Opening Day
1. Brian Roberts
2. Adam Jones
3. Nick Markakis
4. Luke Scott
5. Miguel Tejada
6. Matt Wieters
7. Nolan Reimold
8. Garrett Atkins
9. Cesar Izturis
I think the biggest question mark of the Orioles lineup this season will be whether Wieters can develop into the power hitter everyone thinks he can be. Personally, I think he’s well on his way to becoming a Joe Mauer-type player, not only behind the plate, but at the plate as well. Wieters came into last season with an enormous amount of pressure on him and was pretty much put in the Hall of Fame before he even stepped foot on a major league field. He struggled the meet those expectations when he was called up, but really came on strong as the season came to an end. Wieters finished his rookie season with a .288 average to go along with nine homers and 43 RBI. Manager Dave Trembley played around with Wieters’ position in the lineup last season, starting him toward the bottom and eventually plugging him in almost every possible spot besides cleanup. Trembley may start Wieters out in the sixth spot or higher, but I think depending on his production, Wieters could be hitting cleanup before the All-Star break.
The first three spots in the lineup are almost a given at this point. Roberts, Jones and Markakis proved to be a very solid 1-2-3 combinations last season. Roberts has the uncanny ability to get on base and into scoring position quickly. It seems like he either hits a single, then steals or hits a double (56 last season) and scores. Jones emerged as somewhat of a clutch hitter last season, but was forced to miss almost the whole month of September due to an ankle injury. All reports point to a healthy return in 2010, which is good news for the Orioles. And what more can be said about Markakis? Orioles’ fans have come to expect a .300 average, 100 RBI, 40-plus doubles and more than a handful of clutch hits. The only knock on Markakis is his power, as he has not hit over 23 homers since he’s been in the league. But if he can consistently get on base and knock in runs and Wieters turns out to be the Orioles’ cleanup hitter, this will only make Markakis more valuable.
With the addition of Tejada this off-season, the Orioles added a veteran hitter who will be top-10 in the league in batting average over the course of the season. He is a perfect No. 5 hitter and will fit in great in the 2010 version of the Orioles. Once again, Tejada isn’t much of a power hitter anymore, but he can knock in runs and produce base hits in the clutch.
Reimold’s spot in the lineup is another question mark because I feel like he’s eventually going to be a decent power hitter and run producer, but he’s not quite to the point where he can break the fifth or sixth spot because of the players in front of him. That could very well change over time especially looking at his production during his rookie season. He played in 104 games in his first season and tallied 100 hits while batting .279 with 15 homers and 45 RBI. I think Reimold is going to be a key part of the Orioles’ future and could be somewhat like Markakis, but with more power.
The addition of Atkins is also an interesting point to look at because he has the potential to be yet another .300 average and 25 home run guy in the Orioles lineup. With the word “potential” being the key, Trembley should start him out toward the bottom of the lineup until he can prove himself to be the consistent hitter he was in past seasons. Then you have Izturis, who will most likely holding down the No. 9 spot. He is the weakest Orioles’ bat, so hopefully he can find his way on base somehow because if he does, he has the potential to steal some bases.
Once again, the biggest storyline of this season as it pertains to the lineup will be Wieters. Hopefully he will be the power hitter we all think he can be. If so, the lineup will look something like this…
End of Season
1. Roberts
2. Jones
3. Markakis
4. Wieters
5. Tejada
6. Scott
7. Reimold
8. Atkins
9. Izturis
If the Orioles had a guy that could hit 30 they would be a forced to be reckoned with. I like that Jones developed power last season and hope to see that continue in 2010. This line up is solid though, they were last year and I'd like to think that adding Atkins, Tejeda, and a more experienced Wieters will only make it better.
As for that future article on the rotation, brace yourself…I was working on it last night.
I think there a boatload of different combinations Trembley can use with the guys he has.
Wieters has a LONG way to go to be mentioned in the same breath as Mauer. I get the hype but Mauer is the reigning MVP.
I agree with STG regarding power numbers. I'm 33 and I remember in the mid to late 80s when 35 HRs was challenging the league lead. Today's generation view 30 HRs much differently than yesterday's.
This lineup needs to score alot of runs.
Problem is this team scored a heckuva lot of runs last year. They really need their pitching to turn around and quick. I know Zach has something coming up on the rotation, so I'll hold off on comments there.
