ORGANIZATION REPORTS

• A young Tigers shortstop matures into power, while bringing stability to the club’s projected future infield PAGE 38

• A Twins catcher gets on the same page as his pitchers PAGE 39

• A net win for one Blue Jays rookie PAGE 40

BALTIMORE ORIOLES

Ryan Mountcastle had to exhibit more patience in 2020. At the plate and with his dream of reaching the majors.

The Orioles kept Mountcastle at their alternate training site in Bowie, Md., until Aug. 21, enabling the organization to gain the extra control while also improving his chances of succeeding.

The 23-year-old left fielder arrived a more polished hitter and finished as one of the top rookies in the American League.

Mountcastle batted .333/.386/.492 with five doubles, five home runs and 23 RBIs in 140 plate appearances.

Mountcastle ranked first among AL rookies in on-base percentage, tied for first in three-hit games (five), second in OPS (.878), batting average and slugging, third in multihit games (14), fifth in hits (42), tied for sixth in RBIs and eighth in home runs. His 30 hits and 19 RBIs in September led the Orioles.

Production in the clutch also came more easily to Mountcastle, who hit went 12-for-35 (.343) with runners in scoring position.

Though chosen as the International League’s MVP in 2019, Mountcastle drew just 24 walks in 553 plate appearances with Triple-A Norfolk. He had 11 in his 35 games with the Orioles.

Orioles executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias said that Mountcastle’s rookie production passed the eye test.

“We all watched him,” Elias said. “The at-bats were quality, the effort was spectacular, he looked good in left field, running hard every play. Just carrying himself like a big leaguer from the first minute up here. And I think that’s special.

“Even guys who turn into stars struggle with that transition (to the big leagues), and the fact that he didn’t, it doesn’t mean it’s going to be smooth sailing for the rest of his career, but it’s certainly a good thing and he’s a really exciting part of our future.”

—ROCH KUBATKO

BOSTON RED SOX

As he progressed through the minors, curiosity followed Bobby Dalbec.

As much as the third baseman represented a player with elite power potential, to what degree might his strikeout rate prove an impediment to his ability to make an impact in the big leagues?

Over the final four weeks of the 2020 season, Dalbec offered a compelling initial answer to that question.

The 25-year-old blasted a homer in his big league debut on Aug. 30, went on a longball binge a week later with homers in five consecutive games, and concluded his debut with a .263/.359/.600 line with eight homers in 19 games.

The righthanded hitter’s top-of-the-scale power, which allows him to drive pitches out of the park from line to line, proved abundantly evident.

The performance came with the caveat that Dalbec’s strikeout rate was a sky-high 42%, while he swung and missed