138 replies to this topic

[DJ MC]

Seems to me like he's doing alright. He's been a little unlucky BABIP-wise (.280 to the .304 league average), and his OBP is 100 points above his BA. He just needs to make some more contact and get a few more balls dropping in; he'll be fine.

[Greg Pappas]

From what I've seen live, he's right where he needs to be. He's not just being overwhelmed or anything, he's making good contact, just gotta give him time, and let him warm up...it will come.

Exactly right, IMO. AA is where he should be. He started very well and is slumping now but he's certainly not in over his head. He's being challenged. Sending him back down to Frederick would be ridiculous, IMO.

April / 83 AB's/.241 /.340/.398/.738
May / 101 AB's/.257/.356/.356/.712
June / 30 AB's/.133/.212/.300/.512

He's batting .205 versus right-handers this year with a .621 OPS, and collectively .234 with an OPS of .695- at arguably the most challenging level and perhaps the hardest league in the minors........ all at 19-years old. To say that sending him back one level "would be ridiculous" seems just a bit strong to me, especially when he hit only .245 there with a .692 OPS last year.

[JeremyStrain]

Exactly right, IMO. AA is where he should be. He started very well and is slumping now but he's certainly not in over his head. He's being challenged. Sending him back down to Frederick would be ridiculous, IMO.

April / 83 AB's/.241 /.340/.398/.738
May / 101 AB's/.257/.356/.356/.712
June / 30 AB's/.133/.212/.300/.512

He's batting .205 versus right-handers this year, and collectively .234 with an OPS of .695 at arguably the most challenging level and perhaps the hardest league in the minors... at 19-years old. To say that sending him back one level "would be ridiculous" seems just a bit strong to me, especially when he hit only .245 there with a .692 OPS last year.

Sometimes what kind of outs made speak as loudly as the fact that outs are made. He was getting pieces of everything, just not completely good wood. If you told me he was flailing at pitches or weakly grounding out I'd be more concerned.

[Greg Pappas]

April / 83 AB's/.241 /.340/.398/.738
May / 101 AB's/.257/.356/.356/.712
June / 30 AB's/.133/.212/.300/.512

He's batting .205 versus right-handers this year, and collectively .234 with an OPS of .695 at arguably the most challenging level and perhaps the hardest league in the minors... at 19-years old. To say that sending him back one level "would be ridiculous" seems just a bit strong to me, especially when he hit only .245 there with a .692 OPS last year.

Sometimes what kind of outs made speak as loudly as the fact that outs are made. He was getting pieces of everything, just not completely good wood. If you told me he was flailing at pitches or weakly grounding out I'd be more concerned.

But he hit only .245 with a .692 OPS last year in High A Frederick. He played well after coming back from his injury, but it seems to me that the numbers from last year and thus far this year show that -just maybe- he's a little in over his head. Again, he's only 19... I guess I just don't see the harm in letting him show he's better than High A by proving it. I get that you and others are less concerned... and frankly I hope that you are proved to be right.

[Luke Jackson]

Development is very rarely a smooth upward trend. Mike Trout or Matt Wieters very rarely come along where it's domination through the minor leagues. Development is all about the process of failure and recovering from said failure to be better off for it. It's often said that the most important piece of information when looking at a minor league stat sheet is the DOB on the top of the page. There will be 19-year-olds in the GCL this year who will get all sorts of praise and they won't even become a small fraction of what Manny Machado will become. And development is way more than just AVG/OBP/SLG. How hard is Manny Machado working when no one's looking? How responsive is he to instruction? Is he working to clean up areas of his game that his coaches are stressing? Are his approach and pitch recognition advancing given that he's seeing better changeups and breaking balls and pitch sequencing than ever before? Is he hitting balls hard? I don't think development can be viewed in a vacuum. It can't just be "Oh, Manny's hitting .233, we should send him on the next bus to Frederick" or "Oh, Profar's doing better than Manny so Manny is disappointing." There's no one that loves checking MiLB.com more than I do to see how everyone's doing but I feel like context is lost because everyone is just drawn to the AVG/OBP/SLG (I'm guilty of this just as much as anyone).

[JeremyStrain]

Sometimes what kind of outs made speak as loudly as the fact that outs are made. He was getting pieces of everything, just not completely good wood. If you told me he was flailing at pitches or weakly grounding out I'd be more concerned.

