Comments on: Orioles to call up top prospect Manny Machado from Double-A

By: theawesomersfranchise

theawesomersfranchise — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 23:15:10 +0000

Similar isnt the same and destroys your entire point

“dumb dumb”

By: illadelphiasphinest

illadelphiasphinest — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 22:35:21 +0000

Well dumb dumb if you read my post I said they were SIMILAR ages not the same age. So why would he need an extra year if his numbers are so similar to Tulo’s already? You sir make no point and your are a failure.

By: churchoftheperpetuallyoutraged

churchoftheperpetuallyoutraged — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 22:05:13 +0000

Mike trout hit .220/.281/.390 last year, if you think that’s good and hoping for that for Machado, keep him at AA.

By: paperlions

paperlions — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 21:29:10 +0000

I can say it because you can’t scout the stat line.

If Machado turns out to be anywhere near as good as Trout, I’ll eat my hat.

By: psuravens19

psuravens19 — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 17:52:01 +0000

How exactly do you know if he isn’t ready for The Show and will just be OK defensively and a below average hitter?

By: rockthered1286

rockthered1286 — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 17:12:27 +0000

How can you say they aren’t? Look at the numbers in AA and they were very close. Harper appears better because he’s been hyped up since he was 17 to be the next great thing in baseball (although he’s struggling as of late pretty badly) but other than that, they were both top 10 prospects like Manny, they both made the leap and nobody can tell me they EXPECTED Trout to blow up the way he did or Harper to hit fairly well to this point. You’re seeing it from a current standpoint saying those 2 are far superior to Machado, but prior to Harper and Trout entering the league they were viewed exactly the same as Machado is, perhaps SLIGHTLY higher, but not head and shoulders above him.It’s a justifiable comparison.

By: steviep23

steviep23 — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 17:12:26 +0000

You only say that because of how trout is playing this year. He hit .220 in 40 games last year. All 3 trout, Harper, and Machado are/were top 10 prospects in baseball. The real mistake would be not making a move and letting Betemit stay at 3b. Even if Machado doesn’t hit well at first, his glove will be an upgrade.

By: paperlions

paperlions — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 17:04:00 +0000

Yeah, because Trout and Harper are good comps for Machado.

By: rockthered1286

rockthered1286 — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 16:57:31 +0000

Totally agree with @alang here. Trout and Harper come to mind as 2 players to make the jump from AA ball to the bigs, and would you say that “retarded their development?” Not a lick. In fact, they embraced it, adjusted quickly, and have looked dominant. Does it happen all of the time? No. But is it possible? You don’t know until you try, but to simply assume making the jump will be detrimental to his development is nothing short of a big assumption that you’d need to back with stats before trying to convince people you’re right.

Pitchers are a completely different animal. In that case I would be more likely to agree, but with a position player, let alone a top prospect like Machado, it’s foolish to assume he’ll struggle, fail and regress all from a 15 day stint in the bigs.

By: alang3131982

alang3131982 — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 16:21:28 +0000

Paper – why is it stupid? A win could be worth a ton to the Orioles this year.

How will 14 days retard his development? You have no way of knowing that. What if it actually helps his development — he sees tougher ptichers and begins to understand how he’ll be worked at the MLB level and goes back to the minors and knows what he needs to work on, whether it be identifying breaking pitches or attacking early in the count, etc.

Unless you have some sort of proof that bringing up a stud prospect for 14 days causes irreparable harm, how can you say this is stupid? Fact is, you dont know.

By: edgarallan926

edgarallan926 — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 16:12:15 +0000

No no no, you’re forgetting all the collective executive experience that the posters have on hardballtalk.com haha. Great point, I see no harm in this move. He’ll bat 6, 7 or 8 and play 3rd base so expectations for him aren’t high given the play there thus far. I have no problem with them letting him settle in and do his thing.

People have raved about his maturity, similar to Trout, so why not give the kid a chance now than wait the three weeks that they would have called him up in anyway.

By: theawesomersfranchise

theawesomersfranchise — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 16:09:50 +0000

Trout was a great minor league hitter when he got the call, sporting a 160 wRC+. He looked ready, Manny does not.

By: theawesomersfranchise

theawesomersfranchise — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 16:06:58 +0000

Tulo was a year older
Hate to break it to you, a year makes a difference

Manny needs that other year

This is a fail post

By: steviep23

steviep23 — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 15:36:56 +0000

Didn’t the Angels bring up Trout to play 40 games at the end of last year? Huge mistake that was…

By: thereisaparty

thereisaparty — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 15:35:29 +0000

Minor correction: he turned 20 on JULY 6, not August 6.

By: paperlions

paperlions — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 15:11:48 +0000

Bringing up top prospects for short stints and then sending them back down = stupid

When the potential value to the MLB club is minimal (which it would be in your scenario) and there is any chance that 1) he would sit the bench a lot or 2) it could retard his development after he just adjusted to AA-level competition….there is no upside whatsoever to such a move.

It would be smarter to just call him up to stay than to yoyo him back and forth.

By: rockthered1286

rockthered1286 — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 14:44:41 +0000

You’re also assuming this is a permanent move. I’ll fill you in on what’s not mentioned: utility INF Ryan Flaherty went on the DL yesterday with mono. He’s down for 15 days. In response to that, Machado comes up for a stint. This is not permanent unless his bat blows up. In a few weeks he’s likely to move back down to triple A, but what’s the harm in giving the kid a shot when he’s hitting at a .440 clip in his last 10 at double A, just hit for the cycle a few days back, and has been practicing at third recently? What’s the worst that can happen? He gets a few E’s on the board, his bat drops off and he moves back down? That’s pretty much the collective capabilities we’re getting out of Reynolds, Betemit and Davis at third right now. This is a godo experience for the O’s to see what we have in him for a few weeks without losing too much offensively AND defensively.

