O’s Fans Shouldn’t Sleep On Welington Castillo

According to Dan Connolly of BaltimoreBaseball.com, the O’s top target at catcher right now is 29-year-old Welington Castillo. Castillo’s spent the majority of his seven year career with the Cubs, before making a short stop in Seattle, and then spending the last year and a half with the D’Backs. The backstop, who’s a year younger than Matt Wieters,  was a surprising addition to free agency, after being non-tendered by Arizona.

The O’s are believed to be in deep talks with Castillo, and O’s fans shouldn’t be disappointed. Castillo could promise to be a legitimate replacement for Matt Wieters with his bat, boasting a .255 career batting average, and 33 home runs over the last two seasons. While he’d be a significant downgrade defensively, the O’s still have Caleb Joseph, who will likely see a decent share of playing time in 2017, and is an outstanding defensive backstop. On top of that, there’s reason to believe the righty could hit more home runs in Baltimore, like most free agent signings of the past have, due to OPACY’s short dimensions in comparison to those of Arizona or Chicago.

Castillo, who has an almost identical career batting average to Matt Wieters, hit 21 points higher than Wieters last season (.264 to .243), and ranked in the top 10 of the MLB’s catchers in both homeruns and doubles. While he’s not a top tier, household name, Castillo’s a solid Major League catcher. If, or when, the O’s reach a deal with the seven-year veteran, O’s fans should be excited about the potential his addition brings to an already loaded Orioles lineup.

How Will the O’s Replace Matt Wieters?

After eight seasons as an Oriole, catcher Matt Wieters is set to be one of the MLB’s top free agents this winter. With the O’s unlikely to bring him back to Baltimore, a major hole emerges at backstop for the squad that ended last season with a tough loss to Toronto in the AL wild card game. Here’s a few options for attempting to replace the four-time all-star catcher:

• Caleb Joseph: In 2015, Joseph looked like the most likely candidate to fill the position after Wieters’ departure. In 320 at-bats, Joseph hit .249, with 11 home runs and 49 rbi’s just two season ago. Behind the plate, he is very solid, certainly above average. However, after injuries derailed his 2016 season, Joseph struggled to rebound, finishing the year with an average of .174, and no rbi’s. With that being said, it’s hard to see Dan Duquette and the O’s organization heading into 2017 with Joseph at the top of the depth chart.
• Chance Sisco: The 21-year-old catcher is one of the O’s top prospects, and was a starter in last season’s futures game during the all-star break. A .323 hitter through four seasons in the minors, Sisco is the probably the club’s best option from within the organization.
• Nick Hundley: Hundley played 50 games for the O’s back in 2014, and is the catcher whom they’ve been most linked to in free agency thus far. At 33, he’s a solid option, as he’s had success in the league in recent years, hitting over .280 with 18 home runs over his past two years combined with the Rockies.
• Jason Castro: Coming off a down year in which he hit just .211, Castro is the top choice of a number of teams looking to free agency for a new catcher. The reason for this is that at 29, Castro has already made one all star game, and is still regarded as a top tier defender. The O’s, however, have openly regarded Hundley as the more the intriguing option this offseason,  while at least five teams have already targeted Castro, so this one seems a stretch.

 

Getting to Know Trey Mancini

If O’s fans didn’t already know about Trey Mancini a week ago, chances are they do now. The 24-year old rookie has already hit three homeruns in his first 11 at bats, including a 430 bomb in the second at bat of his MLB debut last Tuesday. After flying out in his first at bat, Mancini turned on an Eduardo Rodriguez fastball, sending it over the Camden Yards bullpens. He finished his MLB debut 1-for-3 with a home run. His next start came Thursday, in a game in which he’d go 2-for-3 with a home run, a double, and three runs batted in. How would we follow that up in his third start on Friday? 2-for-4 with ANOTHER HOME RUN.

Mancini finished his first MLB series with 15 total bases in just 11 at bats.

So who is Trey Mancini?

The Orioles drafted the 6’4″ right handed first baseman out of Notre Dame in the eighth round of the 2013 draft, 249th overall. In three seasons at Notre Dame,  Mancini hit .345, with 28 homeruns and 133 rbi’s.  Since being drafted, he has spent four seasons in the minors, from low-a to triple-a, and has established himself as one of the O’s most promising prospects. In 483 career minor league games, Mancini boasts a .306 average, with 54 home runs and 275 career runs batted in. This year at triple-a Norfolk, he finished with a slash of .280/13/54, along with 22 doubles and five triples. The young righty can undoubtedly hit; the challenge now comes for Buck Showalter in finding him a spot in the lineup.

