Coby Mayo hits three-run shot in victory

This is a bit of a surprise. Robert is hitting well in August, slashing .267/.321/.520 with six home runs, 10 runs scored, and 11 RBI; however, the Orioles have been getting solid production from Dylan Beavers, Colton Cowser, and Leody Taveras in the outfield. Their DH spot has also been filled by Coby Mayo since Christian Encarnacion-Strand has emerged as the regular third baseman. Somebody who is playing well is going to be bumped from the starting lineup now, and you have to wonder if this is a sign that the Orioles plan to pick up Robert’s $20 million team option for 2027.

The homer was Mayo’s 14th off a left-hander, which ties him with Matt Olson for first in the majors. He’s also first with an 1.109 OPS against southpaws (min. 100 PA), with Andrew Vaughn second at 1.041. And the homer today was projected at 446 feet, making him one of just eight players this year to exceed 440 feet four or more times (Junior Caminero and Kyle Schwarber are tops at six times apiece). Unfortunately, Mayo is still at a pretty horrible .199/.227/.272 in 225 plate appearances against righties this year, leaving his future as a regular rather murky. The power spike would be more promising if it wasn’t coming with a 32.5 percent strikeout rate. He finished at 28.6 percent as a rookie last year.

Mayo crushed a gargantuan 468-foot moonshot off Rays lefty starter Shane McClanahan to kick off the scoring in the second inning. It was his 16th big fly of the season. The 24-year-old former top prospect continues to do serious damage against left-handed pitching. He’s been finding ways to get into the lineup between the infield corners and DH over the last couple weeks.

Encarnacion-Strand has typically been sitting against right-handed pitchers, but he went 3-for-4 with a home run on Tuesday, so the Orioles are gonna give him a chance to stay hot. We should note that, in 40 plate appearances against righties this season, CES is hitting .211/.250/.342, so the results haven’t really been there. However, it’s just a 15 percent strikeout rate in those plate appearances, so maybe the hits will start to fall. Coby Mayo is on the bench on Wednesday.

Encarnacion-Strand has become a fixture in the middle of the O’s lineup since his arrival, but he’ll get a breather in this one against tough right-hander Nathan Eovaldi. Coby Mayo will cover the hot corner in his absence while Tyler O’Neill serves as the Orioles’ designated hitter and will bat cleanup on Friday.

Mayo’s home run was his 15th of the year. He hit a solo shot off Reid Detmers in the fourth inning. Mayo is 14-for-53 (.264) with five home runs, 11 runs scored and 10 RBI since the beginning of July.

Mayo gets the nod to face Phillies ace Cristopher Sánchez with Taylor Ward hitting second. It’s a bit of a different look for Baltimore, but one of their former top prospects has earned the opportunity by hitting .267 (8-for-30) with two homers in 11 games since last month’s All-Star break.

Mayo extended Baltimore’s early advantage with an RBI single against Tigers starter Keider Montero in the third inning before taking reliever Brenan Hanifee deep for a no-doubter to left field in the fifth. It was his 14th round-tripper of the season and fourth time he’s gone deep since the start of July.

Basallo suffered a right shoulder injury in Sunday’s win over the Astros. This is the second time this summer that Basallo appeared to grab his arm in discomfort after a swing. He didn’t miss time the first time it happened, but it’s unclear if that will be the case now. Coby Mayo will DH and bat fifth, and Christian Encarnacion-Strand will start at third base and bat eighth.

Mayo’s home run was his 13th of the season. He hit a solo shot off Bryan King in the sixth inning. Mayo is 595 plate appearances into his big league career and it’s clear he has power (.169 career ISO) and will strike out (32 percent career strikeout percentage) too often. Mayo is hitting .197 in his career. While he’s potentially more of a .230-hitter, it doesn’t make much of a difference for fantasy unless he’s going to blossom into a threat to hit 40 homers.