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O’s First Quarter Report Card – Part 1: Offense

Manny Machado follows through on his swing.
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So now that we’ve recapped the first quarter of the season, let’s do a quick rundown of the squad sheet and see how the lads have shaped up this season.

For our pitching grades, CLICK HERE.

And to make it fun, we’re going to do this report on each player in two sentences or less.

So without interruption, let’s take a look at the sluggers first:

Welington Castillo

GulfBird Sports/Craig Landefeld

Catchers

Welington Castillo Left with the unenviable task of replacing Matt Wieters, the veteran has proven to be a stellar acquisition by Dan Duquette. He leads the team in batting average (.348) and ranks second on the team in OBP (.375) to go along with four homers and 16 RBI.

Grade: A

Caleb Joseph Coming off a nightmare 2016 season, Joseph caught fire when called upon to step in for the injured Castillo. He’s hitting .277 with four doubles, one homer and seven RBI so far in May.

 

Grade: B-

Baltimore Orioles shortstop J.J. Hardy prepares to play defense.

GulfBird Sports/Craig Landefeld

Infielders

Chris Davis After struggling in April (.238, 3 HR, 5 RBI), Davis has started to heat up in May (.262 AVG, 6 HR, 12 RBI, .383 OBP). Davis now ranks second on the team in home runs (9) and doubles (7), while also ranking third on the team in OBP (.358).

Grade: B

Jonathan Schoop The O’s star second baseman practically carried the team offensively in April (.288, 5 HR, 16 RBI) and despite cooling down so far in May (.242, 7 2B, 0 HR, 2 RBI), Schoop still leads the team in doubles (12), ranks fifth in homers (5) and is tied for third on the team in RBI (18).

Grade: B

J.J. Hardy Aside from his defensive excellence and his ability to get a hit when it matters, Hardy has had a rough go of things this season and his batting average (.194) is sixty-three points below his career average.

Grade: C

Manny Machado The Orioles superstar has been grinding through an off-key stretch all season long and despite hitting sixty-nine points below his career average at .221 on the year, he leads the team in homers (10) and RBI (24).

Grade: B

Ryan FlahertyHe doesn’t see the field much these days, but when he does, he still provides solid but unspectacular defense and a wet-noodle bat (.233/.324/.267).

Grade: D+

Adam Jones of the Baltimore Orioles prepares to swing.

GulfBird Sports/Craig Landefeld

 

Outfielders

Adam Jones After carrying the torch through April (.309, 4 HR, 11 RBI), Jones has cooled off so far in May (.237, 3 HR, 7 RBI). A recent hot streak seems to have snapped him back into form though, and his .276 batting average is good for fourth-best on the squad. Jones is also tied for third on the team in homers (7) and in RBI’s (18).

Grade: B+

Seth Smith Another excellent addition to the squad by Dan Duquette. The veteran provides the Orioles with a true leadoff hitter while also providing much-needed security in the outfield. As a result of posting a stellar .362 average along with two homers, six RBI and a .426 OBP this month, Smith now leads the team with a .388 OBP and ranks second in batting average (.303).

Grade: B

Trey Mancini The Orioles’ breakout star so far in 2017, Mancini has made quite a case as a core piece of the future here in Birdland. Mancini is hitting a sparkling .388 thus far in May with two homers and ten RBI. As a result, Mancini now ranks third on the team in batting average (.300) and is also tied for third on the team in homers (7) and second on the team in RBI (22).

Grade: A+

Joey Rickard Rickard has done well with limited opportunities. He seems to provide a spark to the team in any way he can.

Grade: C

Hyun-soo Kim – Kim remains glued to the bench for reasons unknown. At this point, he’s probably viewed and valued more as a trade chip.

Grade: Incomplete

Mark Trumbo crosses home plate as his teammates douse him in water to celebrate.

Designated Hitters

Mark Trumbo After stumbling through April (.202, 2 HR, 11 RBI), Trumbo has sprung to life in May with a .350 average, three doubles, four homers, and eleven RBI. The O’s reigning home run champ is now tied for second on the team in RBI (22) while ranking fourth in homers (6). His .270 average is also good for fifth-best on the team.

Grade: B

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