28-year old righty swinging Mark Reynolds is moving back to 3B full-time in 2012. He played in 155 games for the Orioles last year and he was 118 of 534 (.221 avg, .806 OPS) with 84 runs scored, 37 homers, 86 RBIs and 6 stolen bases. Reynolds whiffed a stunning 196 times while walking 75 times last year, but that was expected. He has now played in 718 games in his first five years in the majors and he is 598 of 2,516 (.238 avg, .815 OPS) with 410 runs scored, 158 homers, 432 RBIs and 48 stolen bases. Reynolds played in 114 games at 3B last year for the Orioles with 19 errors while showing pretty awful range. Expect Reynolds to hit 30-40 homers in 2012 with a rather low batting average.

25-year old righty swinging Josh Bell has had a rough time so far against major league pitching. Bell played in 26 games for the Orioles last year and he was 10 for 61 (.164 avg, .379 OPS) with 6 runs scored, 0 homers and 6 RBIs. Bell has now played in 79 games in his first two years with the Orioles and he is 44 of 220 (.200 avg, .485 OPS) with 21 runs scored, 3 homers and 18 RBIs. Bell has only walked 6 times while whiffing 78 times so far in the majors and that is not acceptable. Bell had 3 errors in 21 games at 3B last year while showing pretty good range. Bell is going to have to start showing some discipline at the plate if he’s going to make it in the show.

25-year old lefty swinging Chris Davis is going to be the starting 1B for the O’s in 2012. He had 8 errors in only 26 games at 3B last year while showing pretty pathetic range.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 3B IN 2012: B

29-year old righty swinging shortstop J.J. Hardy had an outstanding year in 2011 for the Orioles. He played in 129 games for the Orioles last year and he was 142 of 527 (.269 avg, .801 OPS) with 76 runs scored, 30 homers and 80 RBIs. Hardy has now played in 801 games in his first seven years in the majors and he is 776 for 2,942 (.264 avg, .756 OPS) with 399 runs scored, 111 homers, 383 RBIs and 6 stolen bases. Hardy is not only a great hitter for a shortstop as he is pretty solid with a mitt on his hand. He only made 6 errors in 129 games at SS for the Orioles last year while showing off outstanding range. Hardy is one of the best all-around players on the Orioles and I think he will have another big year in 2012 as long as he can stay healthy.

If Hardy gets hurt, Robert Andino would slide over from 2B to replace him. Andino made 5 errors in 30 games at SS for the Orioles last year while showing off outstanding range.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE SHORTSTOPS IN 2012: A

27-year old righty swinging Robert Andino looks like the likely starting 2B for the Orioles in 2012 as Brian Roberts continues to deal with his concussion problems. Andino played in 139 games for the Orioles last year and he was 120 for 457 (.263 avg, .670 OPS) with 63 runs scored, 5 homers, 36 RBIs and 13 stolen bases. He has now played in 233 games in his first 3 years for the Orioles and he is 182 for 716 (.254 avg, .651 OPS) with 100 runs scored, 9 homers, 52 RBIs and 17 stolen bases. Andino has now played in 312 games in his first seven years in the majors and he is 211 of 860 (.245 avg, .634 OPS) with 111 runs scored, 11 homers, 64 RBIs and 19 stolen bases. Andino only had 4 errors in 94 games for the Orioles last year while showing pretty good range.

34-year old switch-hitting Brian Roberts is at a crossroads in his career due to severe concussion problems. Roberts played in 39 games for the Orioles last year and he was 36 for 163 (.221 avg, .604 OPS) with 18 runs scored, 3 homers, 19 RBIs and 6 stolen bases. He has now played in 1,233 games in his first 11 years in the majors and he is 1,374 of 4,883 (.281 avg, .769 OPS) with 775 runs scored, 84 homers, 477 RBIs and 274 stolen bases. Roberts played in 39 games at 2B for the Orioles last year and he made 3 errors while showing off pretty good range. It’s said to see Brian Roberts career possibly ending this way as he was once a pretty darn good player for the Orioles.

24-year old righty swinging Ryan Adams comes into this season as the Orioles’ #23 prospect according to Baseball America. Adams played in 29 games for the Orioles last year and he was 25 for 89 (.281 avg, .659 OPS) with 9 runs scored, 0 homers and 7 RBIs. He also played in 94 games in AAA-ball last year and he was 107 of 377 (.284 avg, .794 OPS) with 46 runs scored, 10 homers, 37 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. Adams played in 26 games at 2B for the Orioles last year and he made 2 errors while showing off below average range. Adams will try to win a backup job for the Orioles this spring.

25-year old lefty swinging Ryan Flaherty comes into this season as the Orioles’ #7 prospect. He was plucked off the Cubs’ roster in the Rule 5 Draft over the winter. Flaherty played in 132 games in AA+AAA-ball last year and he was 133 for 475 (.280 avg, .824 OPS) with 74 runs scored, 19 homers, 88 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. He has now played in 450 games in his first four years in the minors and he is 465 for 1,670 (.278 avg, .809 OPS) with 269 runs scored, 57 homers, 267 RBIs and 23 stolen bases. Flaherty will make the Orioles’ roster with a decent spring as they won’t want to give Flaherty back to the Cubs.

