Orioles reliever Richard Bleier has posted three consecutive seasons with

a sub-two ERA. He followed up an impressive 2017 season with another strong campaign before a lat strain in June."WhiteFanposts Fanshots Sections Commentary & AnalysisOrioles ProspectsOrioles Game RecapsOrioles News and RumorsCamdencastCommentary & AnalysisReliever Richard Bleier continued to impress before a season-ending injuryNew Johnny Damon Jersey ,3commentsOrioles reliever Richard Bleier has posted three consecutive seasons with a sub-two ERA. He followed up an impressive 2017 season with another strong campaign before a lat strain in June.ByAlex ChurchOct 10, 2018,9:00am EDTShareTweetShareShareReliever Richard Bleier continued to impress before a season-ending injuryMichael Owens-USA TODAY SportsThe Orioles 2018 roster was filled with disappointments. Unfortunately, even a few of the bright spots came with caveats. Richard Bleier shined for Baltimore in an increased role, but his season came to an abrupt end in mid-June. The Orioles acquired Bleier for a player to be named later in February of 2017. Bleier had been designated for assignment by the Yankees, and the Dan Duquette/Buck Showalter duo scooped him up. The relief pitcher will go down as one of the last bargain pickups of the previous administration.Bleier made his MLB debut for New York in May of 2016, and pitched sporadically in low-leverage situations. He finished the season without a decision, but held a 1.96 ERA through 23 innings. Bleier began 2017 at Triple-A Norfolk, but it only took five games for him to earn a promotion to Baltimore. The lefty began to build trust with Showalter, and he proved himself time and time again over the course of the year. Bleier finished 2017 with a 2-1 record and a 1.99 ERA. At times he was summoned as a situational left hander, but he showed an ability to pitch up to two innings with ease. He made the fourth most appearances of Orioles relievers.His first year in Baltimore led to expectations for 2018, and Bleier was up to the challenge. The now 31-year old delivered with a 3-0 record with a 1.93 ERA. Unfortunately, his season came to a screeching halt with a lat injury in June. The Orioles placed Bleier on the 60-day DL with a left lat strain that required surgery. Bleier didn’t waste any time getting his name out there this past season. He picked up the win on opening day by pitching a scoreless 11th-inning against the Minnesota Twins. After picking up his third win against the Royals on May 9, Bleier reduced his ERA to 0.40 in 17 appearances. The lefty only allowed earned runs in four of 31 appearances. That’s better than just LOOGY stuff. This guy can pitch. He didn’t take the fast track to the big leagues Masahiro Tanaka Jersey , but he’s announced his presence.Bleier gave credit to Showalter and Duquette in an October 3 article by Jon Meoli. He spoke about how the organization gave everyone an opportunity to prove themselves. “I was 30 at the time with 23 innings in the big leagues,” he said.“I think that gives people the idea that they really are going to give guys deserving of an opportunity an opportunity.”Bleier got his opportunity, and he made the most of it. Because of his delayed start to his big league career, Bleier will be arbitration eligible in 2020 and a free agent in 2023. The Orioles paid the Davie, Florida native only $556,000 this past season. Between his team-friendly contract situation and quality production, Bleier will be an extremely attractive trade candidate if he can reestablish himself after the injury. That being said, Bleier and Mychal Givens could be the next generation of Baltimore bullpen anchors.Any talented reliever on this pitching-starved team will generate the same question, “Can he start?” But with Bleier returning from an injury, the Orioles likely will not entertain the thought of stretching out the lefty. That being said, we still don’t know who will be calling the shots in Baltimore. For now, Bleier is a reliever with three straight sub-two ERA seasons. That commands respect. The Orioles will wait and see if he can repeat those numbers after bouncing back from the lat strain. A quick review of the third base position down on the Astros farm."WhiteFanposts Fanshots Sections Houston Astros NewsGame ThreadsHouston Astros Minor LeaguesAstros Game DayPodcastsAstros MiLB Position Review: Third BaseNew,18commentsA quick review of the third base position down on the Astros farm.ByAstrosFutureNov 20, 2018 Paul O'Neill Jersey , 10:00am CSTShareTweetShareShareAstros MiLB Position Review: Third BaseTommy Gilligan-USA TODAY SportsNow that the season is over we will review each position in the minor league system. This week we move on to the third base position.Here are the previous position reviews:CatcherFirst BaseSecond BaseTOP PERFORMERSJ.D. DavisDavis has been in the Astros system since 2013 and put together his best minor league performance this season. He played in 85 AAA games and hit .342 with 17 HR, 81 RBI and a 156 wRC+. He spent some time in Houston hitting just .175 in 42 games. He will be 26 next year and hopefully can put together a breakout season at the MLB level.2018 Stats: 85 G, .342 BA/.406 OBP/.583 SLG, 25 2B, 17 HR, 81 RBI, 36 BB/69 SOAbraham ToroToro was drafted by the Astros in the 5th round of the 2016 draft. He made his full season debut in 2017 and made it up to AA in 2018. He started the 2018 season with Buies Creek where he hit .257 with .884 OPS and 20 2B, 14 HR in 83 games. He was promoted to Corpus Christi and hit just .230, but he did hit .296 over his final 20 games. Overall he had a 119 wRC+ with a solid 11.3 BB%.2018 Stats: 133 G, .247 BA/.345 OBP/.435 SLG, 35 2B, 16 HR, 78 RBI, 62 BB/108 SORandy CesarCesar is no longer in the Astros system (signed with Minnesota) but had a solid year. He made headlines setting a Texas League Record hit streak at 42 games. Overall he hit .296 and had 25 2B and 10 HR good for a 113 wRC+.2018 Stats: 116 G http://www.yankeesfanproshop.com/authentic-giancarlo-stanton-jersey , .296 BA/.348 OBP/.428 SLG, 25 2B, 10 HR, 62 RBI, 36 BB/112 SONick TanieluTanielu had steadily made his way through the system hitting at every level. He has flown under the radar but some due to him missing the majority of the 2017 season due to injury. In 2018 he played at AA and AAA hitting .288 over 105 games. He also struck out just 50 times this season.2018 Stats: 105 G, .288 BA/.336 OBP/.418 SLG, 22 2B, 9 HR, 59 RBI, 28 BB/50 SOTHE REST OF THE PACKEnmanuel ValdezValdez played more second base in the past but in 2018 he played 39 of his 60 games in the field at third base. Valdez played this year in the NYPL at just 19 years old. He held his own posting a .731 OPS over 63 games. He showed some power with 16 2B and 8 HR while also stealing 11 bases. Overall he had a 116 wRC+.2018 Stats: 63 G, .244 BA/.311 OBP/.420 SLG, 16 2B, 8 HR, 22 RBI http://www.yankeesfanproshop.com/authentic-giancarlo-stanton-jersey , 11 SB, 22 BB/53 SOColton ShaverShaver was just drafted in 2017 in the 39th round out of BYU. He showed off some power in 2018 hitting 19 2B and 16 HR in 107 games. Overall he had a 105 wRC+ with a 9.5 BB%.2018 Stats: 107 G, .223 BA/.312 OBP/.412 SLG, 19 2B, 16 HR, 55 RBI, 40 BB/91 SO2019 OUTLOOK/CONCLUSIONWhile there isn’t a high upside prospect at the third base position, the Astros have built some solid depth with Davis, Toro, Tanielu. Valdez has quite a bit of upside but he is still a ways away. Toro could be a guy who really jumps in the rankings if he had a good 2019 season.