AL East Positional Rankings: Pre-Season RF Rankings Verdict – Ugly
By Nate Wardle
4. Baltimore Orioles – Seth Smith, Joey Rickard, Mark Trumbo, Craig Gentry (Austin Hays – 9 starts)
When the Orioles acquired Smith, they figured they were getting a guy who would hit around .260/.340/.440 with 15 home runs, 20 doubles and play alright defense.
They got what they were looking for. Smith hit .258/.340/.433 with 13 home runs, 19 doubles, 32 runs batted in and 50 runs scored in 111 games as part of a platoon in right field with Joey Rickard, Mark Trumbo, and Craig Gentry.
Smith had a 1.0 offensive WAR and a -1.1 defensive WAR, averaging out as one of his worst years in the major leagues (0.3). While Smith did not commit any errors in right field, he also has below average range, and his runs saved above average was below average.
None of the other guys were very impressive either. Trumbo we haven’t touched on yet, but we will talk about him when we discuss designated hitters, and it won’t be pretty. Rickard looks more and more like a fourth outfielder at this point, Gentry played because of his defense and speed.
Hays is included because he almost started 10 games, and will likely be the Orioles’ starting right fielder in 2018, unless Adam Jones moves from center field.