The Orioles are likely to select the contract of outfielder Mason Williams to join the club as a September call-up, per Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com reports (link). However, it doesn’t seem as though top prospect Ryan Mountcastle will get the opportunity to make his MLB debut this month (Twitter link).
Mountcastle, a 2015 supplemental rounder (36th overall) ranks among the organization’s top five prospects and has had a productive season in Triple-A, hitting .310/.343/.527 with 25 homers, 35 doubles and one triple through 548 plate appearances. He also comes with significant concerns about his defense and is regarded by some as a prospect without a true position on the field. Scouting reports from Fangraphs, MLB.com and Baseball America all agree that Mountcastle’s bat alone should make him a big league regular, but each notes that his throwing issues continue to push him down the defensive spectrum. Eric Longenhagen and Kiley McDaniel of Fangraphs liken his profile as a bat-first regular with huge defensive questions to that of Nicholas Castellanos.
It’s not clear whether a desire for further defensive refinement or a preference not to begin Mountcastle’s service clock is the driving factor behind the decision not to bring him to Camden Yards; most likely, both are factors. Regardless of his ultimate defensive home, Mountcastle seems likely to emerge in the big leagues next season, but his omission from the team’s expanded September roster is no doubt a bitter pill for fans who were hoping for a glimpse of the future in 2019. It’s been a trying season for Orioles fans, who’ve seen their club win the second-fewest games in Major League Baseball.
In Williams, 28, the Orioles will take a look at a top-prospect-turned-journeyman who has enjoyed a nice season in Triple-A Norfolk, where he’s batted .309/.372/.481 with 18 home runs, 15 doubles, three triples, and four stolen bases. The grandson of former big leaguer Walt Williams, the lefty-swinging outfielder was originally a fourth-round pick of the Yankees organization back in the 2010 Rule IV draft. Once ranked as the game’s 74th-best prospect by MLB.com prior to the 2012 season, Williams has shown some glimpses in limited big league action, with a .289/.325/.396 (93 wRC+) output across 200 at-bats split between the Yankees and Reds rosters since his MLB debut in 2016. Williams signed a minor league deal with Baltimore this past March.
BBRef says Walt Williams is Mason’s granduncle, not grandfather.
Talk about a great catch!!
To bad you can’t teach mountcastle the same
my interest was piqued by the mention of such. wasnt aware Mason had a MLB relative.
One of the great baseball nicknames. Walt “No-Neck” Williams. Pretty solid player too.
Mountcastle is a 1B/Dh he’s fallen to the bottom of the defensive spectrum already. There’s really no place for him to play unless we decide Nunez can play 3rd base. And Mancini has no business playing in the outfield. So I’m fine with this move. His plate discipline leaves a little to be desired as well.
The castellanos comp is an okay comp but Castellanos probably has a 55 grade arm. Mountcastle’s is well below average. The range and the offensive profile are solid comps though. There’s really no way you put Mountcastle anywhere but 1B/Dh. I don’t think you can even hide in RF like Castellanos because the arm is so bad.
Hard to believe this guy came up as a shortstop with all of his defensive issues.
Yeah, it was essentially known he would not stick there almost immediately though. We kept playing him there for several seasons despite the obvious flaws. Which was probably done because of our complete lack of MIF prospects.
Castellanos has learned to be a smart and reliable outfielder. He hits the cutoff man when necessary and goes for the assist when it won’t cost his team. Mountcastle would do himself a great service if he decides to brand himself as a DH or follows the path of Castellanos to become a solid corner option.
Branding himself as an DH serves no purpose if he’s never played an MLB game. You’ll do whatever is needed to get that call-up.
Before the trade, I kept hearing that Castellanos defense was poor. I have not seen him make great sliding catches like Jayson Heyward, but I have not seen him mishandle any ball either. With the way he hits, I hope the Cubs resign him.
Were they going to need to add him to the 40 man for rule 5 reasons anyway? If not leaving him off for now and not tying up the roster spot for the offseason makes sense for a team that needs all the flexibility they can get.
He’ll be added this offseason. However, he will not accrue service time for September. As he would’ve if he were added and called up now. There’s really no place for him to play at the moment. Mancini and Nunez are filling the positions he can play. Then you have Davis drawing the occasional start there as well. We don’t figure to be competitive for a few years and there’s no reason to bring a guy up now and start the clock.
Moundcastle sounds like a guy who should be leading a fox hunt.
Walt “no neck” Williams!
Williams could catch on as a 4th OF on a team if given the chance. he did quite well in that capacity in CIN.
The American League should invent a position for Mountcastle where he bats but doesn’t play in the field at all.
The National League should too.
4 guys for two spots (DH/1B)….so what do you do? Eat the Davis deal? Move Boom Boom?….Kinda tough no matter which way they turn…..
There’s no point in trading Mancini if the return isn’t sufficient. Bat first corner players are probably the least valuable productive trade assets in baseball today. You let Nunez play 3B And bring Mountcastle up next year. I can tell you Renato Nunez is a better 3B than Trey Mancini is a LF/RF. Davis is irrelevant. We obviously should cut him but it wouldn’t make much of a difference if Nunez occupied the 3B slot. Nunez would just fill the role of Rio Ruiz. Mountcastle fills Nunez’s current role. Davis continues to flounder on the pine.
In a perfect world you dump Davis because Nunez/Mancini/Mountcastle can all easily fill in at 1B. But there’s enough versatility w guys like Villar, Alberto, and Wilkerson that we can accommodate Davis’ deadweight.
I’d agree on all points, but it’s not a perfect world. It’s going to be tough for Elias to convince ownership to eat the remainder of the Davis deal, especially since, to reports, they were heavily involved in that decision. I just can’t see it happening.
i dont see why they feel the need to play Davis. obviously using a 25 man spot on a guy who will never play is far from optimal, but if he’s that terrible and you have plenty of alternatives why just let him go home and then kick him from the 40 man whenever you believe Mountcastle is ready for a full-time job next year.
If you let him go home.
You just release him now. There’s no point in keeping him on the 40 man and let him sit at home like he’s not on the team. Ownership isn’t willing to let him go yet. That’s pretty obvious. Its not rational anymore because he’s a sunk cost but it is reality. He didn’t kill us being on the roster this year. Solely because the replacement would’ve been some waiver wire fodder. Releasing Davis still doesn’t give Mountcastle an everyday role, as I alluded to up above.
Think they should bring up everyone , minor league teams are way better than the pros they are putting out