Baltimore Orioles: Three Big Birds From The Month Of August

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BOSTON, MA – AUGUST 16: Jonathan Villar #2 of the Baltimore Orioles scores as he dives head first into home plate past the incoming ball in the third inning of a game against the Boston Red Sox in the at Fenway Park on August 16, 2019 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images) /

As we enter the final month of the regular season, let’s take a look back at three impressive performances from the month of August.

After finishing the month of July with a 12-12 record, the first .500 or better month since August of 2017, the Baltimore Orioles limped through August of 2019 with a 9-19 record, giving up 189 runs in the process, a high for any month this year.

Credit where credit is due as the Orioles did end the month on a high note, going 6-4 over their last 10 games against the Kansas City Royals, Tampa Bay Rays, and Washington Nationals, including a 14-2 win in Kansas City with John Means on the mound in front of his hometown crowd. Before rosters expand and the final month of the regular season begins, let’s take a moment to recognize three of the top performers from August.

There’s no question that the month of August belonged to the one everyday fixture in the Orioles lineup, infielder Jonathan Villar. In 28 games, Villar slashed .333/.424/.629 with seven home runs, 15 runs driven in, and 22 runs scored. His 172 wRC+ was tops on the Orioles roster and ranked 17th in all of baseball, tied with Mike Trout and Adam Eaton. So the obvious conclusion is that Vilar should be re-signed immediately because he provides Mike Trout-like value, right?

Don’t close out this page just yet, I hope you caught the sarcasm oozing out of that last statement. It was, however, a very solid month for the newest member of the Orioles 20/20 club as his future with the franchise hangs in the balance.

Despite finding himself in trouble more often than the Orioles would like, Villar is up to 32 stolen bases this season and became the first Oriole to steal second, third, and home in the same game, per STATS.

He is very quietly having a fantastic season, currently owning a .279/.348/.464 slash with 20 home runs, 29 doubles, and 62 RBI, one away from his career-high. Per Baseball Reference, Villar has nearly matched his career-high bWAR of 3.9. As of Sunday morning, he’s been worth 3.7 bWAR in 2019, is coming off his hottest month of the year, and has one more month to go. Can he end the year as a 5.0 WAR player? It’s likely. A stretch, but likely.

A strong September may lead to a few more phone calls from teams around the league after they all passed on the speedy infielder at the trade deadline. But without much middle infield help in the upper minors and the possibility of sending Richie Martin down to the minors next year to continue his development, could the Orioles hang on to Villar until at least next year’s trade deadline to help bridge the gap? It’s an interesting question heading into the offseason.

BALTIMORE, MD – AUGUST 24: Hanser Alberto #57 of the Baltimore Orioles celebrates after hitting a solo home run during the fourth inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on August 24, 2019 in Baltimore, Maryland. All players across MLB will wear nicknames on their backs as well as colorful, non-traditional uniforms featuring alternate designs inspired by youth-league uniforms during Players Weekend. (Photo by Will Newton/Getty Images) /

Hanser Alberto now owns a Baltimore Orioles record.

When I look back at the 2019 season, three things immediately come to my mind; all of which are positive. There was the moment Anthony Santander became the crown jewel of the United Kingdom, the emergence of MLB All-Star John Means, and Hanser Alberto.

So he isn’t a Gold Glove defender and his average against right-handed pitching is 162 points lower than his average against left-handed pitching, and pretty much no one in baseball hits the ball softer than he does, but Hanser Alberto has been a real delight in 2019.

Alberto was an after-thought when putting together possible 25-man roster projections during spring training. Beginning the offseason with the Texas Rangers, Alberto was claimed off waivers by the Yankees, designated for assignment and claimed by the Orioles, DFA’d and claimed by the Giants, and then DFA’d again before the Orioles re-claimed the utility infielder.

