Mark Trumbo is heating up at the right time as he has hit five home runs since June 17. At this point, the Orioles need every veteran playing at the top of their game in hopes to showcase them in trades. Obviously, Manny Machado is the franchise changer, followed by Zach Britton, but the organization can still get something of value in return for the other veterans with Trumbo being in that mix.

Davis Returns

Chris Davis returned after missing eight games to work on getting back to the basics. The results have been mixed as Davis did hit a home run and just missed another in the Braves series while also walking twice. However, he only collected two hits and struck out four times.

I think the only way we will really know if this has worked is if Davis is driving the ball more consistently. We all know the strikeouts won’t vanish, but it was the consistent weak ground balls into the shift that became worrisome. At least seeing Davis hit a homer un to the opposite field and then pulling the ball off the wall was encouraging.

That is what we need to see more of and that is the only way to grade the newest reset for the first baseman.

Showalter to Front Office?

The rumor mill will continue to be out of control involving the Orioles due to their record and uncertainty of many in the organization. The latest rumor involving Buck Showalter comes from Kiley McDaniel of FanGraphs. He says Showalter would like to move to the front office and be head of baseball operations, likely with a President title. McDaniel also says if things don’t go Showalter’s way, he could return to his alma mater Mississippi State and be their head coach.

Lastly, for those who don’t follow college baseball closely, MSU just completed a $55 million renovation of their stadium and could come reasonably close to Showalter’s current salary with Baltimore, which is believed to be around $3 million

— Kiley McDaniel (@kileymcd) June 22, 2018

It’s no secret Showalter seriously considered moving to the front office prior to the organization hiring Dan Duquette, so I’m sure he is once again thinking about it. If it does happen, does the ever-loyal Showalter make John Russell manager?

Not sure I want to think about that right now, but I think it’s clear that as we see the final days of Machado, Britton and Adam Jones in orange and black, the same can be said for the skipper as well.

Down on the Farm

The hope of this organization not only relies on the players they get in return for Machado and more, but also their top prospects. I’m still frustrated with how they handled Chance Sisco as I was on record that if he was going to be used as a platoon, he needed to play everyday in Triple-A. That wasn’t the case and Sisco failed to hit consistently and his defense regressed. Sisco did show the ability to get on base which was nice, but at 23 years old, the future is still bright and an offseason hitting the weight room will do him a lot of good.

As for some of the other top prospects, third baseman Ryan Mountcastle continues to show his bat will play at every level. The 21-year-old had a monster weekend as he collected six hits in a double header and is now batting .303 with an impressive .840 OPS. There’s a chance we see the youngster in Baltimore before the year is over and depending on what players come back in trades and the outlook of Tim Beckham, Mountcastle could be on the hot corner as soon as next year.

Centerfielder Cedric Mullins seems to have settled in with the Norfolk Tides as he has raised his average from .188 on June 19 to .224 on June 25. Outfielder D.J. Stewart continues to be consistent with a .372 on base percentage and .827 OPS to along with seven home runs and eight stolen bases. Both players should make their debuts later this summer even though I’m not sure why we still have to watch Colby Rasmus play right field.