masn-baseballs-orioles.jpgWith Joey Rickard no longer holding Rule 5 status, the Orioles have the option of sending him to the minors next season. A player’s options give a team options. Funny how that works.
Whether he breaks camp with the Orioles depends on a number of factors, including performance and moves made over the winter related to the outfield.
Spending a rookie season in the majors as a Rule 5 pick doesn’t guarantee a return visit or lengthy stay the following year. Pitcher Jason Garcia is one…

With Joey Rickard no longer holding Rule 5 status, the Orioles have the option of sending him to the minors next season. A player’s options give a team options. Funny how that works.

Whether he breaks camp with the Orioles depends on a number of factors, including performance and moves made over the winter related to the outfield.

Spending a rookie season in the majors as a Rule 5 pick doesn’t guarantee a return visit or lengthy stay the following year. Pitcher Jason Garcia is one example.

Garcia appeared in 21 games last season and went 1-0 with a 4.25 ERA and 1.416 WHIP in 29 2/3 innings. The Orioles assigned him to Double-A Bowie this year, recalled him on July 9 and optioned him the following day.

Garcia stayed in the Baysox rotation, going 6-10 with a 4.73 ERA and 1.544 WHIP in 24 starts over 123 2/3 innings. He figures to remain on the 40-man roster and resurface in spring training, but I wouldn’t place him on the sure-thing list.

Orioles manager Buck Showalter had to find the right spots for Garcia in 2015, which often left him working with a short bullpen and roster. Besides upsetting Jose Bautista, Garcia’s biggest issue was his inconsistency throwing strikes. He averaged 5.2 walks per nine innings.

Garcia averaged 3.9 walks per nine innings with Bowie. Consider it progress two levels away from where he wants to pitch.

Jason Garcia black.jpg“He finished the season very well,” said director of player development Brian Graham. “His last four or five starts, his velocity was 93-96 (mph). He pitched very well at the end of the season.

“He pitched out of the bullpen in the big leagues and had success and then he was a starter all year (at Bowie) and that was because starters are a commodity and also because there’s pitch development involved when you start. You use all of your pitches. You use your changeup, you use your breaking ball. So that was a duel reason for him pitching in the rotation.

“Who knows what would happen if he went back to the bullpen. My guess is he’d be even better than he was before.”

The assumption, though, is that Garcia will remain a starter in the minors.

“At this point, he’s still a starter,” Graham said.

* Only five of the 16 players chosen in the 2015 Rule 5 draft stayed with their teams the entire season. Rickard joins Phillies outfielder Tyler Goeddel, Blue Jays reliever Joe Biagini, Cardinals reliever Matt Bowman and Padres starter/reliever Luis Perdomo.

As Baseball America’s J.J. Cooper pointed out, 31 percent is the lowest success rate since 2010, when five of 19 players stuck. However, five players is in line with the average for the past decade.

Biagini, on the Jays’ postseason roster, made eight appearances against the Orioles and allowed three earned runs (four total) and 13 hits over 6 1/3 innings.

Perdomo made one start against the Orioles and allowed six runs and seven hits in five innings. He struck out eight batters.

* Oliver Drake allowed three unearned runs and one hit in 11 innings in eight appearances at Camden Yards this season. He allowed eight runs and 10 hits in seven innings in six road games.

Dorothy wasn’t kidding about that whole home thing.

* A Wade Miley fun fact:

Opposing baserunners are 19 of 46 (41.3 percent) in attempted steals against Miley in his career, including 3 of 8 this season.

Miley has picked off 24 baserunners in his career, including four this season. The 24 pickoffs since the start of 2011 are tied for fourth in the majors.

* American League teams with the most wins since 2012:

Orioles 444
Yankees 435
Rangers 434
Tigers 431

* Some key dates to file away for later:

Nov. 7: BBWAA awards finalist show on MLB Network
Nov. 7: Sporting News Executive of the Year (at the GM meetings)
Nov. 9: Rawlings Gold Glove Awards (ESPN)
Nov. 14: BBWAA Rookies of the Year (MLB Network)
Nov. 15: BBWAA Managers of the Year (MLB Network)
Nov. 16: BBWAA Cy Young Awards (MLB Network)
Nov. 17: BBWAA: Most Valuable Player Awards (MLB Network)

Closer Gregg Olson is the last Oriole to be named the American League’s Rookie of the Year in 1989. The streak will continue, but let’s check whether Hyun Soo Kim, Dylan Bundy and Mychal Givens receive votes.

Can you name the other five Orioles to take home the award? Answer follows.

No Oriole has won the Cy Young Award since Steve Stone in 1980, but Zach Britton could end the streak. Manny Machado will receive MVP votes, but figures to finish behind – in no particular order – Mike Trout, Mookie Betts and Jose Altuve. Josh Donaldson won it last year and could be a repeat winner.

Britton could finish ahead of Machado, depending on whether the voters approve of pitchers winning the award.

No Oriole has been named MVP since Cal Ripken Jr. in 1991.

Showalter has a chance to win his fourth Manager of the Year Award, but my guess is it goes to the Indians’ Terry Francona. And not because his team is going to the World Series, since votes were turned in at the end of the regular season.

Showalter currently ranks 25th on the all-time managerial wins list with 1,429. Hall of Famer Earl Weaver is 24th with 1,480, a topic that’s going to make Showalter extremely uncomfortable.

* Stadium Journey has again chosen Camden Yards as the No. 1 ballpark in the country.

Each stadium is evaluated based on the “FANFARE” scale which includes an assessment of food and beverage offerings; the overall atmosphere; the neighborhood where the stadium is located; the fans; the access that includes traffic, parking, restrooms, handicapped accessibility and ease of flow on concourses within the park; the overall return on investment; and any unique features.

Camden Yards beat out Busch Stadium in St. Louis, PNC Park in Pittsburgh, AT&T Park in San Francisco and Progressive Field in Cleveland in the publication’s top five. I’ve never seen Busch Stadium, but I can’t imagine AT&T Park being any lower than second after finally experiencing it this summer.

Here’s what Stadium Journey wrote about Camden Yards:

“While the Orioles have not gone to the World Series in recent years, they seem to have a stranglehold on first place in the view of Stadium Journey’s staff and fans. This marks the third straight year that we have named Camden Yards as the Best Ballpark Experience in MLB. So what is the secret to the Orioles success? They knew how to build a ballpark unlike any other stadium at the time. Instead of tearing down the surrounding neighborhood, they embraced it and incorporated it into the stadium design. In the years since Camden Yards was built the Orioles have concentrated on every element of the fan experience by constantly upgrading the concession offerings, creating special promotions celebrating the diversity of Baltimore’s population and making customer service the first priority for its game day staff. Other elements that kept the Orioles rating at the top are the extras surrounding the park, as both Babe Ruth’s childhood home and the Inner Harbor entertainment and restaurant district are within walking distance of the park. Accessibility is another factor that rated highly with both our reviewers and the fans who submitted opinions on the MLB parks.”

* Here’s the list of Orioles Rookies of the Year:

Ron Hansen 1960
Curt Blefary 1965
Al Bumbry 1973
Eddie Murray 1977
Cal Ripken Jr. 1982
Gregg Olson 1989