Luke Jackson and Tucker Blair e-mailed back and forth about the Orioles. It was inspired by what you’ll see sometimes on Grantland. Luke and Tucker exchanged e-mails during Tuesday night’s game against the Kansas City Royals.

LUKE JACKSON: The Orioles are 19-13 and they recently completed a 7-4 west coast trip. Chris Davis, Adam Jones, Nate McLouth and Manny Machado have carried the offense to this point. The bullpen has been good. The starting rotation has been acceptable but nothing special; in fact, they’ve gotten just two starts of least seven innings as of the time I’m typing this. In fact, let’s begin with the rotation and in particular, the fifth spot.

Last year, Buck Showalter and Dan Duquette sent tons of players back and forth between Baltimore and Norfolk and this year has been no different, at least in terms of the rotation. Jake Arrieta got four starts before being sent down; in 19 innings, Arrieta gave up 14 runs and walked 16 guys. I still love Arrieta’s arm, but at some point, I think we have to admit that he probably doesn’t have the command necessary to consistently work through a big league lineup three times. I see the bullpen as his likely landing spot. Josh Stinson got a shot and turned out to be one of the few pitchers that the Blue Jays have actually hit this year. Zach Britton got the next opportunity but couldn’t even miss Mariner bats. Britton’s stuff and command seems to have really regressed since his shoulder issues cropped up. And big league hitters are laying off his sinker more than they did when he first broke into the majors. Then came Freddy Garcia, who pitched six no-hit innings on Saturday, causing people to lose their minds on Twitter. I’d imagine that he’ll at least get a couple more starts.

Steve Johnson and Jair Jurrjens will also probably see time in the big league rotation at some point. I like Johnson because even though his stuff appears to be underwhelming, he’s missed bats basically everywhere he’s been. And so will Kevin Gausman. As we saw last year, Showalter and Duquette have no problems constantly sending players in and out of Baltimore; my guess is that we continue to see a parade of pitchers fill out the rotation. We’ll probably see Johnson or Jurrjens in fairly short order if Miguel Gonzalez’ blister issue turns out to be DL-worthy. What’s your read on the fifth spot, and in particular, when Gausman will be ready? I believe you’ve seen him throw a couple times this year?

TUCKER BLAIR: The Norfolk (and Bowie) shuttle is the coolest ride in town! The Orioles really know how to use the “variety” card. What is more exciting than watching pitcher after pitcher stroll to the mound on a contending ball club? On a more serious note, I also think this game of musical chairs is probably not over with quite yet. Arrieta is getting a second chance according to my intuition. I still love that stuff he displays too, but I do fear that he will struggle too much with consistency. Josh Stinson, that guy has been jerked around so much this year. Britton was absolutely flat. He looks like a shell of himself, and I am not sure how he fixes this. The overall arsenal was just so deflating to my overall confidence of his future. Whatever the deal is, he needs to figure it out in the minors for a while before he gets another crack at the big league rotation. Freddy Garcia had a no-hitter through six damn innings. I mean, come on…What type of sick joke was that?

Gausman is close though, and he’s basically at Bowie biding his time. Sure, he is working on throwing strikes and refining his command a little. Sure, he is learning how to “pitch” and not “throw.” When I see him pull the string on his change, I want to go hug the batter and tell them it will be alright. When he blows a 97 mph fastball by someone, I want to jump up and bellow a scream of joy. He’s at that point where the Orioles might have a dilemma in a month or so. If Gausman is still dominating like we absolutely expect, do you call him up over guys like Freddy Garcia, Jair Jurrjens, Steve Johnson, etc? What if those guys are doing just alright? Is it worth calling up Gausman to take over?

LUKE JACKSON: I think Jurrjens and Johnson are next in line behind Garcia, with Gausman being more of a June or July call-up. But we’ve certainly been surprised in the past by the Orioles’ aggressiveness in promoting their top prospects and quite frankly, I wouldn’t be all that shocked if Gausman was called up sooner rather than later. I do think we see a little more of the Norfolk shuttle before Gausman, though.

