It was an enjoyable weekend for the Baltimore Orioles, with encouraging outings from Dylan Bundy and Vance Worley. With Nolan Reimold’s homer Sunday afternoon; the O’s swept AL Central leading Cleveland out of Baltimore.

A new series begins tonight, as the O’s welcome Colorado and another Nolan (Arenado) to Charm City. Like Machado, Arenado is regarded as one of the best talents in the game.

Let’s look at how the 3rd baseman compare.

(You can discuss this on the BSL Board here.)

DOB:
Arenado: 4/16/91
Machado: 7/6/92

2016 Offensive Stats:
Arenado: .290 baa, 25 hr’s, 76 rbi, 25 doubles, 40 bb’s, 57 k’s, .931 OPS, .389 wOBA
Machado: .314 baa, 20 hr’s, 56 rbi, 30 doubles, 30 bb’s, 70 k’s, .929 OPS, .387 wOBA

2016 Defensive Stats (at 3rd):
Arenado: 9.8 UZR/150, 15 DRS
Machado: 17 UZR/150, 6 DRS

Combined 2015 + 2016 fWAR:
Arenado: 8 in 253 games
Machado: 11.3 in 254 games

Combined 2015 + 2016 bWAR:
Arenado: 10 in 253 games
Machado: 11.6 in 254 games

Other Arenado Thoughts: His OPS is over .900 against both LHP, and RHP.  His road OPS this year is .840. Last year it was .835. Very respectable levels, but not the same as his 1.022 Coors Field OPS this year, nor his .960 level last year.

Other Machado Thoughts: Manny also has an OPS over .900 against both lefties and RHP. Also like Arenado, his OPS is over 1.000 at home, and lower (.856) on the road. We’ve seen Machado have a number of base running issues this year.

Overall: Machado has two primary advantages as a player. 1) He’s a bit younger, and has played more games at the ML level. 2) As shown earlier this year, he’s capable of playing a plus SS. Watching Machado everyday, O’s fans can (rightfully) pick at Machado’s base running gaffes this year. We don’t get to see Arenado everyday to see if there are any flaws (or additional positives) we might not be aware of. Do think it should be noted that Machado has been surrounded by better talent, and that Arenado has an additional year of team control. You could build around either, but if you had to choose between the two, I think Machado gets the nod.

 

Starting tonight for the Rockies is 35 year old Jorge De La Rosa. The veteran has logged over 1,300 innings in the Majors, and has won 99 career games.

It’s been reported several times the last couple of years, and again here in 2016 that the O’s could be interested in trading for the lefty.

Entering tonight, De La Rosa is 6-7, with a 6.07 era. In his 72.2 innings of work, he has allowed 87 hits, 12 hr’s, 34 bb’s, and has 61 k’s.

His OPS against is .861, with both lefties (.843 in 85 ab’s), and righties (.871 in 208 ab’s) hitting him.

His era in Coors (5.65) is actually better than his road era (6.50).

To be fair, his xFIP of 4.77 is significantly below his era. Also, his BABIP of .338 is above his career average (.300).

His GB% is at 48.3%, after being above 50% the last two seasons.

Here in ’16, his K-BB% of 8.1 is below his 8.9% career average.

His average fastball velocity has also dropped from 91.4 last year, to 90.3 here in ’16.

It would be disappointing to me to see the O’s trade pretty much anyone to acquire De La Rosa.

Chris Stoner
Chris Stoner

Owner

Chris Stoner founded Baltimore Sports and Life in 2009. He has appeared as a radio guest with 1090 WBAL, 105.7 The Fan, CBS 1300, Q1370, WOYK 1350, WKAV 1400, and WNST 1570. He has also been interviewed by The Baltimore Sun, Baltimore Business Journal, and PressBox (TV). As Owner, his responsibilities include serving as the Managing Editor, Publicist, & Sales Director.

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