REALITY: The Baltimore Orioles’ top pitching prospect, Hunter Harvey, has been shut down once again.
PERCEPTION: The Orioles’ 22nd overall pick in the 2013 MLB draft has been bothered by elbow problems for two years now. This past week, he had renewed discomfort in his elbow and has been shut down for the rest of 2015. The Orioles have abandoned their plans to have Harvey pitch in the Arizona Fall League and he will instead go see Dr. James Andrews.
Along with Dylan Bundy, Harvey was expected to anchor the Orioles starting rotation for years to come. Instead the Orioles’ two top pitching prospects can’t stay out of the doctor’s office.
I’m not optimistic. Harvey is very likely headed for Tommy John surgery. I don’t think Harvey ever pitches for the Orioles and I don’t see Bundy ending up being anything more than a bullpen arm, if he can somehow get healthy.
The Orioles have struggled to find quality pitching prospects. And those that have developed, didn’t do so with the Orioles organization. Fans are still waiting for someone to be the next Mike Mussina for the team.
REALITY: Orioles first basemen Chris Davis currently leads all of baseball in Home Runs and in Strikeouts.
PERCEPTION: “Crush” is having a great season. He struggled early, but has really come on. But not only is he hitting for power, he has also just starting hitting, period. Saturday, he was 3-for-4 with two doubles and a single.
With every hit, Davis sees more $$. He will sign an enormous contract after this season, and Orioles fans can only hope it is in Baltimore… but don’t hold your breath.
There is no player that should be higher on the O’s priority list to re-sign than Davis. He is so critical to the Orioles success, not only this year, but in future years. When he doesn’t hit, the Orioles don’t win. And if he is not here to hit next year, the Orioles will struggle.
On a side note, I find it very interesting that Davis is not playing in the outfield any longer. No matter what Buck Showalter might have said in July, Davis was only playing RF for one reason… to showcase either Davis, or Chris Parmelee and the others that were playing 1B before the trade deadline. Davis has played 101 games this year at 1B, 18 games at DH, and 30 games in RF. Nearly all 30 of those games were before the trade deadline. Since the Orioles didn’t trade him or any of the other 1B, he has moved back to 1B nearly exclusively. So he wasn’t in RF for any other reason than to for a showcase for other teams.
REALITY: Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe says, according to “major league sources” there is tension between Peter Angelos and Dan Duquette as well as between Showalter and Duquette.
PERCEPTION: Most Orioles fans are frustrated with Duquette, especially after last offseason when there were rumors that he wanted to go to Toronto for their team president job. And after the lack of positive moves, many fans would like to see Duquette move on.
It will be interesting to see what happens this offseason. Buck is a hero in Baltimore, and you have to believe that Angelos knows that. How he manages things on the field is remarkable. If Angelos can only keep one of them, because of any rift that may be there, you would have to believe that Buck stays. Buck and Angelos can find another GM easier than they can a top manager.
How all this shakes down will be important. With Davis, Matt Wieters, and Wei-Yin Chen, along with others, being free agents, this is a critical off-season and if the Front Office can’t get along, it may impede whatever plans they do have. Whatever happens, it needs to be resolved quickly and not drag on all winter again.
