BALTIMORE ORIOLES
| Brady Anderson (CF, 37, L/L) |
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YEAR TM GM AB HT DB TP HR RUN RBI BB SO AVG OBA SLU SB CS 1998 BAL 133 479 113 28 3 18 84 51 75 78 236 356 420 21 7 1999 BAL 150 564 159 28 5 24 109 81 96 105 282 404 477 36 7 2000 BAL 141 506 130 26 0 19 89 50 92 103 257 375 421 16 9 |
| It's hard to believe that Brady is 37; he's only four years younger than Ripken, who has been around forever. Anderson's a decent player, draws some walks and hits some homers and steals some bases, but I doubt he will keep his average up. If he survives the season as a regular, it will probably be his last. |
| John Bale (27, L) |
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YEAR TEAM WN LS GP GS CG SH SV IP HIT BB SO ERA 1998 A 4 5 24 9 0 0 4 66 68 23 78 464 1999 AA-AAA 2 5 39 8 0 0 1 85 80 26 101 381 2000 AAA 3 4 21 12 0 0 0 79 68 41 70 319 |
| Bale was a Toronto prospect who didn't start pitching well until a couple of years ago. The Jays didn't have too much faith in him, and he was acquired by Baltimore during the winter. He's not bad; if he throws strikes he could probably help the Orioles. |
| Albert Belle (RF, 35, R/R) |
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YEAR TM GM AB HT DB TP HR RUN RBI BB SO AVG OBA SLU SB CS 1998 CHW 163 609 200 48 2 49 113 152 81 84 328 399 655 6 4 1999 BAL 161 610 181 36 1 37 108 117 101 82 297 400 541 17 3 2000 BAL 141 559 157 37 1 23 71 103 52 68 281 342 474 0 5 |
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He had his weakest season in a decade, suffering severe drops in home runs, walks and stolen bases. At age 35, it would be easy to say he's in permanent decline... but he was such a great hitter in the past that he still has to be taken seriously as one of the top power threats in the game. ADDENDUM: Belle is suffering from severe pain in his arthritic hip, and has announced his retirement. We'll all miss him. |
| Mike Bordick (SS, 36, R/R) |
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YEAR TM GM AB HT DB TP HR RUN RBI BB SO AVG OBA SLU SB CS 1998 BAL 151 465 121 29 1 13 59 51 39 65 260 328 411 6 7 1999 BAL 160 631 175 35 7 10 93 77 54 102 277 334 403 14 4 2000 BAL-NYM 156 583 166 30 1 20 88 80 49 99 285 341 443 9 6 |
| Bordick had a bizarre season. He began the year with Baltimore, and for a short while was leading the league in RBI. In July he was dealt to the Mets, where he was mostly invisible, even during the playoffs. After the season ended, he left New York and resigned with Baltimore. After all that, I guess the outlook for him in 2001 is about the same as it was last year. He's a good defensive shortstop who is still improving with the bat. |
| Lesli Brea (22, R) |
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YEAR TEAM WN LS GP GS CG SH SV IP HIT BB SO ERA 1998 A 3 4 49 0 0 0 12 59 47 40 86 276 1999 A 1 7 32 18 0 0 3 121 95 68 136 373 2000 AA 6 9 21 20 0 0 0 106 97 70 89 425 |
| Brea is a young, wild pitcher whom the Orioles received in the Bordick deal. He appears to have plenty of upside, but he's got plenty of work to do before he is a major league pitcher. |
| Carlos Casimiro (IF, 24, R/R) |
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YEAR TM GM AB HT DB TP HR RUN RBI BB SO AVG OBA SLU SB CS 1998 A 131 478 113 23 9 15 44 61 25 98 236 273 416 10 7 1999 AA 139 526 116 23 1 18 73 64 39 101 221 276 371 7 12 2000 AA-AAA 111 371 94 16 2 10 53 42 27 82 253 305 388 2 4 |
| A young infielder with the Orioles, Casimiro is a really bad hitter. He still might improve a little bit, but not by much; he'll spend most of 2001 in the minors. |
