Rickard and Mancini forcing Orioles to notice them

SARASOTA, Fla. - Want to guess which players will start in the outfield for today's game against the Rays?

Left-hander Blake Snell will be on the mound, which could send Hyun Soo Kim to the bench. Kim and Chris Johnson are tied for the team lead in at-bats with 35. Kim needs to demonstrate whether he can stay in the lineup instead of platoon.

You must decide whether this is the right day to go left-on-left.

Seth Smith probably needs another day for his hamstring to heal and he's not going to start against a southpaw, making him an easy one to eliminate. Rule 5 pick Aneury Tavárez bats from the left side and Anthony Santander - yes, also a Rule 5er - is a switch-hitter who hasn't been cleared to play the outfield unless we're told otherwise this morning.

Logan Schafer made a nice running catch yesterday in center field and his glove work drew praise from manager Buck Showalter, but he's also a left-handed hitter.

Craig Gentry has some soreness in his groin area and didn't play yesterday, but it isn't serious and he's been available on most days. He's starting if he can convince Showalter that he's fine.

Joey Rickard seems to be a safe choice, though Kim's inclusion would complicate the prediction process. And what if Showalter wants to give Trey Mancini another shot at right field?

You also must decide whether Showalter puts Mark Trumbo in right field or uses him as the designated hitter. This is a home game. The A-listers will be playing.

Just for kicks, I'm going with Rickard in left, Gentry in center and Trumbo in right. But Showalter could put Gentry in left to give him less ground to cover for groin purposes.

Rickard has minor league options, but it seems to be a moot point. He smacked a three-run homer yesterday and also drew his 10th walk. He's 9-for-23 with two home runs and nine runs scored and has crafted a .391/.588/.696 slash line in 16 games.

Sound familiar? Rickard batted .397/.472/.571 last spring as a Rule 5 pick to give the Orioles an easy roster decision.

"When a guy has the type of spring that Joey had last year, when he got off to a good start with us in Baltimore, you kind of wonder and worry if the sophomore challenge is going to be there that so many guys face, but Joey's picked up right where he left off last spring, right where he left off in Baltimore, and that's been real encouraging," Showalter said.

"It's a little bit easier mindset when a whole lot isn't known or expected of you and you're kind of playing with house money. He had nothing to lose. But he's got something to lose this year. He's trying to make the club.

"He knows he's got options, but we're not going to use because someone has options against them. In fact, we've got a lot more maneuverable roster here than we've had in a long time."

Rickard's on-base percentage and walks lead the majors. Showalter will have to take your word for it.

"I haven't even looked at it," he said. "I don't look at that stuff because they don't count intrasquad games, they don't count B games, they don't count ... But no, that doesn't surprise anybody. It seems like every time you look around he's on base. He's running the bases intelligently and he's playing defense. Very much the guy we wanted to keep last year."

Mancini showed up at camp understanding the challenge of making the team after the Orioles re-signed Trumbo and how the odds were stacked higher after they signed Gentry to a minor league deal to possibly work into a platoon with Smith. The anticipated extra bench player on opening day won't last through the month.

Did anyone except Mancini to sulk or slump? He started last season back at Double-A Bowie because of a roster crunch at Triple-A Norfolk, went 19-for-63 (.302) with seven home runs in 17 games and forced a promotion to the next level.

Mancini has appeared in 14 games this spring and is batting .344/.364/.563 (11-for-32) with four doubles and a home run.

The young man has character.

"Exactly," Showalter said. "Trey is baseball mature and he knows what he can handle and if you keep knocking on the door, they'll create a spot for you. The game will open up to him if he continues down the path he's on. Certain things may look delayed, but they're not denied. I've been happy with his maturity."