Steve Melewski

Looking at a few more free agent pitchers

November 22, 2019, 3:06pm

Orioles

Looking at a few more free agent pitchers

There are nearly 50 starting pitchers available as baseball free agency is now underway. We know the Orioles need starting pitchers and we also know they won't be diving into the deep end of that pool or issuing any big-dollar contracts. In the early stages of the rebuild, they may not even sign anyone to anything longer than a one-year deal and no doubt some minor league free agents will be added for depth as well. While lefty Keegan Akin, added to the Orioles' 40-man roster this week,...

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Keegan Akin and Dean Kremer should get rotation shots in 2020

November 21, 2019, 3:03pm

Orioles

Keegan Akin and Dean Kremer should get rotation shots in 2020

Both pitchers made it to Triple-A last season. Both were added to the 40-man roster this week. As the Orioles begin to find out which young pitchers on the farm can help them moving forward, left-hander Keegan Akin and right-hander Dean Kremer may be among the first to get shots. Being added to the 40-man means both pitchers will be in spring training next season, arriving with pitchers and catchers, who report no later than Feb. 11 with the spring opener 11 days later. Under general manager...

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Four to the 40-man: Hearing from the O's added to the roster

November 21, 2019, 11:38am

Orioles

Four to the 40-man: Hearing from the O's added to the roster

For several Orioles prospects, it has been a big week filled with both anticipation and maybe a few nerves. Yesterday was the deadline for clubs to add players to their 40-man rosters to protect them from the Rule 5 draft. Lefty Keegan Akin admitted some of that was going on for him. "It's in the back of your head," he said. "Honestly, I didn't know the date until my uncle texted me a screen shot off his phone that showed the Nov. 20 deadline for Rule 5. Up until that point I didn't know...

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Gary Kendall on Ryan Mountcastle's "special year"

November 20, 2019, 1:04pm

Orioles

Gary Kendall on Ryan Mountcastle's "special year"

Orioles prospect Ryan Mountcastle's path toward the majors took another significant step forward yesterday. He joined pitchers Keegan Akin and Dean Kremer and outfielder Ryan McKenna as additions to the Orioles' 40-man roster Wednesday. The Orioles now have 39 players on that roster. Mountcastle was an easy addition after a season when he was named both International League Most Valuable Player and the Orioles' Brooks Robinson Minor League Player of the Year. The 36th overall pick in the...

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Sizing up a few rule changes and Rule 5 draft talk too

November 19, 2019, 2:59pm

Orioles

Sizing up a few rule changes and Rule 5 draft talk too

We will see a few rule changes in Major League Baseball in 2020. One involves relief pitchers. A pitcher that enters the game must stay in to face three batters or until the end of the inning. There will be a provision for an injury that could keep the pitcher from facing three hitters or getting to the end of the inning. So will this rule change much about how pitchers are used? Will it speed up the game? Is it even a good move? This rule certainly will put an end to the one-batter pitchers, a...

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The guy with the long name looks for longer stay in O's rotation

November 18, 2019, 2:19pm

Orioles

The guy with the long name looks for longer stay in O's rotation

He made 16 starts for the 2019 Orioles and it probably took some of us most of that time to learn how to spell his name, but right-hander Asher Wojciechowski could emerge in the O's rotation again next season. At this point he's probably among a top four in some order that also includes John Means, Dylan Bundy and Alex Cobb. Wojciechowski went 4-8 with a 4.92 ERA last season. Over 82 1/3 innings he allowed 80 hits, including 17 homers. He walked 28 batters and got 80 strikeouts. He allowed...

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Frederick listed among teams that could lose MLB affiliations

November 17, 2019, 2:11pm

Orioles

Frederick listed among teams that could lose MLB affiliations

If you are an Orioles fan that follows the minors and have been to games at Single-A Frederick, you've probably seen a team that consistently draws well and is an organization that, by almost any standard, is very well run. So that made it pretty surprising when the New York Times published a list of 42 minor league teams (subscription required) that could lose their Major League Baseball affiliations at the end of next season and Frederick was on the list. The Professional Baseball Agreement...

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November edition: "10 questions for O's fans"

November 16, 2019, 11:29am

Orioles

November edition: "10 questions for O's fans"

Welcome in to the second offseason edition of 10 questions. There will be others as we progress through the winter. As always, answer all 10 questions, just a few or even just one. Provide short answers or long. Respond to other readers' answers. All up to you. It's all good and always interesting to check the responses. Today's questions: 1) Will Keegan Akin crack the rotation in 2020, and if so, how many starts will he make? 2) Will Trey Mancini make more starts at first base or in the...

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Another O's Q&A, plus a few other thoughts

November 15, 2019, 2:37pm

Orioles

Another O's Q&A, plus a few other thoughts

Well, we did this here a little over a week ago and it's time to try it again. A fan/reader question-and-answer session. You ask some Orioles questions - whatever you've got - and I'll try to answer your questions and other readers please throw in your two cents also. Hope to hear from many of you today with many questions. They can be on any O's topic, minors or majors. For instance, in some recent entries here, we discussed a few free agent pitchers that could be signed to one-year,...

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Delmarva honored, plus a look at a pitcher eligible in the Rule 5

November 14, 2019, 12:48pm

Orioles

Delmarva honored, plus a look at a pitcher eligible in the Rule 5

Earlier this week, the Orioles' Single-A Delmarva Shorebirds affiliate was named the Minor League Team of the Year by Milb.com. Delmarva went 90-48 and earns this honor for the first time in its 24-year club history. The Shorebirds topped the previous team high for wins by seven (83 in 1996) and became the first South Atlantic League team to win 90 or more since the 2006 Augusta GreenJackets. That team featured future major league All-Stars Pablo Sandoval and Sergio Romo. Stretched out over a...

