Stewart optioned

[webbrick2010]

1 minute ago, luismatos4prez said:

I don't think DJ Stewart is good, but I'd rather give him at bats than Velazquez and Smith Jr.

Smith doesn't hit, field, or run well. Velazquez is fast, but can't hit at all and throws the ball from short like Uncle Rico. Or like he thinks he's Robinson Cano and can dog it in the field because he's so good.

I'd play Mullins & Mecenna ( spelled wrong )

At least put out a plus defensive OF, since none of them can hit a lick

[DrungoHazewood]

35 minutes ago, webbrick2010 said:

"just shy"  I guess I'm just shy from making the PGA tour

If Stewart hadn't mistakenly drafted in the first round he would never have made it out of A ball. He was promoted several levels even when he had no success. Last year in 260 AAA AB's he had his first above average stats but still struck out nearly 25% of his AB's. Add in that he is slow, with a weak arm and he brings almost nothing to the table.

I hope the Orioles soon stop paying him.

There are something like 8000 professional baseball players.  Another 50,000 college baseball players at various levels.  Millions who play organized baseball of some sort.  Stewart is at or near the top 1000.  At a very good college program at Florida State he was by far their best hitter.  His senior year he played on a 44-21 team and had the highest OPS by nearly .200 points. 

You say Stewart was a draft mistake.  The 2015 first round has seen four, maybe five, players out of 42 become established, quality major league players - Alex Bregman, Andrew Benintendi, Mike Soroka, Walker Buehler, and possibly Dansby Swanson.  All of them except Soroka were taken prior to Stewart.  No second rounder from '15 has been worth 2 wins in the their career so far, and you have to go all the way down to #100 (Harrison Bader) to find the next 5-win player. 

Who exactly did you want the Orioles to take at the time of the '15 draft?  And are you as critical of the other ~90 picks in the top 100 that have worked out no better than Stewart?  It is your opinion that the 90%+ of draftees that don't have solid MLB careers are all mistakes by the drafting team?

[Tony-OH]

52 minutes ago, luismatos4prez said:

I don't think DJ Stewart is good, but I'd rather give him at bats than Velazquez and Smith Jr.

Smith doesn't hit, field, or run well. Velazquez is fast, but can't hit at all and throws the ball from short like Uncle Rico. Or like he thinks he's Robinson Cano and can dog it in the field because he's so good.

Best line of the day bar none!

[Philip]

12 minutes ago, DrungoHazewood said:

There are something like 8000 professional baseball players.  Another 50,000 college baseball players at various levels.  Millions who play organized baseball of some sort.  Stewart is at or near the top 1000.  At a very good college program at Florida State he was by far their best hitter.  His senior year he played on a 44-21 team and had the highest OPS by nearly .200 points. 

You say Stewart was a draft mistake.  The 2015 first round has seen four, maybe five, players out of 42 become established, quality major league players - Alex Bregman, Andrew Benintendi, Mike Soroka, Walker Buehler, and possibly Dansby Swanson.  All of them except Soroka were taken prior to Stewart.  No second rounder from '15 has been worth 2 wins in the their career so far, and you have to go all the way down to #100 (Harrison Bader) to find the next 5-win player. 

Who exactly did you want the Orioles to take at the time of the '15 draft?  And are you as critical of the other ~90 picks in the top 100 that have worked out no better than Stewart?  It is your opinion that the 90%+ of draftees that don't have solid MLB careers are all mistakes by the drafting team?

Everything here is valid. But that’s beside the point. Being top 1000 in a sport with room with only 750 MLB spotsstill leaves him on the outside. Joey Rickard(.4 WAR)was better. 

Stewart wasn’t necessarily a “mistake” but it sure looks like he is a “miss”

Although it seems we should have taken Harrison Bader instead...

[DrungoHazewood]

13 minutes ago, Philip said:

Everything here is valid. But that’s beside the point. Being top 1000 in a sport with room with only 750 MLB spotsstill leaves him on the outside. Joey Rickard(.4 WAR)was better. 

Stewart wasn’t necessarily a “mistake” but it sure looks like he is a “miss”

Although it seems we should have taken Harrison Bader instead...

Almost every single other team could say the same thing.

