Notes on Mountcastle, Young, Yacabonis, catching and coaches

SARASOTA, Fla. - With so much attention given to Ryan Mountcastle's repetitions and game experience at first base, his slow start at the plate barely drew notice. One hit in 13 at-bats from an upper-tier prospect who usually can roll out of bed and square up a fastball.

But what about the glove?

How does he look at first?

Is he really changing positions again?

Talent wins out again. Mountcastle entered yesterday's game with four hits in his last six at-bats. Driving the ball into the gap and flicking singles after working deep into the count and spoiling quality pitches.

"It's the beginning of spring training," he said. "It takes a little while to adjust to timing and all that stuff. Now I'm starting to feel a lot better."

We revisited a prime example from Sunday afternoon's game against the Tigers. Mountcastle kept battling left-hander Gregory Soto until looping a breaking ball over shortstop with the count full for a hard-earned single.

"Just showing patience, getting the right pitch to hit and fouling off the ones that are maybe his pitch instead of mine," Mountcastle said. "So just getting myself into good counts is all I can do."

The constant chatter about Mountcastle's lagging defense and the possibility of another position change can't be allowed to cloud his concentration at the plate. He can't tear up his ticket to the majors.

The bat still matters. It can't be minimized simply because improved performance in the field is a priority.

"I just go out there and play," he said. "I don't really ever try to think too much about any of that stuff. Wherever they put me, I'm going to play hard and swing the bat. That's all you can do."

Mountcastle has been coming off the bench, making one start at first base and otherwise serving as replacement at both corners. He pinch-ran yesterday, stayed in the game at third base and flied to deep right field in his only at-bat. He's been slotted twice as the designated hitter.

First base was brand new to Mountcastle, the work beginning on the back fields prior to the start of games.

"It's good," he said. "I feel comfortable right now."

* Eric Young Jr. provided a nice illustration yesterday of the club's desire to stay aggressive on the bases.

Young drew a leadoff walk in the first inning, stole second and hustled to third on a wild pitch, diving into the bag to beat catcher Jacob Stallings' throw. Chris Archer struck out three batters to strand Young, who can still motor.

The veteran outfielder reached base again in the fifth on a fielding error by Erik González. He's pushing for a roster spot.

* If spring training games don't count, what's the value of a simulated game?

It allowed Jimmy Yacabonis to build up innings Monday morning while the Orioles traveled to Fort Myers. And it gave Mark Trumbo a new perspective of his teammate.

Trumbo took his swings against Yacabonis on one of the back fields. Or tried to do it.

"Jimmy's got really good stuff," Trumbo said. "It's fun playing behind a guy and then actually ... I've never faced him, so probably took five or six at-bats. The stuff is there. It's going to be about consistently throwing strikes, getting ahead of hitters and some of the things that the top-tier pitchers do, maybe a little more consistent than he does right now. I think that's where you make that jump is pounding the strike zone a little bit more."

The delivery, with all its moving pieces, can complicate the process. It can baffle hitters and the man behind it.

"It's a double-edge sword," Trumbo said. "It is much tougher to pick the ball up against him, and on the flip side, mechanics like that probably lend themselves to sometimes a little bit tougher to maintain consistently, but that's the challenge.

"Ideally, you can have a real herky-jerky delivery that's hard to see and throw strikes. There's a lot of guys - (Max) Scherzer, (Chris) Sale, (Clayton) Kershaw - a lot of these guys have a little quirky-type stuff going on and that's what helps them with the deception part of it."

* Andrew Susac started yesterday and went 2-for-2 with a double. Carlos Pérez replaced him behind the plate and hit a home run in the seventh.

Chance Sisco is 5-for-10 with four home runs, nine RBIs and four walks. Martin Cervenka hit a long three-run homer Monday in Fort Myers. Austin Wynns is 1-for-8, but he drew praise from manager Brandon Hyde for his work behind the plate Sunday afternoon and the quality at-bats he's offering.

Jesús Sucre obtained his work visa in Colombia, made it into camp and could jump into the catching competition by Thursday.

A clear favorite for the starting job or a backup role hasn't emerged through the first half of spring training. Hyde is open to numerous possibilities, as he outlined Monday.

The Orioles like their catching depth, though it could take a hit if an opt-out is exercised. Sucre, for example, has a provision in his contract that allows him to bolt on March 22.

* Matt Trate no longer is the hitting coach at Single-A Delmarva.

Trate was unable to accept the job due to family considerations. Veteran coach Dan Radison is taking his place.

I've heard that Tom Eller, hired as hitting coach at short-season Single-A Aberdeen, could rotate with Radison between the Shorebirds and extended spring training.

Trate would have entered his first professional coaching season after serving as an associate head coach and recruiting coordinator at Goldey-Beacom (Del.) College from 2016-18, hitting coach and recruiting coordinator at Cecil College in 2011 and 2013-14 and assistant coach at the University of Akron in 2012.

Radison is a former minor league catcher who's been a coach with the Padres, Cubs and Nationals. He was fired when Davey Johnson replaced Jim Riggleman as manager in D.C.

Astros ties are prevalent with Radison, connecting him to executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias. He worked as a special assistant in Houston's player development department in 2012 before being named interim first base coach on Aug. 19. He was hired as assistant hitting coach in 2013.

Radison also served as hitting coach with Houston's Double-A affiliate in Corpus Christi from 2015-16.

In another small baseball world moment, Radison was expected to become Double-A Bowie's hitting coach in 2012, but a delay in making his hiring official led him to the Astros organization. I reported his hiring back in October 2011 and it fell through.