And people have been saying our playoff hopes are slim since day one and yet we’re still here, tied for a spot at 9 over .500 and winners of 8 out of our last 10. We haven’t dropped off yet and you may be waiting a while for that one…

By: rockthered1286

rockthered1286 — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 14:25:46 +0000

Buck’s already said they will start him tonight, and it looks as though he’ll be starting against lefties (so tonight, off 2 nights, then back in the lineup on Sunday if the Royals stay on track with rotation).

Not expecting him every night, but you’re right he won’t be here long unless his bat blows up. Again Flaherty on the DL prompted this move. When he’s back from mono, odds are Machado drops back down to triple A to finish out the year.

By: mordecofe

mordecofe — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 14:24:55 +0000

Keith Law, for one, though Machado could play in the bigs out of spring training.

By: geoknows

geoknows — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 14:18:09 +0000

Citation, please. What scouts? The only scouts I’ve seen quoted say that he’ll be great, but he isn’t ready for the bigs yet.

By: bravojawja

bravojawja — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 14:18:05 +0000

I sure hope this kid isn’t related to Julio Machado.

By: geoknows

geoknows — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 14:16:26 +0000

At this point, he’s more likely to help them to more losses. He just isn’t ready.

By: paperlions

paperlions — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 13:35:06 +0000

This feels like a desperate move with little upside and some potential risk.

Scouts all say he’ll be great. They also say he’s not ready on offense or defense.

He struggled earlier because he was adjusting to AA, which is totally understandable for a 19 yr old (now 20 yr old)….but if he struggled to adjust to AA earlier this year, what makes anyone think he’s ready for the Majors. The jump from AA to MLB is far greater than the move to AA was….he required an adjustment period for that move….but now he’s supposed to help the MLB club only a couple months later?

A 20 yr old in AA is already pushing/challenging a prospect….there is no reason to be an idiot about it….especially for a team that has so many holes that their hope of making the playoffs is still pretty slim (even being tied for a spot right now).

By: bmorelikeme

bmorelikeme — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 13:23:15 +0000

They wouldn’t bring him up if they weren’t planning on starting him. I’m as surprised as anybody by this move, but I can’t see them bringing up a consensus top 5 prospect to sit him on the bench. He will be the starting 3rd basemen. Davis/Betemit/Reynolds with platoon between DH and 1B.

Also the baseline for Oriole’s 3B this season is .246/.352/.438 with terrible defense. I’m not convinced he will be much of an offensive upgrade right now (although his ceiling is way above that) but all the reports about his defense at SS are glowing. I’d expect he’s an upgrade in the field.

By: bmorelikeme

bmorelikeme — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 13:23:06 +0000

They wouldn’t bring him up if they weren’t planning on starting him. I’m as surprised as anybody by this move, but I can see them bringing up a consensus top 5 prospect to sit him on the bench. He will be the starting 3rd basemen. Davis/Betemit/Reynolds with platoon between DH and 1B.

By: born2rock1956

born2rock1956 — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 13:12:09 +0000

I’m sure it’s going to be a day to day thing. We have to see how Buck is going to use him. I have seen young talent brought up to early and it ruined them. I don’t think putting butts in the seats should even be a factor when it comes to a situation like this. That’s politics. I look for Buck to use him if and when we have a big lead. Maybe in a pinch hitting role. I doubt if he will be starting. This will give him a taste of the big show. I don’t expect him to be here very long, unless he finds a telephone booth and becomes superman..

By: churchoftheperpetuallyoutraged

churchoftheperpetuallyoutraged — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 12:37:19 +0000

hes the number 1 prospect at SS according to mlb.com ahead of Profar and Lindor

Collective rankings from other guys:

(1) Keith Law – Profar #1, Machado #3
(2) Kevin Goldstein – Profar #1, Machado #5
(3) Jim Callis – Profar #2, Machado #9

Not sure why people would use mlb.com’s prospect guy when the other three are far more readily available.

1 – http://insider.espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/8150343/jurickson-profar-texas-rangers-new-no-1-prospect-baseball-mlb
2 – http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=17781
3 – http://www.baseballamerica.com/blog/prospects/2012/07/midseason-top-50-prospects-list-2/

By: alang3131982

alang3131982 — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 12:36:55 +0000

There is one way this move makes sense: if his glove can play at third. that IF defense is a huge problem with the dregs they throw out there at third. If he can play an average defense and put up an OBP around .310, it’ll be a positive move for the Orioles.

originally i thought this was a mistake, but if he can add any sort of defense, it should really help. It’s just a shame it came after Britton got demoted, the pitcher who needs glvoes the most. I swear he’s shellshocked by the crap defense behind him.

By: Charles Gates

Charles Gates — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 11:57:06 +0000

Remember when everyone was mad at GMs for holding back exciting young prospects to delay their arbitration clocks? Ahhh…the good old days.

By: rockthered1286

rockthered1286 — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 11:32:41 +0000

redguy- have you not been watching the O’s play? They’ve been asking a second baseman in Andino who never played third before this season to start taking a few days at third.