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Could a pair of former first-round picks elevate the O's 'pen?

November 13, 2019, 1:10pm

Orioles

Could a pair of former first-round picks elevate the O's 'pen?

They are two young guns who were once starting pitchers but now could be valuable to improvement for the Orioles bullpen. They were both drafted in the first round. Both now enjoy pitching out of the bullpen, and next season 24-year-old Hunter Harvey and 25-year-old Dillon Tate could help improve an O's bullpen that posted a 5.63 ERA last year. That ranked last in the American League, well below the league average of 4.41. Harvey, the Orioles' top pick (No. 22 overall) in 2013, was called up...

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A look at a couple of free agent starting pitchers

November 12, 2019, 2:19pm

Orioles

A look at a couple of free agent starting pitchers

So the Orioles' rotation depth chart right now is lacking a bit, you may have noticed. Surely they will add some pitchers before spring training, even if it's only minor league free agents and/or pitchers looking to make good after a poor or injury-marred season or seasons. They could look to add a major league free agent or two, but any such signing would likely be a lower-dollar, one-year deal. In its ranking of the top 50 current free agents, MLBTradeRumors.com's two lowest-ranked...

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With GM meetings underway, Jonathan Villar trade talk could heat up

November 11, 2019, 5:31pm

Orioles

With GM meetings underway, Jonathan Villar trade talk could heat up

As the club they support is not loaded with talent, it seems that many Orioles fans are feeling some anxiety about what might happen with middle infielder Jonathan Villar. The only player in the majors with at least 24 homers and 40 steals in 2019, Villar produced 4.0 Wins Above Replacement (WAR), according to FanGraphs.com, to lead the club. Trey Mancini was named Most Valuable Oriole, but Villar had a strong case after a big second half. But now with an arbitration price tag that could reach...

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O's John Means finishes second for AL Rookie of the Year

November 11, 2019, 12:14pm

Orioles

O's John Means finishes second for AL Rookie of the Year

Orioles left-hander John Means, who was a surprise as the club's best starting pitcher in 2019, tonight finished second for the Jackie Robinson American League Rookie of the Year Award in balloting by the Baseball Writers' Association of America. Means, 26, received 53 points, getting 16 votes for second place and five for third place. Two writers from each AL city voted for their top three for the award. The easy winner was Houston's Yordan Alvarez, who was unanimous and got all 30...

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Checking in on some top minor league arms with Chris Holt

November 10, 2019, 12:06pm

Orioles

Checking in on some top minor league arms with Chris Holt

Today we continue a look at Orioles minor league pitching in 2019 through the eyes of director of pitching Chris Holt. We've published a couple of entries recently with Holt, and in this one, he'll take a closer at four of the club's top pitching prospects. DL HALL Hall was the Orioles No. 1 pick, taken No. 21 overall out of a Georgia high school in 2017. While his overall stats were not as strong in 2019, he pitched all year in the Single-A Carolina League at 20 and turned 21 on Sept....

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Is the focus on launch angle the reason for more strikeouts?

November 09, 2019, 3:22pm

Orioles

Is the focus on launch angle the reason for more strikeouts?

The technology in baseball is moving fast. In this recent entry, O's minor league hitting coach Tom Eller gave us a bit of a primer on some of the technology that is in place as of 2019 on the Orioles farm. For most of us, it was probably both educational and enlightening. Eller was new to the O's organization in the 2019 season. He started it as hitting coach at Single-A Delmarva and later moved to join short-season Single-A Aberdeen when its season began last June. Some fans that watch the...

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So how long will this rebuilding take?

November 08, 2019, 4:01pm

Orioles

The topic came up again during yesterday's Orioles Q&A session on this blog: How long will this rebuild take? The fans want to know. That is a very reasonable question, but it just doesn't have an answer. You can guess, but that's really all you will be doing. No one knows for sure, including general manager Mike Elias, who is heading up this rebuilding, how long it will take to work or even if it will work. This is the American League East, home of two big spenders, one sharp cookie and...

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Orioles Q&A and John Means on his offseason

November 07, 2019, 2:45pm

Orioles

Today, when we get to the comments section of this blog, the readers will be the stars. Here is the plan: Ask an O's question, whatever you've got, and I'll provide the best answer I can. Plus other readers can throw in their two cents. It's time to open this up and get what is on your mind about the club front and center. I've pointed out numerous times that the topic here is the Orioles - majors and minors. But often the comments relate only to what is written about in the blog entry...

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Chris Holt's take on a few minor league pitchers

November 06, 2019, 2:04pm

Orioles

Chris Holt's take on a few minor league pitchers

In this entry recently, I interviewed Orioles director of pitching Chris Holt. He was promoted to that position on Oct. 11 after serving as director of minor league pitching for the 2019 season. We addressed several topics earlier with Holt, and today we get his take on a few minor league hurlers. In 2019, four of the O's top six farm teams led their respective leagues in team ERA. The overall strikeout rate of the six teams increased from 8.18 in 2018 to 9.26 last season. Today Holt provides...

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Who will get the biggest free agent dollars this winter?

November 05, 2019, 12:41pm

Orioles

Who will get the biggest free agent dollars this winter?

No one is expecting the Orioles to be very active at the top end or even in the middle tier of the new free agent market. For the second year in a row, in MLBTradeRumors.com's projection of its top 50 free agents, none are predicted to head to Baltimore. This is not surprising, of course, and was indeed expected. Predicting where free agents will land might be harder than you think. Who had Manny Machado to San Diego? All O's fans heard and had to deal with for years were rumors that the...