Tampa Bay has illustrated over the last four seasons, that a franchise with far less resources vs. New York or Boston can compete in the American League East with a strong internal commitment to Scouting and Player Development. As fans of the Baltimore Orioles wait to see who will officially lead the Baseball Operations Department going forward; Baltimore Sports and Life has reached out to Jim Callis, the Executive Editor for Baseball America for his take on where the O’s system currently stands.
You can find Mr. Callis’ work at:
http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/jimcallisBA
Baltimore Sports and Life thanks Mr. Callis for taking the time to answer a few questions.
Baltimore Sports and Life: “24 year-old RHP Oliver Drake threw a combined 162.2 ip with Single A Frederick, AA Bowie, and AAA Norfolk. He was dominating the Carolina League, and was going through adjustments in the Eastern League.What type of upside do you think the former Naval Academy product has?”
Callis: “Drake has a plus fastball and throws strikes, but he doesn’t have a consistent go-to secondary pitch, which hurt him when he got to Double-A. If he develops a better breaking ball or changeup, he could be a solid innings-eating starter, though I think it’s more likely he fits into a big league bullpen than a rotation.”
Baltimore Sports and Life: “Baltimore native Glynn Davis was one of the younger players in the NY/Penn League, and was named as an All-Star for that league. He had 25 walks, and 23 steals, but also had 53 k’s, and was caught stealing 9 times. Would you expect him to make the jump to Delmarva next Spring?”
Callis: “I would. Davis ranked 15th on our NY-P Top 20 Prospects list and profiles as a classic leadoff man/center fielder. He’s the fastest player in the system. He’s definitely ready for low Class A, where he’ll focus on making more consistent contact.”
Baltimore Sports and Life: “2010 10th round pick Clayton Schrader threw a combined 46 ip this year between Low A Delmarva, and High A Frederick before being shut down at the end of July. In those 46 ip, has allowed 19 hits, 2 hr’s, 32 walks, with 73 k’s. Pretty clearly the hits and k’s per ip point to his stuff, and the walks indicate control is his biggest issue. If healthy, is this a guy that can start ’12 at Bowie, with the potential for a quick promotion to Baltimore?”
Callis: “Schrader definitely can move fast as a hard-throwing reliever. He has effort in his delivery, which leads to control issues, but he has the power fastball/slider combo to work the late innings. He just needs to throw more strikes, and stay healthy after elbow issues shut him down in late July.”
Baltimore Sports and Life: “2010 3rd round pick Daniel Klein was out of action after June 1st with a SLAP tear. Prior to the injury, he had advanced to AA Bowie. In his 32.1 innings at Frederick and Bowie, he allowed 23 hits, 2 homers, 6 bb’s, with 37 k’s. When drafted, the Orioles talked of converting Klein to a starter. While a starter is always more valuable than a reliever, a Major League contributor is more valuable than a Minor League project. As a relief pitcher he can race through the system and quickly be an option to help out the O’s. The most recent expectations have him returning to a mound between late May and early June. When he is physically ready to return to pitching; should the O’s continue to keep him in relief, or move him to the rotation as originally planned?”
Callis: “Unless the Orioles don’t think he can hold up as a starter, I think you keep him there and see if he can make it because of the greater value you mention. He has the stuff to start, with three solid or better pitches in his fastball, changeup and curveball. The only reason he didn’t start at UCLA was that the Bruins staff was loaded. Their rotation was two top-five picks (Gerrit Cole, Trevor Bauer) and a second-rounder (Rob Rasmussen).”
Baltimore Sports and Life: “The 3rd round pick the year prior was Frederick 1st baseman Tyler Townsend. The 23 year old had 38 xbh’s, and a .941 OPS in his 252 ab’s on the year. Despite the power shown, he had just 11 walks, and 64 k’s. Would the limited plate-discipline shown, prevent you from promoting him to AA Bowie to begin 2012? Where does he rank for you among 1st base prospects at the High Aball level?”
Callis: “Townsend is definitely interesting, but I want to see him at higher levels before I fully jump on the bandwagon. He’s already 23 and hasn’t been to Double-A yet, and I want to see how the power plays and how much contact he’s going to make against upper-level pitching. So far, so good, but he obviously has to hit a lot to make it at first base. The repeated injuries are a concern, too.”
Baltimore Sports and Life: “With the 4th overall pick in the 2011 Amateur Draft, the Orioles selected High School prospect Dylan Bundy. His brother – 21 year-old Robert ‘Bobby’ Bundy was 11-5 with a 2.75 era at Frederick. In his 121 innings of High A work, he allowed 102 hits, 8 hr’s, 31 bb’s, with 100 k’s, earning his 8/5 promotion to AA Bowie. While B.Bundy struggled in his 4 starts for Bowie, will he deserve consideration for Top 100 prospect lists this Winter?”
Callis: “Bobby is a prospect I’ve always liked, but he’s not a Top 100 Prospect. He was No. 15 on our Carolina League Top 20. Bobby has a good fastball and knows how to pitch, but his secondary pitches are more fringy than solid at this point.”
