Steve Melewski

The Rays' unique starting rotation and O's that are trending up

March 07, 2018, 2:47pm

Orioles

The Rays' unique starting rotation and O's that are trending up

Well, it is not a four-man rotation in the traditional sense that the club will use only four starters, but the Tampa Bay Rays will use four starters and then a bullpen game every fifth day this season. This is the plan, according to their manager Kevin Cash. In this story in the Tampa Bay Times, Cash said his four main starters will be Chris Archer, Blake Snell, Nathan Eovaldi and Jake Faria. On the fifth day, the Rays will fill in with several multi-inning relievers, and they will not name...

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With each day, Hunter Harvey moves farther from surgery, closer to majors

March 06, 2018, 1:43pm

Orioles

With each day, Hunter Harvey moves farther from surgery, closer to majors

For Orioles pitching prospect Hunter Harvey, when he has thrown so far in spring training, the postgame interviews have become more about how he threw rather than how he felt. When the Orioles selected him with the 22nd overall pick in the 2013 draft, they dreamt of a day he was among their best starting pitchers. As manager Buck Showalter might say, for a while that dream was delayed but not denied. For O's fans, they can again dream on a day that three homegrown first-round picks in Dylan...

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After farm apprenticeship, Chance Sisco looks for big league shot

March 05, 2018, 5:47pm

Orioles

After farm apprenticeship, Chance Sisco looks for big league shot

You could once find scouts that felt there was a good possibility that Chance Sisco would never catch in the majors. But he's already done that. You could also find some that said he is the future catcher of the Orioles. He is still trying to become that. Drafted by the Orioles with the 61st overall pick out of a California High School in 2013, he has seen all levels of the O's farm. It began with Sisco batting .371 that summer in the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League and .340 the next year for...

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Be ready early: Orioles' April schedule is brutal

March 04, 2018, 2:01pm

Orioles

When the 2018 season begins, the Orioles will be afforded no time to ease into the action. The early season schedule is tough and littered with 2017 playoff teams. Of the 15 American League teams, just five finished over .500 last year and they were all playoff teams. Cleveland won 102 games, Houston won 101 on its way to the World Series title, Boston won 93, New York won 91 and Minnesota 85. Of their first seven series of the 2018 season, the Orioles play each of those five teams once. They...

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Week in review: Looking back and also ahead with a few questions

March 03, 2018, 1:57pm

Orioles

Week in review: Looking back and also ahead with a few questions

The last week of stories in this space featured a look back at a pretty great trade for the Orioles, a look at a prediction for the opening day 25-man roster and a look at improved outfield depth on the farm. I really enjoyed writing this blog entry on Monday. In an interview with long-time Orioles scout Jim Howard, we got some insight into the 2008 trade of left-hander Erik Bedard to Seattle. It brought five players to Baltimore, including current O's outfielder Adam Jones and pitcher Chris...

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With less than a month to opening day, key free agents are still out there

March 02, 2018, 1:16pm

Orioles

With less than a month to opening day, key free agents are still out there

The Orioles could still use a pitcher and three key free agent pitchers are still available in Jake Arrieta, Lance Lynn and Alex Cobb. Opening day in Baltimore is now less than four weeks away and that trio is still out there. It has been a strange, bizarre and confusing free agent winter, one that could have long-range ramifications. But that is a story for a different day. For now, the O's could still get Lynn or Cobb. Arrieta is in play for everyone, but has not been linked to the Orioles....

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Another look back at an aspect of the 2017 O's offense

March 01, 2018, 3:16pm

Orioles

Another look back at an aspect of the 2017 O's offense

When it comes to team offense, the Orioles are about average in the American League. That is in the most important stat of them all - runs scored. And it has been that way for several seasons. In 2015, the Orioles ranked seventh in the AL in runs scored for the season. In 2016, they ranked seventh and last year they ranked eighth with 743 runs while the AL team average was 763. So the Orioles scored 4.59 runs/game while the league average was 4.71. There are a lot of ways to break down some of...

