Is Steve Wilkerson the next JD Martinez?

[HowAboutThat]

I was going to post about Wilk, and here’s a long discussion already going.

his BABIP is .375, his defense everywhere is a tiny sliver below average. Will it get better as he gets more comfortable?

is he a keeper? He seems more useful than Rickard or Jackson, and he’s more versatile.

[jabba72]

You can definitely see the athleticism that makes Hyde believe Wilkerson can play center. He snagged that ball even if he stumbled a bit. The result is all that counts. We'll see what his statcast numbers say after like the minimum games to start counting says.

[Natty]

Seems like Wilkerson sure can hit ML pitching so far. I know its a SSS but here are his slash numbers....292/.311/.528/.839

Only Mancini has a higher BA and OPS right now. 

If he stops wildly diving at balls out in CF, that he cant possibly get too, he might be OK out there. we shall see.

[OsFanSinceThe80s]

7 minutes ago, Natty said:

Seems like Wilkerson sure can hit ML pitching so far. I know its a SSS but here are his slash numbers....292/.311/.528/.839

Only Mancini has a higher BA and OPS right now. 

If he stops wildly diving at balls out in CF, that he cant possibly get too, he might be OK out there. we shall see.

Except that Wilkerson is a platoon player only. He has one hit in fourteen at bats against LHP. 

Trey has an .826 OPS against RHP and a 1.176 OPS against LHP.

[Aristotelian]

I wonder if anyone had had the foresight to groom him as a CF where he would be right now defensively. It appears his minors OPS has actually increased over the years. Sustaining .750 at the MLB level *might* not be out of the question.

[OsFanSinceThe80s]

1 minute ago, OsFanSinceThe80s said:

Except that Wilkerson is a platoon player only. He has one hit in fourteen at bats against LHP. 

Trey has an .826 OPS against RHP and a 1.176 OPS against LHP.

Wait make that 0 hits in 14 at bats against LHP for Wilkerson so far. 

[Natty]

3 hours ago, OsFanSinceThe80s said:

Wait make that 0 hits in 14 at bats against LHP for Wilkerson so far. 

Well we have Rickard who historically  hits lefties better. 

[Cumberbundy]

Nicest thing anyone has ever said about JD Martinez.

 

[OsFanSinceThe80s]

43 minutes ago, Natty said:

Well we have Rickard who historically  hits lefties better. 

I’m good with the platoon as long as Mullins continues to struggle.

[Camden_yardbird]

14 ABs and you think that is anywhere near the sample size you need to determine he is a platoon player?

[alaniee]

Pretty much an insult to J.D. Martinez & the nicest thing ever said about Stevie Wilkerson.

[Legend_Of_Joey]

Per Jon Meoli of the Baltimore Sun:

With Cedric Mullins struggling at the plate in late April and no real alternative in the fold to replace him, Orioles manager Brandon Hyde sat in his office with executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias and came up with a solution out of thin air.

"Me and Mike were just talking about it one night, probably about three days before [Stevie Wilkerson] got here," Hyde said. "Not kidding. We had him play a game or two down in Norfolk, and then he came, and he's been playing center field quite a bit.

"We were talking about a lot of things. I don't know if it was me or him who came up with it, but we sent a message down to Norfolk to see if we could get some time for him in center field. A few days later, he was here."

The result has been a real spark — to the extent of any the Orioles have had this year. Wilkerson's fourth home run of the season helped them to a 5-1 win over the Cleveland Indians on Friday, and Saturday marked his 12th start in center field in his past 13 games, knocking Joey Rickard into more of a reserve role.

Wilkerson, 27, entered Saturday hitting .333 in that stretch and .292on the year. He’s had some difficult moments in center field but nothing glaring for a player who had never played it before being thrust into the role for a few days in Norfolk before his call-up. What he does struggle with, he makes up for with athleticism.

"That's what we were trying to come up with," Hyde said. "Looking for some athleticism and Stevie brings that. We wanted to see what that looked like down there. It probably happened a little faster than we anticipated, but we rolled the dice, took a chance and he's been playing well."

With Mullins still trying to steady himself at Norfolk, and Austin Hays finally back in games, there are more options behind Wilkerson than there were at the time. Mason Williams is also center field depth at Norfolk, but it's not as if Wilkerson will be hearing footsteps with the way he's playing.

"I just like the at-bats he's taking," Hyde said. "He's playing with nothing to lose and leaving it out on the field. It's fantastic.

"I just think he's a really good athlete. He's going to make some mistakes here and there, but the more reps he's getting out there, you see the improvement and I just like the speed factor. I like the aggressiveness. I think he's going to get better and better as he continues playing the outfield."

[Cumberbundy]

I was once called the next Charles Dance.

 

 

[Moose Milligan]

3 hours ago, Camden_yardbird said:

14 ABs and you think that is anywhere near the sample size you need to determine he is a platoon player?

You must be new here.

[Can_of_corn]

5 minutes ago, Moose Milligan said:

You must be new here.

That's an easy two opinions worth of data for Wildcard!