Should Orioles bunt more? / MAILBAG

Question: Am I missing something or is part of the Orioles’ problem Brandon Hyde’s stubborn insistence on sticking with his game plan and failing to adjust to changing game situations? No hit-and-run, bunting, sacrifice flies, base stealing when conditions seem ripe. No, just step up to the plate and swing away. (And see how well that worked.) The Royals won Game 1 with what essentially was a manufactured run. From: Winston Wood

Answer: Winston, you’re not alone. After watching Cleveland’s David Fry’s squeeze bunt in Game 4 of the Divisional Series, Larry Carsi had a similar question.

I like small ball, but it’s not something the Orioles or other major league teams use.

This season, there were only 452 sacrifice bunts in Major League Baseball. The Orioles had only six sacrifice bunts; I don’t know how many times a squeeze bunt was used. The Orioles’ six sacrifices were tied with Texas for the second fewest in baseball. Arizona had the most, 34, and Detroit had just three. The Guardians had 17.

It was the element of surprise that worked, and I know that analytics don’t favor the use of the sacrifice bunt, and even Earl Weaver disdained it, but I’d like to see the Orioles use some more ways of trying to manufacture runs in 2025.

Question: When are the Orioles going to have the top player among international prospects? From: Derlin Fletes

Answer: Derlin, Samuel Basallo, who’s the 13^th highest-ranked prospect on the MLB Pipeline Top 100 is already the top-rated international prospect in baseball. If you’re wondering about teams, I haven’t seen rankings of organizations internationally.

Most weekdays, I’ll be answering at least one Orioles question. If you’d like to submit a question, send it to: Rich@BaltimoreBaseball.com. Questions may be edited for clarity, length and style.