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<\/p>\nThe Baltimore Orioles have a slugger that probably needs to be getting at-bats like a full-time player at the rate he\u2019s hitting.<\/p>\n
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The Baltimore Orioles have certainly had some struggles offensively as the season hits the one-month mark.<\/p>\n
According to MLB.com, just four Orioles have the necessary at-bats to qualify for batting average rankings. Of those four, only one is batting better than .250.<\/p>\n
Center fielder Cedric Mullins has a .280 batting average through 24 games. The other three hitters \u2014 Ryan Mountcastle, Jordan Westberg and Adley Rutschman \u2014 are batting .227, .218 and .205, respectively.<\/p>\n
Examine all of the Orioles\u2019 hitters and just two batters are hitting better than .300. The leading hitter is infielder Ram\u00f3n Ur\u00edas, who had another solid game for the Orioles in Game 1 of their doubleheader with the Detroit Tigers on Saturday.<\/p>\n
Ur\u00edas went 3-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored, which came on a solo home run late in the game.<\/p>\n
Ur\u00edas has played 17 games this season and through the first game on Saturday slashed .340\/.403\/.434 with one home run and eight RBI.<\/p>\n
He played at third base in the first game, but his value is his ability to play across the diamond. His lack of power \u2014 his career high is 16 home runs back in 2022 \u2014 is what holds him back from being the type of player that can qualify to be ranked in the batting title race.<\/p>\n
There is also the matter of the constellation of stars around him. The Orioles have one of the most promising young rosters in baseball. Shortstop Gunnar Henderson and second baseman Jackson Holliday are going to play practically every day. Baltimore also has third baseman Coby Mayo in the minor leagues, chomping at the bit for a change, along with uber-prospect Samuel Basallo at Triple-A Norfolk.<\/p>\n
Ur\u00edas brings versatility to the lineup, as he can play every infield position and even serve as the designated hitter. But that versatility only gets him so far in terms of the everyday lineup.<\/p>\n
He won\u2019t be a free agent unitl after the 2026 season, so the Orioles control his rights, which isn\u2019t a bad thing. If any of their top infielders get hurt, as Henderson did to start the season, Ur\u00edas can step right in.<\/p>\n
He will probably need to go to another team to get more playing time, but right now his career slash is .265\/.331\/.409, which makes him productive no matter the position. He\u2019s also scored 174 runs.<\/p>\n
The Orioles can get things turned around offensively this season. Ur\u00edas can help get them there.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Baltimore Orioles have a slugger that probably needs to be getting at-bats like a full-time player at the rate he\u2019s hitting. The Baltimore Orioles have certainly… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":51317,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-51316","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"\n