Infielders

Manny Machado, SS: Showing the world why he’s going to be the most popular free agent on the market this coming offseason. Didn’t let nonstop trade talk distract him. Traded on Wednesday to the Dodgers for five minor leaguers. Grade: A Danny Valencia, 1B, 3B, RF, DH: Signed by the O’s during spring training as injury insurance and has been a lot more than that. He was one of the most consistent hitters on the team until he ran into a two-week slump recently. Have bat, will travel, but also has held his own at several positions. Grade: B Pedro Álvarez, 1B, 3B, DH: Veteran slugger delivered solid earlyseason performance while filling in for injured Mark Trumbo, but there weren’t many at-bats left for him after Trumbo returned and he was DFA’d last month. Batted just .180, but had eight homers and 18 RBIs in just 111 at-bats, which is pretty good. Grade: C Jace Peterson, 2B, 3B, SS, OF: Came over from Yankees and has given Buck Showalter added roster flexibility. Batting average is soft (.185) but has driven in 19 runs in 124 at-bats, which projects out to a decent run-production rate. Versatile defensive guy. Grade: C Tim Beckham, 3B: Tough to get much of a read, considering he spent most of the first half on the disabled list after surgery to repair a core muscle injury. Is adapting to third base, but obviously isn’t going to be the second coming of Manny Machado and probably will be back at shortstop soon. Still waiting for the offense. Grade: C- Luis Sardiñas, IF: Journeyman utility infielder was up for a couple of weeks in April after Jonathan Schoop went down with an obique injury. Filled in at second base for a few games and had as many errors (two) as hits. Grade: D Jonathan Schoop, 2B: Very frustrating first half for last year’s Orioles Most Valuable Player. Schoop missed significant time with an oblique injury and produced runs at a fraction of the rate he did in 2017, but his bat finally appears to be heating up. Grade: D Chris Davis, 1B: What has happened to Davis is a baseball tragedy. Two-time home run champ is having the worst season of any full-time player in the majors. Has shown some signs of life at the plate in July, but not enough to change the subject. Grade: F Steve Wilkerson, IF: Finally got a chance to show what he can do in the majors after returning from suspension, but this just isn’t his year. Oblique injury took a chunk out of this audition. Grade: Incomplete drive in more than eight runs in 134 at-bats. Showing signs of a second-half surge. Grade: C- Chance Sisco, C: Broke camp as the second catcher and quickly became the starter, but inexperience eventually caught up with him. He has bounced back to Norfolk twice and figures to be there awhile this time. Grade: C Andrew Susac, C: Orioles picked him up during the offseason to add some experience to the reserve catcher ranks. Got up for a short stretch and played in nine games, but managed only three hits in 26 at-bats. Grade: D Austin Wynns, C: Prospect was up for10 games in the first half and looked like a guy who can catch at this level. Did not show much at the plate, but who can tell anything after 26 at-bats? Grade: Incomplete

