What’s your early opinion of Orioles manager Craig Albernaz? | MAILBAG

Question: I’m trying very hard to see the difference between the new Oriole manager and the last two. Is there something I’m missing? From: Edward Cuneo

Answer: Ed, it’s ridiculously early to make judgments on Craig Albernaz. Let’s see how he gets through spring training and the first month of the season before you draw any conclusions, and that’s still early.

So far, I like what I’ve seen from Albernaz. He’s confident, knowledgeable and quick on his feet, qualities that I think will help him.

Everything he’s doing is new to him. There’s a huge difference between being a bench coach and a manager. He’s the one making the decisions, not the suggestions, and he’ll have six weeks in spring training to get a feel for his team.

How he manages in August and September is likely going to be different from how he handles April and May. We’ll have plenty of time to talk about his moves after the Orioles play 30 or 40 games.

Question: Can you get a little more in-depth about Nate George? How did he suddenly crack the top 100 prospects? What positions can he be expected to play? What are the O’s plans for him going forward? From: Rusty Wallace-Annapolis

Answer: Rusty, Nate George was the Orioles’ 16^th-round draft pick in 2024. Like many of their draft picks from high school, he didn’t play in the minors in the weeks after the draft.

Last year, at 19, he was named the organization’s minor league  player of the year after he hit .337 with an .896 OPS in 87 games at three levels — the Florida Complex League Orioles, Single-A Delmarva and High-A Aberdeen.

George hit five home runs, drove in 42 runs and stole 50 bases in 75 attempts. He’s a right-handed hitter and played each of the three outfield positions, but played more center than right or left.

I don’t know whether we’ll get to see him in spring training this year, but if he doesn’t get an invitation to major league camp, he’ll get some chances to appear in the late innings of some Grapefruit League games. He’ll play in the Spring Breakout game along with the other top Orioles prospects on March 20^th.

I’m not sure whether he’ll begin the year at Frederick, which is now the Orioles’ High-A affiliate, or move on to Double-A Chesapeake. If he plays as well this year as he did last year, he should move up to Triple-A Norfolk, and while a late-season promotion to the Orioles seems unlikely at age 20, he’s been a most pleasant surprise.

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.