Steve Melewski
Steve Melewski

Looking back: Checking on the 2010 O's top 10 prospects list

Looking back: Checking on the 2010 O's top 10 prospects list
As a follow-up to yesterday's blog about the Orioles farm system, I decided to take a random look back at their top 10 list from several years ago. So I decided to take three American League East teams from after the 2010 season and see how their top 10s look now. Keep in mind that prospect analysis involves a lot of looking ahead and projections that are difficult to make. In the world of prospects, there are many more misses than hits on the farm. Most prospects don't pan out or don't...
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Steve Melewski

A look to see if Orioles farm system depth is better than advertised

A look to see if Orioles farm system depth is better than advertised
Is it possible that the Orioles farm system is in better shape than some believe it to be? If you look at the recent Baseball America top 10 O's prospects list, you find some pretty good prospects that did not even make that top 10. To review, here is the O's top 10 per BA that was released Dec. 14: 1) RHP Dylan Bundy 2) RHP Hunter Harvey 3) C Chance Sisco 4) 3B Jomar Reyes 5) RHP Mychal Givens 6) LHP Chris Lee 7) SS Ryan Mountcastle 8) 1B Trey Mancini 9) OF DJ Stewart 10) RHP Mike...
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Steve Melewski

In Chris Davis' free agency, where does loyalty fit in?

In Chris Davis' free agency, where does loyalty fit in?
When the Orioles acquired first baseman Chris Davis and pitcher Tommy Hunter from Texas for pitcher Koji Uehara in July 2011, Davis was a 25-year-old slugger looking to establish himself at the major league level. Today he is an established home run hitter and looking to score a big contract through free agency. Back at the time of the trade, he was making the major league minimum and not even arbitration eligible yet. The Orioles showed Davis some loyalty by giving him his first chance to...
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Steve Melewski

Will 2016 produce some free agent surprises?

Will 2016 produce some free agent surprises?
With now about six weeks to go before the start of another spring training, the market remains flush with some big name position players. Chris Davis, Yoenis Cespedes, Alex Gordon and Justin Upton are all still out there. Jason Heyward signed an eight-year deal for $184 million with the Chicago Cubs. It contains - of course - an opt-out clause and the potential for a second one. His signing was supposed to signal the startup of outfielders coming off the board, but so far that has not...
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Steve Melewski

Will a new year bring a return to past performance for some O's starters?

Will a new year bring a return to past performance for some O's starters?
Happy new year to all Orioles fans. Hope this will be a great year for you and the team you root for. The Orioles rotation will need to be better this year. No matter what additions or changes the O's make to their starting five, the holdovers simply must do better in 2016. Last year, Chris Tillman went 11-11 with a 4.99 ERA. In 2014, he went 13-6 with a 3.34 ERA. Miguel Gonzalez went 9-12 with a 4.91 ERA last year after going 10-9 with a 3.23 a season before. Even Kevin Gausman fell off a...
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Steve Melewski

Did the Dodgers create a poor precedent with Scott Kazmir signing?

Did the Dodgers create a poor precedent with Scott Kazmir signing?
So free agent left-hander Scott Kazmir got an opt-out clause. I really don't understand the Los Angeles Dodgers' thinking here. Kazmir signed a three-year deal with the Dodgers that will reportedly guarantee him $48 million. But he has an opt-out clause after the first season. If he pitches poorly, the Dodgers are on the hook for all three years and $48 million. If he pitches well in 2016, he can leave the team and re-enter the free agent market at the end of the year. Must be a great time to...
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Steve Melewski

Will the Orioles be a player for a key free agent outfielder?

Will the Orioles be a player for a key free agent outfielder?
The Orioles need an outfielder and three key free agents that play outfield are still on the board: Justin Upton, Alex Gordon and Yoenis Cespedes. The Orioles must, at a minimum, be monitoring their markets if not doing more. MLB.com's Jesse Sanchez reported Tuesday that the Orioles and White Sox are emerging as favorites "for now" to sign Cespedes. The 30-year-old Cespedes has one edge over the other two outfielders. A team signing him would not have to give up a draft pick. He is also...
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Steve Melewski

A take on Wei-Yin Chen, a trade and more

A take on Wei-Yin Chen, a trade and more
A few random thoughts today on a pitcher, a trade and payroll: * If some team is going to give up a five-year, $100 million deal for left-hander Wei-Yin Chen and give up a draft pick, to me that is a big overpay. While Chen had his best year for the Orioles last year, he also has gone 16-19 with a 4.06 ERA in 52 career starts within the American League East. Last season, Chen gave up a batting average of .274, slugging percentage of .496 and OPS of .815 against right-handed batters. In his...
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Steve Melewski

Has the Chris Davis situation hurt the O's offseason efforts?

Has the Chris Davis situation hurt the O's offseason efforts?
A reader asked this here yesterday and it is a fair question: Is Chris Davis controlling this offseason for the Orioles? While Davis and what is happening or not with his free agent negotiations may be controlling the conversation and discussion about the O's offseason, he is not controlling the team or its front office. The Orioles have continued to talk with other free agents and they've made some moves. In fact, they traded for Mark Trumbo, a potential first base replacement if Davis...
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Steve Melewski

Notes on Joey Rickard, Tim Berry and big free agent contracts

Notes on Joey Rickard, Tim Berry and big free agent contracts
Outfielder Joey Rickard, taken by the Orioles in the Rule 5 draft, is having a solid season in the Dominican Winter League. Over 50 games and 191 at-bats, he has hit .277/.344/.450 with 13 doubles, one triple, six homers and 32 RBIs. A 24-year-old who is a right-handed batter and lefty thrower, Rickard has hit .362 with runners in scoring position for Leones del Escogido. He has batted mostly first and third. In 100 leadoff at-bats, he has hit .290/.373/.540. Against left-handed pitchers, he...
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Steve Melewski

Prospect profile: Calvert Hall's Alex Murphy showed potential with bat in 2015

Prospect profile: Calvert Hall's Alex Murphy showed potential with bat in 2015
At FanFest, he was more recognized as the local kid who played high school ball at Calvert Hall than as an Orioles minor league player. But that was fine with 21-year-old Alex Murphy. He was excited to be there and happy to be healthy again after sports hernia surgery derailed what had the makings of a big 2015 season. In the 2013 First-Year Player Draft, the Orioles selected three prep catchers among their first seven picks, taking Chance Sisco 61st overall, Jonah Heim with pick No. 129 and...
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Steve Melewski

Will there soon be a new pitcher under the O's tree?