Let’s move onto another topic that we’ve discussed at length in the past — Manny Machado. Manny’s been my favorite part of the season thus far; it’s as if he’s developing at such a rate that other young players in the big leagues simply do not. His feel for the game and instincts have been well documented, and his defense seems to have even gotten better this year. His bat has come along really quickly. The first thing you notice about Machado is how well he uses the entire field. He has a really mature approach to hitting and it shows when pitchers are working the outside corner against him; he’s content with driving that stuff to the opposite field. And of course, his hands are lightning quick and he can pull inside stuff over the fence. Entering the series against Kansas City, Manny’s hitting .309/.352/.522. He’s 20 years old. Pretty ridiculous. In fact, I was tweeting back and forth with Jason A. Churchill (@ProspectInsider) and he told me he’d take Manny over anyone else on the roster for the rest of 2013. High praise, and I’m not so sure I disagree when you consider the entire package Manny brings to the table.

TUCKER BLAIR: I’ve seen Machado play many times in the minors. I found it shocking when last year in June I was talking to a scout and he said Machado should be in the major leagues right now. It was just tough to see the jump at that time. After a week or two passed and I saw Machado play a few more times, that idea began to strengthen with me. Machado has been developing at a rapid pace since his inception into professional baseball. He arguably has the second best approach at the plate on the entire Orioles team, only behind Nick Markakis. The amazing aspect about his early success is that he is actually taking more “pitcher” pitches, making more contact (over 80%) and laying off some secondary pitches that he would have swung at in the past. Machado is only whiffing on 3% (!!!) of all four-seam fastballs thrown at him this season. Compare that to last year where he whiffed on 8%. That is just a little example of how Machado is improving at an alarming rate. That’s the beautiful thing about this superstar in the making. He is growing at a pace that is almost unfathomable. Churchill might have the right idea with taking Machado. He could very well be the best overall talent on the roster right now. The scary thing is he will only get better. I think you mentioned this to me the other day, but can you imagine Manny Machado at age 24? Wow.

LUKE JACKSON: Yeah, Machado might very well be becoming The Franchise in front of our eyes. It’s really exciting. In fact, how many groundballs have made it through the left side so far this year? Not that many, right? Now compare that to this time last year. It’s the beauty of having two shortstops on the left side.

Moving onto some other topics — there are a few problem areas on the roster that will probably need to be addressed by the trade deadline if the Orioles are still in the race at that time. It’s the same things that the Orioles passed on upgrading this winter — second base, the starting rotation and perhaps a right-handed bench bat. (I also scoffed at the Orioles re-signing Nate McLouth to play the majority of the time in left, so perhaps I’m not the best person to ask about what teams should and shouldn’t do during off-seasons). Ryan Flaherty and Alexi Casilla appear to be platooning at second base; Flaherty should probably be in Norfolk and Casilla is a bench player that provides value via speed and defense. We discussed the Orioles’ issues with the fifth starter spot earlier. And they could probably use an upgrade over Steve Pearce as the DH against lefties. Hopefully, they get Wilson Betemit back at some point within the next month or two to hit against right-handers. How do you think the Orioles go about addressing the needs on their roster? Do they wait it out with the roster they currently have for now? When is Jonathan Schoop an option for second? Is Schoop more of a 2014 guy?

TUCKER BLAIR: I held my ground the entire off-season and said that Ryan Flaherty was not ready for the majors. So far, it looks like I am right. He’s shown some form of life in the past week, but that is going to happen when you get at bats. Unfortunately for the Orioles, those at bats are delivering an extraordinary amount of damage to their offensive output at the bottom of the lineup. the defense has been alright, especially turning double plays. I do need to say that he has been better than I anticipated at second. However, Flaherty is a dead fastball hitter, and has always been. He is being littered with the kitchen sink right now, because why would you ever throw Ryan Flaherty a fastball? It literally makes no sense to throw him one in any hitters count, including to start off an at bat. Casilla is exactly what you said; a decent bench guy that provides speed and defense. I think Pearce has filled in admirably for Wilson Betemit, but you really have to hope Betemit comes back soon. It’s funny to say this, but he has proven to be a rather large loss for the Orioles.

