Markakis closing in on Majors
03/05/2006
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- Nick Markakis will tell you he's ready for the big leagues, in behavior if not in words.
Baltimore's top prospect picks his quotes very carefully, but his body language displays the confidence of a player well beyond his age and experience level. Still, his candidacy for the Opening Day roster is open to debate from both sides of the aisle.
"It's always difficult," said Markakis, speaking about the uncertainty around his next assignment. "But you've got to go out there and still perform, play to the best of your ability. Hopefully, things will work out. At this point, I'm just trying to go out there and help the team."
Despite scant experience against upper-level pitching, Markakis has handled himself well through the early stages of Spring Training. Consequently, important people are watching his every move and marking his progress every day. So far, to his credit, he hasn't seemed out of place.
"You're impressed with the way he acts. He looks like he's a kid that belongs here and knows he can play here," said Jim Duquette, the Orioles' vice president of baseball operations. "He's not brash about it. He's got the quiet confidence that you see in good, young players."
Markakis has had success everywhere he's been, so he has no reason not to be confident. The outfielder has shown power and patience at each stop in the Minor Leagues, and he hit .339 in a 33-game trial at Double-A Bowie last season. The Orioles would like to see more of the same, but they're open to promoting him quickly if his skills warrant it.
In fact, none of the team's decision-makers will rule him out of the Opening Day picture. And it's not for lack of competition. Baltimore brought in several players to compete for playing time in the outfield, ranging from Corey Patterson and Richard Hidalgo to part-time options like Kevin Millar and Jeff Conine.
"He's got a great demeanor," said Millar, endorsing his potential teammate and rival for playing time. "He carries himself like a professional, and obviously, he's got tremendous upside. I think this kid's got legitimate talent and probably has a legitimate shot at making this club."
If that opinion holds true across the board, Millar and Conine could settle in at first base and designated hitter. It's a dilemma, though, for one reason. Markakis can be promoted at any moment, so the Orioles have little or nothing to lose by letting him take his time. Then again, if he's ready, there's no reason to hold him back.
"The hardest thing is to make a judgment too early," said Mike Flanagan, executive vice president of baseball operations. "It will be day-to-day. He'll get a lot of playing time and a lot of opportunities and we'll just have to wait and see."
"I'm still getting to learn him, watching him handle himself. He looks like he's not intimidated," said Orioles manager Sam Perlozzo. "I think that's the biggest thing you're going to have to see. He's pretty much done what we'd like to see him do, but it's early. He's got a ways to go.
"[Once] we get a little deeper into the spring, we'll get some of the better pitching on a consistent basis. It's going to be interesting, but I have total confidence he's going to hold his own."
That's a popular opinion, and so far, it's been well-founded by the statistical record. Markakis has never batted below .280 or posted an on-base percentage lower than .370 in his four Minor League stops, and his slugging percentage has clicked higher at each progressive level.
In short, he hasn't seen any adversity yet, and the Orioles aren't sure when he will. Whenever it crops up, Markakis has to prove he can handle it.
"The first factor is you have to see if the ability's there. The second factor is his mental capacity," said Duquette. "How do you think he'll handle things as teams start to make adjustments to him? How will he handle failure at the Major League level? Everyone goes through that. Those are two of the factors, anyway."
In this case, composure doesn't seem to be a concern. Markakis handles everything with a cool detachment, including persistent questions from a curious media corps.
"This is my second Spring Training with the guys. I feel comfortable around them. I know what to expect up here and I feel a little more confident," he said recently. "As a hitter up there, I just block everything out. I just focus on me and the pitcher, and that's it. I focus on taking good swings and putting the good part of the bat on the ball.
"If you do that, hopefully, you'll be successful."
So what will go into the final decision? How will the Orioles ascertain if their prized prospect is good enough to start the season in the big leagues? How will they decide if he'd be better off with more experience? Like most things, the men in charge will take everything in and ultimately trust their instincts.
Simply put, if he's better than any of his peers, he'll start over them. The O's won't worry about stifling his progress by feeding him too much, too soon.
"All the good ones are [confident]," said Flanagan. "They pretty much tell you when they're ready. You can't make them be ready. You can want them to be ready, but ultimately, they'll tell you."