| Ivanon Coffie (IF, 24, L/R) |
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YEAR TM GM AB HT DB TP HR RUN RBI BB SO AVG OBA SLU SB CS 1998 A 130 473 121 19 2 16 62 75 48 109 256 323 406 17 12 1999 A 73 276 78 18 4 11 35 53 28 62 283 354 496 7 4 1999 AA 57 195 36 9 3 3 21 23 20 46 185 260 308 2 2 2000 AA-AAA 108 419 108 23 4 9 53 54 38 74 258 327 396 1 4 |
| Coffie is a young Baltimore prospect who doesn't appear to do anything well. He has time to improve, and make himself into a player... but he's got a long way to go. |
| Jeff Conine (1B/OF, 35, R/R) |
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YEAR TM GM AB HT DB TP HR RUN RBI BB SO AVG OBA SLU SB CS 1998 KC 93 309 79 26 0 8 30 43 26 68 256 312 417 3 0 1999 BAL 139 444 129 31 1 13 54 75 30 40 291 335 453 0 3 2000 BAL 119 409 116 20 2 13 53 46 36 53 284 341 438 4 3 |
| Conine has revived his career in Baltimore, though to be honest he is playing way too often. He hits for a decent average, but he has limited power and doesn't get on base much. He's consistent and durable, and would be valuable with 200 at bats a season... but he's extremely stretched as a regular first baseman. |
| Delino DeShields (2B/OF, 32, L/R) |
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YEAR TM GM AB HT DB TP HR RUN RBI BB SO AVG OBA SLU SB CS 1998 STL 117 420 122 21 8 7 74 44 56 61 290 371 429 26 10 1999 BAL 96 330 87 11 2 6 46 34 37 52 264 339 364 11 8 2000 BAL 151 561 166 43 5 10 84 86 69 82 296 369 444 37 10 |
| DeShields started the year at second base, but spent the final third of the season in left field. At the plate, he performed at his usual level. I've never been a big Delino fan; he's had lots of injuries and was never much of a defensive player at second, and he's played really badly at times during his career. If he plays like he did in 2000, he's a solid player, even in left field; getting away from second base may also help him stay healthy. |
| Scott Erickson (33, R) |
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YEAR TEAM WN LS GP GS CG SH SV IP HIT BB SO ERA 1998 BAL 16 13 36 36 11 2 0 251 284 69 186 401 1999 BAL 15 12 34 34 6 3 0 230 244 99 106 481 2000 BAL 5 8 16 16 1 0 0 93 127 48 41 787 |
| Erickson suffered through a miserable season that began with a trip to the DL for a "right elbow debridement" (what?); he came back, was awful, and shut down with "right elbow inflammation" (no kidding). It's hard to predict how he will recover from surgery; he could be finished, but I suspect he'll make a partial comeback, win a dozen games. |
| Brook Fordyce (CA, 31, R/R) |
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YEAR TM GM AB HT DB TP HR RUN RBI BB SO AVG OBA SLU SB CS 1998 CIN 57 146 37 9 0 3 8 14 11 28 253 306 377 0 1 1999 CHW 105 333 99 25 1 9 36 49 21 48 297 343 459 2 0 2000 CHW-BAL 93 302 91 18 1 14 41 49 17 50 301 341 507 0 0 |
| Fordyce has raised his average three straight years, and last year was over .300. He has also been steadily increasing his power numbers. He seems well suited to the role he is in right now, playing 100 games a year. I doubt he will hit .300 again, but I think he's a good player. |
| Buddy Groom (36, L) |
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YEAR TEAM WN LS GP GS CG SH SV IP HIT BB SO ERA 1998 OAK 3 1 75 0 0 0 0 57 62 20 36 424 1999 OAK 3 2 76 0 0 0 0 46 48 18 32 509 2000 BAL 6 3 70 0 0 0 4 59 63 21 44 485 |
| Groom isn't all that good, but he is consistent, and held left-handers to a .193 average. Right-handers kill him, but he's found a niche for himself in the bullpen. |
