Are Orioles’ hitting coaches doing a good job? | MAILBAG

Question: After watching this team day after day, the hitting is just hard to watch. They talk about adjustments. I see very little. They make an average pitcher look great. I think it’s time for new hitting coaches. What do you think? From: Chuck Wade

Answer: Chuck, I’ve received a number of questions critical of the Orioles’ hitting coaches, not only this year, but for as long as I’ve been writing the mailbag.

I’m not disagreeing with criticisms that you and other fans have made about the hitting approach, but the Orioles have had seven hitting coaches over the past three seasons.

In 2024, they had Ryan Fuller and Matt Borgschulte as well as Cody Asche. In 2025, Asche was the lead coach along with Tommy Joseph and Sherman Johnson. This year, they have Dustin Lind and Brady North.

Perhaps one of the problems is that they haven’t had a consistent voice. Maybe Gunnar Henderson and Colton Cowser, who have been here for all those coaches, are confused by all the different voices they’ve heard.

I don’t know whether Lind and North are good hitting coaches. Certainly the performance of many of the players hasn’t been great, but maybe there’s an argument for not changing hitting coaches each year and see if there’s improvement in 2027. 

Question: Haven’t heard much about the Latin American players signed by the O’s. How is that pipeline doing? Any players ranked as top prospects? From: Phil Cooke

Answer: Phil, according to MLB Pipeline, seven of the Orioles’ top 30 prospects were Latin American signees: Utility player Aron Estrada (No.9), left-handed pitcher Luis De León (11), right-hander Esteban Mejia (13), outfielder Jordan Sánchez (20), shortstop Jose Luis Acevedo (28), left-handed pitcher Andri Hidalgo (29) and outfielder Stiven Martinez (30).

Additionally, outfielders Enddy Azocar (8), Jhomnardo Reyes (23), Harold Rivas (26) and shortstop Wilfri De La Cruz (27) were acquired in trades.

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.