Baltimore Orioles: Five Storylines To Follow In The Second Half

2) What do the Baltimore Orioles do with Chance Sisco?

The Chance Sisco who walks to the plate for the Baltimore Orioles is not the same Chance Sisco who found himself in Triple-A Norfolk to begin the season. With the Tides, Sisco looked frustrated on a nightly basis, opponents ran at will against him on the basepaths, and very little appeared to be going right for the 24-year-old catcher. Now with the Orioles, Sisco is oozing with confidence and flexing some real power at the major league level.

https://twitter.com/Orioles/status/1146234801747312640

Through 19 games, Sisco is slashing .283/.394/.667 with six home runs. He isn’t being used as a platoon option for Brandon Hyde, but has been a steady contributor for the O’s and opening eyes, once again.

With Adley Rutschman clearly on his way to becoming the starting catcher in Baltimore for a very long time, hopefully, Sisco has to show Mike Elias and his staff that he can contribute in some capacity for this franchise. Elias doesn’t have to do anything right now with his catchers. He can continue to play Pedro Severino and Chance Sisco for the rest of 2019 and the majority of 2020, if he wants. Or will he make a move?

Will a team come calling for Pedro Severino at the trade deadline? If so, does Elias feel confident in giving Sisco primary duties for the next two years? Do we start to see Chance Sisco at different positions at some point in 2019? Is Sisco moved in the offseason after a dominant end to 2019?

So many questions! The catching position will be an intriguing storyline to follow from here on out. Both Severino and Sisco are auditioning to remain with the organization, both have been bright spots in the lineup, and both are fun players to watch. Let’s see how this one shakes out over the next few months.

3) Anthony Santander- Major League outfielder for the Baltimore Orioles or just another guy?

Similar to Chance Sisco, Anthony Santander is making the most of his opportunity at the major league level. Beginning the season in Triple-A, Santander showed a streaky bat, hitting just .259 in 48 games for the Tides. His call-up was a bit surprising, only because he was in the midst of one of his cold streaks at the time, but he’s been moderately warm since boarding the shuttle to Camden Yards.

The storyline to follow here is whether or not Santander develops into a major league outfielder or another version of Joey Rickard. Even the slightest bit of success for an O’s player makes him look like an All-Star, which clouds the view of exactly what type of player they are. Santander is the perfect example of this.

Right at league average during his big league time, Santander is currently hitting .274 with a .333 OBP, four home runs, and owns a wRC+ of 105. His sub-18% strikeout rate is a product of his much-improved awareness at the plate. Compared to his 2018 stint with the Orioles, Santander has cut his O-Swing rate (swings at pitches outside of the zone), increased his overall contact rate (85.4%), and has a minuscule 7% swinging strikeout rate.

Defensively, Santander isn’t afraid to sacrifice his body to make the catch, routinely crashing into walls to save an inning and occasionally robbing a home run in Houston (Orioles Defensive Play of the Year?). If he can continue to get on base and make improvements at the plate, maybe he develops into a solid fourth-outfield option or an intriguing trade piece. There is a long list of young outfielders who will be demanding playing time in the near future and you can only keep so many.

Be sure to watch Santander closely the rest of the way.

4) Don’t expect the big names to make Camden Yards home just yet, but these few names may.

Mike Elias continues to preach patience with Ryan Mountcastle and Keegan Akin, thankfully. I don’t want Keegan Akin up in the big leagues this season and there’s just no reason to have Mountncastle up. He’s only 22, there’s plenty of time and that bat is real, so let’s hang back and relax.

However, there are a few names who we may see in the near future. The biggest name could be RHP Dillon Tate. Tate struggled with the Double-A Bowie Baysox as he began the year as a starter, but he’s found a new role and a big wave of success since returning from a stint on the Injured List.

Now a reliever, Tate looks like a brand new pitcher on the mound in Bowie (I’m literally watching him right now as I finish this story, produce swing and miss after swing and miss). Over his last 10 appearances, Tate owns a 2.16 ERA and a 19/1 K/BB ratio across 16.2 innings. In four of his last seven outings, Tate has thrown at least one inning without giving up a hit or walk.

The Orioles are going to need arms, especially if they deal a few at the trade deadline, and Tate could be an option from the farm to provide valuable relief innings. After all but writing off Tate, he’s turning heads again.

Tate likely won’t be the only reliever to make his big league debut at some point this season. Don’t be surprised to see Hunter Harvey finally take the mound at Camden Yards. Harvey has been in the bullpen for the past month and now calls Norfolk home after a promotion to Triple-A before the All-Star break.

As a reliever, Harvey and his 100 mph fastball has logged 12 innings, striking out 13 hitters and allowing zero runs on just two hits. Even if Harvey doesn’t get the call (again, no rush with him either), following his success in Triple-A is a big storyline to follow closely.

However, watching Harvey climb the mound at OPACY to end the season would be quite the moment for O’s fans. I think I just got the chills.

5) Who will the Baltimore Orioles trade? Who will they keep?

In an interview with The Athletic’s Dan Connolly ($), general manager Mike Elias discussed the possibility of deadline deals, saying that while numerous discussions have taken place, the market hasn’t been hot, yet. Once second-half play gets underway, expect this all to change.

More from Birds Watcher

• 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 Orioles have pieces who can be attractive to competing teams. Andrew Cashner is having a career year, Dylan Bundy has shown improvements and is still very young, Jonathan Villar provides speed and versatility, Mychal Givens has the stuff to be a fine bullpen piece (just not a closer), Pedro Severino is finally showing a solid bat to go with his impressive defense, and even Hanser Alberto may garner a few looks.

There’s also the much-discussed potential of a Trey Mancini deal and even the possibility of moving pieces like Renato Nunez. For contending teams looking to add help on the cheap, the Orioles have plenty of options.

For the Orioles, they could also elect to hang on to many of these pieces as they bridge the gap between the current roster and a roster which will compete. Unlike last season, Baltimore doesn’t have to jump on any deal that comes their way. They can sit back and wait as demand increases and the prices rise.

What do you think, O’s fans? What storylines are you anxious to follow?