Steve Davis: Fowler Deal (Assuming Passes Physical) Is Big
I really like the addition of Dexter Fowler, assuming it happens.
We made the assumption on Gallardo, so I guess we need to put on the brakes. We talked with Cubs play-by-play voice Pat Hughes on the show and he raved about Fowler. Said he's an excellent lead-off guy, covers a lot of ground in the outfield, has some pop in his bat (career high 17 homers in 2015), can steal a base (was 20 for 27, 2nd most of career) and is a great teammate. He's the first "true" lead-off hitter the Orioles have had since Brian Roberts. This allows Manny to move down in the line-up into more of a run producing role. If Kim is a decent on base guy, he might move up to 2nd eventually, putting Manny in the 3 hole.
Can you imagine: 3-Machado, 4-Davis, 5-Jones, 6/7 Trumbo/Wieters depending upon the pitcher, 8-Schoop, 9-Hardy. Good luck pitching to that line-up. This line-up also looks set for a while. First, second and third base are all under team control for 3 years or more. Center and right are both 3 years. Left is 2 years. Only Wieters and Trumbo are up at the end of the year.