Source: http://baltimore.orioles.mlb.com/
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- Nick Markakis will tell you he's ready for the big leagues, in behavior if not in words.
Baltimore's top prospect picks his quotes very carefully, but his body language displays the confidence of a player well beyond his age and experience level. Still, his candidacy for the Opening Day roster is open to debate from both sides of the aisle.
"It's always difficult," said Markakis, speaking about the uncertainty around his next assignment. "But you've got to go out there and still perform, play to the best of your ability. Hopefully, things will work out. At this point, I'm just trying to go out there and help the team."
Despite scant experience against upper-level pitching, Markakis has handled himself well through the early stages of Spring Training. Consequently, important people are watching his every move and marking his progress every day. So far, to his credit, he hasn't seemed out of place.
"You're impressed with the way he acts. He looks like he's a kid that belongs here and knows he can play here," said Jim Duquette, the Orioles' vice president of baseball operations. "He's not brash about it. He's got the quiet confidence that you see in good, young players."
Markakis has had success everywhere he's been, so he has no reason not to be confident. The outfielder has shown power and patience at each stop in the Minor Leagues, and he hit .339 in a 33-game trial at Double-A Bowie last season. The Orioles would like to see more of the same, but they're open to promoting him quickly if his skills warrant it.
In fact, none of the team's decision-makers will rule him out of the Opening Day picture. And it's not for lack of competition. Baltimore brought in several players to compete for playing time in the outfield, ranging from Corey Patterson and Richard Hidalgo to part-time options like Kevin Millar and Jeff Conine.
"He's got a great demeanor," said Millar, endorsing his potential teammate and rival for playing time. "He carries himself like a professional, and obviously, he's got tremendous upside. I think this kid's got legitimate talent and probably has a legitimate shot at making this club."
If that opinion holds true across the board, Millar and Conine could settle in at first base and designated hitter. It's a dilemma, though, for one reason. Markakis can be promoted at any moment, so the Orioles have little or nothing to lose by letting him take his time. Then again, if he's ready, there's no reason to hold him back.
"The hardest thing is to make a judgment too early," said Mike Flanagan, executive vice president of baseball operations. "It will be day-to-day. He'll get a lot of playing time and a lot of opportunities and we'll just have to wait and see."
"I'm still getting to learn him, watching him handle himself. He looks like he's not intimidated," said Orioles manager Sam Perlozzo. "I think that's the biggest thing you're going to have to see. He's pretty much done what we'd like to see him do, but it's early. He's got a ways to go.
"[Once] we get a little deeper into the spring, we'll get some of the better pitching on a consistent basis. It's going to be interesting, but I have total confidence he's going to hold his own."
That's a popular opinion, and so far, it's been well-founded by the statistical record. Markakis has never batted below .280 or posted an on-base percentage lower than .370 in his four Minor League stops, and his slugging percentage has clicked higher at each progressive level.
In short, he hasn't seen any adversity yet, and the Orioles aren't sure when he will. Whenever it crops up, Markakis has to prove he can handle it.
"The first factor is you have to see if the ability's there. The second factor is his mental capacity," said Duquette. "How do you think he'll handle things as teams start to make adjustments to him? How will he handle failure at the Major League level? Everyone goes through that. Those are two of the factors, anyway."
In this case, composure doesn't seem to be a concern. Markakis handles everything with a cool detachment, including persistent questions from a curious media corps.
"This is my second Spring Training with the guys. I feel comfortable around them. I know what to expect up here and I feel a little more confident," he said recently. "As a hitter up there, I just block everything out. I just focus on me and the pitcher, and that's it. I focus on taking good swings and putting the good part of the bat on the ball.
"If you do that, hopefully, you'll be successful."
So what will go into the final decision? How will the Orioles ascertain if their prized prospect is good enough to start the season in the big leagues? How will they decide if he'd be better off with more experience? Like most things, the men in charge will take everything in and ultimately trust their instincts.
Simply put, if he's better than any of his peers, he'll start over them. The O's won't worry about stifling his progress by feeding him too much, too soon.
"All the good ones are [confident]," said Flanagan. "They pretty much tell you when they're ready. You can't make them be ready. You can want them to be ready, but ultimately, they'll tell you."
Source: http://baltimore.orioles.mlb.com/
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