Baltimore Orioles Minors Monday: Third baseman Drew Dosch

With the rumors that the Baltimore Orioles Manny Machado is still being courted by a few teams, the team might need to replace him sooner rather than later.

If the Baltimore Orioles need a third baseman, there is one who has moved up the minor league ladder to Triple-A Norfolk Tides.

The third baseman is Drew Dosch.

Stats from his college years

This 25-year-old third baseman was drafted by the Orioles in the seventh round of the 2013 draft. He attended Youngstown State University in Ohio where he was named a First-Team All-Horizon League selection and a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League All-Star Game, according to an article on Youngstown State’s website. As a sophomore in2012, he hit .353 with a slugging percentage of .527 with eight home runs. In his junior year in 2013, he struck out 25 times and walked 36 times. As a high school student, his batting average of .524 placed him 11th in the history of high school baseball in Ohio.

Good times in Triple-A

He has continued to stand out in the minor leagues, where he has quickly moved from the instructional league to Triple-A. In 2017, he played 120 games in Norfolk batting .265/.323/.414. He hit 8 home runs and 47 RBIs as well as 36 doubles. When he wasn’t playing third base, he was the designated hitter. As a third baseman in Triple-A, he recorded a range factor of 2.61.

Comparisons to Machado in the Minors

For comparison purposes, let’s look at Machado’s minor league stats. Interestingly, he never played in Triple-A but was quickly moved to the majors after very little time in Single-A and Double-A. In 2012, he played 109 games with the Double-A Bowie Baysox and recorded a slash of .266/.352/.438 with 11 home runs, 59 RBIs, and 26 doubles.

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Dosch hit .261/.306/.412 with nine home runs, 55 RBIs, and 19 doubles in 113 games in Double-A in 2016. His Double-A numbers are a bit lower than Machado’s, but not much. The biggest difference between the two players is on defense. In Double-A, Machado’s range was 4.55.

In an article on Fangraphs from October 2017, Dosch evaluated himself as he was called an emerging prospect. He said he knows he’s not a plus power player or speed player. He said,

"“At the end of the day, it’s about going out there and putting your best swing on the ball, and everybody’s swing is different.”"

Next: The best DH's in Orioles history

Keep your eyes on Dosch as he could become the guy who takes Manny Machado’s spot at third.