Dylan

Beavers

Beavers didn’t enter the game until the 10th inning, starting on the bench as the Orioles faced Shane McClanahan. With the game tied in the bottom of the 10th, Beavers delivered a double off the wall, just missing a walk-off homer off Bryan Baker. The 25-year-old outfielder is hitting .244/.321/.387 with six homers, 28 RBI, and five steals across 244 plate appearances in a strong-side platoon in left field.

Beavers finally got the O’s on the board with his 386-foot (102.2-mph EV) solo shot off of Gerrit Cole in the fifth inning. That would be the extent of their offense. The 25-year-old outfielder finished the evening 1-for-3 and is now slashing .239/.318/.366 with five homers and 26 RBI in 240 plate appearances on the season.

Beavers struck out his other two times up before being lifted for a pinch-hitter against a lefty in the eighth. The homer off Zebby Matthews was Beavers’ third in 223 plate appearances this season. He’s been a disappointment in the power department after hitting 18 homers in 418 plate appearances in Triple-A and four in 137 plate appearances in the majors last year.

This is Beavers’ fifth straight start and fourth straight start as the leadoff hitter. The 24-year-old has received inconsistent playing time this season, but he is hitting .321/.406/.393 in nine games since the All-Star break with four RBI, one steal, and an 8/3 K/BB ratio. Of course, he has only been caught stealing twice, which isn’t ideal, but his pulled groundball approach has been working for his batting average, and hitting atop the batting order should hopefully begin to lead to some runs scored for Beavers as well.

The Orioles have slowly moved Gunnar Henderson down the lineup, and he’s now hitting third for the fourth-straight game while hitting .225/.296/.405. We’re not positive that Beavers will stick as the leadoff man — he’s only hit above fifth three times since he returned from the injured list and this is his first crack at leadoff. But he is hitting .313/.371/.406 in July and would seem to have a decent skill set to hit leadoff. If he did stick as the leadoff man against right-handed pitchers, obviously, it would help his fantasy value quite a bit.

Beavers’ start tonight was just his third against a left-hander this season (the Red Sox threw lefties in both games), and his big hit came off Eduardo Rivera in the first, as he singled in two with a drive to center. Beavers is hitting .248/.329/.366 in 165 plate appearances. He still has some work to do to set himself apart in the Orioles’ outfield mix, but it’s not like anyone else is busting out, either.

With Dylan Beavers back in the mix, we could start to see Taveras’ playing time start to dip a bit. The Orioles are rolling with Colton Cowser in center field and Beavers in right against Nationals’ right-hander Zack Littell on Sunday afternoon in Baltimore.

Beavers had been sidelined since mid-May due to an oblique strain. He’s starting in right field and batting sixth for the O’s against Nationals’ right-hander Zack Littell on Sunday afternoon in Baltimore.

It’s possible Beavers winds up staying in the minors once he completes his rehab assignment since the Orioles don’t really have a spot for him at the moment. The 24-year-old former top prospect was hitting .243/.331/.369 with two homers and three steals in 119 plate appearances prior to landing on the shelf with an oblique strain back in mid-May.

Beavers figures to make it back to Baltimore before the end of June. The 24-year-old hit the injured list with a low-grade oblique strain back on May 13.