Steve On Baseball Podcast

Steve Melewski
  • 5.0 (2)
  • BASEBALL
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

Steve Melewski hosts this podcast on baseball and specifically the Baltimore Orioles at the major and minor league levels. Great conversations with great guests. steveonbaseball.substack.com

  1. Today's guest: Dan Szymborski

    8H AGO

    Today's guest: Dan Szymborski

    Just two Polish guys from Baltimore on the podcast today talking Orioles. Like myself, Dan Szymborski is from Baltimore and is a popular radio and podcast guest this time of year to discuss his ZiPS projection system which can be found on FanGraphs.com. That stands for Zymborski Projection System. Dan, a 1996 Towson High School grad and 2000 grad of Loyola College, is a Senior writer for FanGraphs.com and also still contributes to his former employer at ESPN. No projection system is perfect or completely accurate but ZiPS has been at it since 2003 and when I interviewed Dan for MASNSports.com ahead of the 2023 season, ZiPS was very accurate then on several players. The system projected Adley Rutschman for a 126 OPS+ and the actual number for that 2023 season for Rutschman was 128. He pretty much nailed it for several others then to include Gunnar Henderson, Ryan Mountcastle and Anthony Santander. Spoiler alert - ZiPS is very bullish on several O’s on offense but a bit less so on the pitchers. We get into all of that today with Dan. He feels Baltimore could have a top five AL offense and maybe a top five MLB offense. Enjoy the latest addition of the Steve on Baseball podcast! Get full access to Steve Melewski at steveonbaseball.substack.com/subscribe

    25 min
  2. Today's guest: The O's Anthony Villa

    FEB 15

    Today's guest: The O's Anthony Villa

    At the ripe “old” age of just 31, Anthony Villa is about to begin his third season as one of the top front office members running the O’s farm system. He is the club’s Director of Player Development. Villa, hired by the Orioles ahead of the 2020 season, has been a fast riser in the organization, spending time as a hitting coach and as the O’s minor league hitting coordinator for the 2023 season. The next year he moved into his current role. Villa makes a second appearance on my podcast after joining me for an interview at Ripken Stadium in Aberdeen in the middle of last summer. If you want to go back and hear that interview from last June, click here. Villa oversees just about all aspects of the Baltimore farm, involved in everything from the staffing of coaches and managers to instruction throughout the farm. If there is a player on an O’s farm club he knows him and wants to help that young man advance to the majors. Last year Villa and his staff were proud of and thrilled for instance to see Samuel Basallo and Dylan Beavers both make the Orioles. These are two players they worked closely with from the first day they joined the organization, all the way through the higher minors and on to Baltimore. Getting a player to the “show” is a big moment for any farm system. This podcast was first a radio interview on 105.7 FM the Fan, when I recently filled in for Ryan Ripken on the “Hot Stove League” show and Villa was a guest on the show. We discussed many topics to include how the O’s keep tabs on the minor league players over the winter to a rundown of some players recently named top 100 prospects. Late in this podcast you may find his answer quite interesting when I asked Anthony how much the O’s practice bunting on the farm? The Steve on Baseball podcast is back and hopefully will become a more regular feature here as it was all throughout the 2025 season. Enjoy the interview with Villa! Get full access to Steve Melewski at steveonbaseball.substack.com/subscribe

    19 min
  3. Spring training starts this week! A video entry as players soon take the field in Sarasota

    FEB 9

    Spring training starts this week! A video entry as players soon take the field in Sarasota

    Now that the Super Bowl is in the record books for another year, many sports fans, and certainly our baseball-loving fans here, turn their attention to hardball. O’s pitcher and catchers report tomorrow to Sarasota and the first workout is set for Wednesday. In this video entry today I discussed FanGraphs.com’s playoff odds and where the O’s are rated in addition to some Zips projections for O’s batters which are quite favorable for fans around Birdland. Please take about six minutes to watch and leave some questions and comments. Thanks for the continued support of this Substack. At the end of the month I will celebrate one year on Substack. That year went fast! I will have more to say about that later. Have a great week everyone and enjoy the fact that baseball begins this week! Get full access to Steve Melewski at steveonbaseball.substack.com/subscribe

    7 min
  4. Today's guest: Baseball America's Ben Badler

    JAN 9

    Today's guest: Baseball America's Ben Badler

    When it comes to covering international amateur signings, few do it better and with more experience than Ben Badler of Baseball America. Ben is my guest this week on the Steve on Baseball podcast, the initial edition of calender year 2026. Next Thursday, Jan. 15, is the first day of the new international signing period. Under the Mike Elias front office the O’s have signed six players to million dollar bonuses since 2021. This year they have four such players in this one class, per Baseball America. We will get into that a whole lot more today with Ben, who has been at Baseball America since 2007. “The Orioles this year seem like they are going to have one of the better classes this year. They’ve got some big bats at the top of the class. Arms as well. I think this is going to be one of their better signing classes in recent years,” Badler said. The O’s top signee is expected to be shortstop Jose Luis Acevedo, a right-handed hitter from the Domincan Republic, who turned 17 in November. He’s got a plus hit tool and may be able to stick at shortstop as a solid defender. On BA’s bonus board - they rank these international amateurs based on the amount of their projected bonuses - he is the No. 11 player. He might set an O’s team bonus record for an international amateur. That mark is currently held by Luis Almeyda who got $2.297 million in 2023. Per the BA bonus board, the O’s are also getting players currently rated No. 24, No. 40 and No. 42. The board will be updated and expanded next week ahead of Thursday. With international players making up about 30 percent of major league clubhouses, it is a talent source a team can’t ignore and under Elias and Koby Perez, the O’s do not. They make it a priority. Once it was stunning to see even a few players from the international ranks in an O’s top 30 prospects lists. On the lastest BA O’s top 30 there are 11 international players led by Samuel Basallo at No. 1. So today’s podcast is both very timely and very informative as we were able to grab Ben as the guest. He provided some great insights. Enjoy the lastest podcast Birdland. And click here for Badler’s latest on the BA international bonus big board top 50. (subscription may be required). Get full access to Steve Melewski at steveonbaseball.substack.com/subscribe