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Hays and Mullins head up improved outfield depth on the farm

February 28, 2018, 4:33pm

Orioles

Hays and Mullins head up improved outfield depth on the farm

When Baseball America ranked outfielder Austin Hays at No. 21 on its latest top 100 prospects list, that was a nice, lofty ranking for the youngster who went from Single-A Frederick to the major leagues last year. He was the Orioles' 2017 minor league Player of the Year, winning the Brooks Robinson Award. In fact, Hays is just the fourth Orioles outfielder since Baseball America's first top 100 ranking in 1990 to be ranked that high or higher. There have been 29 polls since the first...

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A look around the AL East, which has added two big sluggers

February 27, 2018, 1:56pm

Orioles

A look around the AL East, which has added two big sluggers

While Orioles fans had a long wait this winter for the club to add any starting pitching, Red Sox fans had a long wait for their club to match the New York Yankees' big move. Match or at least try to. The Yankees stunned the baseball world in adding Giancarlo Stanton, the 2017 National League MVP, on Dec. 11. Well over two months later, the Red Sox finally got J.D. Martinez. Each team adds a huge slugger. Martinez agreed to a five-year deal worth $110 million that has three opt-outs. For as...

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An early spring training guess at the opening day roster

February 26, 2018, 5:04pm

Orioles

An early spring training guess at the opening day roster

Since it is never too early to try and predict the opening day 25-man Orioles roster, let's take a shot today. Yes, it is likely that more players will get added and there could be other changes, injuries and/or trades. So we take a shot as of the morning of Feb. 27. Everything is subject to change. Starting rotation (5): Dylan Bundy, Kevin Gausman, Andrew Cashner, Chris Tillman and an in-house candidate. I'll make Nestor Cortes Jr. my clubhouse leader for the last spot. As a Rule 5 pick, he...

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The backstory on one of the greatest moves in Orioles history

February 25, 2018, 2:43pm

Orioles

The Orioles may be coming off a season where their poor pitching contributed heavily to a last-place finish, but over the course of the club's history, they've had plenty of quality pitchers. This history includes a Hall of Famer in Jim Palmer and four pitchers that have won Cy Young Awards. Palmer won three (1973, '75, '76) and other winners included Mike Flanagan (1979) Steve Stone (1980) and Mike Cuellar, who shared the 1969 award with Denny McLain. This history includes four 20-game...

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The latest odds and Cortes with a nice debut

February 24, 2018, 7:08pm

Orioles

The latest odds and Cortes with a nice debut

If you want to make a wager on the Orioles to win the American League East, you'll get 12-1 odds right now through the online sportsbook Bovada. Here are the odds released earlier this week. Meanwhile, eight teams are listed ahead of the Orioles with odds in terms of winning this year's AL championship. AL East - Odds to win New York Yankees - 1/1 Boston Red Sox - 7/4 Toronto Blue Jays - 17/4 Baltimore Orioles - 12/1 Tampa Bay Rays - 12/1 2018 AL Pennant - Odds to winHouston Astros - 11/4New...

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Can Mike Wright follow Chris Tillman's path to a turnaround?

February 23, 2018, 3:24pm

Orioles

Can Mike Wright follow Chris Tillman's path to a turnaround?

There was once an Orioles right-handed pitcher that was a pretty decent prospect and a top 100 draft pick. But he struggled badly in his first three seasons in the majors and fans lost confidence in him. Mike Wright? Right? Well yes, but before him there was Chris Tillman. From 2009-11 - Tillman's first three big league seasons - he went 7-15 with an ERA of 5.58. He allowed 205 hits in 180 2/3 innings. In Mike Wright's first three big league seasons, he has gone 6-9 with a 5.86 ERA allowing...

