Just under two weeks ago, I wrote a post (https://baltimoresportsandlife.com/?p=2766) outlining some basic goals for some O’s players during the last 25% of the year.
I commented on the O’s young Catcher, stating: “Among all Catchers, Wieters is 5th overall in Wins Above Replacement. The 1st time All-Star has a wOBA of .316. Wieters has played in 108 games in ’11, after 130 games in ’10. I’d like to see him get over the 140 mark this year, and would give him a few games at DH. He started out strong offensively in April, and has picked up his play here in August. Overall though, his .718 OPS (.398 Slugging) is insufficient offensive production for what the O’s need from him. He has 20 doubles. I’d love to see him show more consistent gap power down the stretch, and push towards 30. He has 11 hr’s. At a minimum, I want to see him finish with 15. In his first two years, he struggled mightily against LHP. This year, he has been tremendous against Lefties (.988 OPS, 97 ab’s), while struggling against RHP (.626 OPS, 290 ab’s vs. .741 OPS last year). He needs to pick it up against RHP down the stretch. He has 32 bb’s vs. 68 k’s. Can he pull that ratio closer together?”
Wieters has raised his OPS from that .718 level on August 20th, to .775 going into today. His wOBA has increased from .316 to .338. His ridiculous .988 OPS against LHP is now an absurd 1.111. Production has also increased against RHP. During this stretch, he has had 7 walks to just 3 k’s. He has added 5 doubles, and with 5 bomb’s has already eclipsed my goal of him finishing with at-least 15.
Wieters is now tied with Arizona’s Miguel Montero for 3rd overall among all Catchers for Wins Above Replacement.
It is really good to see how locked-in Wieters has been over this last 100 ab’s. If Wieters can keep it up over the rest of September, it will be fair to ask if his offensive light-bulb has been turned on.
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Chris Stoner founded Baltimore Sports and Life in 2009. He has appeared as a radio guest with 1090 WBAL, 105.7 The Fan, CBS 1300, Q1370, WOYK 1350, WKAV 1400, and WNST 1570. He has also been interviewed by The Baltimore Sun, Baltimore Business Journal, and PressBox (TV). As Owner, his responsibilities include serving as the Managing Editor, Publicist, & Sales Director.