The scoop on Schoop: A breakout 2015 season

Orioles second baseman Jonathan Schoop turned 24 yesterday. Is his future so bright that you need sunglasses to look at it?

Johnny Baseball was likely the most improved player on the 2015 Orioles and he had the stat sheet to prove it:

Schoop in 2014: .209 average, .244 OBP, .354 slugging, .598 OPS, 65 OPS+
Schoop in 2015: .279 average, .306 OBP, .482 slugging, .788 OPS, 110 OPS+

Schoop's walk rate (which is too low) and his strikeout rate (which is too high) didn't change much in 2015 from the year before, but he seemed to chase fewer pitches and he hit the ball more to the opposite field, sometimes taking a pitch for a single. He would take what the pitcher gave him and turn on the ball for a homer when he got a pitch with which to do that.

According to Fangraphs stats, Schoop's percentage of putting the ball in play to the opposite field increased from 18.6 in 2014 to 25.8 last season. Conversely, his percentage of pulling the ball dropped from 49.7 to 43.2 percent.

Schoop suffered a sprained right knee in April and that limited him to 321 plate appearances. But if you project his 2015 power stats over 600 at-bats, he would have hit 29 homers and driven in 77 runs.

After the 2013 season, Manny Machado had 858 career at-bats and had hit 21 career homers. After the 2015 season, Schoop has 774 career at-bats and 32 home runs. No one needs to remind you that Manny hit 35 this year. He grew into power and Schoop is doing the same.

Schoop was asked late in the year about the possibility of hitting 30 homers over a full season.

"I don't look at numbers, like J.J (Hardy) taught me - don't look at the numbers," Schoop said. "The main goal for everyone is be healthy and at the end of the season, your numbers are going to be there. I know I have some home runs, but I don't want to think that I could be a 30-(homer) guy. I just want to let it happen.

"I've made a lot of adjustments (this season). Last year was a tough year for me. (Hitting coach Scott) Coolbaugh was working with me a lot in spring training and I've got veterans to help and teach me. Guys like Adam Jones, J.J., Manny (Machado). I feel like I'm way better than last year, but still have a long way to go."

Schoop's homer hit list already includes Justin Verlander, Masahiro Tanaka, Dellin Betances, Noah Syndergaard, Johnny Cueto, R.A. Dickey, Marco Estrada, Mark Buehrle, Micheal Pineda and Jeff Samardzija. Schoop has two homers in 12 career plate appearances off Tanaka and three homers in five career PAs against Cueto.

Also interesting about Schoop's 2015 stats is he hit with a reverse split and hit much better at home than on the road. Schoop hit just .232 with an OPS of .573 against left-handed pitching, but those numbers were .301 and .892 versus right-handers. At home Schoop hit .331 with a .977 OPS, but those numbers were just .240 and .647 away from Camden Yards.

Schoop brings fun and youthful energy to the Orioles clubhouse. The veterans seem to like the energy he brings while respecting his ability and approach to the game. He wants to learn and they are happy to help such a willing pupil.

We've come this far and haven't even mentioned his strong defense and arm, but you already knew about that. Or his easy smile, which can light up the room, but you've already seen that.

Is the sky the limit for Johnny Baseball?