| Jerry Hairston (2B, 25, R/R) |
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YEAR TM GM AB HT DB TP HR RUN RBI BB SO AVG OBA SLU SB CS 1998 AA 55 221 72 12 3 5 42 37 20 25 326 393 475 13 7 1999 AAA 107 413 120 24 5 7 65 48 30 50 291 363 424 19 10 2000 AAA 58 201 59 15 1 4 43 21 29 32 294 392 438 6 4 |
| Last year, I thought Hairston was ready to be the regular second baseman in Baltimore. Instead, they sent him to the minors; all he did at Rochester was hit for average and draw walks and play impressive defense, at which point the Orioles decided to stop fooling around, and moved DeShields to the outfield. Hairston is only 25, might develop into a guy who can hit 15 homers. He's a good young player. |
| Pat Hentgen (32, R) |
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YEAR TEAM WN LS GP GS CG SH SV IP HIT BB SO ERA 1998 TOR 12 11 29 29 0 0 0 177 208 69 94 517 1999 TOR 11 12 34 34 1 0 0 199 225 65 118 479 2000 STL 15 12 33 33 1 1 0 194 202 89 118 472 |
| Hentgen battled through another season; he managed to win 15 games, but the truth is that he didn't pitch very well, and was a forgotten man during the playoffs. He doesn't have much left in the tank, and his performance will continue to degrade this season. Too bad, because he used to be a heck of a pitcher. |
| Darren Holmes (35, R) |
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YEAR TEAM WN LS GP GS CG SH SV IP HIT BB SO ERA 1998 NYY 0 3 34 0 0 0 2 51 53 14 31 333 1999 ARI 4 3 44 0 0 0 0 49 50 25 35 370 2000 3TEAMS 0 1 18 0 0 0 1 19 37 9 16 1303 |
| Holmes made stops at Arizona, St. Louis and Baltimore last season. He was terrible with all of them. He's a survivor, but he's also 35 years old, and that was a really, really ugly season he had last year. |
| Jason Johnson (27, R) |
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YEAR TEAM WN LS GP GS CG SH SV IP HIT BB SO ERA 1998 TAM 2 5 13 13 0 0 0 60 74 27 36 570 1999 BAL 8 7 22 21 0 0 0 115 120 55 71 546 2000 BAL 1 10 25 13 0 0 0 108 119 61 79 702 |
| He had a horrible season. Even if Johnson recovers and pitches like he used to... would you really want him on your team? |
| Eugene Kingsale (OF, 25, S/R) |
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YEAR TM GM AB HT DB TP HR RUN RBI BB SO AVG OBA SLU SB CS 1998 AA 111 427 112 11 5 1 69 34 48 79 262 350 319 29 12 1999 AA-AAA 115 459 122 20 4 5 74 43 46 69 266 336 359 23 19 |
| Kingsale is a mediocre prospect with the Orioles. He needed to make some big improvements last season, but instead he missed the bulk of the year due to a sore quadriceps muscle. Major leg injuries are a big concern, because running is about the only thing he does well. |
| Mike Kinkade (1B/OF, 28, R/R) |
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YEAR TM GM AB HT DB TP HR RUN RBI BB SO AVG OBA SLU SB CS 1998 AAA 110 416 125 29 6 7 69 64 39 76 300 372 450 16 3 1999 AAA 84 312 96 20 2 7 53 49 21 31 308 359 452 7 1 2000 AA-AAA 113 399 143 30 3 14 80 82 49 57 358 443 554 18 8 |
| He's had a mostly luckless career. After proving that he can hit Triple-A pitching, Kinkade was looking for a promotion... and instead was demoted to the Mets' Double-A team at Binghamton. To no one's surprise, he crushed pitchers there. The Mets called him up in July, and promptly traded him to the Orioles, who sent him back down to their own Double-A team at Bowie. Kinkade is too old to be considered a prospect, but he's a decent player, and can help a team. I know one thing: he's got nothing left to prove in the minors. |
