Starting to learn more about how O's new skipper might handle certain game situations
What about young lefty batters facing tough lefty pitchers?
BALTIMORE – The transition, if we can call it that, started for the media and manager Craig Alernaz, during Birdland Caravan.
When the group of local media got another chance to talk with Albernaz, some of the questions were more pointed or more specific than say during his first press conference after his hiring. It was less about his background and how he got to this point and this time more about how he will manage the 2026 Orioles.
I had a specific question for the new skipper.
I asked how how he would handle two young lefty bats in Samuel Basallo and Jackson Holliday against left-handed pitchers. How does he weigh balancing playing time for that pair if they struggle against lefties?
When I used the word platoon, Albernaz was quick to remind that was not his word but mine in the question. It was.
Last year in the small sample of 25 plate appearances in the majors off southpaws, Basallo hit .143 with an OPS of .566. It should be pointed out his OPS was only .556 off right-handers. Again, the samples are small here.
At Triple-A Norfolk last year, Basallo had an OPS of .697 off lefties and that number was .895 off right-handers. Adley Rutschman has a career .797 off lefties so it would surprise no one to see him get most of the catcher starts when the O’s face a lefty.
As for Holliday, in the majors last year in 179 plate appearances he batted .200 with a .572 OPS off southpaws and hit .259/.735 against right-handers.
These numbers would suggest those two players might have limited opportunities off lefties this year. We’ll see about that.
As Albernaz indicated he’s not ready to talk at this point about platooning anyone.
Former O’s skipper Buck Showalter used to say “play better and I will play you more.” And while not referring to any specific players, Albernaz made similar comments to my question about Basallo and Holliday facing lefties.
“It all depends on them. I’ve been saying that for a while where the players make the moves for you,” he said Friday at the Warehouse. “So, if a player has, in this example, a tough time hitting lefties, it’s what are you doing to get better to hit lefties?
“You’re putting the work in and like yeah, we’re going to find definitely opportunities for them to hit lefties. But also, if there is a guy on the bench that has a .900 OPS versus a left-handed pitcher and the game is on the line, it’s very tough to have that guy just sit there.
“So, for us, it’s challenging our guys to get better. There are going to be decision moments in the game and we have to do what’s best for the team. Sometimes that’s leaving a player in to face lefties, sometimes that’s making a pinch-hit move. Sometimes thats pinch running. Sometimes that’s defensive replacement. Sometimes that is going to the bullpen. There are all decision points in the game, so it’s up to us as staff members to make the right decision.”
Some fans might read those quotes and say how can young hitters learn to hit lefties if they don’t see them. But how can you argue with his answer there. He didn’t commit to any decisions, certainly not on any specific players even before spring training begins. But yeah, if a game is on the line how could not let someone with great stats off a lefty get a chance to win that game for you?
Basallo and Dylan Beavers are PPI eligible
Basallo and Dylan Beavers both made two top 100 prospects lists in recent days with the release of the Baseball America top 100 Wednesday and the MLBPipeline.com top 100 on Friday.
O’s in the BA top 100:
No. 9 - Samuel Basallo
No. 21 - Dylan Beavers
No. 72 - Trey Gibson
No. 86 - Nate George
No. 95 - Luis De Leon
O’s in the MLBP top 100:
No. 8 - Basallo
No. 69 - Beavers
No. 93 - George
Any player that is rookie eligible, is on two of three (ESPN the other) preseason top 100 lists and goes on to earn a full year of service time while winning the Rookie of the Year award, will earn his team an additional draft pick.
So the O’s have two cracks at it with Basallo and Beavers. If either wins the award, the O’s get an additional pick in 2027 between the first and second rounds.
It already happened once for the Orioles when Gunnar Henderson was the 2023 AL ROY.
Among the many players that Albernaz has talked with extensively thus far is Basallo and he’s impressed by the young slugger.
“Basallo is a unit,” said Albernaz. “He is a big dude. All those guys are big, well to me everyone is big. He’s an impactful player. For us, there will be at-bats to go around and performance will dictate a lot.
“For him, all my conversations with him and the background on him, he’s a competitor and he wants to get better. And he’s a team-first guy. So, when you have that makeup, he’s going to be just fine and there will be plenty of at-bats for him.”
It's gonna be a learning experience in spring training for everyone. Play the young bucks and let their talent speak for themselves. Go into the start of the season healthy and it will sort itself out. Go Birds.
Steve, thanks for asking Alby some detailed questions as we try to get to know his managerial philosophy. Keep thinking of the old baseball axiom of being strong up the middle. If Alby and his coaches can coax some marked improvement from some of our young players, we might have an above average defense to support our pitching staff. Counting the days until the first day of Spring Training!