Melewski

Still talking free agent pitchers, plus other notes

Still talking free agent pitchers, plus other notes
If a pitcher that tied for the National League lead in losses and who has had two Tommy John procedures doesn't sound like he could help the 2018 Orioles, then right-hander Tyler Chatwood is not for you. But when a national reporter said the Orioles have interest this week, the season for rumors officially began. The Orioles will no doubt be linked to many free agent starters over the next several weeks. Simple math tells us that. They have two starters set for their 2018 rotation and you need...
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Steve Melewski

Two O's go from down the board on draft day to award finalists

Two O's go from down the board on draft day to award finalists
All big league teams strive to hit on players later in the First-Year Player Draft. There is always pressure on first-round picks, and they get the most bonus money and the most attention from media and fans. But you need more than the highest drafted players to come through for long-term big league success. In that regard, 2017 wasn't bad for the Orioles as a 2016 third-round pick, outfielder Austin Hays, was a finalist for Baseball America's minor league Player of the Year. And a 2013...
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Steve Melewski

Some trade banter and other notes

Some trade banter and other notes
If the Orioles discuss trading closer Zach Britton - or any prominent player - and then pull off a deal, can it help the team address its biggest need? Will the Orioles get starting pitching in return? That would be desirable for the Orioles. With just two pitchers set for the 2018 rotation in Dylan Bundy and Kevin Gausman, they are going to need to add starters any way they can, and the trade front is one avenue that could work. The potential issue is that any contending team that wants to add...
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Steve Melewski

Is bullpenning taking hold? (hot stove season heats up)

Is bullpenning taking hold? (hot stove season heats up)
As the discussion about bullpenning in baseball continues and more teams talk about pulling their starters earlier in games, it will be interesting to see if the Orioles have interest in a similar plan. Teams like the Mets and Rays have indicated a desire to be more proactive in pulling starting pitchers next season before they face batting orders the third time through. This story recently appeared in New York's Newsday and said the Mets plan to use an eight-man bullpen next season. The story...
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Steve Melewski

Will Mychal Givens' role become more prominent in the future?

Will Mychal Givens' role become more prominent in the future?
Can a pitcher with zero career saves be a future closer for the Orioles? If that pitcher is right-hander Mychal Givens, I believe the answer is yes. He has the velocity, has the stuff, is durable and has the mentality, in my opinion, which might be the hardest of all to find in a late-inning pitcher. One key trait of any closer is the ability to bounce back after he blows a save. Take a bump in the road and fly past it. Givens seems to be able to shake off tough outings quickly. Givens had a...
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Steve Melewski

Week in review: A look at how far the O's have to go and other topics

Week in review: A look at how far the O's have to go and other topics
Time for another look at some stories and topics we've touched on here in the past week. Feel free to comment on any or all three once more. On Monday, we got a lot of responses to the question, "How far away are the Orioles?" The 2017 club stayed in the race into September. In fact, on the night of Aug. 30, the Orioles won their seventh straight game. They were 1 1/2 games behind the Twins for the second American League wild card and 2 1/2 behind the Yankees for the first wild card. But in...
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Steve Melewski

Another look at strikeouts and their impact on the O's offense

Another look at strikeouts and their impact on the O's offense
Barring a batter reaching on a third strike and a wild pitch, not much good comes from a strikeout. Certainly, some good can come from a walk. Orioles fans know their team well and the Baltimore offense in recent seasons has featured too many strikeouts and too few walks. This was a problem again in the 2017 season. The Orioles' strikeout rate of 23 percent of all plate appearances by the team ranked as fifth-most in the American League this year. The team walk rate of 6.4 percent ranked last...
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Steve Melewski

Looking at more free agent starting pitchers

Looking at more free agent starting pitchers
While we wait to find out how the Orioles intend to improve on a starting rotation that produced a 5.70 ERA last season, today we take a look at three more free agent starters. CC Sabathia: It would sure look strange to see the big guy land in an O's uniform and he will be 38 on opening day. Is it even worth such a risk for a player that should be showing his age? The thing is, his ERA is on a three-season decrease, from 5.28 in 2014 to 4.73 in 2015 to 3.91 in 2016. Over 27 starts and 148 2/3...
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O's Brian Graham on DL Hall, Cody Sedlock, Keegan Akin and more

O's Brian Graham on DL Hall, Cody Sedlock, Keegan Akin and more
Don't be fooled by a 6.97 ERA for the kid. That came in just 10 1/3 innings in five August outings in the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League for left-hander DL Hall. The Orioles selected Hall with their first pick in June in the draft. He was taken with the 21st pick in the First-Year Player Draft and signed to a $3 million bonus. Hall, who turned 19 on Sept. 19, was selected from Valdosta (Ga.) High School. He pitched to a 1.36 ERA this season with 105 strikeouts over 51 1/3 innings for...
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Steve Melewski

Multiple-inning relievers could be big for future O's bullpens

Multiple-inning relievers could be big for future O's bullpens
The average outing by a starting pitcher in the postseason this year was 4 2/3 innings. That is a pretty surprising stat for me. Sure, some early knockouts brought that number down but 4 2/3 innings on average for some of better starters in the game? No doubt the bullpens get more use in the postseason and the off-days in each series made it possible for some relievers to pitch almost every game. The Orioles bullpen is rather important to the team, especially one that gets fewer innings from...
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Steve Melewski

Overlooked as a prospect, Trey Mancini got some rookie recognition

Overlooked as a prospect, Trey Mancini got some rookie recognition
Did a player that has been underrated most of his career finally get some level of recognition Monday evening? He did. The Orioles' Trey Mancini was named as a finalist for the American League Rookie of the Year Award. It's an all AL East final trio with Aaron Judge of New York and Boston's Andrew Benintendi joining Mancini. Judge is expected to become the easy winner of the award. But will Mancini get second place over the more heralded Benintendi? Even that might be tough for a player that...
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Steve Melewski

How far away are the Orioles?

How far away are the Orioles?
It seems hard to believe when you look at the Orioles and a last-place finish in 2017, but as the calendar turned from August to September, the team was a couple of games over .500 and very close to a playoff berth. On the night of Aug. 30, the Orioles won their seventh straight game. They were 1 1/2 games behind the Twins for the second wild card and 2 1/2 behind the Yankees for the first wild card. But in going 75-87, the Orioles finished 10 games behind the Twins. Only the White Sox and...
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Steve Melewski

Week in review: Talking free agent pitchers, realignment and Chris Tillman

Week in review: Talking free agent pitchers, realignment and Chris Tillman
As we look back at the last week of blog entries in this space, today we welcome more comments on some of those said entries. Monday we reviewed another three free agent pitchers in this space, taking a looking at Tyler Chatwood, Andrew Casher and Miguel González. Chatwood is a right-hander that will be 28 on opening day. While he went 8-15 with a 4.69 ERA for Colorado, he posted much better numbers on the road. That provides hope that a team signing him and getting him out of Coors Field...
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Steve Melewski

Houston takes down the big spenders, plus a look at shortstop

Houston takes down the big spenders, plus a look at shortstop
In winning the World Series, the Houston Astros did so with the No. 17 payroll in the majors and they took down the teams with the three top payrolls in the sport. It was an impressive run of winning. Houston beat Boston 3-1 in the American League Division Series and then won the last two games of the American League Championship Series to beat New York 4-3. They won a seven-game World Series over the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Dodgers payroll, per Spotrac, was $229 million and tops in the...
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