With 5 games left on the spring training schedule, I have decided to take a look at the different stats. I went to MLB.com to get the leaders in some cats and found some interesting results:

Batting Average:
Jeremy Guthrie - 1.000 (2 for 2)

Yes, that's right. St. Guts is leading all Orioles in batting average. Obviously, with only 2 at-bats, it doesn't qualify, but I still find it interesting. When I looked at his two hits, it was more or equal to the amount of hits by Matt Wieters (1), Freddy Bynum (1), and Ben Davis (2). Perhaps we have a sleeper at DH on non-pitching days.

The real leader of batting average is none other than:
Scott Moore - .500 (13 for 26)

It seems my Scott Moore rave will come early this entry. The kid is doing everything he can do to make this team, and if he doesn't make it then it would be a crying shame. He has proven that he is capable of being a contributor in some capacity to the team. I would like to see him start, but the man standing in his way with six kids is Mora who batted a 2nd best .438. It's obvious Mora has stepped up his game because he knows his job is being threatened.

The other 2 notable names would have to be Guillermo Quiroz and Kevin Millar. They are batting .345 and .342, respectively. Ramon Hernandez is the starter, but I am convinced that Quiroz is a solid back-up catcher. If he puts up a .275 average during the regular season from the back-up role, it would allow Hernandez to be rested a little more. I am not suggesting Quiroz to be the starter; Razor is a major part of our offense this year in the middle of the order, so we need his bat in there regularly. I just think it will be nice to have a back-up catcher come in that could produce and help the team instead of being a liability.

Millar is our clean-up hitter this year. He is in no position to not be hitting well. We need a .275+ batting average from him, so he can drive in runs. His bat got off to a slow start last year, but he performed well once inserted regularly. While he may not give us 20 home runs, I would not put it past him to drive in 90 runs with Markakis batting in front of him.

Stolen Bases:
As a team, we stole 19 bases. Brian Roberts is responsible for 7 of them. If you take out the 7 combined steals of Chris Roberson, Luis Terrero, and Eider Torres, then you are left with only 5 bases being stolen by other people on our roster. Brandon Fahey and Luis Hernandez both stole 2 bases while Nick Markakis stole 1. Since only one of Fahey or Hernandez will be playing this year, I see this as only 3 bases being stolen outside of B-Rob. I don't like this; in fact, I am very worried about this. If we lose Brian Roberts to the Cubs, then we lose 70% of our stolen bases. We are not a long ball club, so we have to rely on stealing bases, sacrificing, and hitting the ball to the right side (otherwise known as "small ball"). Any club that has so much speed wrapped up in one player should have a contingency plan to replace that kind of speed, and we do not have it. I hope we discover another base burglar.

Strikeouts (not the good kind):
Luke Scott - 15 in 35 at bats

First, can i say this? Ow! Scott cannot do this during the regular season and needs to rope in the swing if he is going to stick on this team as a regular. Obviously, this strikeout rate will not continue at its current rate, but he struck out more times than Mike Costanzo (13 in 39) in less at bats. I want him to succeed and give us a solid left fielder. I don't want to see Jay Payton getting at bats on this team nor do I want to see Jay Gibbons out there patroling. He'll have plenty of rope, but if he continues to be ineffective, Trembley will stick someone else out there regularly or platoon Scott. Anyone for Scott Moore? I'm just kidding. I hope he rights his swing and keeps the K's under 120 this year.

Doubles - I will make mention of a few names here:
Melvin Mora - 6 in 44 ABs
Adam Jones - 4 in 43 ABs
Scott Moore - 3 in 26 ABs

A good sign of a good hitter is one who ropes a lot of gappers. It usually means he is hitting the ball solid and seeing the ball clearly. Anyone who is in a hot streak will be hitting a lot of doubles and a few will turn into home runs. Mora having 6 this spring makes me start to believe he will step up and be a capable #2 guy in the line-up. I don't think he'll bat .300+, but if he can bat .280 with 35 doubles, it would allow Markakis and Millar plenty of RBI opportunities.