Baltimore Sports and Life: “Futures Game participant Jonathan Schoop posted a .890 OPS in his 212 ab’s at Delmarva, earning a promotion to Frederick. With the Keys, Schoop was one of the youngest players in the Carolina League but was able to put up a .704 OPS in 299 ab’s at that level. Do you agree with Baseball Prospectus’ Kevin Goldstein that Schoop projects better as a 3rd baseman vs. 2nd base as he advances?”
Callis: “I think that’s fair, because Schoop is going to be more strong than quick once he develops physically. There’s some chance that Manny Machado outgrows shortstop and winds up at third base, which could lead to a trial at second base for Schoop, though in that case Schoop might wind up on an outfield corner.”
Baltimore Sports and Life: “LJ Hoes had a .861 OPS after the All-Star break, and finished his season at Bowie with a .792 OPS overall. Hoes was also moved off 2nd to a corner OF position. Combined between Frederick and Bowie, Hoes had 9 homers, and 24 doubles over 502 ab’s. Do you think he can slug enough to stick in LF, or do you think the O’s should move him back to 2nd with the focus of improving his defense there?”
Callis: “Hoes can hit, but he’s kind of a tweener. I don’t think he can cut it defensively at second base and I don’t think he has the true power you really want in a left fielder.”
Baltimore Sports and Life: “Shortly after returning from the DL (Patellar Suluxation / dislocated kneecap) Manny Machado was promoted to Frederick. With the Keys, Machado had 20 xbh’s, over 237 ab’s. (22 bb’s, 48 k’s) Do you have any reservations about Machado as a prospect, or his ability to stay at SS at the highest levels?”
Callis: “I don’t have any reservations about Machado as a prospect. I’m not going to buy into the A-Rod comparisons just because they’re both five-tool shortstop prospects from South Florida, but Machado is going to be a star. I do wonder if he’ll outgrow shortstop, some scouts have wondered about that too, but he’s still so tooled up that he’d be a star at third base.”
Baltimore Sports and Life: “Bowie 1st baseman Joe Mahoney dealt with hamstring issues earlier in the year that limited him to just 85 games for the year. The 24 year old lefty-swinger had 40 xbh’s in his 315 ab’s with the Baysox. He will be heading to the Arizona Fall League shortly. Last year he won the Brooks Robinson award as the top positional player in the Organization. What is the biggest question with him?”
Callis: “The biggest question with Mahoney is whether he has enough power to profile as an everyday first baseman at the major league level. I don’t see it, to be honest. I think it’s average power at best, which won’t be enough.”
Baltimore Sports and Life: “The O’s are excited about the arm of 20 year-old RHP Parker Bridwell. Bridwell was hit around pretty well at Delmarva, posting an era over 7 in his five starts. Between Aberdeen, and Frederick he had 71.1 ip, allowing 79 hits, 35 bb’s, with 70 k’s. Your thoughts on him?”
Callis: “Bridwell is one of the more interesting prospects in the system, and he ranked 10th on our NY-P Top 20. He’s very athletic, has a heavy sinker and a hard breaking ball. In time, he could develop into a guy with two plus pitches and an average changeup, maybe become a good No. 3 starter.”
Baltimore Sports and Life: “In the Baseball America organizational review heading into 2011, the O’s were ranked 21st overall.
A current ranking of the system could look as follows:
Top 10 Prospects
1) Machado
2) D. Bundy
3) Schoop
4) B. Bundy
5) Bridwell
6) Hoes
7) Berry
8) Mahoney
9) Drake
10) Townsend
Talent to be in the Top 10: Klein, Hobgood, Avery, Schrader, Esposito, Delmonico
Call-up Types non-impact: Snyder, Angle, Pelzer, S. Johnson, Miclat, Joseph
Prospects that could move quickly: Mummey, Ruettiger, Wright, Simon, Taylor, Howard, Jones, Wilson, Givens, Ohlman
Early Watch List: Davies, E. Rodriguez, G. Davis, Tolliver, Narron, Henry, Martin, Baker, Veloz, Vader, Esquivel, Lino, Bywater, C. Coffey, Beal, Webb, Cowan
Of note: Wirsch, Welty, Schutz, Zagone, Hudson, A. Baker
Where do you disagree? Aside from those players already discussed, whom do you find the most interesting? What are your general thoughts on the system? Do you anticipate the O’s moving to the middle of your rankings heading into 2012?”
Callis: “There’s a lot to digest with this question. Machado vs. Dylan Bundy is an interesting debate for the No. 1 spot, and that could go either way. I think Schoop and Bridwell come next on the list. There’s a dropoff after that, and Jason Esposito and Nicky Delmonico from this year’s draft may factor into the Top 10 somewhere. The system drops off pretty fast after the two studs at the top, so I don’t think it has moved into middle-of-the-pack territory yet.”
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.