26-year old righty swinging Matt Antonelli was once a very bright prospect. He played in 90 games in AA+AAA-ball last year and he was 94 for 315 (.298 avg, .847 OPS) with 47 runs scored, 8 homers, 31 RBIs and 6 stolen bases. Antonelli played in 21 games for the Padres back in 2008 and he was 11 for 57 (.193 avg, .573 OPS) with 6 runs scored, 1 homer and 3 RBIs. The Orioles hope a change in scenery will bring out the best in him.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2B IN 2012: C-

25-year old lefty swinging Chris Davis got a lot of P.T. at 3B for the Orioles in 2011, but he will be moving back to 1B for 2012. Davis played in 59 games for the Orioles & Rangers last year and he was 53 for 199 (.266 avg, .707 OPS) with 25 runs scored, 5 homers, 19 RBIs and 1 stolen base. He has now played in 297 games in his first four years in the majors and he is 253 for 1,005 (.252 avg, .749 OPS) with 131 runs scored, 44 homers, 137 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. Davis has whiffed 341 times while only walking 70 times so far in his career, so he goes up to the plate hacking. It will be interesting to see how many homers Davis can hit with a full-time major league gig for the first time in his career. Davis didn’t make any errors in 31 games at 1B for the Orioles last year, but he has below average range. The Orioles will put up with Davis’ lack of range if he can whack 25-35 homers in 2012.

33-year old lefty swinging Nick Johnson will have a shot this spring to win a backup job for the Orioles. He played in 55 games in AA+AAA-ball last year for the Indians and he was 38 for 189 (.201 avg, .654 OPS) with 20 runs scored, 6 homers and 13 RBIs. Johnson last played in the majors back in 2010 with the Yankees. He has now played in 794 games in his first 9 years in the majors and he is 705 for 2,611 (.270 avg, .844 OPS) with 421 runs scored, 91 homers, 387 RBIs and 27 stolen bases. Johnson is an outstanding defensive 1B and that could help him make the O’s roster if he has a good spring.

Starting 3B Mark Reynolds can also play 1B if needed. He played in 44 games at 1B for the Orioles last year and he had 5 errors as he didn’t look too comfortable there.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 1B IN 2012: C+

25-year old switch-hitting Matt Wieters keeps getting better and that’s a good thing for the Orioles. He will be the starter once again with Taylor Teagarden and Ronny Paulino will duke it out this spring for the right to back up Wieters in 2012. Wieters played in 139 games for the Orioles last year and he was 131 of 500 (.262 avg, .778 OPS) with 72 runs scored, 22 homers, 68 RBIs and 1 stolen base. He has now played in 365 games in his first three years in the majors and he is 344 for 1,300 (.265 avg, .743 OPS) with 144 runs scored, 42 homers, 166 RBIs and 1 stolen base. He is a improving hitter. He has also turned himself into a really good defensive catcher. Wieters played in 132 games behind the plate last year and he had 5 errors and only 1 passed ball. He threw out 32 of 92 base stealers (34.8%) and Orioles’ pitchers had a 4.56 ERA with him behind the plate. Wieters is likely going to develop into a perennial All-Star if he keeps improving his game, both at the plate and behind it.

The Orioles dealt for 28-year old righty swinging Taylor Teagarden over the winter and they hope he wins the backup job. Teagarden played in 14 games for the Rangers last year and he was 8 for 34 (.235 avg, .572 OPS) with 3 runs scored, 0 homers and 2 RBIs. He has now played in 118 games in his first four years in the majors and he is 77 for 350 (.220 avg, .703 OPS) with 49 runs scored, 16 homers and 49 RBIs. Teagarden has whiffed 142 times in his major league career, so he doesn’t show much patience at the plate. He played in 14 games behind the plate for the Rangers last year and he didn’t have any errors but 1 passed ball. He threw out 5 of 13 (38.5%) base stealers and Rangers’ pitchers had a 3.16 ERA with him behind the plate.

30-year old Ronny Paulino is going to try to win the backup job to Matt Wieters this spring. Paulino played in 78 games for the Mets last year and he was 61 for 228 (.268 avg, .663 OPS) with 19 runs scored, 2 homers and 19 RBIs. He has now played in 553 games in his first 7 years and he is 492 for 1,804 (.273 avg, .705 OPS) with 176 runs scored, 33 homers, 211 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. Paulino has hung around in the majors as long as he has because he has a decent bat for a catcher. He is not much of a defensive catcher. Paulino played in 68 games behind the plate for the Mets last year and he had 7 errors and 6 passed balls. He also threw out only 10 of 59 (16.9%) base stealers last year. Mets’ pitchers had a 4.47 ERA with Paulino behind the plate.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE CATCHERS IN 2012: B+