A couple of observations…
I can tell I'm a lot older than you guys because when you say "The only knock on Markakis is his power, as he has not hit over 23 homers since he’s been in the league."…23 homers is a LOT of homers. You guys are used to the inflated numbers of the "juiced era". If they could get 23-25 homers from their outfielders, believe me they'd be in great shape. Including having a center fielder in Jones with power in a non-steroid era is huge. From top to bottom, this club could put up big offensive numbers, save Izturis.
Once again, it's going to come down to holding down the opposition. I hope to see a future article on how the rotation will set up.
If this team was in the AL Central, we'd be talking what they needed to do to make the playoffs. It's a damn shame they have to play 38 games against the Yankees and Red Sox.
As Will-o says, we need to develop CYA, Camden Yards Attitude.
I stand corrected…while they were 5th in BA, they were 11th in Runs in the AL…1st in homers. Kinda doesn't add up does it?!?!
I was gonna say…..
Lots of solo HRs and lots of idiotic base running that took runs off the board.
It was hard to watch.
Took runs off the board and ended innings and rallies.
I would be surprised if we got much at all out of Atkins. If Crowley can get him turned around then I will be a believer that the Crow is a magician.
I am worried that Reimold will have a bit of a sophomore slump. He showed the ability to make some good adjustments, but opposing pitchers will have a much better plan to attack him after seeing him last year.
I agree with Mark that Wieters has a ways to go to be compared with Mauer. He may never be as good a hitter as Mauer, but that would be ok. Wieters' power #'s could exceed Mauer, but I don't seeing him hitting for the aveerage that Mauer its for.
As far as Markakis goes, I too am not that worried about his power totals, but he needs to get back to drawing more walks and he needs to be more consistent. He was almost as streaky as Luke Scott last year.
Lack of walks is also a reason why the Orioles scored relatively few runs last year. And the Orioles were not 1st in the AL in homeruns last year, they were 11th. Only 8th in OBP.
Jeff,
According to Sporting News, the Orioles were 1st in homers, unless I'm misreading something…check it out:
http://www.sportingnews.com/baseball/teams/oriole…
Ok, while the above website does list them as first, it is a misprint on the Sporting News website. I checked the Yankees, who had 244 and they were listed as 6th!!!
I hope the BSR editors are better than Sporting News' editors!!!!!!
Atkins is a bottom of the order type of guy, but I think he will improve from last season. Don't under estimate the power of the Crow!
I was impressed with Reimold's ability to adjust to opposing pitchers, you usually don't see that from rookies. Wieters is definitely a power guy and we began to see it later in the season. Even if Wieters hits with as much power as Mauer and only hits .300 for the season, that's perfectly fine with me!
Jeff, I agree with you on Markakis. He started the season really poorly at the plate. He was really impatient. I don't know that he's as streaky as Luke Scott…I don't think anyone is, but he's got to start faster this season and take more pitchers at the plate.
The magic and power of Crow.
You guys gotta be kidding me. This guy has been stealing pay checks for YEARS.
One thing that was crazy last year was the amount of LHP starters the Orioles faced last year. And LHP dominated them. Guys like Markakis must improve vs. lefties.
Not sure how a career .250 hitter is able to maintain a position as a major league hitting coach.
STG
It's not his .250 career average that annoys me.
There are many successful managers and coaches who weren't stellar on the field players. In fact, I'd rather have a guy who had to work his tail off for his successful to be a coach than a star who relied on natural ability.
I just think there is this myth that Crowley has been some great coach is ridiculous. He's been the hitting coach for this team from 1999 on. How in the world has he kept his job through countless managerial changes?
It really goes to a much bigger issue and that is how the team has hired managers. Can anyone name me another team that continually forces incoming managers to KEEP coaches that have been on staff from previous managers?
God this team drives me nuts.
Mark — Maybe I can hang with you at the BSR Texas Hold 'Em Tourney after all! We finally have that spot-on relationship you have with STG! I could not agree more with your above analysis of The Crow…Well said!!!
My buddy just sent me this…..http://www.sporcle.com/games/tk926/orioles_lineup…
Very appropriate for this topic.
I scored 155. It's pretty daunting.
Mark — Good for you…I just posted an embarrassing 124. Missed on Conine, Surhoff, and Brook Fordyce!!!