But he hit only .245 with a .692 OPS last year in High A Frederick. He played well after coming back from his injury, but it seems to me that the numbers from last year and thus far this year show that -just maybe- he's a little in over his head. Again, he's only 19... I guess I just don't see the harm in letting him show he's better than High A by proving it. I get that you and others are less concerned... and frankly I hope that you are proved to be right.

Just way too much attention paid to the slash lines, in those lower levels sometimes there are a ton of other things you have to look at, #1 being that he and Schoop are like the 2 youngest players in the league and are holding their own, not excelling, but not hitting .100 either.

You really don't want players just destroying a certain level, that means they aren't being challenged and aren't improving (see Bundy: DEL). What they are learning right now is pitch recognition, where in A ball, pitchers don't have decent enough offspeed stuff to get to learn how to read and anticipate them.

[Greg Pappas]

But he hit only .245 with a .692 OPS last year in High A Frederick. He played well after coming back from his injury, but it seems to me that the numbers from last year and thus far this year show that -just maybe- he's a little in over his head. Again, he's only 19... I guess I just don't see the harm in letting him show he's better than High A by proving it. I get that you and others are less concerned... and frankly I hope that you are proved to be right.

Just way too much attention paid to the slash lines, in those lower levels sometimes there are a ton of other things you have to look at, #1 being that he and Schoop are like the 2 youngest players in the league and are holding their own, not excelling, but not hitting .100 either.

You really don't want players just destroying a certain level, that means they aren't being challenged and aren't improving (see Bundy: DEL). What they are learning right now is pitch recognition, where in A ball, pitchers don't have decent enough offspeed stuff to get to learn how to read and anticipate them.

Do you believe Machado has shown that at any time in the past year and three months, that he was better than the competition and not challenged? It's okay to look at a slash line and say it matters only so much, and I agree to a point, but Machado -as evidenced by his pedestrian numbers- was certainly challenged at High A, and has never come close to destroying any league he's been in. I guess we have a different viewpoint on what constitutes appropriate progression, but I follow your logic and appreciate your views on the matter.

[Tucker Blair]

Just way too much attention paid to the slash lines, in those lower levels sometimes there are a ton of other things you have to look at, #1 being that he and Schoop are like the 2 youngest players in the league and are holding their own, not excelling, but not hitting .100 either.

You really don't want players just destroying a certain level, that means they aren't being challenged and aren't improving (see Bundy: DEL). What they are learning right now is pitch recognition, where in A ball, pitchers don't have decent enough offspeed stuff to get to learn how to read and anticipate them.

Do you believe Machado has shown that at any time in the past year and three months, that he was better than the competition and not challenged? It's okay to look at a slash line and say it matters only so much, and I agree to a point, but Machado -as evidenced by his pedestrian numbers- was certainly challenged at High A, and has never come close to destroying any league he's been in. I guess we have a different viewpoint on what constitutes appropriate progression, but I follow your logic and appreciate your views on the matter.

I've seen him in person and I can ASSURE you he is playing at the right level. It's not about destroying a league at that age, it's about growth and development. That has absolutely been showcased since last year.

I completely understand what you are saying though, but I assure you there has been a very positive story for his season thus far. Same goes for Schoop.

[Greg Pappas]

Do you believe Machado has shown that at any time in the past year and three months, that he was better than the competition and not challenged? It's okay to look at a slash line and say it matters only so much, and I agree to a point, but Machado -as evidenced by his pedestrian numbers- was certainly challenged at High A, and has never come close to destroying any league he's been in. I guess we have a different viewpoint on what constitutes appropriate progression, but I follow your logic and appreciate your views on the matter.

I've seen him in person and I can ASSURE you he is playing at the right level. It's not about destroying a league at that age, it's about growth and development. That has absolutely been showcased since last year.

I completely understand what you are saying though, but I assure you there has been a very positive story for his season thus far. Same goes for Schoop.

I hear you... To be clear,I personally never said or implied that a player should "destroy" a league... but was replying to another poster's use of the term. I remain a big fan of Manny Machado, and for those that recall, I was the first, or among the first to want the O's to draft him, and am very pleased that he is here and rated so highly. I'm also glad that you and other posters here feel that he is where he belongs, as that helps mitigate my concerns to a degree. Thanks.

