Tough call on the farm: When is the right time to promote a player?

Anytime a minor league player starts to produce very good stats at one level, the inevitable question comes up: Should he now get promoted to the next level? That topic came up earlier this week when I had a conversation with Orioles director of player development Brian Graham, one of the key front office staff members that is heavily and directly involved in such decisions. Talking about potential promotions is not an area where Graham wants to say much publicly. He doesn't want players reading they might get promoted or others not seeing their name and wondering why not. He just wants them to play hard and develop as players. One player we were talking about is Christian Walker and the big season he is having at Double-A Bowie. The right-handed hitting first baseman is batting .321 in 54 games with 14 homers, 46 RBIs and a .952 OPS. In 29 games in May, Walker hit .308 with nine homers, 27 RBIs and a 1.011 OPS. He's batting like a player that could be in line to move up a level, but is now the right time? Graham pointed out that there is nothing wrong with any player staying put for a while at one level at a time when he is playing very well. "It is OK for them to stay at a level and have a good solid year. There is a lot of development in a player getting 500 at-bats and playing well," Graham said. "He is being challenged. Double-A is a good level of competition. Triple-A is a better level, but there is a lot to be learned from a player having success." That is an interesting point. A player's development is still ongoing even if he's putting up very good numbers where he is. "When a player has success, they can make strides still," Graham said. "For example, when they are able to go deep in the counts and hit with two strikes. When a player is struggling, sometimes you see first-pitch swings and guys chasing breaking pitches out of the zone. Instead of playing at a level where they can learn to recognize breaking balls. That's part of the development process, as is hitting with two strikes. There is a lot to be learned when having success." In this interview this week, Walker specifically mentioned improvements he's made hitting with two strikes. Walker is not trying to hit more homers right now, but he is hitting them. "Christian Walker is a good hitter, a line-drive, gap-to-gap hitter," Graham said. "The power is because he's a good hitter. I don't consider Walker a power hitter, I consider him a good hitter. "It's just maturity and development. It's a young hitter that is developing. Power is the last thing to come for good hitters. He's getting some pitches and he's not missing them. "It's exciting, but the last thing we want is for Walker to try and hit home runs. We want him to drive runs in, get on base and score runs. The home runs are a bonus at this point." Under Dan Duquette's leadership. we have seen some players move fast on the farm, such as Dylan Bundy and Manny Machado. Heck, last year, Walker himself moved from Single-A Delmarva to Double-A Bowie by the end of the year. But as Graham noted this week, you don't always have to be in a rush on the farm.