Adam Jones hitting 4 doubles and Scott Moore hitting 3 are good signs for good young players. Jones will be a future stud and cornerstone of this team, but at the bottom of the order he could provide some hidden gap power to spark some runs. If he stays focused on hitting it to the gaps instead of muscling up for home runs, he will move up in the order much faster with a much higher batting average. Markakis is a great example. In 2006, his first full season, he batted .291 with 25 doubles and 16 home runs. He stuck with his patient approach and hit 43 doubles and 23 home runs the following year. In fact, he hit 26 more extra base hits in his 2nd season than he did in his first. Adam Jones should put up 2006 Markakis numbers this year with some more steals. You should not expect anything more out of him, but when he does exceed those numbers, then you can take it as a pleasant surprise. Moore was already discussed, so I'll leave him be.

Time to switch it up to the pitchers.
K/BB Ratio (The Good):
George Sherrill - 7:0 (7K, 0 BB in 8.0 IP)
Jamie Walker - 6:0 (6K, 0 BB in 8.2 IP)
Jeremy Guthrie - 7:1 (14K, 2 BB in 13.2 IP)

Anyone notice how these guys are what is going to keep our pitching staff together this year? It is no secret that Guthrie has become the Orioles ace this year, Sherrill the closer, and Walker is our most dependable bullpen arm. Regardless of the spring ERA's (which I typically don't pay too much attention to), these guys are not putting guys on for free and that is huge for a team that walked everyone and their brother last year. I just wish I could look at the other guys on the staff with the same kind of optimism.

K/BB Ratio (The Middle):
Brian Burres - 4:1 (4K, 1 BB in 7.2 IP)
Matt Albers - 3:1 (9K, 3 BB in 10.1 IP)
Greg Aquino - 7:2 (7K, 2 BB in 9.1 IP)

Aquino probably should be put in the group above, but it is numbers like these that make him a no brainer for our bullpen. We cannot afford to have guys coming in the game walking people with the game on the line. Aquino needs to maintain these type of numbers to earn a late inning role.

Burres and Albers are two different types of pitchers, but they are doing what the rest of the rotation is not doing. They aren't giving up free passes. I think Albers is the favorite of these two while some may argue that Burres has earned his shot. Honestly, Burres will get exposed in that type of role. When he had to pitch in a pinch, he was effective; when he got shoved into the rotation, he was not able to consistently keep the Orioles in the game. I like his big curveball, but he is going to give up some bombs in hitter friendly Camden Yards. Albers has a sinker and tries to induce ground balls. This is the type of pitcher that needs to be hitting the mound every five days for the Orioles.

K/BB Ratio (The Ugly):
Daniel Cabrera - 7:6 (14K, 12 BB in 17.1 IP)
Dennis Sarfate - 11:9 (11K, 9 BB in 10 IP)
Steve Trachsel - 5:4 (5K, 4 BB in 13 IP)
Adam Loewen - 2:3 (10K, 15 BB in 12.1 IP)

Steve Trachsel is not really deserving of being on the list as he has only walked 1 batter every 3 innings or so, but I included him to show how he is not going to be able to get the big strike out when we need it.

Daniel Cabrera and Dennis Sarfate are scary similar. Sarfate we all knew has to control his ball more, but he is able to strike out the next guy and get out of any trouble. If he can get his whip down to 1.30 or lower, then he will be an asset to our bullpen. Cabrera, on the other hand, can only be described as being Cabrera. I hope he goes 200 IP, 200K, 200 BB. It would be the greatest show on the planet. It still amazes me the game he pitched 5 innings, struck out 10, walked 10, and somehow didn't allow a run. Honestly, how does one pull that off? I never had that type of talent or did I ever have the ability to walk 10 guys. You truly have to be good at your craft to do that as if you are purposely walking them. In a dream world, Cabrera would have a 3:1 K/BB with roughly 180 K's and 60 BB. This is how I see it working out. If he has a good year, then he will have 180K's and 90 BB for a 2:1 K/BB. This means he will have pitched 200+ innings and been effective most of the year. If he has a Cabrera year (bad is unable to describe him), then I expect 160K's and 120 BB. 4:3 K/BB ratio. He would only pitch 180 IP and be a 20 game loser. It's impossible to project him because he is so wild. I hope for the dream world, and I expect the good year. If he has another Cabrera year, then I expect the Orioles to cut their ties and send him packing.

