Orioles Win with Stellar Pitching, D.J. Stewart 9/19

[weams]

http://www.orioleshangout.com/2018/09/20/orioles-win-with-stellar-pitching-2-1/

[weams]

D.J. Stewart - BAL

D.J. Stewart went 2-for-3 with a solo home run and two runs scored in a 2-1 win over the Blue Jays on Wednesday. He opened the scoring by ripping a Marco Estrada offering over the wall in the third inning for his first career longball. He doubled in the seventh and scored on a Cedric Mullins knock..

[OriolesMagic83]

D.J. seems like a great guy.  I have to admit I have mostly written him off as a spare part, but I have been pleasantly surprised.  I hope he has a mlb career somewhere.  He just looks like a dirt slow guy (reminds me of Cust), but is surprisingly speedy.

[pastorfan]

19 minutes ago, OriolesMagic83 said:

D.J. seems like a great guy.  I have to admit I have mostly written him off as a spare part, but I have been pleasantly surprised.  I hope he has a mlb career somewhere.  He just looks like a dirt slow guy (reminds me of Cust), but is surprisingly speedy.

Yeah, still not sure how he got drafted in the first round, but ....

[BohKnowsBmore]

4 hours ago, OriolesMagic83 said:

D.J. seems like a great guy.  I have to admit I have mostly written him off as a spare part, but I have been pleasantly surprised.  I hope he has a mlb career somewhere.  He just looks like a dirt slow guy (reminds me of Cust), but is surprisingly speedy.

I did a post about this in the MiLB section, specifically re: the dearth of MLB players with his physical measurements (220+, < 6') that had recorded 10+ steals in a season (he was 20/24 in 2017 and 12/16 in 2018 at the MiLB level).

[weams]

4 hours ago, pastorfan said:

Yeah, still not sure how he got drafted in the first round, but ....

He was rated the top pure college hitter in the draft by many.  Also, we were one of the top four teams the season before.  The Os picked near last. 

[weams]

[BohKnowsBmore]

2 minutes ago, weams said:

Re: Mike Nikorak (Rockies mid-season prospect rankings)

 

Quote

 

30. Mike Nikorak (81 points, 15 ballots) -- Preseason Ranking: 25 — High Ballot 16, Mode Ballot 28, 29

How did he enter the organization?

2015 1st Round, Stroudsburg (PA) HS

Why did he make the PuRPs list?

It certainly didn’t have anything to do with Nikorak’s performance as a pro so far or his ability to stay healthy. A player who was seen as a potential #2/3 starter when he was drafted has been limited to only 47 professional innings in three years, none since 2016. That’s because of a blown out elbow at the beginning of 2017 that required Tommy John surgery, an injury from which Nikorak is still rehabbing after feeling soreness near the end of this year’s spring training. Per a Grand Junction Sentinel article on Nikorak last week, he feels healthy and is hoping to get into action with Short Season A Boise before the year is out.

 

 

[BohKnowsBmore]

Jon Harris:

Quote

 

Pre-2018 ranking:  20
Mid-2018 ranking:  33

Mid-2018 Report (June 28):
Harris was coming off an excellent 2016 and an ugly 2017, and his 2018 season has fallen expectedly in the middle.

The 2015 first-rounder posted a 4.76 ERA in his first 14 double-A starts before making his triple-A debut on June 28, but hestill hasn't taken the big stride back towards his success in single-A and high-A.

Hard contact continues to be an issue for Harris, especially when he leaves his fastball up ...

 

 

[BohKnowsBmore]

Taylor Ward has certainly fared a bit better, hitting well in the minors, making the Angels top-10 prospect list and was promoted to the show this September (.534 OPS in 114 PA).

[BohKnowsBmore]

Mike Soroka was/is widely considered to be a part of the top half of the top-100 prospects in baseball (around #30).

[BohKnowsBmore]

Kyle Holder seems to be widely considered outside of the top-20 for the NYY organization coming into 2018.  Got his first taste of AA this season and put up .622 OPS in 132 PA at age 24.  Projections seem to have him as a utility infielder at the majors.

[BohKnowsBmore]

Overall, based on the guys that went immediately after him***, the Stewart pick seems like decent value.  He's not Soroka (at least in terms of ranking/expectations), but he seems like a stronger bet moving forward than any of those other guys.

*** Whether that's a good way to judge is another question entirely.  I thought it would be interesting to look at based on the info @weams shared.

[Legend_Of_Joey]

Last night was a win with the kids.

Stewart with 2 hits, including his first home run and double. Scored both runs.

Wynns with 2 hits, including a fly out that allowed Stewart to advance to 3rd before he scored the second run. Also seemed to call a good game and made a great tag on a double play fly out to Jones.

Mullins driving in the eventual winning run with a nice single up the middle while batting right handed.

Yacabonis going 4 strong.

Scott getting a key out.

[Frobby]

4 hours ago, pastorfan said:

Yeah, still not sure how he got drafted in the first round, but ....

As I just pointed out in another thread, there were 20 4-year college guys drafted in the first round that year.   12 have made the majors so far, and 8 haven’t.   Of the 6 who have a higher WAR than Stewart, 4 were drafted in the top 10, and only 1 was drafted after Stewart.     So, it remains possible he’ll justify his draft spot. At a minimum, he won’t be one of those first round picks who never reached the majors (prior to 2015, 33% of the players picked no. 25 never made the majors).