| Ryan Kohlmeier (24, R) |
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YEAR TEAM WN LS GP GS CG SH SV IP HIT BB SO ERA 1998 AA 4 4 42 0 0 0 7 50 52 16 56 612 1999 AA 3 7 55 0 0 0 23 63 44 29 78 316 2000 AAA 1 4 37 0 0 0 10 47 33 16 49 251 |
| The Orioles have been grooming Kohlmeier as a closer; last year he got the job, and was hot stuff for two months, saving 13 games while blowing only 1 opportunity. He's got some rough edges, and 2001 won't be an easy season for him, but his future looks good. |
| Mark Lewis (IF, 31, R/R) |
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YEAR TM GM AB HT DB TP HR RUN RBI BB SO AVG OBA SLU SB CS 1998 PHI 142 518 129 21 2 9 52 54 48 111 249 312 349 3 3 1999 CIN 88 173 44 16 0 6 18 28 7 24 254 280 451 0 0 2000 CIN-BAL 82 182 46 18 0 2 20 24 13 34 253 305 385 7 2 |
| Lewis began the year in Cincinnati, but was claimed by the Orioles in April. He did a decent job in Baltimore, filling in whenever and wherever he was needed. He's a versatile player who hits a little bit; he will probably return to his utility role in 2001, though there always seems to be someone willing to play him everyday. |
| Fernando Lunar (CA, 24, R/R) |
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YEAR TM GM AB HT DB TP HR RUN RBI BB SO AVG OBA SLU SB CS 1998 A 91 286 63 9 0 3 19 28 6 52 220 266 283 1 1 1999 AA 105 343 77 15 1 3 33 35 12 64 224 275 300 0 1 2000 AA 53 182 40 10 1 0 18 12 14 23 220 286 286 0 0 |
| Lunar was a throw-in in the deal that sent Surhoff to Atlanta. He's a young catcher who can't hit; there's no reason to expect him to become a good player. |
| Calvin Maduro (27, R) |
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YEAR TEAM WN LS GP GS CG SH SV IP HIT BB SO ERA 2000 BAL 0 0 15 2 0 0 0 23 29 16 18 964 |
| I don't have much information about Maduro's past history. Last year he was real bad, and went on the 60-day DL with a strained right elbow. I feel confident in saying that his future is limited. |
| Luis Matos (OF, 22, R/R) |
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YEAR TM GM AB HT DB TP HR RUN RBI BB SO AVG OBA SLU SB CS 1998 A 133 503 137 26 6 7 73 62 38 90 272 328 390 42 14 1999 A 68 273 81 15 1 7 40 41 20 35 297 343 436 27 6 1999 AA 66 283 67 11 1 9 41 36 15 39 237 272 378 14 4 2000 AA 50 181 49 7 5 2 26 33 17 23 271 345 398 14 8 |
| Matos is a young Orioles prospect who has done nothing to suggest that he will ever hit major league pitching. Nevertheless, the Orioles decided to waste 200 at bats on him. Matos is very young, and might improve; he already appears to be a fine defensive player. But why the Orioles would rush him along when they have perfectly fine players like Mike Kinkade around is a mystery. |
| Chuck McElroy (33, L) |
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YEAR TEAM WN LS GP GS CG SH SV IP HIT BB SO ERA 1998 COL 6 4 78 0 0 0 2 68 68 24 61 290 1999 COL-NYM 3 1 56 0 0 0 0 54 60 36 44 550 2000 BAL 3 0 43 2 0 0 0 63 60 34 50 469 |
| McElroy doesn't throw as many strikes as he used to, but he pitched pretty well, holding left-handers to a .204 average, and even making a couple of emergency starts. He can survive as the token lefty in the bullpen for a while... but if he starts throwing more strikes again, he can be even better. |
| Jose Mercedes (30, R) |
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YEAR TEAM WN LS GP GS CG SH SV IP HIT BB SO ERA 2000 BAL 14 7 36 20 1 0 0 146 150 64 70 402 |
