Orioles and MLB Notes; Playoffs, Mountcastle, Mullins, and more

It’s hard to believe that the Major League Baseball season is drawing to a close. Actually, it’s just hard to believe that they made it through the 60 game schedule. With just 13 days left until the start of the playoffs, there are still playoff spots to be decided. While the Orioles have fallen three games behind the 8th seed and will play the toughest remaining schedule in the American League and third toughest in the sport, the season can be classified as a success without the unlikely run to a playoff spot.

The club found out that Anthony Santander is, indeed, improving. It saw two of its young arms, Keegan Akin and Dean Kremer have success. Cedric Mullins has put himself back on the radar as a functional player. And, of course, Ryan Mountcastle has looked like a cornerstone player in his brief time in the Major Leagues.

With the final the 13 days, the Orioles will try to make the miracle run. Successful or not, the fact that they are playing meaningful games is a credit to the club. Their performance has given legitimate hope that 2021 can be a breakthrough.

Before some Orioles notes, Major League Baseball made a historic announcement regarding the 2020 playoffs.

(You can discuss this on the BSL Board here.)

Neutral Site For The World Series

As Major League Baseball heads into the homestretch, the League office announced some changes to its playoff system for this season. In a season that has been seemingly made up on the fly, making additional changes just 12 days from the start of the first round is pretty fitting.

MLB announced that best of three opening round series will be held exclusively in the higher seed’s ballpark. Obviously, the goal is to limit travel and exposure. Then, the playoffs take an interesting, if not historic turn. The American League clubs will be in California, playing at Dodgers Stadium and Petco Park. The ALCS will be held in Petco as well. The National League clubs will head to Texas where series will be held in Houston and the Rangers’ new park, Globe Life Park. The NLCS and World Series will also be played in Globe Life Park.

Major League Baseball is trying to create a sort of bubble for the playoffs. But, there really isn’t a true bubble like the NBA. The sport is simply containing its clubs in the hopes of limiting exposure and avoiding a breakout among its remaining teams. While it’s a flawed plan, it is the best possible plan that could be enacted. Limiting travel and keeping teams in a hotel are important than giving any team a home field advantage. There is a still the risk of an outbreak, but this plan is far safer than going with the traditional travel schedule.

Can We Say Mountcastle Is A Cornerstone?

While waiting for the Orioles to call up Ryan Mountcastle, fans were excited. But, there was a caveat to all of the talk of Mountcastle’s arrival; everyone pointed out that he wasn’t a highly touted prospect among all of the lists and scouting pieces. The only thing that most could agree on is that he can hit.

And, he has certainly done that thus far. We could rattle off statistics that show just how well he’s performed and they are certainly all there. The .350/.411/.588 slash line with 4 doubles, 5 home runs and 18 RBI say quite a bit in his 23 games. The 8.9 percent walk rate says even more about his approach and his sustainability as a middle of the order hitter. 

But, there are other statistics that can point to this merely being a hot start. The .411 BABIP is certainly unsustainable. The 22.2 percent strikeout rate is higher than his Minor League career. That walk rate could be an aberration as he’s never posted a walk rate higher than 6.1 percent. Last year, at Triple-A, it was just 4.3 percent. Despite the high walk rate this season, it should be noted that he is swinging at 58.4 percent of all pitches, compared to the MLB average of 45.7 percent. Maybe more alarming is that he’s swinging at 41.1 percent of the pitches outside of the strike zone, compared to the MLB average of 30.4 percent. He does this while making contact at the league average rate. A super aggressive approach combined with an average contact rate could spell long term trouble without adjustments.

Most notably, it is just 23 games. At some point, during a regular season, every hitter struggles. Every hitter has to adjust. Ryan Mountcastle will not experience that this season. The League will adjust its approach after seeing Mountcastle become this force right away. How he adjusts to failure for the first at the Major League level will be telling. Will he adjust his uber-aggressive approach? Will he have to? Those are the things that are the 2021 version of Ryan Mountcastle will have to likely adjust.

It is difficult to make any sort of logical claim based on 23 games. But, this section began with a question that deserves an answer. We can’t say it just yet. But, based on the start, I want to say it. He hits the ball hard. His adjustment to Major League pitching has been seamless and he’s just 23 years old. There are so many signs that point to perennial all-star and middle of the order hitter for the Orioles for quite some time. I’m all in on him being a cornerstone.

Small Ball Oddity

It is an interesting note that the Orioles lead the Major Leagues in bunt hits with 14. The next closest, the Colorado Rockies, have 8. With a front office that is definitely focusing on analytics, the idea of bunting should be something of a foreign concept to this club. But, the emergence of Cedric Mullins may have something to do with that as Mullins leads the Major Leagues with 8 bunt hits. Hanser Alberto is fourth in the league with 4 bunt hits. The bunt has been a dying art in the sport, but, perhaps, it may become a weapon once again. With teams focused on shifts, analytics may shift as well. Bunting for hit may become a thing again.

Mr. DJ

Despite the unsteady September, Orioles’ hitters are certainly showing some power. None more than DJ Stewart’s 7 home runs, which lead the American League for the month and rank second in all of Major League Baseball. Stewart played in just 8 games combined in July and August, putting up a 0 for 14 with three walks and eight strikeouts. But, his 12 September games have been quite different, hitting .333/.435/.897 with 1 double and 7 home runs in just 46 plate appearances. This looks like a really nice hot stretch to end the season, no more, no less. Sure, Stewart has shown a bit of power in the Minors (he hit 21 home runs in 2017 at double-A), but nothing as consistent or as prolific as this. The 26 year old could be a fifth outfielder in the long term, but there is nothing to read into this hot stretch other than enjoying it.

Akin Rebounds

After failing to complete an inning against the Yankees in his last outing, Akin rebounded with 5.1 innings, allowing 3 hits, 0 earned runs, 1 walk, and 9 strikeouts while throwing a career high 93 pitches against the Atlanta Braves. The 25 year old southpaw has done well in his first turn as a Major League pitcher. Save for the 4 walks against the Yankees on September 5th, he has walked two or fewer batters in each appearance. While his pitch efficiency leaves a bit to be desired, Akin looks like a solid middle to backend of the rotation pitcher. He should have a spot right away and be given an opportunity to show that he can grind through a full season.

Hanser

Last night’s third inning RBI double was Hanser Alberto’s first extra base hit in 19 games. While struggling of late and seeing his average slip under .300 for the first time this season, he still leads the American League with a .396 batting average in the seventh inning or later. Hey, he’s struggling so we have to look at some sort of positive.

Outfield Defense

Just a quick observation…The outfield of Austin Hays, Cedric Mullins, and (when he’s healthy) Anthony Santander could be one of those great defensive outfields.