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The O's-Tillman reunion, AL East rotations, prospects talk

February 19, 2018, 3:04pm

Orioles

The O's-Tillman reunion, AL East rotations, prospects talk

So Chris Tillman and the Orioles finally reached an agreement on a one-year contract and the pitcher that started three straight opening days for the club is back. Tillman got a $3 million guarantee and can reportedly earn another $7 million with innings incentives. If this was his only major league contract offer, he did well with a shot to make $10 million a year after he went 1-7 with a 7.84 ERA. The Orioles, on the other hand, would probably happily pay the incentives to get the pre-2017...

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Yefry RamÃrez made nice first impression with his new team

February 18, 2018, 5:27pm

Orioles

Yefry RamÃrez made nice first impression with his new team

For now, he might get lost in the shuffle amid dozens of pitchers in spring training. But after being acquired by the Orioles last July 31, right-hander Yefry RamÃrez might have a shot to make the big leagues during the 2018 season. He was 10-3 with a 3.41 ERA for Double-A Trenton when the Orioles acquired him from the New York Yankees for international bonus pool money. He then went 5-0 with an ERA of 3.66 in six starts for Double-A Bowie to end a strong 2017 season. One where he was an...

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Some Chris Tillman talk, a late-night deal and the week in review

February 17, 2018, 2:58pm

Orioles

Some Chris Tillman talk, a late-night deal and the week in review

The Orioles could re-sign right-hander Chris Tillman any day now. Or he could go to another team. If he winds up back with the Orioles, my question would be: What took so long? Even in this slow market, couldn't we have expected Tillman and the Orioles to decide if they wanted a reunion or not by now? This one indeed has been dragging out. If the O's get their opening day starter from 2014-2016 back, we will eventually find out if he can bounce back from a terrible season. We may not truly...

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At this point, expectations are low for the 2018 Orioles

February 16, 2018, 7:29pm

Orioles

Fans of the Orioles are used to low expectations for their team. Have the Orioles ever been predicted recently to win the American League East? Maybe by a random reporter/analyst or two over the years, but not often. And that goes back to a year they were the defending AL East champs. But this year, coming off a season where the Orioles featured a 5.70 rotation ERA and finished in last place, the expectations seem as low as probably anytime since they and their fans endured 14 consecutive...

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Orioles announce minor league staff for 2018 season

February 16, 2018, 5:47am

Orioles

The Orioles today announced their minor league staff for the 2018 season. Ron Johnson will return to manage at Triple-A Norfolk and Gary Kendall is back with Double-A Bowie. Ryan Minor is now the skipper at Single-A Frederick and Buck Britton is a first-year manager at Single-A Delmarva. Among the short-season clubs, Kevin Bradshaw will manage at Single-A Aberdeen, Carlos Tosca is skipper for the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League Orioles and Elvis Morel is manager of the club's entry in the...

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In limited innings, Cashner had some success versus AL East

February 15, 2018, 7:31pm

Orioles

In limited innings, Cashner had some success versus AL East

From the "For what it's worth ..." department, new Orioles right-hander Andrew Cashner had decent numbers last year and has solid numbers in his career against the American League East. Yes, that comes in a small sample size for a pitcher that spent seven of his first eight seasons in the National League. But last season for Texas he made five starts against the four AL East teams that are not the Orioles and went 3-1 with an ERA of 2.81 in 32 innings. He was 1-1 with a 3.75 ERA in two...

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A few thoughts on O's addition of pitcher Andrew Cashner

February 15, 2018, 10:22am

Orioles

A few thoughts on O's addition of pitcher Andrew Cashner

The Orioles have finally added to their starting rotation, getting a pitcher that had a strong season in 2017 on a short-term contract. And then there were three established pitchers in the five-man rotation. As first reported by MASNsports.com's Roch Kubatko, the O's have added right-hander Andrew Cashner on a two-year deal worth a guaranteed $16 million. ESPN.com and SB Nation reported that the deal includes a vesting option for the 2020 season at $10 million. It vests if he pitches a...