| For a brief moment, I thought that the Orioles had held a seance and reincarnated Mike Torrez. I don't know how Merdeces manages to get anyone out, but he did a good job last year. That's not to say that I like him; Mercedes could be the Orioles' opening day starter, and that's a scary thought. |
| Alan Mills (34, R) |
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YEAR TEAM WN LS GP GS CG SH SV IP HIT BB SO ERA 1998 BAL 3 4 72 0 0 0 2 77 55 50 57 374 1999 LA 3 4 68 0 0 0 0 72 70 43 49 373 2000 LA-BAL 4 1 41 0 0 0 2 49 56 35 36 529 |
| Mills has serious control problems; he has been able to survive to this point, but last year he had some inflammation in his shoulder and struggled. Given his age, his injury problems and his inability to throw strikes, I don't think he's a good bet to pitch well in 2001. |
| Melvin Mora (OF, 29, R/R) |
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YEAR TM GM AB HT DB TP HR RUN RBI BB SO AVG OBA SLU SB CS 1999 AAA 82 304 92 17 2 8 55 36 41 54 303 393 451 18 8 |
| Mora is a decent bench player who lucked into over 400 at bats last season. In reality, he's no better than Mike Kinkade, but he has a job, and it will probably take him a couple of years to lose it. |
| Willie Morales (CA, 29, R/R) |
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YEAR TM GM AB HT DB TP HR RUN RBI BB SO AVG OBA SLU SB CS 1998 AAA 73 242 47 13 0 5 25 30 17 47 194 249 310 0 1 1999 AA 102 343 96 27 0 16 43 71 24 54 280 334 499 2 0 2000 AAA 73 249 62 12 1 6 21 23 12 58 249 282 378 0 3 |
| Morales is a minor league catcher who can't hit. He's not much of a player, but he can catch; remember kids, if don't want to be a doctor or a lawyer, be a catcher. |
| Greg Myers (CA, 35, L/R) |
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YEAR TM GM AB HT DB TP HR RUN RBI BB SO AVG OBA SLU SB CS 1998 SD 69 171 42 10 0 4 19 20 17 36 246 312 374 0 1 1999 SD-ATL 84 200 53 6 0 5 19 24 26 30 265 348 370 0 0 2000 BAL 43 125 28 6 0 3 9 12 8 29 224 271 344 0 0 |
| Myers had a lousy year; his career might end, but he's a veteran left-handed catcher, so someone will probably give him a look. |
| John Parrish (23, L) |
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YEAR TEAM WN LS GP GS CG SH SV IP HIT BB SO ERA 1998 A 4 4 16 16 1 0 0 83 77 27 81 327 1999 A 2 2 6 6 0 0 0 37 34 12 44 417 1999 AA 0 2 12 10 0 0 0 56 49 43 42 404 2000 AAA 6 7 18 18 0 0 0 104 85 56 87 424 |
| Parrish is a young left-hander with the Orioles, needs to throw more strikes. I don't know why he was starting games with Baltimore last season; I wouldn't look for him to emerge as a good pitcher for a couple more years. |
| Sidney Ponson (24, R) |
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YEAR TEAM WN LS GP GS CG SH SV IP HIT BB SO ERA 1998 BAL 8 9 31 20 0 0 1 135 157 42 85 527 1999 BAL 12 12 32 32 6 0 0 210 227 80 112 471 2000 BAL 9 13 32 32 6 1 0 222 223 83 152 482 |
| He had a promising season. Sure, he had a losing record and his ERA went up... but the hits were down, the strikeouts were way up, and (most importantly) he stayed healthy. Ponson is still only 24; he's an extremely valuable young pitcher. |
| Chris Richard (IF, 27, L/L) |
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YEAR TM GM AB HT DB TP HR RUN RBI BB SO AVG OBA SLU SB CS 1999 AA 133 442 130 26 3 29 78 94 43 75 294 363 563 7 7 2000 AAA 95 375 104 24 0 16 64 75 50 70 277 366 469 9 3 |
| Richard revived his flagging career with a big year at Arkansas in 1999. He carried that success all the way to the majors last season, and got a break when he was dealt to the Orioles. He got some at bats, hit some home runs, and is almost assured of being on Baltimore's roster in 2001. I think he's kind of a left-handed Jeff Manto, which may or may not be a good thing, depending on your point of view. |
