Baltimore Orioles: Corner Outfield Production in 2016

May 25, 2016; Houston, TX, USA; Baltimore Orioles designated hitter Mark Trumbo (45) is congratulated by right fielder Nolan Reimold (14) after scoring a run during the sixth inning against the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports /

A look at basic statistics demonstrates that the Baltimore Orioles have made a definitive improvement in offensive production from the corner outfield positions.

This advance has contributed much to the Orioles (in spite of last night’s 10^th inning loss) having a 36-24 record that is only a half-game from being the best in the American League. This pace of winning three out of every five games may not seem to be terribly awesome, but it does set up a 97-win season if maintained to the end. That will work!

Right field and left field were major concerns going into the most recent offseason, and a quick look at the 2015 numbers would show why. Production from O’s left fielders in particular was among the worst in the league.

A connected discussion with this is also what comes from the designated hitter role, as corner outfielders (at least on the Orioles) make up a bulk of the at-bats for DH.

Here are comparative stats from 2015 / 2016 for these three positions, noting batting average, on-base percentage, and home runs from one year to the next. The rank for each stat speaks of where the number placed the Orioles among American League teams…

	Avg>	<Rank	OBP>	<Rank	HR>	<Rank
15 RF	.275	4^th	.318	9^th	24	9^th
16 RF	.292	4^th	.363	5^th	12	3^rd
*15 LF*	.210	14^th	.287	13^th	18	8^th
*16 LF*	.286	3^rd	.343	5^th	9	9^th
15 DH	.253	7^th	.308	11^th	14	11^th
16 DH	.242	9^th	.318	7^th	17	1^st

Right Field 2015 – The 2015 stats in RF are always a bit surprising, as memory does not seem to recall the numbers as having a fourth-best ranking in batting average, for example. Twelve different players spent some time out there, with Gerrardo Parra having the most games … just 43. Delmon Young had 40 and Chris Davis 30, hitting nine homers in those 30 games. So the position was not a total loss in spite of the revolving door of others who brought down the total numbers. But the RF situation was very unsettled for the entire season.

Right Field 2016 – There is still a shifting of players from day to day in right field, but the status is greatly improved over a year ago. Mark Trumbo has more than half of the at-bats from RF with 117 and a .333 average. Nolan Reimold is .308 from his time at the position. It is Joey Rickard’s 15-for-68 (.221) that keeps the numbers from being truly stellar this year.

Left Field 2015 – These are ugly, ugly numbers. It was a year-long struggle with David Lough at .218 and Steve Pearce at .214. Of the 575 at-bats last year from O’s left fielders, only 108 from Reimold and four from Flaherty are still with the Orioles. And that constitutes good news and good change.

Left Field 2016 – Joey Rickard’s early season got the Orioles off to a good start in left field, and his current average from that position is .256. Hyun Soo Kim will soon have more at-bats from this place and his current .337/.414 has greatly bolstered the left field position. Reimold adds an additional 13-for-50 with a pair of home runs. This is altogether a massive improvement over 2015.

Designated Hitter 2015 – The only thing keeping these numbers from being rather horrid was Jimmy Paredes catching fire for half a season with a .279 average in 81 games. Beyond that, there is little we would want to remember about designated hitters in 2015.

Designated Hitter 2016 – Apart from two games with Matt Wieters at DH (a role that he has never done well with), this is evenly split between Mark Trumbo and Pedro Alvarez. The 17 home runs (11 by Trumbo, 6 by Alvarez) ties for best in the American League (with some dude from Boston) and is already three more than came from the entire 2015 season. We would like to see a higher batting average, but the power numbers are doing much to make up for that.