Member » The rookie backstop’s impressive minor league numbers did

not translate to Baltimore. But the future could still be bright for Sisco."WhiteFanposts Fanshots Sections Commentary & AnalysisOrioles ProspectsOrioles Game RecapsOrioles News and RumorsCamdencastCommentary & AnalysisFormer top prospect Chance Sisco did not seize an opportunity in 2018New http://www.tigersfanproshop.com/authentic-joe-jimenez-jersey ,4commentsThe rookie backstop’s impressive minor league numbers did not translate to Baltimore. But the future could still be bright for Sisco.ByBen HansfordOct9, 2018,9:00am EDTShareTweetShareShareFormer top prospect Chance Sisco did not seize an opportunity in 2018Brad Mills-USA TODAY SportsLosing a club record 115 games was a rough way for the Orioles to spend their summer. But rebuilding clubs can find bright spots in a season like we just endured, such as top prospects using meaningless games to grow into quality major league players. That, sadly, did not happen for catcher Chance Sisco this season. Sisco was selected by Baltimore in the second round (61st overall) of the 2013 draft out of Santiago High School in California. He came into the organization with a reputation of being a strong hitter. His .306/.386/.420 slash line throughout the minor leagues has shown that scouting report to be accurate. While his defensive skills behind the plate lagged behind his offense throughout his minor league career, his overall game developed to the point where he was the Orioles’ top prospect in 2017. Baseball America, Major League Baseball, and Baseball Prospectus all had him in their top 100 prospects at some point.The path for Sisco to become the O’s everyday catcher appeared cleared twice with the departure of Matt Wieters and Welington Castillo as free agents. But he did not seize the opportunity, as his 2017 OPS of .736 at Norfolk was the lowest season total as a professional. He appeared to finally get his opportunity entering this season when he made the Opening Day roster for the first time in his career. His .419/.471/.839 spring training slash line to go along with eight extra base hits in seventeen games is what earned him his spot on the roster. Caleb Joseph entered the season as the starter, but Buck Showalter indicated that Sisco would get playing time. Sisco was used quite often by Showalter in the first third of the season. He started twelve games in April and fourteen in May. Through June 18, he was having an average offensive season: a .674 OPS with two homers and sixteen RBI. His OPS was an impressive .340 but he was striking out in over one third of his at bats. It added up to a 0.5 WAR, which was pretty good for the 2018 Orioles. At that point, the Orioles demoted him to Norfolk with the intent of having Joseph and Andrew Susac handle the catching duties. Tyler Young did a great job of recapping the O’s perplexing decision of sending a top prospect back to the minors. He should have remained in Baltimore, but his performance didn’t force the O’s to keep him around.The Orioles catching situation was a revolving door and Sisco was recalled in time to start on June 28. Sisco was back in Baltimore, but his offensive game didn’t join him. In eight starts (11 appearances) from then through July 12 Sparky Anderson Jersey , his slash line fell from .218/.340/.328 to .195/.306/.289. Ouch. He was demoted again and did not return to the Orioles until September. He appeared in five games (three starts) that month and did not reach base. Ouch again.The disastrous final two stints in Baltimore on the season ruined what was a pedestrian start to the season for Sisco. His final 2018 numbers were .181/.288/.269 with two homers and 16 RBI in 63 games. His OPS was a dreadful .557. For a player whose offensive ability was his calling card in the minors, these numbers are concerning.Sisco’s defense, which was considered his weakness as a prospect, was surprisingly decent this season. In 385.1 innings behind the plate, he threw out 31% of attempted base thieves. The league average was 28%. He allowed only one passed ball and committed one error. Fangraphs rated him as costing the team one run defensively. Baseball Reference’s sabermetric stats all place him within two runs of league average. Pitchers ended up with a 5.02 ERA when Sisco was behind the plate, better than the team’s overall ERA of 5.18. All in all, it is hard to look at 2018 as anything other than a disappointment for Chance Sisco. While we could argue that the decision to send him down to Norfolk in June was a poor one, it wouldn’t have happened if Sisco would have produced offensive numbers closer to what he put up in the minor leagues. With that said, the progress he made defensively is encouraging.Change in leadership across the board will mean a fresh start for Sisco. Joseph and Wynns will be in the mix catching duties next season, but neither of those players is a particularly attractive option. Sisco’s minor league numbers do not figure to lie; the guy has a track record of hitting. His hitting style also translates well to the highest level. He is unlike so many of the all-or-nothing hitters