Spring training notes on Cedric Mullins, Trey Mancini and Jesus Liranzo

SARASOTA, Fla. - It happened on a back field at the Ed Smith Stadium complex and in a B game with the Orioles playing the Pirates. A young man from minor league camp standing just 5-foot-8 got into the box. He got a pitch to drive and didn't miss it.

He crushed a homer off the batter's eye in center field to tie the game. Seconds later, 22-year-old outfielder Cedric Mullins, who last season played at Single-A Delmarva - three levels below the majors - was getting congrats from a few Orioles stars in the dugout.

"It was pretty interesting," Mullins said this week about that at-bat last Friday. "The guys were pretty excited. I'm running up and high-fiving guys like Chris Davis and Mark Trumbo in the dugout. These guys are 6-foot-5-plus, and in my eyes these guys are mountains. The looks they gave me were like, 'Wow.' I am kind of used to getting that look when I show a little power out there."

Mullins did show some power last year. But that is not the key element of his game. A smaller in stature switch-hitter that Orioles manager Buck Showalter has compared to one-time O's leadoff batter Don Buford, his game is more about speed from the first spot in the batting order and trying to make things happen.

A 13th-round pick out of Campbell University in 2015, Mullins filled up the stat sheet for Delmarva last summer. He hit .273/.321/.464 with 37 doubles, 10 triples, 14 homers, 79 runs, 55 RBIs and 30 steals.

It is clear that he has caught the eye of Showalter, who has brought him over multiple times from minor league camp. He tripled against Boston in Ft. Myers on Monday when he put a charge into another pitch.

"It's exciting," Mullins said. "Anytime you get called over, you just never know what situation you might get put into. So you just try to make the most of it, which I have been trying to do so far. It is very exciting anytime you get an opportunity to impress the skipper."

* As the Orioles look for ways to expand Trey Mancini's defensive resume, that gives him a better shot to make their opening day roster. They finally gave him the chance to play outfield this spring. He played his first game in right field on March 13, another one there the next day and got his third start in right on March 19.

The early returns seem fairly positive. Showalter called his arm "playable out there," which is probably more positive than it sounds and means he might be closing in on making enough progress where the Orioles would not be reluctant to play him in the outfield in a major league game.

"Transferring the ball is a lot different out there, that is one thing I've noticed," Mancini said of playing outfield defense. "In the infield, I'll catch the ball, have a short arm slot and get rid of it quick. In the outfield, you kind of need to take your time, wind your arm up and get a lot more on the throw. So that is a big difference, the throwing motion. But I haven't had any arm soreness or anything, so that is really good. It is different out there, but I really like it."

Mancini, in preparation for the possibility he might be asked to play out there, did some reps in the outfield over the winter during workouts at Vanderbilt University. This move is providing him a real challenge, one that he fully embraces.

"Love it. It's different," he said. "I have played only first base my entire pro career and this is really neat. Getting a different perspective is interesting. Everybody looks so small out there. Pedro (Álvarez) and I were talking about that the other day. The more I play out there, the more confident I will become."

Mancini seems to have plenty of confidence at bat. He is hitting .319/.373/.553 with five doubles, two homers and eight RBIs to go with an OPS of .926 over 47 at-bats.

* Another player that is now in minor league camp after a strong showing in big league camp is 22-year-old right-handed reliever Jesus Liranzo. Added to the Orioles' 40-man roster in November, Liranzo really burst onto the scene last year pitching for both Single-A Delmarva and Double-A Bowie. The Orioles needed to find out just what they had with this young man with him being Rule 5 eligible. So he skipped Single-A Frederick and the club got a look at him facing better Double-A competition with the Baysox.

He went a combined 1-1 with an ERA of 1.87 for both clubs. In 53 innings, he allowed just 20 hits with 27 walks, 66 strikeouts and a .116 average against. With Bowie, Liranzo had an ERA of 3.38 in 11 games. Over 18 2/3 innings, he gave up eight hits with 12 walks and 20 strikeouts. Here is an eye-catching stat: With the Baysox, lefty batters hit just .034 (1-for-29 with 11 strikeouts) against Liranzo, while right-handed batters hit .206.

He flashed his mid-to-upper-90s fastball in several Orioles spring training games. Over eight innings, he gave up three hits and three runs with seven walks and nine strikeouts.

He is still looking to harness his control and command, but Liranzo has a live arm, and we should get to see him show it off at some point this summer in Baltimore.

"I appreciate the opportunity in major league camp and it was a great experience for me. I learned from the veteran guys," Liranzo said this week at Twin Lakes Park.

"It was an experience where you can learn every day up there. Hitters have more experience than those I faced in the minors. Hopefully this helps so in the future if I get a chance, I'll be ready."

Liranzo said two veteran Orioles pitchers took him under their wing over at Ed Smith Stadium.

"I really, really appreciate the help I got from Ubaldo Jiménez and Zach Britton." Liranzo said. "They helped me to learn about things inside and outside of the field. Ubaldo was like a father figure to me and he was awesome. I stayed close to him every day."