Your 2018 Orioles Preview - Outfield
It’s here. It is literally here. First pitch for Opening Day is just a few hours away, folks. We made it. Now there is no doubt in my mind you have read the first 3 installments of my 2018 Orioles previews from earlier this week, starting pitching can be found here, bullpen here, and the infield preview is here.
You can’t talk about the Orioles without mentioning the Cap10, Adam Jones. Adam is running down his 11th Orange Carpet today, crazy to think how long he has been here. He is the heart and soul of this team, but that isn’t news to anyone. You can see him chatting it up with everyone. He may be the only center fielder that routinely holds conversations with the dugout while he is in the field. None the less, it’s his 11th year and he is still producing. Maybe not at the level he once was, but entering his last year under contract, Jones is still a threat. You know what you are getting from Adam. Anywhere from .260 to .280, 25-28 homers, 75-90 driven in. He’ll throw you out, make the web gem catches, and let you know about it. He is my spirit animal. I’m insanely happy to have Adam lead this team out for Opening Day and can’t wait to watch this dude give 120% every game this year. Oh Cap10, my Cap10.
Trey Mancini exploded onto the scene last year, it’s almost as if someone at Barstool had been talking him up for 3 years saying how good he was. Weird. Mancini was a question mark to make the team last year after switching to outfield with 2 weeks left in Spring Training. He then went on to finish third in the AL in Rookie Of The Year voting behind Aaron Judge and Andrew Benintendi. Mancini grew accustomed to the outfield very quick and looked very comfortable out there. At the plate he couldn’t have done much more. He hit .293, had an OBP of .338, hit 24 homers, and drove in 78. It’s just insane to think he didn’t know if he would make the team last year. He can hit against both righties and lefties, he batted .293 against both last year, and is insanely good with RISP. For a majority of the season he was leading all of baseball in average with RISP, and ended up hitting .340(!!!) in 106 at-bats. Unreal. I’m fully expecting another big year from the #TreyTrain, hop aboard.
Colby Rasmus was signed a few weeks back on a minor league deal, but it’s no surprise that he made the Opening Day roster. He’s a veteran who’s been around the block. He’ll be a platoon guy in the outfield who will get at-bats against righties, and possibly DH at times before Mark Trumbo gets back. Rasmus is a typical Orioles hitter, lot of Ks, decent power, and not a good average. I’m not expecting much from Rasmus, maybe a few dongs here and there, but he isn’t going to be counted on as more than a platoon player. His defense is actually pretty good, so I’m excited to see what he can bring. I do hope he gets rid of that unreal, disgusting beard.
Craig Gentry makes the squad as pretty much a pinch hitter. He literally brings nothing to the plate, but he can play some defense. He really is that guy who will make an appearance in the later innings and steal a base to get into scoring position and score on a gapper. He can steal bases, even though that isn’t the Orioles style of play. He hit 2 homers last year for the Birds and hit .257 in his limited at-bats. He’ll be that guy who is sent down when they need a roster spot. I get Gentry knows his role, and I like that, I’m just not thrilled he’s a glorified sprinter and takin up a roster spot.
Anthony Santander is a guy who tickles my fancy. The Rule 5 pick has to spend 44 days on the Major League Roster and then can be sent back down without having to send him to back to the Indians. Well guess what, Anthony ain’t going anywhere, friends. Even when’s 44 days are up, I believe he’ll stick around in Baltimore. He played pretty well in Spring, and can switch hit. He has potential, and I believe that we’ll get a chance to see that this season. I’m all in on Santander.
Mark Trumbo will start the season on the DL with a strained quad, and should be back in a few weeks. He’ll DH after he is healthy, and may see a few starts in the outfield, but no one is excited about it. His season last year? NOT GREAT! 2016 he lead all of MLB with 47 bombs, but last year he fell to only 23. He’ll be the full-time DH this year, but I also wouldn’t be surprised if he was traded by the break. He’s a one dimensional player, can’t play defense, and really only brings the long ball to the team. The Orioles have plenty of guys who can hit bombs, walk maybe 20 times, and strikeout a ton. Mark can pretty much leave his glove at home, because he stinks in the field. Don’t get me wrong, I love Trumbo for his long dongs and walkoffs, but I believe the money they spent on him can help in other places.
You’ve read all of my previews, and thanks for that, friends. Now we have 6 months of Orioles baseball. I think the moves they have made in the last few weeks, Cashner and Cobb, can easily push them into the second Wild Card spot. I can see them winning between 82-87 wins and fighting for a Wild Card spot. Let’s enjoy this year and the players on the squad while we have them, we’ll worry about 2019 when it comes.
LETS HAVE A DAY, FOLKS!!!!!