@@yahcrack Basallo at AA: .274/.338/.449, .787 OPS, 12 HR, 38 RBI in 285 AB Adley at AA: .271/.392/.509, .901 OPS, 18 HR, 55 RBI in 295 AB Yes, Basallo only 19, so way younger than Adley was at 23 and having played in college. But that's exactly what I said. Basallo has a long way to go to be where Adley is right now.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't they save an entire roster spot keeping Basallo and switching him and adley between first base and catcher next year. Which would mean they would need to trade mountcastle a year early which in theory they should get more for him, especially after having such a strong season this year. We all know mountcastle is not getting a new deal
Ryan makes a good point that I did not take into consideration: the shelf life of a catcher. With Basallo, I initally would move him to 1b due to his size and the possibility that Adley could be catching for quite a while. Since the Orioles haven't inked many of the guys to long-term deals (including Mounty), I do feel that Basallo could be slotted over to a corner INF position. However, upon hearing that he wants to make the big club as a catcher, who am I to argue that point? If I'm wrong with Mountcastle's contract length, then let me know. TIA!
I told you Basallo is a boss. Miguel Cabrera plate presence and hitting talent. He just needs to clean up the approach and realize he doesn’t need any kind of leg kick or major load. He can go toe tap, start his load with his stance, get square with his feet in the box, pull his hips back a little so when he comes up with the front toe and his hip will follow and go back a smidge before he brings the front foot down and starts his hips followed by his back foot/leg and then letting the bat travel through zone focused solely on the bat plane and the barrel to the ball. He will be able to stay back a split second longer to assist with pitch recognition and defensive hacks if he’s fooled. If the pitch is in, get his hands in and through the zone with bat head behind it to keep the ball fair as long as he keeps that plane of the bat flat through. If it’s away he can get full extension and he will naturally let the ball travel since he’s focused on bat plane and barrel. That gives him full plate coverage, an overall 2 strike approach so he can take/see more pitches to let his natural ability shine through. He will be maximizing the power supplied by the pitcher, still getting his full power because he’s so bottom heavy physically he will get the same torque without a leg kick as he would with one. Seeing more pitches and being a lot more confident to stay away from strike outs can lead to all his hitting stats improving, it’s possible. Right now he’s so off balance in his approach, a lot of times his back foot comes completely off the ground and he has to catch himself and get his foot back under him and on the ground before he loses balance entirely. Just a lot of wasted time, body energy and without any reward for doing all of it realistically. Idk, seems obvious to me, maybe I’m crazy. Also, have you noticed how similar Kjerstads approach is to Chris Davis? Is it possible that if Chris Davis would have just bent his knees and his hips, and got small a little bit instead of standing tall and staying tall through his swing, could have led to him covering the inside of the plate? Remember how literally anything inside that wasn’t like inner half of the plate and below the strike zone, he literally couldn’t hit it. Aside from that one small area below the zone inside and even that was only if he got his pitch and got the barrel to it with his hands inside so it would drive to center as opposed to the majority that went foul. Imagine if that adjustment would have made him worth it? Cuz Kjerstad hella covers that inside pitch. 3 inches off the plate middle of the zone vertically and it’s a homer. Unreal. I think his whole stance, leg kick, load, unload, all those moving parts that he turns into a fluid motion that crushes baseballs, I think it’s an unconscious timing mechanism for him internally. I’ve seen him swing well after he gets the front foot down and I’ve seen him come down in a different spot with the front foot to get to a pitch with the barrel. Obviously I know the leg kick and whole approach is part of timing the pitch, but I think he has an internal subconscious clock that just goes without him consciously telling himself to go which is why his swing isn’t timed up with the rest of his finish sometimes. Because he’s reacting. I think his whole approach is like a reflex for him, or has become one. As he goes through the league and gets his internal clock set pitch by pitch, inning by inning, pitcher by pitcher, he’s going to be an absolute monster when it’s all put together. I think those will be the seasons where he passes 50 until the league adjusts and forces him to, unless they can’t and he has a judge caliber presence, then he will hit 50+ the middle 6-10+ years of his career. I think this kid is gonna hit 500 and if this group stays together permanently, he will see 600 career bombs no joke. I think a lot of Oriole franchise records are going to be obliterated the next decade. Can’t wait. Love my franchise BUT I CANT WAIT!!! I CANT I TELL YOU!!!
I recently saw a AA game where I was watching Basallo and while I thought the bat was good, I felt he was a little lethargic behind the plate. There were a couple of passed balls or wild pitches and he didn't seem to be in a hurry to chase them.
I can see a future where Adley catches 5 games a week and DH's the other two, while Sam catches 2 games a week, plays 1B two or three games a week, and DH's the other two. Not sure what that means for Mountcastle's future in Baltimore but it is what it is.
Adley is a little overrated as a catcher, defensively, but he’s a pretty good hitter. He is always on his knees after a swing and his swing needs to be leveled out, though it seems to work for him. He hits a lot of high fly outs that could be home runs if he adjusted his swing.
Kjerstad is Santander’s replacement for the future. That would be a mistake to trade him away. You can get plenty with a guy like stowers maybe mayo. Me personally not a fan of Holliday. His game doesn’t translate well to the bigs at all. It’s not that small ball game anymore. You can lead him off in front of adley and Gunnar to make those home runs multi homers but he can’t come up here and pull every time. He’s way too young and overhyped imo but I might be alone with that one 🤷🏻♂️
When Basallo is the starting catcher for the Orioles, and for the AL All-Stars, and generally held to be the best catcher in all of baseball, then and only then, is this a topic that merits serious discussion; otherwise, it's just so much "what if this and what if that" clown talk.
Dude you’re definitely reading my comments!!! Give me a job with the show. So I can really turn up and bring real value and information to the table. Let me commit my life to you Rip! You’d be fulfilling my childhood of dream of paying my extremely modest bills by being able to live baseball 24/7. The ultimate dream is being able to move to Baltimore and get away from all these Yankees fans and go to every game. I’m lying the ultimate dream is that and the funds to go to every road game. I lied, the ULTIMATE dream is to go to every Home game while living in Baltimore and traveling to every road game with the team. But I’m willing to partially, temporarily concede the last portion, and for now, I’ll take just being able to survive off doing what I do already, just publicly in some capacity that generates revenue so I can eat and stay warm at night and never miss a game.
Get real,like lets get really real,your comparing a kid to Adley whos already been in the league what 3 years? This is why i cant stand this show, its all just what if this,what if that,just like the rangers would actually trade Max to Baltimore but to each there own
