D.J. Stewart 2016

[Tony-OH]

Wow, did you guys know that, the Orioles have t keep Rickard all year?

So glad Hunter is there to fill in the 12 fans watching who don't know that.

[Rene88]

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[Frobby]

I don't think that choosing college position players in the first round is inherently risky. Guys who are picked in that spot are not normally just starting single A at age 22. I'm incredibly disappointed that Stewart is playing there, and floundering. It's just looking like a busted pick, but that doesn't mean that college position players are risky. Plenty of them succeed.

[ChinMusic]

I don't think that choosing college position players in the first round is inherently risky. Guys who are picked in that spot are not normally just starting single A at age 22. I'm incredibly disappointed that Stewart is playing there, and floundering. It's just looking like a busted pick, but that doesn't mean that college position players are risky. Plenty of them succeed.

Yup, exactly. This is just looking like a busted pick at this point. Pretty disappointing, to say the least. I wasn't in love with the pick at the time, and I really don't care for it now.

[ChuckS]

He was supposed to be a safe pick. Low upside, high floor. That floor has turned out to be down in the dungeon.

[sportsfan8703]

Aren't we still at the point in the season where one 3-4 game with a homer will make his avg/obp/ops acceptable?

[glenn__davis]

Aren't we still at the point in the season where one 3-4 game with a homer will make his avg/obp/ops acceptable?

Definitely. The issue is he was bad last year as well in a league he should have handled with relative ease.

It's not necessarily the bad results, it's the bad results in the leagues he's been playing in.

With all that said, still far too early to throwing around the bust word IMO. Give him a few months to get comfortable with this stance and see what he can do.

[CanadianOriole]

I don't delve deep into college/high school players - but I liked the pick a lot based on what I read about him. When Duquette was hired - I expected an era of high OBP with an emphasis on plate discipline was dawning for Orioles baseball. Instead, we are the one of the least disciplined, most free swinging teams around. It's been fine - we've scored runs by bashing gobs of home runs - I don't really care how the runs are made - just score 'em. But I still wanted to see some (any?) high OBP players in the system and eventually on the Orioles. The fact that Stewart hasn't hit at all has been very disappointing - but I liked the idea at least.

[webbrick2010]

Doesn't make sense to me to use a first round pick on a guy not expected to ever be able to defend

Gotta get really lucky to find a guy who is going to hit enough to be a ML DH

Putting all of your eggs in the hopes that he has one outstanding skill, doesn't leave any wiggle room when it turns out he hits like a 16 yo high school second baseman

[Ruzious]

I know nothing about scouting baseball prospects except that you get hired and fired based on results. And when you draft a kid like Peterson at his age and he can't even begin to hit low A baseball, you better either fix the disaster of do something to make up for it. Hopefully, it's just him getting used to the new stance, but we do need to see some encouraging results this season.

[Can_of_corn]

Doesn't make sense to me to use a first round pick on a guy not expected to ever be able to defend

Gotta get really lucky to find a guy who is going to hit enough to be a ML DH

Putting all of your eggs in the hopes that he has one outstanding skill, doesn't leave any wiggle room when it turns out he hits like a 16 yo high school second baseman

I disagree that it was a forgone conclusion he couldn't stick in LF. The bar at CO isn't exactly high.

[Tony-OH]

I don't think that choosing college position players in the first round is inherently risky. Guys who are picked in that spot are not normally just starting single A at age 22. I'm incredibly disappointed that Stewart is playing there, and floundering. It's just looking like a busted pick, but that doesn't mean that college position players are risky. Plenty of them succeed.

In fact, they should be the least risky pick. If you draft a college hitter in the 1st round, you should feel pretty good about his ability to hit at this point. It's almost amazing how bad Stewart has been. Even if you didn't like his body type, defense and speed, most had to think he would at least hit in the low minors. I don't know where teams had him pegged, but I didn't really think the Orioles reached with this selection in a weak draft class. It's a very strange situation and feel bad for the kid.

[bpilktree]

In fact, they should be the least risky pick. If you draft a college hitter in the 1st round, you should feel pretty good about his ability to hit at this point. It's almost amazing how bad Stewart has been. Even if you didn't like his body type, defense and speed, most had to think he would at least hit in the low minors. I don't know where teams had him pegged, but I didn't really think the Orioles reached with this selection in a weak draft class. It's a very strange situation and feel bad for the kid.

All the places I looked at had him in the late first round to early comp round. The book was he would hit but finding a position may slid him down the draft in a few peoples eyes. I never really saw anyone say the bat was the issue.

[McLovin]

I've seen him a bunch, and I stand by my assessment - upside is a less athletic Ty Wiggington. So I'm not going to be super disappointed if he doesn't make it to his full potential...

[Frobby]

In fact, they should be the least risky pick. If you draft a college hitter in the 1st round, you should feel pretty good about his ability to hit at this point. It's almost amazing how bad Stewart has been. Even if you didn't like his body type, defense and speed, most had to think he would at least hit in the low minors. I don't know where teams had him pegged, but I didn't really think the Orioles reached with this selection in a weak draft class. It's a very strange situation and feel bad for the kid.

"Amazing" is about how I'd put it.