811 replies to this topic

[Matt]

I think this is a case of Machado being too talented for the O's to screw up rather than them doing a good job in player development. A person who has never scouted in their life would have picked Machado 3rd considering every major draft analyst had the top 3 of Harper, Taillon, and Machado as clearly the three best prospects in the draft.

[SportsGuy]

Yea, his talent was never the question..just, could the Orioles harness it and develop it.

[You Play to Win the Game]

Baseball Prospectus (Subscriber): Pebble Hunting: A Week of Watching Manny Machado Play

http://www.baseballp...articleid=20524

 

Great, fun piece by Sam Miller here. Really fun.

[You Play to Win the Game]

Manny racked up 9 more hits in the Minnesota series, 3 in each game... 2 doubles, 2 RBI's, 3 runs. 

 

Slash line is up to 331 / 370 / 521 / 891. BABIP is .362, LD% is 21%. He's seeing 3.71 Pit/PA... which will only get better as the season goes along, IMO.

 

He's already accumulated 1.5 oWAR (BBRef), to go along with his .8 dWAR (which will still have to normalize a bit I'm sure).

 

Manny has become one of those things you think about randomly during the day, and just immediately smile, kind of like love I guess.

[SBTarheel]

i haven't read this whole thread, but I think this Machado kid may end up being pretty good..

[Matt]

Call me crazy but Manny might already be the best player on the team.

[You Play to Win the Game]

Call me crazy but Manny might already be the best player on the team.

 

I don't think it's crazy at all. He's clearly got the best upside, and is playing the best right now. I'm still not 100% ready to say he'll be the best Oriole this season... but there's definitely a strong chance that happens. It's just unreal what he's doing as a 20 year old. I know Bryce and Trout are extremely young too... but I don't care, it'll never not amaze me and make me in awe to see kids a couple years removed from high school playing at an elite level. 

[Oriole85]

Call me crazy but Manny might already be the best player on the team.

I have similar thoughts to Chris on this one. While I'm not ready to anoint him as that yet, that's hardly crazy. He has the highest ceiling on the team. Excluding AJ for obvious contract reasons, I do think he's the most untradeable player on the roster at this point, that's subject to staying competitive. But being so young, I can't see them trying to trade that type of player for another 2-3 years anyways. Only the Marlins tend to make such trades.

[bnickle]

Baseball Prospectus (Subscriber): Pebble Hunting: A Week of Watching Manny Machado Play

http://www.baseballp...articleid=20524

 

Great, fun piece by Sam Miller here. Really fun.

You totally just trolled everybody that doesn't have a BP subscription.

[You Play to Win the Game]

You totally just trolled everybody that doesn't have a BP subscription.

 

True, sorry about that. 

[You Play to Win the Game]

USA Today: At 20, Manny Machado has stardom, wife in near future

http://www.usatoday....alking/2159999/

 

I forgot that Machado's fiancee was Alonso's sister. 

 

Also, Alonso had some strong words about Manny and how much attention he's getting, compared to Trout and Harper:

 

"It's wrong; it's just wrong," he says. "I hate that. It's not right. You're not going to compare him to Trout and the other dude? That sucks.

 

"Look at the numbers; Manny is better. He's putting up better numbers. He's nicer. He's more likable. Everything. That's the reality of it

 

."I know he's going to let his game talk, but he's better than both guys. I think the other guys will have great careers, but when you talk about the best young players in the game, why can't you involve Manny in it?"

 

 

This is an awesome article. But be forewarned BNickle - Machado is a die hard Heat and LeBron fan... I hope you can still root for him. 

[You Play to Win the Game]

A couple of posts in today's game thread:

 

I mentioned:

 

Manny had 50 hits last year in 51 games... Today is his 40th game, and he has 59 hits.... including an AL leading 17 doubles.

 

Then Mackus did the math:

 

59 * (162/40) = 238.95

 

Only 14 times in MLB history has a hitter had 240 or more hits.  Only 4 times since 1930.

 

[SammyBirdland]

"Look at the numbers; Manny is better. He's putting up better numbers. He's nicer. He's more likable. Everything. That's the reality of it

 

It's true.  There was a baby raccoon in my backyard that was abandoned by its mother.   Trout and Harper saw it and were like "screw that thang, we're going to the club".   But Machado helped me nurse it back to health with little miniature baby bottles and everything.

 

A few months later, Machado and I took the raccoon to the woods and released it back into the wild.  Just before it scurried away, it turned to us and told us that, as punishment, it was putting an ancient raccoon-curse on Trout and Harper that would make them turn into total buffoons whenever they come near center field on a baseball diamond.   That was just a couple weeks ago...

 

 

[Markus]

Orioles' Manny Machado doesn't need smeared eyeblack, violent crashes to prove he's a phenom

 

He is just 20 years old having stormed inside a Washington-area beltway from a glamorous hometown where fantasy is the great commodity. Last fall, a baseball team rode his first taste at the major leagues to an improbable postseason.

 

People marvel at the way he changed from his natural position to a new one in the big leagues. They say the switch was seamless. They gasp at his power. They adore his swing. They watch him now and they project a great future. They believe they were watching one of baseball's next great things.

 

Except this is not Bryce Harper. The beltway is Baltimore's, not Washington's. The hometown is Miami, not Las Vegas. And the next great player, Manny Machado, plays third base having moved from shortstop.

 

http://sports.yahoo....-043920615.html

 

Hahahaha.  The headline, alone, is priceless.  And the article is a really good read.

[BSLMattJergensen]

http://sports.yahoo....-043920615.html

[SportsGuy]

He is on pace for 71 doubles and 236 hits.

[You Play to Win the Game]

He is on pace for 71 doubles and 236 hits.

 

Ridiculous. I think Thorne was saying earlier that if he has 3 hits tomorrow, he'll be the first player in MLB history to record 5 consecutive 3-hit games on the road.

[SportsGuy]

Ridiculous. I think Thorne was saying earlier that if he has 3 hits tomorrow, he'll be the first player in MLB history to record 5 consecutive 3-hit games on the road.

No, he already has 5, joining Ty Cobb as the only 2 to do it.

Tomorrow could be 6, which would be the record.

[You Play to Win the Game]

No, he already has 5, joining Ty Cobb as the only 2 to do it.

Tomorrow could be 6, which would be the record.

 

Insane.

[You Play to Win the Game]

He is on pace for 71 doubles and 236 hits.

 

The all-time record is 69 by Earl Webb in 1931... he was 33 years old that season. The highest in the modern era is 59 by Todd Helton in 2000, he was 26 that year.