Jae Gyun Hwang is Ryan Flaherty plus KBO KANG translations

You can call me a mild Ryan Flaherty fan.  He came over as a once semi-promising Cubs' prospect.  He had shown a fringe plus bat potential in the minors, but was considered too plodding to be a second baseman and not athletic enough for third base.

Year	Age	Lev	PA	HR	BA	OBP	SLG
2008	21	A-	245	8	.297	.369	.511
2009	22	A	543	20	.276	.344	.470
2010	23	A+-AA	559	10	.271	.339	.418
2011	24	AA-AAA	530	19	.280	.347	.478

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 10/24/2016.

Remarkably, Flaherty turned into someone else with the Orioles.  The fringe hope in that bat vanished.  His average contact skills in the minors turned into minus minus contact skills while he retained other aspects of his offensive profile.  It is a bat that won't be able to keep anyone afloat.

Year	Age	PA	BA	OBP	SLG
2012	25	167	.216	.258	.359
2013	26	271	.224	.293	.390
2014	27	312	.221	.288	.356
2015	28	301	.202	.281	.356
2016	29	176	.217	.291	.318
5 Yrs		1227	.216	.284	.359

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 10/24/2016.

However, Flaherty has not needed that bat to stick with the Orioles because he became a plus fielder at second base and at third base.  Somehow, he even made himself into a competent shortstop and corner outfielder as well.  Over the past five years, Flaherty has been a cheap and useful fixture on the Orioles bench.  As 2017 approaches, he finds himself going into his final arbitration year with an approximate price of 1.7 MM on him.

At 30 and with 1227 plate appearances in the Majors to his name, we have a rather solid understanding of who Ryan Flaherty and what he is likely to become.  His bat has remained fairly consistent during this time.  Good ability to draw walks, good gap power, and poor contact.  It is difficult to see any of that getting better and easy to see it getting worse.  His defensive profile looks solid and for 1.7 MM in 2017, it might make sense to be able to carry a Jack-of-all-Positions, Not-a-Master-at-the-Plate kind of player.  Flaherty is useful, but is it possible for similar money or less to find something that might have an upside?

That someone would be Jae-gyun Hwang.  Hwang was put up for bid like Byung-ho Park last winter, but unlike Park was not bid on.  The issue for Hwang was that his power display appeared suspect.  He showed little ability to hit for power before 2015 and was considered more of a slap hitting, gap power third baseman with an above average glove.

Year	Age	PA	HR	SB	BA	OBP	SLG
2007	19	171	2	2	.300	.323	.375
2008	20	333	1	10	.239	.279	.288
2009	21	608	18	30	.284	.349	.453
2010	22	352	6	18	.225	.303	.350
2011	23	458	12	12	.289	.360	.445
2012	24	504	4	26	.272	.335	.346
2013	25	559	7	22	.274	.350	.389
2014	26	550	12	17	.321	.388	.475
2015	27	596	26	11	.290	.350	.521
2016	28	522	26	24	.330	.391	.558
All Levels (10 Seasons)		4653	114	172	.285	.349	.433

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 10/24/2016.

Then 2016 provided another data point.  His power spoke again.  The growing word was that Hwang grew eyes for the United States after the 2014 season and saw how someone like Jung Ho Kang brought attention to himself by revamping his swing to generate more power.  This past year, his swing bought moments like this 476 blast:

I asked Sung Min Kim of Today's Knuckleball who writes about KBO from Korea on his thoughts about Hwang.  He said that in addition to his power beginning to play in game these past two seasons that Hwang "can steal bases and make highlight plays at third base."  He comped Hwang to a Brett Lawrie or Trevor Plouffe type.  Good gap power that breaks out occasionally and adequate to good fielding.  To differ between him and Kang, he noted that Kang has much better bat speed and it is easier for him to translate that power into games.  Hwang has a smoother swing, but a lack of bat speed is a yellow flag to wave about.

The updated KANG model puts Hwang at of 250/293/381, but that uses 2014 data.  He supposedly reworked his swing for 2015, so that might not be an appropriate projection.  If we only consider his performance after that point, we have a projection of 266/314/394.  To phrase that differently, Hwang looks better at the plate than Flaherty is we consider all three previous seasons.  However, Hwang looks like a borderline starter if we only consider his performance post-change in his batting.  That potential to be a starter might be quite useful to have in house when J.J. Hardy departs after next season and Manny Machado shifts to shortstop.

