The MLB All-Star Break is upon us so no better time to look back at the first half of the season and continue our 2024 tradition of ‘Three Up and Three Down’ on GCR where we rank the best and worst Orioles performers of the week, but this time for the first half of the season, and for all the position players specifically. The guys each name three position players, three trending up, three trending down, based on how they they’ve performed to this point in the season.
Oh and good news! Three Up And Three Down is now presented by Costas Inn! Every Monday we’ll be giving away a $50 gift card for someone who participates so you can try delicious things like THE CRAB TOWER.
Without further adieu:
Glenn’s Three Up:
3. RF Anthony Santander
I really struggled with whether Jordan Westburg (who has the higher WAR) or Ryan O’Hearn (better batting average and OBP) should get this spot. But ultimately Santander’s .804 OPS and the insane value of his hot streaks ended up winning out. Not to mention the massive throws we still see him make.
2. C Adley Rutschman
There’s no doubt that he struggled down the stretch but he was performing at an MVP caliber early in the year. He still sits with a 3.2 bWAR and was well deserving of starting in the All-Star Game.
1. SS Gunnar Henderson
Yeah, he’s Gunnar Henderson.
Griffin’s Three Up:
3. 3B Jordan Westburg
He’s second on the team in fWAR at 2.7, brings so much value being able to switch between 2B and 3B on an inning-by-inning basis (even though his baseball savant metrics don’t back that up for some reason). He’s won this team games this season and still carries an .800+ OPS coming out of the break, a theme with my list.
2. RF Anthony Santander
Recency basis is a thing, sure, maybe that’s what kept Adley off my list, but Tony’s June was unbelievable. Makes me wonder where this team would be without him. And I struggle to do that with the 2025 Orioles, meanwhile there’s guys that will be on my other list that become easier to envision without next season.
1. SS Gunnar Henderson
Leads baseball in WAR, everywhere. He’s the MVP if Judge doesn’t hit 60.
Glenn’s Three Down:
3. OF Colton Cowser
Unlike Rutschman, Cowser’s hot start has not held up. While there are still peripheral reasons for hope, he’s been OPS-ing .606 since May 1. A few years ago, the Orioles could wait it out and let Cowser work through his issues. The 2024 Orioles simply can’t give him quite as many ABs.
2. 3B Ramón Urías
To give him credit, he does still take some walks and he had a decent offensive stretch right when it looked like his roster spot was coming up. And it FEELS like he’s a better defensive player than the metrics say he is. But it is almost impossible to justify his spot over Coby Mayo at this point.
1. CF Cedric Mullins
We really thought things were turning around when he hit .286 in June but he’s hitting .188 again in July-and that’s with the miracle that ended the first half.
Griffin’s Three Down:
3. 2B Jackson Holliday
I know it’s not necessarily fair, only two weeks in the bigs, but that’s the issue. His expectations were astronomical, he was supposed to runaway with rookie of the year, with his power, his defense…and we just literally haven’t seen it. A -0.3 WAR is almost as difficult as a producing a +0.3 WAR. He’s been a disappointment in 2024 to this point, there’s no debate there. Imagine telling someone on April 1 that we’d actually consider doing Holliday for Tarik Skubal.
2. LF Austin Hays
He’s really struggled. He only hits LHP now, his defense isn’t what it used to be. He’s a right-handed hitting outfielder so he’s got a role on this team right now, but he’s helped magnified how lackluster the Orioles outfield (namely CF and LF) has been offensively.
1. CF Cedric Mullins
It really does make you feel sick having to continually put him so far down on these lists. 2024 has been good for Cedric, he’ll show a flash every now and then, but they’re becoming fewer and fewer.
You can listen as the guys give their Three Up and Three Down and some more reasoning behind it by clicking play below:
Photo Credits: Colin Murphy/PressBox
