Baltimore Orioles: Four positive takeaways from 2018

Centerfielder Cedric Mullins showed that he can be an everyday option for the Orioles in the future

Cedric Mullins absolutely flew through the Orioles minor league system after being drafted in 2015. The speedy centerfielder never posted a wRC+ below 109 at any level of the minors and broke through into the Baltimore lineup in August of 2018.

Mullins went on a tear in the month of August in the majors, reaching base in 15 of 17 contests and posting a .317/.386/.556 line with 7 walks to 11 strikeouts.

More from Orioles News

• Baltimore Orioles Sign RP Mychal Givens
• Gunnar Henderson: Destroyer of Four-Seam Fastballs
• Which Current Baltimore Orioles Pitchers Have the Best Curveballs?
• Orioles News: Should the O’s Pursue Eovaldi? + More MLB News
• Should the Baltimore Orioles Consider Signing Nathan Eovaldi?

The advanced defensive metrics aren’t great in small sample sizes and they don’t reflect well on his performance but we know two things: he doesn’t have the best arm in center and gets docked a bit for that, and that the Orioles pitchers all struggled this season, forcing him to constantly run all over the outfield.

Mullins’ 9% walk rate and 19% strikeout rate bode well for his future development as a hitter, and the .279 BABIP feels likely to go up considering his speed.

Mullins’ elite 29.3 ft/s sprint speed should translate into more infield hits than average, and once he’s comfortable next year, should make him a stolen base threat at the top of the lineup for the Orioles.

Mullins is a switch hitter but he’s much more developed from the left side of the plate. He posted just a .452 OPS as a right-handed hitter this year so if there’s one area where he really needs to focus, it’s on hitting left-handed pitchers.

At just 24-years-old, Mullins has plenty of time and will have every opportunity to continue to develop as a hitter in Baltimore and he should be an integral piece of the Orioles core heading into the future.