Defense, though.  Scouts suggest that Hwang can play third base without trouble.  His size makes him a questionable fit at second base, but so was Schoop and the Orioles were able to position him around to make it work out.  Add Hwang's athleticism and speed, he might be usable at second in a pinch.  Shortstop is likely out of the question, but with Machado able to shift over it might not be all that needed of a question until 2018 comes.

Cost?  Jae-Gyun Hwang is not a mind blowing elite KBO player.  Park was.  Kang was.  Even Hyun-soo Kim was in his mystique as a professional hitter.  Hwang is clearly a rung below that even though he currently is an elite KBO player now.  This year, Hwang does not need a bidding process and is free to go to any MLB club he chooses.  He will likely prefer a starting gig, but those might be hard to find for a fringey third base prospect who performed well in a league where Park dominated and later went nuts in MLB play.  So, maybe, the Orioles could make a play for Hwang as a utility player to take Flaherty's place.

I think it likely that Hwang would prefer a club where a starting spot is more up for grabs as opposed to take 2017 as a learning red shirt year and then trying to break camp in 2018 as a starter.  Who knows whether there is any apprehension about the Orioles after Kim's clumsy handling by them.

Anyway, for fun, I decided to run a reverse KANG model for Ryan Flaherty to see what his numbers would look like over in the KBO.  I also threw in Pedro Alvarez for the fun of it.  I compared those projections with Hwang's actual numbers.

		HR	AVG	OBP	SLG
Ryan	Flaherty	26	.286	.386	.436
Jae-gyun	Hwang	26	.330	.391	.558
Pedro	Alvarez	39	.334	.453	.534

Alvarez would probably require a major change in KBO finances to play overseas.  Last year, the highest paid foreign player in the KBO was Dustin Nippert at 1.6 MM.  However, the KBO is notorious for reporting inaccurate salaries.  Nippert or someone else may have been paid more than that.  However, it is difficult to see anyone coming close to Alvarez' 5 MM he received from the Orioles last year.  He may be a 30-some MLB home run bat with no true position, but that is worth more than 2 MM to someone.

Flaherty on the other hand may not be able to find a deal greater than 1 MM stateside.  Therefore, Korea might present him an opportunity to make two to ten times what he might see here.  A player with his caliber should be able to easily grab himself a 100K+ minor league contract, but it might be difficult for him to secure a league minimum deal of 550k.  His numbers suggest he would be one of the best players in the KBO and the KANG translations may be underprojecting his power (KANG KBO->US significantly projects home runs, walks, and strikeouts while US->KBO significantly projects singles, doubles, walks, and strikeouts).  In other words, this might be a solid move for Flaherty and may not prevent him from returning stateside with the rising profile of the KBO.

I asked Kim to provide me with a few more names of players who may look to return stateside.  He suggested Eric Thames, Hyung-woo Choi, Ah-seop Son, and Wilin Rosario.  I have the new KANG model projections for their 2017 MLB seasons listed below.  Players with asterisks by their names indicate that for these projections only the most recent season was considered.  As you can see, there are no Byung Ho Park like contenders this season.

		HR	AVG	OBP	SLG
Eric Thames		19	.225	.288	.384
Hyung Woo Choi		19	.243	.293	.400
Jae Gyun Hwang		14	.250	.293	.381
Ah Seop Son		16	.258	.316	.393
Wilin Rosario	*	19	.243	.279	.399
Hyung Woo Choi	*	19	.240	.290	.398
Jae Gyun Hwang	*	14	.266	.314	.394
Ah Seop Son	*	15	.258	.317	.391
Eric Thames	*	19	.223	.285	.383

In the end, the word on Thames is that he is being sized up for one of the largest KBO salaries in history and will not be returning for 2017.  Choi is another all around successful hitter in Japan, but he will be 33 and has no position.  It is difficult to see anyone giving him more than a Dae-ho Lee minor league invite route to the majors.  Ah-seop Son, who no one bidded on last year like Hwang, is a corner outfield type who is thought to be MLB ready defensively.  However, his slap hit style is considered questionable against MLB velocity.  Wilin Rosario still has the same issues that sent him to Korea.  He is not really a catcher and his bat is not strong enough for first base.