Adam Loewen. Ow. Why? Ow. I defended him earlier in the year because it was the first games he was pitching in, but he did this type of thing early last year when he was in the rotation, but he maintained a good ERA. You cannot have a WHIP over 2 and be a major league starter. I want him to succeed, but he will fall on the depth chart if he cannot put it together. I think he can but I don't see him putting together a big year. For Loewen, I am looking at an Erik Bedard 2004 type of year. Bedard was 6-10, 4.59 ERA, and a little worse than a 2:1 K/BB ratio in 137.1 IP. I fully expect Loewen to crack 150 IP this year, but I would shut him down in September. He is a big part (hopefully) of our rotation of the future, so it is best to not push him anymore than that. If he can maintain an ERA under 5.00 and a whip of 1.50 he will put up similar numbers.

WHIP (Walks + Hits / IP):
Hayden Penn - 0.60
Greg Aquino - 0.64
George Sherrill - 0.75

Hayden Penn is finally here! Or, maybe he is at least showing why he was promoted so early in his career. Penn is going to force the hand of the Orioles to put him on the major league roster as soon as possible. If he isn't there by June for any reason, I would be surprised. I full expect Steve Trachsel to be traded this year once our team starts to tank or if he pitches really poorly. When he goes, it will be Hayden Penn stepping into the role of starter. I used to favor Garrett Olson, but I cannot watch him walk every batter he faces in the majors. I do that with Loewen and Cabrera, and one man can only have so many heart attacks.

Sherrill is our closer and Aquino is our insurance policy. If they weren't high up on this list, then you should be worried.

It has to be noted that Loewen's is 2.35. Every player who had a whip over 2 has been sent down to the minors. Honestly, Burres has shown that he deserves the rotation spot more than Loewen, but I will give him the benefit of the doubt. And, for all those who were wondering, Esteban Yan's was 8.00. Yeah, he sucked.

GO/AO Ratio (Groundball Outs to Flyball Outs)
Bob McCrory - 7.00
Matt Albers - 4.25
Daniel Cabrera - 3.10
Greg Aquino - 2.50
Adam Loewen - 2.11

Bob McCrory could no longer be ignored. He put up some great fall and spring numbers. I hope to see him this year, but I would not be surprised if the Orioles let him simmer in AAA the entire year. If anything, he will be a September call-up.

This is the stat that tells me who should be in our rotation. Albers and Cabrera produce ground balls. Yes, Cabrera walks a lot of people, but he gets away with it because he gets the ground ball. Albers will be successful for this same reason. When people get on base, they will be able to get the double play to get out of a jam. Adam Loewen is on the tail end of the list, but I would love to see his numbers in the 3 range.

Greg Aquino is our best reliever in this aspect. I don't think he will always be called on in a pinch, but I think if we have a hair situation out there, it might be best served to send him to the mound to try and get the double play. He could very well strike out the batter, but I would bank if the hitter makes contact that it would be on the ground most of the time.

One last fun category for the people.
Errors:
Luis Hernandez - 5 in 54 chances (.907)
Daniel Cabrera - 2 in 6 chances (.667)
Brandon Fahey - 2 in 39 chances (.949) at SS

Hernandez and Fahey are our shortstop options, and I would not put it out of the realm of possibility to see a platoon there since Hernandez has struggled so much. Fahey has played well and earned the spot, but Hernandez is the favored one in Trembley's eye so he still has the job to my knowledge. Obviously, this could change in the coming week, but I have started to accept a platoon at shortstop. Neither of these guys are capable of being a 140 game starter, so why not let them split time. No matter who is playing they will be batting 9th. I really hope Baltimore comes into a free agent shortstop or trades for one before opening day, but we have what we have and neither of them are solid. I favor Fahey, but I suspect that Luis Hernandez is penciled into the starting spot on opening day.

Daniel Cabrera. If anyone is surprised to see his name there, then you need to get your head checked. He can't hit the catcher's glove, so did you think that he could hit the first baseman's glove?

Well, I had fun with the whole thing. I plan on doing a Spring Training summary on Sunday with statistical summary, line-up and roster analysis, and my full projections for each starting player. Send me any questions you have.