Baltimore Orioles: Getting Reacquainted with Xavier Avery
Feb 28, 2015; Lakeland, FL, USA; Detroit Tigers center fielder Xavier Avery (64) poses during Photo day at Joker Merchant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports
The Baltimore Orioles have signed former second-round draftee Xavier Avery to a minor league contract after several years away from the franchise.
We barely got to know Avery the first time around, so what has happened with his career in the intervening time? Let’s get reacquainted.
Avery was drafted in the second round in 2008 out of high school in Georgia, at #50 overall. Brian Matusz was the #4 pick overall in that draft, while recently re-acquired L.J. Hoes was #81 in the third round.
The only MLB experience Avery has had in his career was with the Orioles in 2012. After hitting .259 for Bowie in 2011, he split the 2012 season between Norfolk and Baltimore. For 102 games at AAA he batted .236. With the Orioles from mid-May to mid-July and then as a September call-up, he played in 32 games for the O’s, batting .223 in 107 at-bats.
Avery has never made it back to a MLB field. He was traded to the Mariners in 2013 for Michael Morris, and since then he has played at the AAA level for four franchises: Seattle, Minnesota, Detroit and San Francisco. His total combined stats during this time include hitting .282 in 247 games, with a .344 OBP. He also had 51 stolen bases in 72 attempts.
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Avery will turn age 26 on New Year’s Day. Is the left-hander (batting/throwing) a late bloomer or a draft bust?
It could certainly be argued that he is a bust. Yet it could also be rationally argued that he was brought to the majors prematurely and is just now truly ready.
Avery can play all three outfield positions and has been moved around to all of them, particularly left field and center field. He is faster than anyone the Orioles currently have, though that is not an impressive feat or mark of resume exceptionalism. He does also get on base at a good percentage.
However, power is not a part of Avery’s game. He has a total of 41 homers in eight minor league seasons. He did hit one home run with the Orioles — an eighth inning insurance run off the Indians’ All-Star Chris Perez, saving a save for Jim Johnson who gave up a ninth inning run (imagine that).
So how does Avery factor into Orioles plans? I don’t know. It is difficult to see him beyond a utility outfielder and pinch runner. And even that is a stretch to visualize, as the Orioles will likely add another quality outfielder along with the signing of Hyun-soo Kim. And then there is Jones, Reimold, Hoes, Trumbo, Paredes, Alvarez, Urrutia and the Rule 5 selection of Joey Rickard. But this is more of the organizational depth that Duquette likes to build.
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If you find yourself overly happy during the holidays and you need something to pull you down and mellow out your abounding joy, just go and look at the Orioles’ drafts in the area of 2008-2010. It is grim.