    28 min
  5. Today's guest: O's minor leaguer Ethan Anderson

    12/18/2025

    Today's guest: O's minor leaguer Ethan Anderson

    I really enjoyed recording today’s edition of this podcast, taped about a week ago with O’s minor league player Ethan Anderson. Anderson, 22, was the O’s second-round pick (No. 61 overall) in the 2024 draft out of the University of Virgina. He just completed his first full year and second season on the O’s farm. It ended with him playing well for Peoria in the Arizona Fall League where he hit .300 with an .841 OPS in 19 games. He made the AFL’s Fall Stars game. In 2024 at Virginia, Anderson, a switch-hitting catcher and sometimes first baseman, hit .331/.435/.508/.943 and he was all ACC. For his career he walked one more time than he struck out. On the O’s farm in 2025 with 70 games at High-A Aberdeen and 20 to end the year at Double-A Chesapeake, Anderson hit .248/.338/.339/.677. He made 49 starts catching, 22 at first base and two in right field, Ethan provided some great insights for this podcast and it is well worth your time to hear him talk about the process of trying to improve and make the majors. How the O’s work with their young players, his days at UVA and how he was born in Hawaii, but then his family moved numerous times during his youth. Thanks Ethan for a great interview! Hope Birdland enjoys the latest Steve on Baseball podcast. Get full access to Steve Melewski at steveonbaseball.substack.com/subscribe

    26 min
  6. Video entry: Let's talk more about Pete Alonso and a few other topics

    12/15/2025

    Video entry: Let's talk more about Pete Alonso and a few other topics

    Good Monday Birdland! Let’s start the week with a video entry discussing a few topics. More talking, less writing. Friday’s press conference introducing new Oriole Pete Alonso was interesting for a lot of reasons. Alonso was impressive and clearly was impressed with numerous aspects of the Orioles’ organization. He got off to a great start with his new club. Take a few minutes to watch the video and leave some comments or questions. Get full access to Steve Melewski at steveonbaseball.substack.com/subscribe

    6 min
  7. Today's guest: Roch Kubatko

    12/12/2025

    Today's guest: Roch Kubatko

    Hey let’s talk more about the O’s signing of Pete Alonso which became official yesterday afternoon. Alonso will be introduced later this afternoon at a Camden Yards press conference. Once again on this podcast I am joined by my former MASN teammate Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com. He returned from the Winter Meetings late Wednesday after a stunning day that saw the O’s reach an agreement with Alonso on a five-year deal for $155 million. Per Jon Heyman, the deal includes a $12.5 million dollar signing bonus and a 2026 salary of 18.5 million. Then Alonso’s salary is set at $31.0 million from 2027 through 2030 to complete the deal. He is a five-time All-Star, 2025 Silver Slugger Award winner, and 2019 National League Rookie of the Year, all over a seven-year career with the New York Mets. The first baseman is one of six active players with five or more seasons of at least 35 home runs and joins Philadelphia’s Kyle Schwarber and the New York Yankees Aaron Judge as the only players in the majors since 2019 with five or more seasons of 35+ homers. Since debuting in 2019, he’s driven in an MLB-high 712 runs, 33 more than any other player during that time. To make 40-man roster room, catcher Maverick Handley was designated for assignment. Today’s Oriole Park press conference is set for 4 p.m. Speakers will include Alonso, Mike Elias, Orioles President of Baseball Operations & General Manager, David Rubenstein, O’s Control Owner and Alonso’s agent, Scott Boras of the Boras Corporation. Fans can tune into the press conference on Orioles.com, Orioles Facebook, and YouTube channels. The press conference will also be carried live on MASN and MASN+. Get full access to Steve Melewski at steveonbaseball.substack.com/subscribe

    24 min
  8. Live with Steve Melewski

    12/10/2025

    Live with Steve Melewski

    Took a few minutes to talk about the O’s five-year agreement for $155 million today with slugging first baseman Pete Alonso. The fans have waited for this day - the day when the O’s won one in free agency against the big boys. He’s not going back to the Mets or joining the Red Sox. Alonso is heading to Baltimore. Thank you to everyone who tuned into my live video! Join me for my next live video in the app. Get full access to Steve Melewski at steveonbaseball.substack.com/subscribe

    8 min
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
2 Ratings

About

Steve Melewski hosts this podcast on baseball and specifically the Baltimore Orioles at the major and minor league levels. Great conversations with great guests. steveonbaseball.substack.com

Information

  • Creator
    Steve Melewski
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    54
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Steve Melewski
  • Show Website
    Steve On Baseball Podcast

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