Perhaps one of these players will take faith in their own abilities and take deals to start off in the minors or on a bench, hoping they make the most of their opportunities to shine.  The trials and tribulations of Hyun-soo Kim may speak to them.  He had trouble in Spring Training and then needed continued success to maintain his position with any little imperfection throwing him to the bench.  It has to be difficult going from one of the best in your league to being someone no one cares much about or invests many resources in.  After Buck's, I think, rather apparent continued mishandling of Kim, I would be surprised if a Korean player thinks the Orioles are his best shot at MLB success.

Ranking O's Players Most Likely To Be Traded Away With A Competitive Balance Pick

For some reason, the Orioles have traded their competitive balance draft pick the last two years in order to dump a little bit of salary. The first instance came in 2015, when the O's shipped Ryan Webb and the $2.75 million left on his deal along with the No. 74 overall pick to the Dodgers in exchange for two minor leaguers. The Dodgers then released Webb, because they wanted the draft pick.

Then, this past season, the O's traded Brian Matusz and the about $3 million left on his contract, plus the No. 76 pick in the draft, to the Braves for two minor leaguers. The Braves designated Matusz for assignment quickly. Again, the trade for the Dodgers and Braves was all about paying for a draft pick, and the O's were happy to oblige.

There's no guarantee the O's will do the same thing this year, but it's a strategy Dan Duquette has used to shed a little payroll early in the year. It seems bizarre -- you'd figure it would make more sense to non-tender a player or two to make up that salary instead of sending away a top-75ish draft pick -- but the O's seem to think this is some kind of market inefficiency (along with targeting unwanted qualifying offer players late in the offseason).

So who are some possibilities to be attached to another competitive balance pick and sold away to the highest bidder? (It's worth noting MLB and the MLBPA have postponed the Competitive Balance Lottery until January, and that the format could be altered.) Let's explore the options quickly.

5. Ubaldo Jimenez/Yovani Gallardo/Wade Miley

Just kidding. They all make too much money (Ubaldo: $13.5 million; Gallardo: $11 million; Miley: $8.75 million). Let's look elsewhere.

4. Hyun Soo Kim ($4.2 million)

How good does that two-year, $7 million deal for Kim look now? You wouldn't think the Orioles would trade him away in this type of deal because Kim showed he can successfully hit major league pitching. Then again, Kim's playing time was sporadic at the beginning of the season, and it sure didn't seem like Buck Showalter wanted him on the team for a portion of the year.

I don't think the O's will trade Kim -- and they shouldn't -- but it's at least possible they try to attach him to the competitive balance pick in an effort to garner a somewhat better return of minor leaguers than the past two trades.

3. T.J. McFarland (MLBTR projection: $0.7 million)

McFarland might have run out of chances to stick with the Orioles. He's out of options, and he might also be out of a role. McFarland has always been more of a swingman type than a lefty specialist, but the O's might not need either one. Donnie Hart is the second left-handed pitcher in the bullpen to go along with Zach Britton. And for now, they have six starters to choose from, plus long relievers/spot starters Vance Worley, Tyler Wilson, Mike Wright, Parker Bridwell, and others.

McFarland is a clear non-tender candidate, and he doesn't make enough money anyway to be included as the only player sold in a potential comp. pick deal. However, he could be included with someone like...

2. Ryan Flaherty (MLBTR projection: $1.7 million)

Say what you will about Flaherty (I have), but it's clear what he brings to the table. He can play multiple positions competently, including middle and corner infield spots. But he's also not a very good hitter, and it's possible the Orioles seek someone else to fill this role for less money. He could be someone the O's keep at the beginning of the season and then dump to shed some salary. Or, you know, he could just be non-tendered. You could say the same thing for the next guy on this list.

1. Vance Worley (MLBTR projection: $3.3 million)

The Orioles' two competitive balance pick trades involved pitchers, and the O's could find themselves with six starters and no defined role for Worley. So why wouldn't the O's just non-tender him? Great question! Why didn't they non-tender Matusz last year? Why did they go out of their way to dump Webb and his reasonable salary the year before that? The Orioles clearly do some smart things, but they also do some really weird things. This could just be another one of those, and Worley's salary seems just about the right amount to dump on another team.

By the way, this whole thing is crazy. Shouldn't the Orioles be doing more to actually keep extra draft picks? At least with Webb, the O's had already signed him to a guaranteed deal. The O's didn't have to keep Matusz around. The same goes for Worley, Flaherty, and McFarland.