In my eyes, if the Orioles truly want to compete this season, you would have to think they shop for a second basemen. I don’t see how you can go into another potential playoff race with Ryan Flaherty as your starting second basemen (sorry Brian Roberts, I love you man, but it’s been a rough road). I also do not think Jonathan Schoop is even remotely ready. He is not Manny Machado. He seriously needs his time in the minors to develop plate discipline and refine his approach against secondary arsenals. I still see that he cannot pick up any form of a sweeping slider. This is a problem, because major league bullpens will devour you with sliders if you cannot pick it up. Ask Adam Jones how that low and away pitch feels in the majors. Schoop’s bat speed is lightning quick, and he is growing into a potential power threat, but he’s also young and maybe even a little rushed already. 2014 is the earliest for me as of now, and even then he might still struggle tremendously at the major league level. It’s just that hard. It makes you appreciate how good Manny Machado has been. I’m not sure where Schoop players either. It probably depends on where the Orioles end up placing Machado in 2014, if Schoop is even ready by then. The need is at second, but that does not necessarily mean he plays there. I’ve heard from scouts that he could potentially play second, third and even the corner outfield. That is certainly intriguing to me.

LUKE JACKSON: I’ve seen Schoop play a few times, and one thing I noticed right away is how big of a dude he is. He’s listed at 6-foot-2 and 210 pounds by the Tides and I could see him filling out some more and slowing down, therefore sliding down the defensive spectrum. I read a great piece on Schoop recently over at Baseball Prospectus that subscribers should check out. I’ve seen some of the same things that you’ve seen — crazy quick hands and bat-speed and the ability to destroy fastballs, but needs refinement in other areas. If you brought him up right now, he’d probably remind you a lot of…Ryan Flaherty, in fact.

You’ve talked about Schoop and Gausman…what else is going on in the O’s minors?

TUCKER BLAIR: Honestly, not much. There are always intriguing prospects but the Orioles still lag behind from poor drafts and developmental failures. It’s getting better, but there is still a noticeable lack of talent at certain levels. The main concern is the real lack of depth. After the first slew of players, there are just so many organizational fillers. But let me talk about the few that have stood out to me so far. Starting at Delmarva, you have to be excited about what Miguel Chalas has shown so far. He might actually be a legitimate prospect as a reliever. His stuff plays up a little more, and it doesn’t hurt that the mechanics have been refined. I also am a huge Lex Rutledge fan. How can you not be excited about a LHP that can throw mid 90’s? He is a little on the wild side, but the stuff is very intimidating. Look for him to boost his value this season.

Gregory Lorenzo is a wild man. This guy is constantly in overdrive mode and sometimes a little too energetic on the field. He is a big longshot, but certainly a fun player to track. The bat needs serious cleanup, as he is very noisy at the plate. Guys like Christian Walker and Torsten Boss should not even be in Delmarva. They are just too advanced for the level. I said that last year after seeing them at Aberdeen (which you also would probably agree with). At Frederick, you have to be excited for Eduardo Rodriguez and his uptick in velocity. If it can stay…the Orioles have a great talent. Tim Berry has been impressive as well, but it really comes down to command with him. I worry how he handles Bowie, where they won’t swing at marginally commanded pitches.

Bowie is really not that exciting right now. It is Kevin Gausman and the rest of the crowd. Just not many prospects there, although Brian Ward still is ridiculous behind the plate. Xavier Avery looks absolutely bored at Bowie. I don’t blame him. I could go on, but it really comes down to the Orioles needing more depth in the minors. It won’t change overnight, but maybe some new developmental discipline and coaching will help with this. If I had to pick the next two players that are currently behind Bundy, Gausman and Schoop in terms of value…they would be Eduardo Rodriguez and L.J. Hoes. Hoes may not be a sexy player like Schoop or Rodriguez, but he might end up being the most useful at the MLB level. That also shows you how the system currently stacks up. I just have a lot of questions about mostly every player. Probably more than I should have. I like Nick Delmonico, but I really don’t know what position he plays, because I have not been impressed with him at third. If he is at first, he will really need to hit and hit for power. I don’t know much of an impact his bat truly becomes.

Luke Jackson
Luke Jackson

Luke Jackson was born and raised in the Baltimore area and currently lives in College Park, Md. Jackson is a May 2013 graduate from the University of Maryland with a B.S. in broadcast journalism. Luke was the programming director at WMUC Sports and broadcasted Maryland football, basketball and baseball, among other sports.

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