Primarily a first baseman however, Mancini doesn’t necessarily fill any holes for the O’s right now. Obviously Chris Davis has more than locked down the first base position, and MLB home run leader Mark Trumbo is often penciled into the DH spot in the lineup. Pedro Alvarez has also had an impressive season, and adds another option for Showalter. At this point, I’d look for Trey Mancini to add a big bat off the bench, and act as a much needed spark plug heading into the last week of the regular season, and then the postseason. Whether or not we see him make an impact here in the dog days of the season, there’s definitely a lot to be excited about when looking at Trey Mancini if you’re an Orioles fan.

 

5 Reasons Zach Britton Should be the American League’s Cy Young Winner

Orioles closer Zach Britton picked up his 41st save of the season Sunday in a 3-1 victory over the Tigers. The 28-year old pitcher has been arguably the most valuable asset in any bullpen in baseball in 2016, and below are five reasons he deserves to be this year’s American League Cy Young Award winner:

1. Perfection – The O’s closer has received 41 saves in as many opportunities, and is the only closer in baseball who has yet to blow a save. There has been no player in baseball this season that’s been more consistent than Britton.
2. Earned Runs – Britton ranks third in the MLB in saves, behind the Mets’ Jeurys Familia (48) and the Dodgers’ Kenley Jansen (43). Familia has given up 18 earned runs this season; Jansen has given up 12. How many has Britton surrendered? FOUR.
3. WHIP – Britton boasts a WHIP (walks + hits per inning pitched) of 0.84 this season. This is lower than the four AL starting pitchers considered to be leading the Cy Young race as of Monday:

• Rick Porcello – 1.02
• Cory Kluber – 1.04
• JA Happ – 1.17
• Cole Hamels – 1.31

4. The Sinker – ESPN Insider ranked Zach Britton’s sinker as the best pitch in baseball…in January. That means it had already gained notice around the league coming into the season, and it has only gotten better. When he’s on, Britton throws a 95 mph sinker, that starts at the knees and drops out just as the batter commits to swing. It’s as close to unhittable as any pitch in baseball, even challenging Kershaw’s 12-6 curve.

5. His Value – You could make a very good argument for Britton as the Orioles MVP this season.  That’s high praise on a team that includes superstar Manny Machado, and MLB home run leader Mark Trumbo, but it’s certainly fair. Britton has been the anchor of the backend of the bullpen, which has been just about the O’s only reliable pitching all year. On a team ranks 20th in the MLB in ERA, and 22nd in k’s, who knows how the O’s would’ve fared without Britton providing a sure save to close out close games all season.

So why shouldn’t Britton be the first reliever to win the award since Dennis Eckersley in 1992?

 

Hyun Soo Kim Out of the O’s Lineup for Second Straight Day

Orioles rookie outfielder, Hyun Soo Kim, sat the bench for the second straight game Sunday, in what was one of the O’s most crucial series of the season against their division rival Yankees.

The decision by Buck Showalter to leave Kim out of the lineup Sunday had many fans begging for an explanation. Some assumed he may be battling a nagging injury, but according to Orioles reporter Roch Kubatko, this was not the case.

Kim, who bats from the left side of the plate, has been the O’s primary leftfielder against right handed starters this year. The 28 year old Korean rookie received more than his fair share of criticisms after reporting to spring training out of shape, then struggling to get on base throughout the spring. Kim then declined the Orioles request to start him at triple A Norfolk until he found his bat, putting him even further into the doghouse of many O’s fans.

However, through his first 258 MLB at bats, Kim boasts a .310 batting average and an OBP of .386. Not only has Kim shown the ability to hit right handed pitchers, but he appears to have made an argument to be the Orioles everyday leftfielder moving forward. So who got the call to start over Kim on Sunday? Baltimore fan favorite, Steve Pearce.

Pearce has been on and off of the O’s for the last five years, and has played 20 games with the team since signing with the team in late July. In those games, he’s hitting .244. Along with adding Pearce, the O’s also added veteran outfielders Drew Stubbs and Michael Bourn over the weekend, moves that are being questioned by fans throughout Baltimore.

On a team that has excelled at the plate and on defense, yet has struggled to find success with their starting pitching, it seems odd that the club would continue to make moves taking away AB’s from a hitter who has been hot for just about the entire season.