Outfielders

Danny Valencia earned a grade of B for his consistent play in the infield, outfield and at designated hitter. the past year and a half, but lat muscle tear knocked him out for the rest of the season. Seasonending ERA has started with a one in each of his three big league seasons. Grade: A- Zach Britton, LHP: Missed first two months recovering from Achilles tendon surgery, then needed a few weeks to settle back in. He looks like his old self again and reached break with seven straight scoreless outings. Enjoy him while you can, because it doesn’t look like he’ll be around much longer. Grade: B Dylan Bundy, RHP: The most consistent member of the starting rotation for the past few years. Lack of offensive support make his numbers (6-9, 4.35 ERA) look meager, but he’s the ace now and he’ll get his share of victories before this awful season is over. Grade: B Paul Fry, LHP: Making an exception to the 10-inning rule in this case. Rookie left-hander has made seven appearances during his brief time at the major league level and has allowed just one earned run. Had one ugly inning against the Twins, but an Orioles error kept it from boosting his ERA. Grade: B Kevin Gausman, RHP: It’s tough to get a fair read on several Orioles pitchers, because of the lack of run support this year. Gausman has been one of the most consistent pitchers on the team, giving up more than three runs in a game in just five of his 17 starts. Better to judge by the 4.33 ERA than the 4-7 record. Grade: B Mychal Givens, RHP: The numbers say this has been an off year for the bullpen workhorse, but there’s way more to it than that. He’s been the go-to guy while the ’pen has been banged up and is on pace to make 70 appearances in an uneven role. Hit a speed bump in late June, but hit the break on a roll. Grade: B Yefry Ramírez, RHP: Rookie has made a very good early impression with his mature presence on the mound, but clearly learning on the job and still stretching out from an innings perspective. Very nice outing to end first half of the season, when he pitched five shutout innings and struck out seven. Grade: B Miguel Castro, RHP: Jack-of-alltrades reliever got off to a solid start this season but has been fizzling of late. Still has solid ERA and lots of room to grow. Well, at least from a pitching standpoint. He’s probably big enough already. Grade: B- Mike Wright Jr., RHP: Has a very long leash this year because he’s out of options and needed it early in the season, but he has settled into a middle-relief role and has been solid the past two months. Since May13, he has allowed seven earned runs in 311⁄ innings, which works out to a 2.01ERA. Grade: B- Andrew Cashner, RHP: For some reason, the guy just can’t seem to win. Delivered nine quality starts in his first 17 games and got the victory in one of them. Career victim of poor run support, but O’s have taken nonsupport to a new level. Should be at least 6-5, but is 2-9. Grade: C+ Donnie Hart, LHP: O’s left-handed specialist the past two seasons, Hart has been back and forth to Norfolk and appeared in just a handful of games so far this season, posting no record and a 3.72 ERA in 92⁄ innings. Trouble is, O’s haven’t needed a lefthanded matchup guy very much this year. Grade: C Brad Brach, RHP: Former AllStar setup man has struggled with the uncertainty of both his role and his trade situation. Gave up multiple earned runs in three out of seven outings in a recent stretch after not allowing multiple runs more than three times in either of his previous two full seasons. Grade: C- David Hess, RHP: Rookie starter made quite a first impression when he was called up. Pitched well enough in his first five big league starts to earn a place in the rotation, but the hitters caught up with him over the next four. The 6.06 ERA doesn’t look good, but the kid has a future. Grade: C- Tanner Scott, LHP: Orioles are excited about his potential to become a solid late-inning reliever, but Scott is clearly a work in progress. He can be lights out one day and lit up the next. His 6.67 ERA in 27 appearances might be a bit deceptive, but hard to overlook. Grade: C- Alex Cobb, RHP: Obviously has pitched better than his 2-12 record, but late arrival at spring training clearly undermined any chance of having a representative season. Can’t hide the six-plus ERA, but it’ll be in the 4’s by the end of the season. Grade: D Pedro Araujo, RHP: Rule 5 draftee showed promise during the spring and had some good outings in April, but hitters caught up with him and elbow injury put him on DL in June. Still considered a promising arm if the O’s can keep him the whole season. Grade: Incomplete Darren O’Day, RHP: The past few seasons have been a struggle for one of the most successful relievers in Orioles history. Severe hamstring injury has knocked him out for the season after appearing in just 20 games. Grade: Incomplete Jimmy Yacabonis, RHP: Pulled up to the majors recently to get a look as a spot starter and has allowed five runs over nine innings in his two starts. Also called up a couple of times early in the season and made two relief appearances that didn’t go well. Orioles could have something here, but too early to tell. Grade: Incomplete Chris Tillman, RHP: Has spent the first half trying to prove that his career is not over and it hasn’t gone well. Whatever happened to his shoulder at the end of the 2016 season has left him unable to regain his command. Pitched OK in last rehabilitation start for Norfolk. Grade: U (Unexplainable)