Baltimore Orioles: Cedric Mullins makes some card collectors happy

As with all good things in life, the first indication of the sudden emergence of the Baltimore Orioles outfielder Cedric Mullins as a potential superstar came to me via Twitter.

The June 6 tweet read: “Cedric Mullins is 7-7 with 3-HR in his last 7 at-bats LOOOOOL.” Presumably, the tweet’s author, “Fuzzy,” considers “laughing out out out out out loud” to be, well, really laughing or something, but he definitely seemed to be onto something.

And as a distant Orioles fan – read, an Orioles fan in Philadelphia – I need such help on O’s news.

The Orioles’ Cedric Mullins may soon make card collectors and O’s fans very happy.

However, forget the past seven plate appearances, Fuzzy. In the last 15 games through Baltimore’s blowout win June 6 over the Cleveland Indians by a score of 18-5, Mullins had apparently decided it was time to perform at a Hall of Fame level. Why not, if you can do it?

In those 15 games, Mullins had booked an astonishing slash line for a tiny guy by modern standards: .411/.476/.696. He’d gathered three doubles, two triples and three homers, as well as stealing four bases in five attempts. His OPS in that stretch was 1.173.

His career fielding percentage was eight points higher than the league average. No errors this season.

I had three thoughts after this casual glance at Mullins’ half-a-month explosion: 1) Couldn’t the Philadelphia Phillies steal this guy for center field? Aren’t the Orioles a last-place team, however promising? 2) Wait a minute – don’t I have a Mullins rookie card? And 3) Is Mullins’ performance a fluke, and how would you know?

We’ll get the second thought out of the way first: Yes, I do – the corners on the Topps issue are still sharp, and better than anything, the card shows Mullins attempting to bunt right-handed. He abandoned batting right-handed before this season, and is suddenly an offensive juggernaut.

LOOOOOL, right?

The Phillies probably aren’t laughing, though, to return to point one here. While the Orioles went only 4-for-11 during Mullins’ torrid streak, it seems somewhat unlikely that the Orioles, who looked so promising early last season but not now, would trade away one of their best players for what the Phillies might offer.

Could the Orioles sell something off, perhaps an owner’s excessive possession, and ask for Bryce Harper? Would the Phillies consider it?

Oh, hell, no, and that’s because no one knows if the 26-year-old outfielder, who’s about as tall as Paul Simon, is a momentary flash-in-the-pan.

How could we tell?

The first few Mullins seasons were examined for offense for the sake of thought number three: There wasn’t much, but there wasn’t nothing.

During the 2020 pandemic mess, Mullins had a six-game stretch in which he slashed .476/.500/.619. There wasn’t much real power, however, in those games between August 16 and August 21 (inclusive) – one extra-base hit, but it was a home run.

What can be made of any of this? Here goes: Mullins doesn’t seem to be a particularly streaky hitter. As he has progressed through his first few years in MLB, he has improved, somewhat unevenly, but he has bounced up and down from MiLB, so drawing progression lines is somewhat imprecise.

His current seasonal WAR figure exceeds his career figure in the season in which he has played the most games he ever has in The Show, only 59 after play June 6.

Right now, Mullins is producing more in the season he has played 11 more major league games than he ever has until this year. Keep that rookie card if you have one.