Andrew Stetka: Mancini putting together special rookie year

The Orioles aren't going to have their first Rookie of the Year since Gregg Olson won it in 1989 this season, but they certainly have a guy who will be in the conversation. Trey Mancini burst onto the scene late last year with three homers in five games, and this year he's making his mark in the middle of the order for the Birds. During a season that has had a few more downs than ups, Mancini has been a consistent bright spot. Despite seeing his average drop 14 points in the last ten games, the 25-year-old has proven his value going forward within the organization.

Remember back to spring training when there was even a question as to whether or not Mancini would make the roster. There were Rule 5 picks to consider and a very crowded outfield. He made it impossible for Buck Showalter to exclude him from the team on opening day. It's also important to remember that the crowded outfield was only made more crowded by the fact that it's not Mancini's natural position. He's been learning on the fly all season and has shown improvement throughout the year. He certainly has proven more capable in the outfield than Mark Trumbo on any given day.

Now remember back to before the trade deadline. There were only a handful of names that fans didn't want any part of trade discussions. Mancini was one of them. There was no way the Orioles were parting with Mancini, of course. It turned out the O's were "buyers" instead, but the conversation around trade bait never circled to Mancini.

I'm not here telling you Mancini is going to be a Hall of Famer. He may not even end up being an Orioles Hall of Famer. But he's certainly capable of contributing to this team for years to come. In this period of transition the Orioles are almost certainly about to face, that's an important discovery. The discovery part is perhaps the most intriguing of Mancini's rise to the major league level. When Mancini was in the minors, he never really hit the radar of the average fan. He never showed up on any top prospect lists and while he spent four productive years in the minors, there was never an expectation that he'd show up in the big leagues and blossom the way he has. Now comes the cat and mouse game that goes with any new player. He'll have to adjust as pitchers adjust to him, but I'm confident there will continue to be growth there. He's also continuing to learn defensively, which will only enhance his value.

Frankly, the Orioles need a lot more Trey Mancinis to push their way through the system over the next few seasons. They'd be a lot better off for it. While Mancini's rookie season may not quite compare with that of Cal Ripken Jr. in 1982, it's still going to go down as one of the better one's in club history. And while Yankees slugger Aaron Judge wins American League Rookie of the Year honors (and maybe even the MVP award, too), Mancini will be right in the mix among the next tier of first-year players. He has had that kind of season, and deserves the props for it.

Andrew Stetka blogs about the Orioles for Eutaw Street Report. Follow him on Twitter: @AStetka. His thoughts on the O's appear here as part of MASNsports.com's continuing commitment to welcome guest bloggers to our little corner of cyberspace. All opinions expressed are those of the guest bloggers, who are not employed by MASNsports.com but are just as passionate about their baseball as our roster of writers.