The Orioles Keep Adding Fringy Middle Infielders

Despite signing shortstops Rey Navarro (major league deal) and Paul Janish (minor league deal) in November, the Orioles have recently agreed to terms with another infielder and are close to signing yet another shortstop. A couple days ago, the Orioles agreed to terms with Jayson Nix on a minor league deal. Nix is a Ryan Flaherty type -- a utility infielder who can fill in adequately enough (at least defensively) at second base, shortstop, and third. But it was reported yesterday that the Orioles are also close to a deal with Everth Cabrera.

As Joe mentioned yesterday, the Orioles "don't have many promising infielders in the upper levels of their farm system."  So the O's are doing their best to bring in several infielders to compete for a bench spot. Joe already tackled the Navarro and Janish signings, so let's focus on Nix and Cabrera.

Nix has never been more than a fill-in type player. He can field well enough, but he can't hit. He has a career wRC+ of 67, and last year he was truly awful. In 91 combined plate appearances for three teams, he had a wRC+ of -8. FanGraphs had him at -1.0 WAR despite only appearing in 41 games. He is a real long shot to make the major league roster, but could provide some infield depth if he's stashed in Norfolk.

Unlike Nix, there's plenty to note about a potential Cabrera signing. First, his deal would be for one year and about $2.4 million if he passes the O's physical (no guarantees there, obviously). He also has an option remaining, meaning he comes with some added roster flexibility (something Buck Showalter and Dan Duquette value). Cabrera is under team control as well for another year, giving the O's even more flexibility if Cabrera performs well in 2015.

Everth Cabrera

Unfortunately, Cabrera also comes with some on- and off-the-field issues, as several reporters have noted. In 2013, he was suspended 50 games as part of MLB's Biogenesis investigation. Then last November, he was arrested and charged with resisting arrest after being stopped by police for driving under the influence of marijuana. Craig Calcaterra noted that Cabrera was also charged with domestic violence in 2012 (he was accused of  “assaulting his wife by hitting her in the face with a closed fist and slamming her head against the wall”), though the charges were eventually dropped. Considering the O's were willing to take a (low-risk) chance on Delmon Young last season, it's not surprising they'd consider Cabrera.

Unlike Nix and Janish, who are both 32, and Navarro, who is 25 but has never received a major league at-bat, Cabrera, 28, is the most noteworthy move. Navarro is still young enough to improve enough to surprise some people, but Cabrera has had some actual success in the big leagues.

Besides the games missed because of the 2013 suspension, Cabrera has battled hamstring injuries the past couple seasons. He had his best offensive year in 2013, when he batted .283/.355/.381 (114 wRC+) in 435 plate appearances. But after dealing with his suspension and returning the following season, he was terrible. In 391 plate appearances, his numbers dropped -- .232/.272/.300 (65 wRC+). Career wise, Cabrera is a decent enough hitter for a shortstop (86 wRC+). (In 2014, the average major league shortstop had a wRC+ of 87.) But Cabrera is not a plus, or even average, defender. He has a career DRS of -13 at shortstop, and a career UZR of -22.6 (-7.3 UZR/150). He could be an option to play some second base, but he's only played 80 career innings there (and only 2 innings at third).

Cabrera, however, would improve the O's overall team speed on the basepaths. He has 136 career stolen bases, and he's been successful 78% of the time (above the break-even rate of 75%). He was remarkable in 2012 (44 steals in 48 attempts) but less so the last couple years (37 for 49 in 2013 and 18 for 26 in 2014). Those aren't terrible percentages, but the Orioles also don't need baserunners who are going to run into outs. It's possible he'll never approach the raw totals from 2012 and 2013 again, but he's still above average on the basepaths, which has some value.

Are any of these major signings? No. But it's smart for the Orioles to keep trying to improve the rest of the roster, especially since the O's are not interested in paying large sums of money for star free agents. Overall team depth is important, and the O's do have some players prone to injury. The O's already seem to have a decent amount of depth; one or two of these moves should help even more.

For the most part, these minor moves are about roster flexibility. Sure, maybe Cabrera could play some second base, if he proves to be adequate enough defensively. Jonathan Schoop has really struggled against left-handed pitching for some reason, while Cabrera hits better against them. There could be a fit there. But Schoop, Flaherty, Cabrera, and Navarro all have options remaining, which could mean plenty of Norfolk shuttling. As Jeff Long said last week, "Part of out-performing expectations on a regular basis, at least in the Orioles’ case, involves wringing every last bit of value out of each roster spot at the club’s disposal." Showalter and Duquette keep an open mind when looking for any way to improve the club, and roster shuffling has become one of their favorite weapons.

