Here is the collection of Camden Depot contributions written for MASNsports.com in August:
What's gone wrong for Travis Snider? I was more than fine with the Travis Snider trade, but it clearly did not work out. Snider was given plenty of opportunities to perform this season, but his offensive numbers steadily dipped. Like many of the Orioles' other corner outfielders, he was eventually designated for assignment.
O's likely forced to hold steady during Miguel Gonzalez's rough stretch: An underperforming starting rotation has been one of the O's major downfalls. Gonzalez was fine in the first half, but he was terrible in the second portion of the season before landing on the disabled list with right shoulder tendinitis. For the time being, he seems to have avoided a serious injury, which is great considering he's likely penciled in for an O's rotation spot next year. But Gonzalez has been a much-discussed topic on Camden Depot lately, and it's perfectly fine to worry about him next season and beyond.
Schoop is giving O's a bat they sorely need: Jonathan Schoop has been one of the O's few bright spots this season. If he sticks at second base, plays adequate defense, and continues to hit for power, he should be a pretty valuable player.
Investigating Caleb Joseph's offensive improvement: Since this post, Caleb Joseph has taken a bit of a step back offensively (from a 105 wRC+ to 95 wRC+), but that's still fine for a good defensive catcher who has a low salary. Joseph figures to be the O's main catching option next season. The main question figures to be whether Steve Clevenger will be his backup or not.
As always, thanks for reading.
2 comments:
On the Miguel Gonzalez point, I guess the main questions I would have are these
1. Will the Orioles even tender Gonzalez a contract this winter? He will probably jump up to 4.5/5 mil which isn't much for a starter, but would be a lot for a guy who might be pitching in the bullpen next year. (I ultimately think they will tender him)
2. Which leads to my second question: would you rather see Gonzalez in the rotation next spring, or someone like Mike Wright. My completely unofficial scouting report from Mike Wright's last start would be something like this: 4-seam 95-98, t99 had trouble locating down in the zone, got hit some when guys were waiting on it up in the zone but got whiffs from middle of the order hitters (e.g Bautista), when he located down and away. 2-seam 90-94, good run inside on righties, away from lefties. Above-average slider that he had some trouble locating down in the zone. Showed a curveball a couple times, probably average or a tick below. Didn't catch any changeups
4-seam 65, 2-seam 55, slider 55, curveball 45, command 55
I saw much more upside than for Miguel Gonzalez.
Of course, if we're paying Gonzo more, we might want him in the rotation. But I'd much rather see Wright starting as a guy with maybe #3 starter upside, instead of gonzo who is what he is.
So what do you think of the Wright vs Gonzo, bullpen vs rotation question for next year?
1. Yes, I think they will.
2. Probably Gonzalez over Wright, but there could be room for him anyway depending on what the O's do in free agency (with Chen departing). Wright will and should get starts in 2016. Wilson will likely get his shot, too.
If Gonzalez is bad again, he can be moved to the bullpen. And if he's bad enough, he probably won't be back after next season.
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