AL East Round Up: Big Surprises Edition

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Baltimore Orioles

Mandatory Credit: Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports

BIG SURPRISE: Caleb Joseph.

The Orioles are getting a big boost from their catcher lately. I really thought this team would suffer big time when Matt Weiters went down. That hasn’t really been the case. Caleb Joseph is part of the reason for this. The 28 year old was drafted in the 7th round of the 2008 draft by the Orioles. He’s bounced back and forth between AA and AAA for the past few seasons. His best season came in 2013 (AA) where he hit 22 HR and 97 RBI to go with a line of .261/.284/.402/686

As of Saturday night, Joseph is dropping bombs left and right. He has 5 straight games with a homerun. He has become just the 15th catcher in MLB history to accomplish this.

This season has seen the Orioles launch 147 home runs as evidenced on the 60th anniversary of the Baltimore Orioles where the team combined for a whopping 6 home runs.

Caleb Joseph is providing some pop lately from a position that was, at one point, a question mark.

Honorable Mention goes to J.J. Hardy whose lack of power has been a surprise in and of itself.

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