Steve Melewski
Steve Melewski

It was not just another offseason Monday in MLB

It was not just another offseason Monday in MLB
The dizzying pace of free agent signings in the last day or two has made the last 48 hours look like a frenzied edition of the Winter Meetings. Yet those meetings, if held, happen next week, not this one. The teams and players have been rushing to beat an expected deadline - the expiration of the current collective bargaining agreement. This happens at 11:59 p.m. on Wednesday night. The deadline to non-tender players has also been moved up ahead of the original Dec. 2 deadline. I digress here,...
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Steve Melewski

Can pitchers improve velocity and do O's support such efforts?

Can pitchers improve velocity and do O's support such efforts?
In the winter after the 2018 season, one where left-hander John Means pitched to a combined 3.72 ERA between Double-A Bowie and Triple-A Norfolk, Means felt he needed to make improvements to both make the major leagues and stay there. Means went to P3 Premier Pitching Performance facility in St. Louis that offseason. For this interview in 2020 spring training, before the pandemic shut down baseball for months, Means did not mince words in terms of how that facility helped him starting in...
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Steve Melewski

What would a big win-loss improvement in 2022 mean for Birdland?

What would a big win-loss improvement in 2022 mean for Birdland?
In their last three full seasons, the Orioles have lost 115, 108 and 110 games. That is a lot of losses and no one has to tell a single O's fan that. But the hope is now that executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias and his staff have been here since before the 2019 season, and now that the organization has been ranked with one of the best farm systems in the game, that better days are not only ahead, but ahead sooner rather than later. The Detroit Tigers lost 114 games in the...
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Steve Melewski

Are O's just doing due diligence on Means?

Are O's just doing due diligence on Means?
It was a tweet that no doubt was well seen and read throughout Birdland. That the Orioles were "dangling" John Means in trade talks. Not completely sure what that means, no pun intended, but dangling is defined as "hanging or swinging loosely." That last part could apply. No one can know for sure what the team is thinking on this, but a guess here is that Means is certainly not being shopped. I would see him as much more likely to be on the team than dealt between now and opening day 2022....
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Steve Melewski

I wonder where Wander will spend all that money?

I wonder where Wander will spend all that money?
He was the player ranked as the best prospect in baseball for quite a while. When he finally graduated and moved off the prospects lists, O's prospect Adley Rutschman moved up from No. 2 to No. 1. But Wander Franco was there first. And Franco got to the majors first, and this week comes another first. The longest and richest contract ever awarded a player with less than one year of big league service time. The Tampa Bay Rays, per several reports, have come to terms with their 20-year-old...
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Steve Melewski

Looking to make progress at instructional league

Looking to make progress at instructional league
Happy Thanksgiving to our readers here. I appreciate you today and every day. And Happy Thanksgiving to everyone throughout Birdland. Just a short entry today, and if you have time to push yourself away from the table and talk some baseball, here is an article worth checking out. It's from the team's Birdland Insider Twitter account and is a nice wrap-up of the Orioles instructional league. This year, the Orioles did not play games against other teams, instead focusing on more individually...
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Steve Melewski

Chris Holt with insights on two new 40-man roster pitchers

Chris Holt with insights on two new 40-man roster pitchers
When the Orioles made their 40-man roster additions last week, ahead of the scheduled Rule 5 draft next month, they added two hard-throwing relievers. Both flew under the radar during the 2021 season, but the team was clearly watching. And the team was seeing the potential in right-handers Félix Bautista, 26, and Logan Gillaspie, 24. Both may not yet be well-known to Orioles fans, but that could change over the next few seasons. Both could play roles in future O's bullpens. During an...
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Steve Melewski

One-time O's signee and trade chip cashes in via free agency

One-time O's signee and trade chip cashes in via free agency
It all made sense at the time of the trade on July 31, 2014. The Orioles had a chance to win the American League East for the first time since 1997. At the time of that deal, the Orioles had not reached as far as the AL Championship Series since 1997. But after the deal, they would both win the AL East and advance to the ALCS. The price was steep, though, to get lefty reliever Andrew Miller. The Orioles had to part with their No. 3 prospect and a top 100 pitcher who was then at Double-A Bowie,...
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Steve Melewski

Looking at a few free agent options for back end of rotation

Looking at a few free agent options for back end of rotation
Time to take a look at a few more free agent starting pitchers. No, we are not looking at the very best, not even close, but diving into the much more shallow end of the pool. It's an attempt to be realistic here and not get too far ahead of ourselves. Will there be a day when the Orioles look to sign or trade for a top starting pitcher? We sure hope so, but we're not there yet. In recent posts here and here, we looked at six pitchers that MLBTradeRumors.com listed in the category of older...
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Steve Melewski

Big win total not necessary for Cy Young winners

Big win total not necessary for Cy Young winners
One thing that was somewhat noticeable this week when the Cy Young Award winners were announced was that neither pitcher that won had a lot of pitching wins for 2021. Wins for pitchers don't seem to have nearly the value they once did. The American League winner was Toronto's Robbie Ray. He went 13-7 with a 2.84 ERA that ranked first in the league over 193 1/3 innings with a 1.04 WHIP and .210 batting average against. The National League winner was Milwaukee's Corbin Burnes, who was 11-5...
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Steve Melewski

After 40-man addition, does Bradish help rotation next year?

