It’s still cold and the Super Bowl has yet to be played, but Spring Training is right around the corner. Now I’m peeking out from around a different corner to see if this thing still works the way it used to. It’s been a while since I’ve written in this space. It’s probably been even longer since you’ve read any of it. Toward the end of last baseball season, interest in the Orioles seemed to dwindle. Losing 108 games will do that to a fanbase. But the O’s are still […]

When it comes to change, prospect Ryan Mountcastle has experienced it often as a professional. The soon-to-be 23-year old was drafted 36th overall by the Orioles in 2015. He finished that year with 53 professional games under his belt from time with the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League Orioles and the short-season Single-A Aberdeen Ironbirds. He played 39 games at shortstop while also logging three games at third base. Mountcastle played the entire 2016 season with Single-A Delmarva, recording all of his defensive innings at shortstop. He earned a promotion to […]

The Houston Astros and Baltimore Orioles couldn’t be more different. Both are major league baseball franchises, and up until very recently, that’s about where the similarities ended. The Astros have appeared in two of the last three World Series, winning one (in 2017), and losing another in seven games (last year, to the Washington Nationals). The Orioles, of course, haven’t appeared in a Fall Classic since 1983. Houston has won an average of 96 games per season over the past five years, topping 100 each of the last three. The […]

On Wednesday night, the Orioles made a move that shocked a lot of the Baltimore baseball community when they decided to make an outright waiver request on Jonathan Villar. My understanding is that this means the Orioles could not find a trade partner for the middle-infielder and rather than taking the chance of having to pay parts, or all, of the $10.4 million contract he is due to receive through arbitration, the team decided non-tendering Villar was the best course of action. Craig Landefeld/GulfBird Sports Dan Connolly of The Athletic […]

After strong starts to the Arizona Fall League season, RHP Dean Kremer and INF Mason McCoy have been selected to represent the Baltimore Orioles at this year’s Fall Stars Game. McCoy, the Orioles’ 24th ranked prospect according to MLB Pipeline, has a .417 on-base percentage across 36 plate appearances. Though not displaying much power aside from a line-drive triple to deep right-center field the other night, he’s hit the ball well, including nine hits in 21 at bats against right-handed pitching. Kremer, ranked 8th in the Orioles’ system, has started […]

Griesser’s Suggested Changes of the Offseason Finally, after a long hiatus, I’m back with a brand new installment of my Suggested Change of the Week, and considering the 54-108 record that the Orioles are carrying into the offseason, there are a good number of adjustments and additions to make. As I’ve written before, this first year of the rebuild hasn’t really been all that bad, despite the team’s win/loss record. The Orioles uncovered a few players who could be hidden gems, like Anthony Santander, Hanser Alberto, John Means, and Pedro […]

The 2019 Major League Baseball season has reached its conclusion and it’s time to look forward to the offseason and 2020. But looking back on this past season, there were a number of Orioles who produced impressive campaigns: John Means, Jonathan Villar, Hanser Alberto, Renato Núñez and Trey Mancini. Let’s talk about the last name on the list. We’ve seen quite a crazy start to the career of the Orioles’ first baseman/outfielder. Mancini wasn’t known as a top prospect of any sorts while coming up through Batimore’s farm system. He […]

As the first season under the new regime begins to wind down, it’s time to take a look at what’s in store for the second offseason under Orioles executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias. We’ve seen that, from the beginning of this rebuild, the club has no plans to add more salary than what’s necessary for the time being. They’re trying to shed payroll in any possible way. Designated hitter Mark Trumbo will become a free agent at the end of the season, and I’m sure Elias is […]

Tonight begins the Arizona Fall League, MLB’s annual offseason instructional league, comprised of some of baseball’s most elite Minor League talent from all 30 teams. Each year, MLB clubs send a minimum of seven prospects to Arizona for a bit of additional offseason work. The Orioles are not known for sending their best prospects to the desert; the last notable O’s duo to participate was Dylan Bundy and Chance Sisco in 2015. However, in its 27-year history, the Fall League has included 19 future Most Valuable Players and 29 future […]

With the 2019 season wrapping up, the Orioles are in a battle for the #1 overall pick, something I wrote about (along with many other O’s fans) this past week. At this point, it’s really a matter of Baltimore and Detroit being in a two-horse race. However, unlike last season, I don’t think it’s all that important for Mike Elias to snag the top selection. Adley Rutschman was one of the best prospects in recent memory; this year’s class doesn’t seem to have the same disparity in talent at the […]

In this week’s installment of Hot Take Tuesday, I’m going to have to go back on something I wrote a while back, something I really would rather not do. Normally, when you make a fiery take you stick by it, so please don’t question my credibility – I love the game of the hot take and fully respect it. At the same time, I think this take is just as hot as my prior one was, and with that one being so far out of question at this point, I […]