| Cal Ripken (3B, 41, R/R) |
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YEAR TM GM AB HT DB TP HR RUN RBI BB SO AVG OBA SLU SB CS 1998 BAL 161 601 163 27 1 14 65 61 51 68 271 331 389 0 2 1999 BAL 86 332 113 27 0 18 51 57 13 31 340 368 584 0 1 2000 BAL 83 309 79 16 0 15 43 56 23 37 256 310 453 0 0 |
| Among active players, Ripken is the career leader in games (2873), at bats (11074), RBI (1627), doubles (587), total bases (4996), sacrifice flies (118) and grounding into double plays (335). He's also second in hits (3070) and runs scored (1604), and is sixth in home runs (417). He has decided to come back for another season; what he will hit is anyone's guess. |
| Luis Rivera (23, R) |
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YEAR TEAM WN LS GP GS CG SH SV IP HIT BB SO ERA 1998 A 5 5 20 20 0 0 0 93 78 41 118 398 1999 A 0 2 25 13 0 0 0 67 45 23 81 311 2000 AAA 0 3 11 10 0 0 0 30 40 23 16 682 |
| Rivera was another young pitcher who was starting to emerge from Atlanta's pitcher factory; the Braves dealt him to Baltimore in the Surhoff deal, and he earned his first major league win with the Orioles. He needs a full year at Triple-A, but at the moment he looks like a solid prospect. |
| B.J. Ryan (26, L) |
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YEAR TEAM WN LS GP GS CG SH SV IP HIT BB SO ERA 1998 R-A-AA 3 1 33 0 0 0 10 39 29 12 51 206 1999 AA-AAA 3 1 57 0 0 0 7 65 50 24 78 277 2000 AAA 0 1 14 4 0 0 0 25 23 9 28 474 |
| Ryan is a big left-hander with overpowering stuff. His control was a little wonky last year, but I still expect him to emerge as a good pitcher. |
| David Segui (1B, 35, S/L) |
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YEAR TM GM AB HT DB TP HR RUN RBI BB SO AVG OBA SLU SB CS 1998 SEA 143 522 159 36 1 19 79 84 49 80 305 359 487 3 1 1999 SEA-TOR 121 440 131 27 3 14 57 52 40 60 298 355 468 1 2 2000 TEX-CLE 150 574 192 42 1 19 93 103 53 84 334 388 510 0 1 |
| He had a good year, the best of his career. Segui is a solid first baseman, a .300 hitter with a bit of pop and a good defensive player. He's also played with four teams over the past two seasons; it's a little disconcerting that Seattle, Texas and Cleveland all made the playoffs either before or after he left. Segui is slowing down as he gets older (he stole no bases, and grounded into 20 double plays); he might have 1-2 decent years left. |
| Jay Spurgeon (25, R) |
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YEAR TEAM WN LS GP GS CG SH SV IP HIT BB SO ERA 1998 A 11 3 27 20 0 0 0 136 112 48 103 264 1999 A 6 9 26 26 1 0 0 146 176 53 87 475 2000 A 8 2 16 15 1 0 0 92 75 31 92 412 2000 AA-AAA 5 1 8 8 2 1 0 53 37 16 37 137 |
| Spurgeon began the year in the Carolina League, but was pitching with the Orioles by August. It's a little difficult to judge his record at this point, but my guess is that he has very little chance of being successful in the majors this year. He should start the year at Rochester. |
| Mike Trombley (34, R) |
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YEAR TEAM WN LS GP GS CG SH SV IP HIT BB SO ERA 1998 MIN 6 5 77 1 0 0 1 96 90 41 89 363 1999 MIN 2 8 75 0 0 0 24 87 93 28 82 433 2000 BAL 4 5 75 0 0 0 4 72 67 38 72 413 |
| Trombley was acquired by Baltimore to help close out some games; that didn't work out, but he pitched pretty well in middle relief, a role that he is well-suited to. |