Baltimore Orioles: Is Jonathan Schoop the Next Machado?
Jul 12, 2015; Baltimore, MD, USA; Baltimore Orioles second baseman Jonathan Schoop (6) singles during the sixth inning against the Washington Nationals at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Washington Nationals defeated Baltimore Orioles 3-2. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
There is a lot to like right now about Baltimore Orioles second baseman Jonathan Schoop, and it is more than the fact that he is likely just about the most likeable personality on the O’s roster.
On a Sunday where the Orioles pounded out 14 hits and scored nine runs, the biggest single blow came off the bat of Schoop – a two-out, three-run homer in the fourth inning that truly broke the game open. It was home run number six on the season – coming in merely his 18th game. That is a pace for 54 over a full and healthy season.
Schoop has now played in a total of nine games both before and after his injury that sidelined him for a lengthy time. Here are his numbers before and after …
| AB | Hits | Avg | RBIs | HR | |
| Before | 29 | 7 | .259 | 7 | 3 |
| After | 32 | 11 | .344 | 7 | 3 |
Overall, Schoop is batting .305 this season. And yes, the sample size is small; but it really does look like he has matured much over the player who hit just .209 through 137 games during his first full season last year. Added to this is a defensive ability and power arm that is at the top of the position as compared to other second basemen.
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But is Schoop a budding Manny Machado in terms of development?
Right now, Schoop is age 23 and 9 months, whereas Machado just earlier this month turned age 23. But Manny was brought to the majors earlier and has a total of 380 games played. Schoop has now appeared in 160.
Clearly Machado has broken through this year to become, as hoped, one of the very best players in the sport. He is currently the number five ranking player in all of baseball in terms of the WAR statistic (5.2) – ahead of even such as Max Scherzer and Josh Donaldson.
So, could Schoop be on the verge of a similar breakthrough? My own opinion on this is that if he is not ready to do so right now, that time is not terribly far away. He is going to be a streaky player, just like most others on the Orioles. But I believe Schoop has greater talent than almost all of the others who are up and down in performance to be able to learn the necessary adjustments as his experience grows.
This much is for sure: the mechanics of his swing are about as good as anyone, anywhere. He snaps the head of the bat on the ball with great timing and authority, and the ball often seems to explode off the lumber.
He will be a free-swinger, perhaps not quite as much as Adam Jones, but enough to tally some strikeouts. But even with this, he has so far this year cut it down to about 20%, dropping from 25%.
Together with Machado, this is a great tandem for Orioles fans to enjoy over at least the next handful of years.