Brewers add thump to lineup with Jonathan Schoop
Jonathan Schoop's year to date has been a huge disappointment, with a .273 OBP that's down 65 points from last year, thanks to a drop in his walk rate by nearly half. He still has plus power, plays above-average defense at second base, and has generally been better against southpaws last year and so far in 2018. That fits the Brewers' lefty-heavy infield quite well, allowing him to fill in at second or third instead of Mike Moustakas or Travis Shaw (or first baseman Eric Thames, with Shaw perhaps taking over at first). There's some upside left in Schoop given what he showed last year, and the possibility that the change of scenery will help him rediscover some modicum of patience at the plate if only to get himself into better counts.
The Orioles got back one of the best prospects they've acquired this month in this deal, right-hander Luis Ortiz, a former first-round pick of the Rangers who has now been traded twice since he was drafted in 2014. Ortiz is a strike-thrower with a power arm, throwing up to 94-95 mph with fastball and complemented with a plus changeup and fringy breaking ball. He has allowed just 91 unintentional walks in 323? career pro innings, and was posting a strong 6.3 percent walk rate in Double-A Biloxi this year.
Ortiz has been hurt quite a bit, never throwing 100 innings in a pro season, with 68 logged so far this year around yet another DL stint, a monthlong stay for a hamstring pull. And he's fat, which may be part of why he has been hurt so regularly. I don't care if a player is overweight if it doesn't interfere with his performance or his production; we're not selling jeans here, as the saying goes. But Ortiz has yet to show he can hold up for 100 innings or 25 starts in a calendar year, and improving his conditioning would go a long way toward answering that. If he can handle the workload, he's a No. 4 starter with a chance to be a good No. 3. Of all of the prospects they've gotten this month, only Yusniel Diaz would rank over Ortiz right now in the Orioles' system.
The Orioles also picked up Jonathan Villar, who had a tremendous year in 2016 that he hasn't repeated. He has some sneaky power and can play all over the infield. They also added 18-year-old shortstop prospect Jean Carmona. Carmona has struggled in the rookie-level Arizona League this year, but did hit well in the Dominican last year and has some pop with good bat-to-ball skills, lacking physical projection, with some probability he ends up at second base.
