Cedric Mullins is the heart of the Orioles
You already know the young Orioles are talented, accomplished, and fun to watch. Adley Rutschmann is 26, rising star Jordan Westburg is 25, Colton Cowser just turned 24, Gunnar Henderson is 22 turning 23 in June, Grayson Rodriguez is 23, and recent call-up Jackson Holliday, (and son of MLB star Matt), is 20. Every member of the starting eight positions players is under 30 years old. Along with Grayson Rodriguez the starting pitchers are all under 30 except for Cole Irvin who turned 30 less than three months ago.
Then there’s the older guys, by older meaning Anthony Santander, who’s 29, and has not gotten off to a great start this season, and 29-year-old veteran outfielder Cedric Mullins. Both Santander and Mullins have been Orioles for their entire careers, and both have seen the bad times having been part of Oriole teams that lost 100 games or more three times in Santander’s career, and twice in Mullins’.
Here’s what you probably are not thinking: Centerfield Mullins might be the most underappreciated player in the American League. Maybe even in all of MLB.
The opening of the Wikipedia on Mullins:
Boyce Cedric Mullins II is an American professional baseball center fielder for the Baltimore Orioles of Major League Baseball. He made his MLB debut in 2018. He was an All-Star and won the Silver Slugger Award in 2021.
Ok Boyce is a cool name. But that is an unexciting and uninteresting tidbit about a player who delivers on multiple levels.
A bit of a late bloomer, Mullins did not get a regular job on the Orioles until 2021. That was a dandy of a season for the one-time All-star outfielder, one in which he joined the 30/30 club stealing exactly 30 bags and hitting exactly 30 home runs. Mullins is very efficient in everything he does. Since 2021 Mullins has averaged 20 home runs a season and 27 steals per season while playing well above average defense in center. He was not healthy in 2023 playing in only 116 games slashing a career low .233/.305/.416. That doesn’t look good, but somehow added up to a 101 OPS+ and .721 OPS which are right at league average. And 2023 was his worst season, a season in which Mullins was on the injured list twice with injuries to his groin, costing him 44 games. He did have a hot start in 2023, with an .835 OPS over his first 53 games, then struggled to a .614 OPS in 63 games the rest of the season. The Orioles could have used a healthy Mullins in their quick three-game sweep loss to the eventual 2023 champion Texas Rangers. Mullins was without a hit in that series in 12 AB’s and clearly not right. Now that the Orioles are no longer a novelty Mullins is ready to take his game, and help the team, to an even higher level.
Mullins has always been underappreciated. He was a bench player in high school, not starting until his senior year. Late in his high school career Mullins made the change from being a switch hitter, to hitting exclusively from the left side. This change allowed Mullins to take greater advantage of his speed. He attended a junior college before moving to Campbell University in North Carolina. In his one season at Campbell, Mullis lead the Fighting Camels in batting average, runs scored, base hits, doubles, and triples. This led to the Orioles making Mullins a 13th round draft pick in 2015. Rodney Dangerfield got more respect than Mullins.
In 2024, Mullins has gotten off to an even hotter start than he did in 2023. The power numbers are up but the on-base average has not moved up much from last year’s .308. Despite that Mullins has a terrific 138 OPS+, largely behind his five home runs and five stolen bases through Monday’s games.
To fully appreciate Mullins’ talents, you need to look beyond the stats. Mullins’ sensational catch vs. the Twins on April 15 is already a candidate for the best defensive play of the 2024 season. His teammates ranked it the #1 catch of his career and Mullins did not disagree. The ball hit by Kyle Farmer had an exit velocity of 101.6 MPH, per Statcast. Mullins was shaded toward right-center and used an average sprint speed of 28.3 ft./sec to close on the ball and as he dove toward the outfield fence, he snared the ball in midair, prior to slamming into the turf. It was a jaw-dropping catch and even thought it was in the first inning, it resulted in the Twins not scoring in their half only to have the Orioles plate two in the bottom of the frame on their way to a comfortable 7–4 victory. Mullins also had a 2-run home run in the game.
Mullins does all that he does while suffering from Crohn’s disease which was discovered in 2020 when he had intestinal surgery. He became an All-Star the year after learning he had Crohn’s. Mullins now works with the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation to help raise awareness to the disease that affects millions.
When ranking the top 10 centerfielders in MLB, you would naturally think of the Angels Mike Trout, and the Mariner’s Julio Rodriguez. Every year the Twins’ star Byron Buxton teases with what could be, but this is his 10th MLB season, and he has a career OPS+ of 105. Mullins career OPS+ is 109. Young Michael Harris of the Braves is also a rising star in this his third season and is an heir apparent for best centerfielder in baseball. Cedric Mullins is not often mentioned in the same breath as being among the very best centerfielders in MLB. What’s more important is that the Orioles know who and what they have in Mullins, and they would not trade him for any other centerfielder. They’re right to feel that way. If the Orioles are going to go far this season Mullins will be in the center of it all.
Here’s what I wrote for the Mets this week:
https://mlbreport.com/2024/04/red-hot-mets-are-ready-to-challenge-the-best-in-the-national-league/
https://mlbreport.com/2024/04/mets-manager-carlos-mendoza-has-his-own-style/
https://mlbreport.com/2024/04/how-will-the-mets-survive-2-months-without-francisco-alvarez/
About the Author: Mark Kolier along with his son Gordon co-hosts a baseball podcast called ‘Almost Cooperstown’. He also has written baseball-related articles that can be accessed on Medium.com and Substack.com.