After 40-man addition, does Bradish help rotation next year?
The Orioles' 40-man roster filled up pretty fast. In a span of a few hours it went from 32 to 39 as the club acquired a player on waivers Friday and later added six of its own from the farm. The Orioles added infielder Lucius Fox on waivers from Kansas City. And then early last night the club announced the addition of six players from its farm system to the 40-man. This ensures those players cannot be taken in next month's Rule 5 draft. The club added five pitchers in DL Hall, Kyle Bradish,...
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Steve Melewski

More gains for minor league players, plus other notes

More gains for minor league players, plus other notes
As the second year of play since the restructuring of the minor leagues is set to begin in 2022, there will be a first coming for the players. The big league teams will be responsible for housing the minor league players and covering utilities. Major League Baseball issued a press release on Thursday announcing these plans. One big headache and expense is now off the plates of the minor leaguers. Coupled with the modest salary increases that began in 2021, the players are making some financial...
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Steve Melewski

Can new hitting coaches help O's lagging OBP stats?

Can new hitting coaches help O's lagging OBP stats?
The Orioles seemingly always rank near the bottom of the American League in on-base percentage. It's an important stat and this year in the American League the average team OBP was .316. The Orioles ranked 12th among the 15 clubs in the AL at .304. Since they won the AL East in 2014, the Orioles have ranked 12th or lower in the league in team OBP five times in eight seasons. Their best mark was when they were eighth in 2020. When it comes to walk rate (the percentage of times a hitter walks...
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Steve Melewski

Will a 100 mph fastball get this pitcher on the 40-man roster?

Will a 100 mph fastball get this pitcher on the 40-man roster?
When it comes to some of the best bullpens in baseball, they seem to be filled with flame-throwing pitchers that can throws fastballs in the high 90s and maybe even touch 100 mph. Of course, velocity is not everything, but it sure has some importance, and teams keep rolling out those throwing some serious heat in the middle to late innings. As the Orioles decide which players to add to their 40-man roster this week, and thus protect those players from being taken in the December Rule 5 draft,...
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Steve Melewski

After Bowie's solid year on offense, O's promote from within

After Bowie's solid year on offense, O's promote from within
As I talked with and interviewed several hitters that were having big seasons on the Orioles farm during the 2021 season, it became clear that those players believed in the organization's hitting program. At times, we saw that program embrace the talent it drafted and acquired and turn their program into results. It was likely encouraging for Birdland to see this and yesterday it led to Double-A Bowie hitting coach Ryan Fuller getting promoted to the major league staff. Fuller joins Matt...
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Steve Melewski

One player that is looking for a bounceback 2022 season

One player that is looking for a bounceback 2022 season
When it comes to players on the Orioles who could come up in trade talks this winter, outfielder Anthony Santander might be on that list - maybe near the top of it. The Orioles are building a nice surplus of young outfielders and the latest group, including players like Kyle Stowers and Robert Neustrom, are closing in on the majors. Their day could be coming and a spot might need to be opened for someone to slide into. Santander has value to other teams. They remember his big 2020 season, one...
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Steve Melewski

A few more questions for O's fans

A few more questions for O's fans
Time for you, my very appreciated readers, to take a few minutes today and answer a few more questions I am throwing out and at you today. Not throwing at you like a beanball pitcher, but you get the point. With my (lack of) velocity, the pitch wouldn't hurt anyway. The World Series is over and the team with the fewest regular-season wins to make the playoffs won it. So hey, the Orioles' rebuilding could culminate in a playoff spot with just 88 wins? Yes, it is possible, but this year 88 wins...
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In 2021, this lefty elevated his game on O's farm

In 2021, this lefty elevated his game on O's farm
On the Orioles farm this season, this lefty had a Minor League Pitcher of the Year kind of season. He led the organization in wins and innings. He was among the best in ERA and had a low walk rate. He pitched well at two levels and ended the year on a roll, pitching well in the Double-A playoffs. But Grayson Rodriguez was better and any O's farm pitcher could have said that after the 2021 season. So, yes, that was a given, but for lefty Drew Rom, 21, it was a banner season. One that began at...
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Steve Melewski

Mullins on his Silver Slugger Award, plus other notes

Mullins on his Silver Slugger Award, plus other notes
Numerous Orioles have won Silver Sluggers since the award debuted in 1980. But before Cedric Mullins, not many - maybe any - came as far with their game as he did to go from the depths to such heights. In his first three seasons in the majors - from 2018 through 2020 - Mullins had a .632 OPS with seven homers in 418 career plate appearances. His OPS+ went from 72 in his career entering this year to 135 during a 2021 season when he became the first Oriole ever with 30 or more homers and steals...
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Steve Melewski

Cedric Mullins wins a Silver Slugger Award

Cedric Mullins wins a Silver Slugger Award
After producing a .878 OPS and the first 30-30 season in Orioles history, center fielder Cedric Mullins tonight has become the team's first Silver Slugger Award winner since 2016. Mullins began the night among eight finalists for three American League outfield Silver Slugger Awards and Mullins has been named a winner in the AL outfield along with Toronto's Teoscar Hernández and Aaron Judge of New York. The winners were announced in a live broadcast on MLB Network. Mark Trumbo, as a...
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