Baltimore Orioles: Who could possibly win a Silver Slugger?

The Gold Glove Award nominees have already been announced and Manny Machado is the only Baltimore Orioles player on the list.

The Silver Slugger awards have yet to be announced, but a few Baltimore Orioles hitters find their way on the list of nominees.

Despite the fact that these two awards tend to be lumped together – since their named for metals, they are actually very different from each other. The Gold Glove Award recognizes defensive ability and the Silver Slugger recognizes offensive prowess.

Who picks the Silver Slugger winners?

The Silver Slugger Award winners are selected by managers and coaches. Gold Glove Awards are given out to players at each position with separate awards for the three outfield spots. The same goes for Silver Slugger Awards, but the outfielders are all grouped together.

As a team, the Orioles had several players with notable numbers, but only a few stood out at their positions. Did they stand out enough when compared to players on other teams?

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The three best possibilities

Welington Castillo was one of the best hitting catchers in the AL. His batting average was better than Gary Sanchez‘s, but Castillo fell short in RBIs, home runs, and OPS. He might get a nod for his ability at the plate, but he probably will not win the award.

Jonathan Schoop had his best season to date, with his first invite to the All-Star Game. Unfortunately for him, Jose Altuve also played second base and so did Brian Dozier in 2017. Altuve dominated the entire MLB with his unbelievable slash line of .346/.410/.547/.957. Schoop finished second in home runs to Dozier, but Schoop did lead all second basemen with his 105 RBIs. He’s got a chance, but Altuve’s chance is greater.

Manny Machado probably has the best chance of any Oriole to win a Silver Slugger. However, he does have some competition in the AL with the Detroit Tigers Nicholas Castellanos who had a horrible defensive season, but could hit the cover off of the ball. Machado had 33 home runs, 95 RBIs, and a slash of .259/.310/.471/.782. Castellanos hit 26 home runs, 101 RBIs, and an AL-leading 10 triples. But, Machado hit several grand slams in 2017 and those clutch bombs could put him in a spot to win the award. Grand slams trump triples – every single time.

Close, but no cigar

None of the outfielders will have much of a chance to win a Silver Slugger. There are just too many other players who are better at the plate. Trey Mancini and Adam Jones are good team players who contribute in important situations, but there are just too many others with better stats. Jones is in third after George Springer and Mike Trout in home runs and both men also dominate the slash-line stats, too. In left field, Trey Mancini has competition from Marwin Gonzalez, Khris Davis, and Justin Upton, and those three men have slightly better stats in different categories. Mancini just doesn’t have enough in any one category to dominate in the outfield.

Not a chance in Hell

The Orioles don’t have a chance to win Silver Sluggers at right field, first base, or shortstop. Mark Trumbo won a Silver Slugger in 2016, but he finished 2017 nowhere near Nelson Cruz‘s dominant designated hitter numbers.

Next: It's been a long time since the O's had a Rookie of the Year

It looks like the Orioles award season will be rather quiet after their rather sad 2017 season. They just weren’t good enough.