O's hitting coach Long on Mountcastle and Hays

Are there any hitters in Orioles camp that have had better springs than young outfielders Austin Hays and Ryan Mountcastle?

That is a pretty easy answer. No, there really isn't anyone else.

Hays is batting .404/.440/.723 with four doubles, a triple, three homers, 12 RBIs and an OPS of 1.163. Mountcastle is batting .261/.271/.630 with five doubles, four homers and 13 RBIs along with an OPS of .901. Mountcastle's stats took a hit last night when he went 0-for-4, but he produced outs against Gerrit Cole that were hit 101 and 104 mph.

No other player has more than two homers. No other O's player has more than seven RBIs.

The one area on the stat sheet that is lacking is walks. Hays and Mountcastle have three combined walks through 93 combined at-bats this spring. One question over the long-term for these two talented homegrown Orioles is whether that walk total improve for both. If they continue to be as productive as they have been this spring, is that even a shortcoming on their resumes?

Last year, those players didn't rank at the top or bottom on the club in walk rate. Among the 15 players on the 2020 Orioles with 50 or more plate appearances, Mountcastle rated eighth with a 7.9 percent walk rate and Hays was 10th at 6.0.

They are both aggressive hitters and the damage they can produce is large even if their walk rates are not. How does the team feel about these two young hitters and their production? Do they need to walk more? Will they do so as they continue to develop as players later in their careers?

During a recent Zoom interview, hitting coach Don Long addressed this.

"We are always, for any of our guys, and you are asking about those two, we want our hitters to be aggressive, but we also want them to be under control," said Long. "You know, aggressiveness is just swinging. It's going up there and swinging hard and both of them have made strides in that (plate discipline) area.

"Ryan made strides last year from his minor league track record to his time in the big leagues. He still will chase some, for sure, but he certainly brought that number down at a higher level. Which is a big challenge. But I told him one day recently, 'You may never be like a Mike Trout or Joey Votto that chases less than 20 percent of the time - that's not what we're looking for. We're looking for you to understand what part of the strike zone you do the most damage in and try to stick to that.'

"Hays has really made a conscious effort to improve that part of his game. Because I think they both realize that if the pitcher can get you to move the bat without having to throw you a strike, it becomes a much easier at bat from the pitcher's perspective."

So even with few walks on the stat sheet, Mountcastle, 24, and Hays, 25 have been bashing the ball under the Florida sun.

"As far as the walks go, to me the way you walk is by being ready to hit," Long said. "But it's also having the discipline to hit strikes first but then be able to hit the part of the plate where you can really hit the ball hard. From a pitcher's mindset, when there is danger in the zone, thinking about it from the pitcher's perspective, that's when more mistakes have a tendency to occur. Mistakes in the zone and big misses out of the zone.

"So the walks are a byproduct of really knowing that I'm moving the bat on pitches to hit in the zone and I'm hitting the ball hard. So the pitcher either tries to do more and has a big miss or tries to do more and has a bad miss for him in the zone and we're putting the ball in play hard. I think they are both making progress in that area.

"I think they are both mindful of that. You know, it's a fine line between who they are inherently and what they are good at. And potentially trying to make them something they are not. So certainly we want them to get a little bit better in that regard and keep exploring options to get better without losing the essence of who they are and what they can do offensively."

The two young hitters have managed to control the strike zone better and to swing mostly only at the strikes where they can really do damage. But it is coming at the expense of often getting in deep counts and taking walks. I think for this pair, the production can make you forget about the walks. Look at how little anyone has even mentioned that this spring.

About those Rule 5 pitchers: O's Rule 5 pitchers Tyler Wells and Mac Sceroler have done a real nice job for the club this spring. Take away one terrible outing for Sceroler in early March and they have combined to allow one run in 15 2/3 innings. That is very, very impressive.

Wells threw three scoreless innings on 41 pitches with six strikeouts against the Yankees on Friday night. He has allowed one run and six hits in nine innings with three walks and 12 strikeouts. His WHIP and ERA are both 1.00. He has thrown scoreless ball his last seven innings.

"Tyler Wells, put him in a tough spot, kind of the teeth of their order there," manager Brandon Hyde said after last night's win. "Tyler's got a good fastball. It's 95 (mph) but it plays up. He was getting his four-seam by guys at the top of the zone. Loved the way he landed some sliders. Flashed a curveball or two, which had really, really good shape. If he can land that, he's going to have a lot of success. Because the fastball really plays at the top. But, yeah, threw strikes. Came in here without fear. Love the poise on the mound. Presence, a 6-8 guy that is spinning the ball at 95 and it feels harder from the side. It gets on hitters. Really like the poise with how he pitched tonight."

Wells got seven whiffs on 19 swings Friday night, including on four of 13 four-seamers, which topped at 95.3 mph per Statcast, and on three of his five sliders they offered at.

Sceroler gave up five runs in 1/3 of an inning March 5 against Toronto. He allowed two homers. But in his other four games, he has not allowed a run over 6 2/3 innings.

The spring began with both Rule 5s a long shot to make the roster. Now they are still around this late - two of the 19 remaining pitchers in camp and the odds of at least one making it have gotten a lot better.