Will there soon be a new pitcher under the O's tree?
Merry Christmas and happy holidays, Birdland! Here's a hope that this is your best ever and that you get to spend it with family and friends. Enjoy the season even if you are in the warm Baltimore area, where this weather would be fully conducive for a doubleheader this afternoon. As for a quick baseball thought today, how about comparing two pitchers the Orioles have been linked to in left-hander Scott Kazmir and right-hander Yovani Gallardo? Both were projected to get four-year deals worth...
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Steve Melewski

With Hyun Soo Kim now signed, how will he fare against major league pitching?

With Hyun Soo Kim now signed, how will he fare against major league pitching?
With the Orioles still pursuing outfielders, Hyun Soo Kim now seems like their best option to start in left field. On Wednesday, the club officially announced that Kim signed a two-year contract. The Orioles must be hoping that Kim could be to their outfield what left-hander Wei-Yin Chen was to their pitching staff when they nabbed Chen in the international market in January 2012. Chen was signed to a three-year deal with an option for the 2015 season. His initial deal was worth about $12...
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Steve Melewski

In O's minors, another way to look at catching statistics (plus another Davis take)

In O's minors, another way to look at catching statistics (plus another Davis take)
Caught-stealing percentage is a statistic that provides information, but sometimes doesn't provide anywhere near a complete story on a catcher. We can look on a stat page and see that a catcher threw out 35 percent of attempted base stealers. Does that make him better than the catcher who threw out 30 percent? Not necessarily, and there are good reasons for that. When it comes to Orioles minor league catchers, this past season the coaching staff at each affiliate started to keep the catcher's...
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Steve Melewski

Chris Tillman looks for a bounceback season in 2016

Chris Tillman looks for a bounceback season in 2016
As the Orioles look to improve on their starting rotation's performance from last year, one area that could help would be improvement from current pitchers over their seasons from 2015. From 2012-14, Chris Tillman went a combined 38-16 with an ERA of 3.42. In those years, he ranked tied for 11th in the American League in wins and was 15th in ERA. Then he went 11-11 with an ERA of 4.99 last year. Tillman did not get specific recently when asked at FanFest what exactly went wrong during his 2015...
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Steve Melewski

Holiday edition: "10 questions for O's Fans"

Holiday edition: "10 questions for O's Fans"
If you were a reader here last winter or previously this offseason, you probably are familiar with what this is all about. In this edition of "10 questions for O's fans," I ask and seek your answers. Provide a short or long answer. Answer just one, two or a few questions or all 10. Please number your answers as that makes it a little easier to follow along. 1) The Orioles have agreed to terms with outfielder Hyun-soo Kim. He is a career .318/.406/.488 hitter in 10 seasons in the Korean...
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Steve Melewski

Brady Anderson on winter workouts; young O's meet the media at FanFest

Brady Anderson on winter workouts; young O's meet the media at FanFest
When it comes to leading a group of Orioles in winter workouts, club vice president of baseball operations Brady Anderson is ready to help. He's already joined pitcher Miguel Gonzalez for some of his workouts on the West Coast, and that group will later include Mike Wright, Jason Garcia and minor league lefty Tim Berry. "Garcia and Wright will spend some extensive time right before spring training," Anderson said. "They'll probably be there the last six weeks. Dariel Alvarez will come in....
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Steve Melewski

Zach Britton on his 2015 season, trade talks and more

Zach Britton on his 2015 season, trade talks and more
When the Boston Red Sox traded a haul of prospects for San Diego closer Craig Kimbrel, some fans wondered if the Orioles could get a similar return for their closer, Zach Britton. Britton said he has heard that his name has come up in trade rumors. But he also seems convinced those are mostly just rumors and he knows the Orioles are certainly not looking to trade him. "It feels good (that they want to keep me)," Britton said. "I heard through my agent maybe there was some talk of teams...
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Steve Melewski

Prospect profile: Now on 40-man, Andrew Triggs could help O's 'pen next year

Prospect profile: Now on 40-man, Andrew Triggs could help O's 'pen next year
The Orioles added three pitchers to their 40-man roster on Nov. 20 when they selected the contracts of right-handers Parker Bridwell and Andrew Triggs and left-hander Chris Lee. The additions kept the trio from being taken in the Rule 5 draft and moved them one step closer to the big leagues. Of the three, Triggs might have the best chance to impact the Orioles roster in 2016 as he is a reliever and the other two are starters. They could certainly be moved to the bullpen to help, but Triggs is...
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Steve Melewski

Will 2016 be a big season for Kevin Gausman?

Will 2016 be a big season for Kevin Gausman?
Kevin Gausman knows the Baltimore-to-Norfolk shuttle so well he could drive the route forward and backward. And probably with his eyes closed. But as he looks toward 2016, he hopes this is the season he gets the ball every fifth day and is in a major league rotation for the entire season. Gausman made five starts for the Orioles in 2013, 20 the next season and 17 among his 25 outings last year. "That is what you work to get to. I'm just ready to take the ball every fifth day and be one of...
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