we’ve seen in Baltimore. Scouts have raved about his ability to take the ball to the opposite field and his knowledge of the strike zone, hence the .386 minor league OBP. 2019 is not looking bright for the Orioles. But one thing we can reasonably expect and root for is Sisco to seize the starting catching opportunity in Baltimore. If he becomes the plus offensive catcher that scouts and his minor league numbers say he can be, the Orioles will have a nice backstop in place should they contend again in three or four years. The final season of arguably the best center fielder Arizona has ever had was not the one anyone was hoping for."2018 rating: 6.482017 rating: 7.282018 salary: $7,750,0002018 performance: 113 games, 460 PA, .257/.316/.484 = .800 OPS Jack Morris Jersey , 106 OPS+, 110 wRC+, 2.5 bWAR, 2.5 fWAR2019 status: Free-agent with qualifying offer attached (offer declined)After the 2017 playoff season came to a close, a number of questions popped up surrounding the future of A.J. Pollock. Would the team keep him for 2019 and risk losing him to free agency? Would they trade him, trying to turn that one year of control and ability to make a qualifying offer into pieces for the future? Would Pollock be healthy enough to play significant time? Eventually, Arizona’s front office decided to try and build on the 2017 success and go for it all in 2018. This meant retaining potentially valuable trade pieces in Pollock and left-handed starter, Patrick Corbin.Over the first six weeks of the season, Pollock established himself as one of the few healthy, productive members of the Arizona offense. Through May 14, Pollock had batted .293/.349/.620 with 11 home runs for an OPS of .969. Simply put, he was getting the job done, regardless of position played. Pollock though, was continuing to play exceptional defense in center field on top of reminding the world just how dynamic a player he could be. During the span, he also swatted 10 doubles, three triples Michael Fulmer Jersey , and stole nine bases. In short, Pollock was performing like the Pollock of old, the 2015 version that put up a 7.2 bWAR season.But then things went south. Playing hard defensively, as he is known to do,Pollock dove for a sinking liner to center and missed. In the process, he managed to roll the thumb on his glove hand. The injury forced him to leave the game and sent Pollock to the DL.Pollock wound up missing the next six weeks of the season. When he came back, his swing was still noticeably off. Gone too was his power stroke. While neither Pollock or the team ever tried to deflect the performance issues to lingering effects from the thumb injury, it is difficult not to draw a straight-line conclusion from his thumb being injured to his swing being off and devoid of power when he returned.Pollock’s struggles at the plate over the last two months of the season coincided with Arizona’s swoon late-season swoon. The result is, Pollock took quite a bit of the blame for the team’s offensive woes. On the other hand, he continued to be strong defensively.While not necessarily the home run-robbing highlights of Jarrod Dyson, these are the sorts of plays that Pollock made on a routine basis. His ability to cover so much ground and his strong center fielder instincts were a big part of why the Diamondbacks were the nest defensive team in baseball in 2018.Despite Pollock’s struggles after returning from injury, he was not entirely absent. Just about the time people started writing him off, he would have a good game. This sort of play just served to irritate fans even more in the long run, as it was clear he still had the talent, but that he just wasn’t performing on the regular.By the time the season came to a close, fan reception of Pollock had soured badly. Despite this Leonys Martin Jersey , Pollock did salvage some goodwill with his final strong performance of the season, which happened to come at home in the final game against the Dodger. On that night, Zack Greinke pitched six solid innings and Pollock backed him up with a two hit night, one of those hits a three-run homer deep to center field, high enough to make it onto the concourse.That’s not a bad night for his final home game as an Arizona Diamondback.OutlookAfter the season was over, the Arizona Diamondbacks made A.J. Pollock a qualifying offer. Unsurprisingly, Pollock turned the offer down. With the Diamondbacks trading away Paul Goldschmidt and also having a mandate to trim payroll, it seems unlikely that the Diamondbacks are even talking to Pollock’s agent about a potential return. Now, the Diamondbacks await news of how much Pollock signs for elsewhere. In order to maximize their return from making the qualifying offer, the Diamondbacks are rooting for Pollock to sign a deal worth more than $50 million. This seems like an almost sure thing to happen as it is rumored that the Mets, Reds, and Phillies are all showing significant interest in Pollock. When he does sign a deal worth more than $50 million, the Diamondbacks will net themselves another draft pick which will be located between the first round the the COmpetitive Balance A round of the draft.