Baltimore Orioles prospect shows off his bat in Futures Game

MIAMI, FL - JULY 09: Chance Sisco
MIAMI, FL - JULY 09: Chance Sisco

Even though only one Baltimore Orioles player is wearing an All-Star jersey, there are still reasons to pay attention to the special events surrounding it.

Baltimore Orioles prospect Chance Sisco put on a show at the Futures Game – his second Futures.

While he may not have received the same amount of press as a few of the other players, he showed off his skills on both sides of the dish.

Sisco went 1 for 3 in the game. His lone hit – a triple – was hit hard to centerfield. He earned one RBI as he scored Brian Anderson, a prospect from the Miami Marlins. With the triple, Sisco earned the second run for the winning USA team. Cal Quantrill of the San Diego Padres organization was pitching at the time.

The young catcher covered the plate for five innings before being replaced by Zack Collins who is a prospect with the Chicago White Sox. Sisco caught for Brent Honeywell in the first two innings, Michael Kopech in the third, Beau Burrows in the fourth, and Tanner Scott in the fifth. Honeywell, a pitching prospect with the Tampa Bay Rays, was named MVP of the game after throwing four strikeouts with his dangerous screwball. Honeywell did give up one hit, but Kopech from the White Sox and Burrows from the Detroit Tigers did not give up any hits. Of course, none of these pitchers could have done what they did without Sisco behind the dish.

The USA team did end up defeating the International team by one run. Sisco was the only batter who hit a triple.

So, what does this mean for the Orioles?

Not much, unless he Sisco is called up to catch in 2017.

The current catching platoon isn’t awful. Welington Castillo has the eighth most hits for catchers in the American League. And, Caleb Joseph has the 13th most hits of catchers in the AL. Of catchers who have at least 100 at-bats, Joseph has the 4th best batting average with .286. Castillo has the 8th best with .258. No other catching platoon has batting averages that high. Of course, Salvador Perez has a .290 batting average and has played in nearly all of the Kansas City Royals games.

Castillo and Joseph have 11 home runs, 1 triple, and 16 doubles between the two of them. For comparison purposes, Perez has 18 of his own home runs and 18 doubles to his name. He doesn’t have any triples. So, as individuals, Joseph and Castillo do have room for improvement.

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Is Sisco that much better than these two? Joseph is having the best numbers of his career. His career numbers are .266/.279/.357 with an OPS of .636. Castillo’s numbers are close to his career numbers of .255/.316/.416 with an OPS of .731. Sisco’s minor league career numbers are .316/.394/.427 with an OPS of .821.

Catching the big leagues is different than catching in the minor leagues. The hitters are better and so are the pitchers. The stakes are greater, too. Even if Sisco is brought up to Baltimore, he has a serious learning experience ahead of him.

Next: Are the Orioles in a free fall? Possibly.

Despite the challenges ahead of Sisco, it is encouraging to see that he can perform at a big stadium like Marlins Park.