Photo via Keith Allison

The Orioles Sweep the Tigers: 4 Pivotal Moments

Photo by Keith Allison

As we all know by now, the Orioles swept the Tigers in the ALDS and now move on to face the Royals in the ALCS. Matt had a post yesterday about the Orioles success (or lack thereof) in shutting down the Tigers big bats. Today I wanted to look at a few of the bigger plays, moments, and decisions in the series that allowed the Orioles to advance.

1) The decision to bring in Andrew Miller in the 6th inning of Game 1

Tommy Hunter was warming during the 5th inning, so I assumed he'd be coming in for the 6th. But then Andrew Miller began warming. When Miller emerged from the bullpen to start the top of the 6th, it was pretty clear Buck would be counting on a Miller-O'Day-Britton combination to get the final 12 outs (Yes, that plan changed once the Orioles put 8 runs up in the bottom of the 8th). And why not?

This was great bullpen usage by Buck and a model that I think should be used by managers more often. Miller pitched 1 2/3 of hitless ball before giving way to O'Day. O'Day did give up a home run to Miguel Cabrera, but the Orioles had already added an insurance run at that point, and then they completely ran away with the game in the bottom part of the 8th. In what was the most important game of the season up to that point, Buck used a bullpen strategy different than he had used over the previous 162 games. He extended his best relievers a bit longer than he typically does and it paid off. Looking back to the 2012 ALDS, this isn't a huge surprise, as Buck relied heavily on his setup men (O'Day and Matusz) during that series as well.

2) The double play in Game 2

I was worried about having Ryan Flaherty at 3B. It wasn't so much that I think Flaherty's defense is inadequate, but more so that he isn't named Manny Machado. In the ALDS, Flaherty did plenty to ease the nerves of Orioles fans questioning his defense. There was no bigger example of this than the double play he started in the 5th inning of Game 2 (and yes, Schoop's arm was vital to the play as well).

The Orioles were trailing 5-3 at the time of this double play. A base hit to left would have put runners on 1st and 2nd and nobody out for Victor Martinez. Instead, Martinez comes up with no one on base, Gausman strikes him out, and the inning is over. The inning would have taken on a very different complexion had Flaherty not made the diving stop to start the double play.

3) Delmon Young's double in Game 2

Really, just writing "!!!!!!!!!!!!!" with a video clip of this moment would suffice. I know it was only the ALDS, but I'll remember exactly where I was sitting for this play for the rest of my life. I was lucky enough to be at the game and found myself jumping up and down with the joy of a 5 year old child, high-fiving everyone within reach. The stadium went bonkers, I went bonkers, you went bonkers, we all went bonkers. This was a really cool moment. This is why I watch sports. Down by 2 in the bottom of the 8th and Delmon Young hits a bases-clearing double for the lead. Unreal.



4) The close play at first base in Game 3

The close play at 1st in the bottom of the 2nd went the Orioles way. Had it not, the inning would have continued and the Orioles would have been down 1-0. I've watched this replay a few times and it's so close. If the call on the field had been safe, I'm sure that would have stood. It was that close of a play.

Oh, and despite what people on TBS tell you (people who are paid to talk about baseball), there is no such thing as "tie goes to the runner."

That was a fun series to watch. The outcome made it even more enjoyable. Any of these games (yes, even the game the Orioles won by 9) could have gone either way. However, thanks to many decisions, moments, and plays breaking the Orioles way, including these 4, the team moves on to face the Royals in the ALCS.

Expanded Roster: In Defense of Ryan Flaherty

Article was written as part of our Expanded Roster series.  If you wish to contribute, write to us at Camden Depot.

In Defense of Ryan Flaherty
by Patrick Holden

For some reason, many Orioles fans seem to save a special kind of vitriol for utility infielder Ryan Flaherty, particularly his offensive contributions. I haven’t done any sort of official sampling on the subject, but whether it’s conversations with friends, comments on Twitter, callers on talk radio etc., the general tone on Flaherty that I hear is one that is both negative and frustrated. How and why are expectations of a utility infielder so high that, regardless of his performance, many fans find him to be one of the most frustrating players on the roster? On top of that, when taking a look at Flaherty’s performance, it may not be just the expectations that are out of whack, but the evaluation of his performance as well. While a more detailed look at Flaherty would reveal a more nuanced evaluation of his production, even a glance at his offensive numbers shows that he’s plenty adequate at his job and undeserving of much of the frustration sent his way.