[RShack]

Development is very rarely a smooth upward trend. Mike Trout or Matt Wieters very rarely come along where it's domination through the minor leagues. Development is all about the process of failure and recovering from said failure to be better off for it. It's often said that the most important piece of information when looking at a minor league stat sheet is the DOB on the top of the page. There will be 19-year-olds in the GCL this year who will get all sorts of praise and they won't even become a small fraction of what Manny Machado will become. And development is way more than just AVG/OBP/SLG. How hard is Manny Machado working when no one's looking? How responsive is he to instruction? Is he working to clean up areas of his game that his coaches are stressing? Are his approach and pitch recognition advancing given that he's seeing better changeups and breaking balls and pitch sequencing than ever before? Is he hitting balls hard? I don't think development can be viewed in a vacuum. It can't just be "Oh, Manny's hitting .233, we should send him on the next bus to Frederick" or "Oh, Profar's doing better than Manny so Manny is disappointing." There's no one that loves checking MiLB.com more than I do to see how everyone's doing but I feel like context is lost because everyone is just drawn to the AVG/OBP/SLG (I'm guilty of this just as much as anyone).

I endorse everything about this post.

Especially the bold part. I wish we had a way to look up that stuff...

[BSLChrisStoner]

MASN / Melewski: Machado's average takes a tumble, but Baysox Mgr. not concerned
http://www.masnsport...-concerned.html

[RShack]

^^^^
Good comments in Melewski's piece...

I wonder if this is the first time the kid has ever been frustrated on a baseball field. If so, better to learn how to deal with that at AA than later on... sooner you learn to adapt, the less time you waste. The only reason to do otherwise would be if you think he's fragile, confidence-wise... or if you think he's in way over his head...

[BSLChrisStoner]

6/16 Schoop: 2 for 4, double

Last 10: 12 of 44, .273, 2 doubles, 1 triple, 4 rbi, 2 bb's, 7 k's, 1 steal

6/15 Machado: 2 for 4, 3 rbi

Last 10: 10 for 42, .238, 2 doubles, 5 rbi, 3 bb's, 5 k's, 4 steals

Machado now has 9 steals on the year. Pretty good, considering I've previously read he is not flight of foot.

[Luke Jackson]

Interesting note on Schoop. Mashing against LHP (.341/.407/.512) but needs a caddie vs. RHP (.199/.252/.253). I suspect these kinds of splits, while maybe not this severe, are common for minor leaguers.

[Tucker Blair]

http://www.entrepren... ... s-old.html

If that came off as me yelling at you, it really wasn't meant to be like that. Just very passionate about this topic!

[Luke Jackson]

http://www.entreprenoriole.com/2012/06/manny-machado-is-19-years-old.html

If that came off as me yelling at you, it really wasn't meant to be like that. Just very passionate about this topic!

Good piece.

[RShack]

http://www.entreprenoriole.com/2012/06/manny-machado-is-19-years-old.html

If that came off as me yelling at you, it really wasn't meant to be like that. Just very passionate about this topic!

Nice.

The points you raise are a good example of how the lessons of baseball are lessons one can/should learn to apply to real life.

Football, not so much... unless you think the lessons of real life are mostly about knocking somebody else on his ass to permit your teammate to run a long way before he gets knocked on his

As for basketball, I just don't see how dribbling, sharp elbows, and being too tall have much relevance in other places...

[You Play to Win the Game]

http://www.entreprenoriole.com/2012/06/manny-machado-is-19-years-old.html

If that came off as me yelling at you, it really wasn't meant to be like that. Just very passionate about this topic!

Good stuff! And no worries, some people deserve to be yelled at!

[Adam Wolff]

Machado is hitting .325 over his last 10 games.

Schoop is hitting .286 over his last 10 games, with 4 homeruns.

[Greg Pappas]

Machado appears at No. 9 on Baseball America's Hot Sheet

http://ht.ly/1kY3Wm

MANNY MACHADO, SS
ORIOLES
Team: Double-A Bowie (Eastern)
Age: 19
Why He's Here: .393/.452/.714 (11-for-28), 2 HR, 3 2B, 10 RBIs, 7 R, 3 BB, 3 SO
The Scoop: Machado has raised his average 22 points in the past 10 games, going 14-for-32 (.438), smashing six extra-base hits and drawing four walks. If he keeps it up, the teenage shortstop could head into the Future Game on a hot streak. Don't dwell on Machado's early-season performance—he batted .250/.349/.375 with two homers in April and May—because the Orioles' top position prospect is committed to making the fundamental changes to his swing required to hit pitchers with better velocity and command, as detailed in a recent prospect bulletin.