Entering play on Sunday, Alberto ranks third in the American League with a .321 average and has set the Orioles franchise record for hits off a left-handed pitcher, a record previously held by Rafael Palmeiro. His double off Eric Skoglund back on August 30th broke the record.

In August, Alberto hit .354 with 13 extra-base hits and drew five walks. Those five walks were a high for a single month by the free-swinging infielder. His 151 wRC+ ranked second on the team behind Villar and he was held hitless in just seven of his 27 games played in August.

Not only did he break the Orioles record for hits against a lefty on August 30th, he went 5-6 at the plate and joined Renato Nunez and Anthony Santander as fellow Orioles with five-hit days. As pointed out by MASN’s Roch Kubatko, this is just the second time in Orioles franchise history where three different players have had five-hit performances in a season.

Word is that teams are interested in the 26-year-old and it’s unlikely that he can repeat his .414 average against LHP, but Alberto may be worth keeping around for at least another season, especially if Villar is moved.

BALTIMORE, MD – AUGUST 25: Dylan Bundy #37 of the Baltimore Orioles pitches in the forth inning during a baseball game against the Tampa Bay Rays at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on August 25, 2019 in Baltimore, Maryland. Teams are wearing special color schemed uniforms with players choosing nicknames to display for Players’ Weekend. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) /

Dylan Bundy put in a very solid month of work for the Baltimore Orioles in August.

Just a few days ago, I discussed a small adjustment Bundy has recently made with his pitch selection and the overall positive results he has had in August. On the surface, his 1-2 record and 4.11 ERA may not look impressive, but if you look a bit deeper, you see a much-improved Dylan Bundy who is doing exactly what he needs to do right now, which is ending the season on a high note.

Bundy made six starts last month, striking out 33 across 45 innings and putting up three quality starts (his Aug. 3 start against Toronto was two outs away from a fourth quality start).

While his ERA ended at 4.11, Bundy’s FIP came in at 3.39, the lowest mark for any month this year. His 8.5 K/9 IP was close to a season-high, his 2.83 BB/9 IP was the second-lowest mark of the season, and his 50.5% groundball rate was also a season-high for the 26-year-old righty.

The most impressive number of them all was three. Across 35 innings, Bundy allowed just three home runs all month. Yes, the MLB leader in home runs allowed last season and the man who allowed nearly two dingers per game in the first half of the season posted a 0.77 HR/9 IP rate in August. This number hasn’t been below 1.0 since June of 2018 when he allowed 0.66 HR/9 IP.

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If you aren’t ready to declare Bundy an improved pitcher with a positive outlook for 2020, I’m with you. Bundy still needs a big September and continue to show improvements throughout spring training before I’m willing to be optimistic about next season, but his performance over the last 30 days is comforting.

We can’t end this without mentioning Mychal Givens. Givens made 10 appearances, recording a win and two saves while allowing just three earned runs. In 10 innings of work, the Orioles bullpen arm struck out 13, walked just one, and did not allow a single home run. Six of the seven hits he allowed were singles.

Here’s a look at Givens’ FIP numbers by month this season-

May- 4.24
June- 4.04
July- 4.88
August- 1.22

In a month where Orioles pitching gave up 189 runs, Givens was a reliable option out of the pen. Can he do it again in September? If so, will he find himself in a similar situation as Villar with teams calling in the offseason? We’ll see in a few months.

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The Orioles wrap up a weekend series in Kansas City on Sunday before heading to Florida for a three-game set against the Rays. They will play at 1 pm on Monday, followed by a double-header on Tuesday beginning at 3 pm due to Hurricane Dorian. Wednesday is now an off-day before a seven-game homestand against the Texas Rangers and Los Angeles Dodgers.

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As we enter the final month of the regular season, let’s take a look back at three impressive performances from the month of August.

Hanser Alberto now owns a Baltimore Orioles record.

Dylan Bundy put in a very solid month of work for the Baltimore Orioles in August.

More from Birds Watcher

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