Over the last calendar year, the Orioles have 15 players who have stepped to the plate 120 times or more. Of those 15 players, Flaherty’s wOBA of .313 ranks 8^th (general sample-size disclaimer applies, but he’s not an everyday player, so relative sample-size issues are generally unavoidable). The stats below only include a player’s performance for the Orioles within the past calendar year. 

Player	PA	wOBA	wRC+
Steve Pearce	257	.412	163
Nelson Cruz	397	.393	150
Adam Jones	691	.353	122
Chris Davis	619	.339	113
Delmon Young	123	.335	111
Matt Wieters	354	.321	100
Brian Roberts	241	.318	97
Ryan Flaherty	238	.313	95
J.J. Hardy	614	.312	94
Nick Markakis	724	.310	93
Nate McLouth	247	.303	88
Manny Machado	549	.301	87
Johnathon Schoop	303	.266	63
David Lough	133	.263	61
Caleb Joseph	125	.258	57

Flaherty also ranks 7^th in OBP and 8^th in SLG during the same time period.  His 1.0 fWAR ranks 8^th, ahead of the likes of Nick Markakis (0.7), as well the beloved former Oriole Nate McLouth (0.5).

Any questioning of whether Flaherty deserves a spot on the roster has to include a look at what other resources the Orioles have within the organization that could replace him. The two players on the 40-man roster, who could potentially fill a utility role, are Steve Lombardozzi and Jemile Weeks. Lombardozzi saw time with the O’s earlier this season while Manny Machado recovered from his off-season knee surgery. In the second half of last season with the Nationals, in 113 PA, Lombardozzi posted a .327 wOBA (107 wRC+). However, this is well above his career wOBA of .281 (74 wRC+) in 829 PA, as well as above the .278 wOBA (71 wRC+) he posted in the 74 PA’s his has seen with the Orioles so far this season. 

Furthermore, Lombardozzi has struggled in Norfolk this year, with a .273 wOBA (61 wRC+) in 207 PA, well below his AAA career wOBA of .340 (109 wRC+) he had posted in 325 PA’s prior to this year. 

Weeks’ ability to fill a utility infielder role is questionable, given that 2B is the only infield position he has played in the majors.  In 363 minor league games, Weeks has played just 36 games at an infield position other than 2B (all at SS), with 13 of them coming this year. Weeks has not seen significant PA’s in the majors since the 2012 season with the Athletics. After posting a .333 wOBA (111 wRC+) in 437 PA’s in 2011, Weeks’ production dropped to a .276 wOBA (74 wRC+) in 511 PA’s in 2012. Weeks has been fairly productive at AAA in both 2013 and 2014. In 614 PA’s last year, Weeks had a wOBA of .347 (105 wRC+). In 2014, Weeks has a .367 wOBA (125 wRC+) for Norfolk in 209 PA’s. While this compares favorably to Flaherty’s minor league numbers, it is important to note that Flaherty hasn’t seen significant minor league PA’s since his age 24 season, while Weeks is currently 27. And again, Weeks has never been asked or shown the ability to play a utility infield role in the field. 

 

Here is a look at how Flaherty compares to a few utility-type infielders over the past calendar year.

Player	PA	wOBA	wRC+
Ryan Flaherty	238	.313	95
Munenori Kawasaki	173	.308	90
Logan Forsythe	331	.274	74
Omar Quintanilla	225	.238	49

I realize selecting these 3 players may seem random (it kind of was) or even as if I was cherry-picking. My point wasn’t to select players that Flaherty has out produced, but only to show that he’s perfectly adequate, relative to his counterparts.  However, regardless of what utility infielder-type players you compare Flaherty to over the last calendar year, it remains apparent that the negative narrative on Flaherty’s offensive effectiveness in his role is off-base.  

Ryan Flaherty is more than adequate as a utility infielder for the Orioles. While his versatility and defense are generally not questioned, his bat is often attacked for being inadequate. Even when assuming that the bat of a utility player is worth so much frustration, Flaherty’s bat is perfectly adequate when compared to his teammates (considering his role) and other internal options for the Orioles, as well as his counterparts around the league.