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Baltimore Orioles Ryan Mountcastle Looking Good in First Games

By Kristen Bentley|
BALTIMORE, MD - AUGUST 23: Ryan Mountcastle #6 of the Baltimore Orioles doubles during the fifth inning of the game against the Boston Red Sox at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on August 23, 2020 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)
BALTIMORE, MD - AUGUST 23: Ryan Mountcastle #6 of the Baltimore Orioles doubles during the fifth inning of the game against the Boston Red Sox at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on August 23, 2020 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)

With veteran first-baseman Chris Davis on the IL, the Baltimore Orioles had to fill his absence, and they did it with a 23-year-old prospect.

With five games under his belt, it looks like top-prospect Ryan Mountcastle is doing well with the Baltimore Orioles.

He has yet to hit a home run, but he’s got himself an extra-base hit, and he’s actually on a few little streaks.

In his five games, Mountcastle has batted in the bottom half of the order, and has had four plate appearances in each game. In the first game, he walked twice and has since added two more walks to his total.

Mountcastle’s first hit came on August 22 in a win against the Red Sox. And, he’s had a hit in his last four games, which is enough to call it a hitting streak. In two of the four, he’s had two hits. In the August 23 games against the Red Sox, he had two doubles. And, in the five games, he’s been on base every time – another streak. All of that work at the plate has given him a respectful slash of .375/.500/.500.

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Of course, the sample size is small. But, Mountcastle earned this slash hitting off of pitchers: Martin Perez, Zack Godley, Tyler Glasnow, Trevor Richards, and the perpetually tough Rays bullpen. Mountcastle seems to be getting more comfortable with each at bat.

As a prospect entering the League in 2020, there wasn’t any video of him playing in minor league games this year. So, teams have to work off of 2019 footage. There is a chance they will figure him out and his batting slash will return to Earth. But, as we’ve seen with the Orioles, 2020 is proving that anything is possible at the plate.

Mountcastle earned his first RBI on August 25 against Glasnow. He hit a single to right field that scored Alberto. At the time, the Orioles were down 1-3.

But, the sign of good things to come is the four walks in five games. Yes, Mountcastle has had a strikeout in every game, but he’s got the same number of walks as Hanser Alberto and Cedric Mullins, who have four and five times as many games under their belts. Chance Sisco leads the Orioles with 12 walks so far this season. This just shows how aggressive the Orioles are, and young players tend to be.

The Orioles originally planned to put Mountcastle in the infield, but Brandon Hyde put him in left field in four of the five games. So far, Mountcastle has been error-free in 33 innings of work. His range is a tick above average, but it’s still early to see if he can make the dramatic run-robbing plays that separate an average outfielder from Gold-Glove outfielder.

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