Dog Days #5: Obsolete Orioles
Andrew Golden gives Baltimore fans a silver lining in the Orioles’ abysmal season.
This year in the MLB has brought out a lot of emotions: happiness, stress, sadness, surprise and, recently, a lot of anger. As the Orioles, once again, got blown out by the Yankees, who set the MLB record for most home runs against an opponent, their emotions boiled over.
After getting out, Davis, amidst another hitless streak, got into an argument with Orioles’ manager Brandon Hyde, which resulted in David having to be held back by coaches and teammates as Hyde walked down the stairs into the clubhouse.
It has been a whirlwind season for the Orioles, as nothing seems to be going right for a ball club that didn’t have high expectations coming into the year. But this series against the Yankees in particular has been a microcosm of their season.
Aside from the argument on Wednesday, on Monday, the Yankees destroyed 5 home runs against an inexperienced pitching staff to take Game 1, overshadowing Jonathan Villar becoming the fifth Oriole to hit for the cycle. In Game 2, one of the Orioles’ more seasoned prospects D.J. Stewart, was called up to the MLB after getting hit with the injury bug earlier in the season. By the fourth inning, he had already been knocked out of the game after a fly ball bounced off his head when he was diving, causing him to get a concussion.
In a season as bad as this one, it can be hard to find a silver lining, but if there is one, it’s the 2018 Houston Astros, 2017 Chicago Cubs and 2015 Kansas City Royals. It may seem like the Orioles don’t have hope, but that what was said about all of these organizations after years of dismal baseball.
Before the Royals championship run in 2015, they had a winning record in just 2 of the previous 11 seasons headed into that year, but finally turned it around. Everyone knows how Cub fans had to suffer through years of misery before they finally broke through with their talented team that they built up through the farm system. The Astros were considered the laughing stock of baseball in the early 2010s until they solidified their farm system with Alex Bregman, George Springer and a farm system that is still one of the best in baseball despite the World Series.
By no means am I saying that the Orioles are going to win the World Series, but for teams who aren’t in big markets and don’t have a large amount of cap space, developing the farm system could prove effective; but it also involves patience.
The farm system isn’t one of the top ones in the MLB, but with a couple more bad seasons, they will probably have a couple of high draft picks in the next couple of years. If they hit on those picks, they could be in a prime position to have a solid farm system that they could easily develop.
In recent years, building farm systems have proven successful for certain ball clubs as they tried to transition from rebuilding to championship contenders. Aside from the teams mentioned above, the Braves and the Indians have found success recently due to top prospects.
The Braves have been rejuvenated due to the rise of Ozzie Albies, Ronald Acuna Jr and Dansby Swanson. The Indians benefited from bringing up Francisco Lindor and turned their franchise around.
The Orioles have that kind of player who can change their franchise in Adley Rutschman. He’s one of the purest hitters that has come out of the college ranks since Bryce Harper, according to some scouts. His hitting ability is so good his defensive prowess as a catcher is overshadowed, but he is one of the most complete players in the minors as we speak.
Once Rutschman and the rest of the Orioles’ prospects find their way to the majors, they will be mixed in with some veteran talent. No, I’m not talking about Chris Davis. But they have solid cornerstones in Jonathan Villar and Trey Mancini, who could be great locker room presence down the line. Mancini has quietly had a great career in a little over three more seasons in the majors. In three full seasons, he has hit at least 24 home runs in each season and that kind of pop could be an asset worth keeping, despite him probably having trade value when his contact is in his final year.
I know how it looks now Orioles fans, there isn’t a lot to be excited about. Just be patient and eventually, you guys will get back to the glory days of Adam Jones, Matt Wieters and a good version of Chris Davis.
Andrew Golden is a baseball fanatic and general sports junkie. You can follow him on Twitter here.