[survivedc]

28 minutes ago, DrungoHazewood said:

There are something like 8000 professional baseball players.  Another 50,000 college baseball players at various levels.  Millions who play organized baseball of some sort.  Stewart is at or near the top 1000.  At a very good college program at Florida State he was by far their best hitter.  His senior year he played on a 44-21 team and had the highest OPS by nearly .200 points. 

You say Stewart was a draft mistake.  The 2015 first round has seen four, maybe five, players out of 42 become established, quality major league players - Alex Bregman, Andrew Benintendi, Mike Soroka, Walker Buehler, and possibly Dansby Swanson.  All of them except Soroka were taken prior to Stewart.  No second rounder from '15 has been worth 2 wins in the their career so far, and you have to go all the way down to #100 (Harrison Bader) to find the next 5-win player. 

Who exactly did you want the Orioles to take at the time of the '15 draft?  And are you as critical of the other ~90 picks in the top 100 that have worked out no better than Stewart?  It is your opinion that the 90%+ of draftees that don't have solid MLB careers are all mistakes by the drafting team?

Some really good info here. Just another representation IMO about the massive gap between amateur/MiLB and the Majors. 

[Big Mac]

1 hour ago, webbrick2010 said:

"just shy"  I guess I'm just shy from making the PGA tour

If Stewart hadn't mistakenly drafted in the first round he would never have made it out of A ball. He was promoted several levels even when he had no success. Last year in 260 AAA AB's he had his first above average stats but still struck out nearly 25% of his AB's. Add in that he is slow, with a weak arm and he brings almost nothing to the table.

I hope the Orioles soon stop paying him.

He also put up an .859 OPS in Bowie in 2017.  He only has 211 ML plate appearances and has still managed a .709 OPS.  I'm not completely giving up hope, but I don't think it's likely he becomes more than a platoon guy. 

[glenn__davis]

I've been a big backer of Stewart, but there is no question he has looked awful this year.  Swinging right through very hittable pitches.  He's better than what he's shown.  But he needs to show it.  No problem with sending him down and hopefully letting him figure it out a bit.

[Philip]

46 minutes ago, DrungoHazewood said:It is your opinion that the 90%+ of draftees that don't have solid MLB careers are all mistakes by the drafting team?

By definition, if a pick is unsuccessful it was a mistake.

A choice can certainly be a logical choice that does not work out, but it’s still a mistake. Every team that did not draft Mike Trout had a logical reasons for doing so. But it was still a mistake to not draft Mike Trout.

Nobody mentions Sedlock anymore. Maybe he was a mistake too, and we will know when he works out or doesn’t.

[Philip]

21 minutes ago, DrungoHazewood said:

Almost every single other team could say the same thing.

Sure. It was a mistake to not take Bader. It was a mistake to take Stewart. It was not a mistake to take Mancini, even though by that point, teams are pretty much picking on whim.
meh. These things work out. It’s the nature of the draft.
the guy who said taking Stewart was a mistake was right, but his comment is irrelevant. Every pick is a mistake until it isn’t.

[NCRaven]

51 minutes ago, Philip said:

By definition, if a pick is unsuccessful it was a mistake.

Have to call BS on this.  If that is your criteria for draft picks, the vast majority of them are "mistakes" because the vast majority of draft picks never get more than a cup of coffee in the bigs, if that.

[jamalshw]

10 minutes ago, NCRaven said:

Have to call BS on this.  If that is your criteria for draft picks, the vast majority of them are "mistakes" because the vast majority of draft picks never get more than a cup of coffee in the bigs, if that.

Overall, it just sounds like a pointless argument on semantics. Whether we call it a "mistake" or a "miss" or a "guy that just didn't work out." It's more important on what the team does going forward than dwelling on the past. Once a guy is in the system, it shouldn't matter where he was drafted or how much money he got in a signing bonus, but rather how he profiles going forward and how he produces, improves, etc. That, of course, is not to say minor league production is the be-all, end-all. Guys are drafted high because of apparent tools. Sometimes those tools don't translate, sometimes they take longer. Regardless, the point I'm dancing around here is Stewart's draft position is irrelevant now. What is relevant is what he could mean for this team going forward. While it looks like a long shot he'll be an everyday player, he could still be a platoon/part-time guy. He could also be out of baseball in a couple years. Where the Orioles are right now, they need to see what he can do. He has a better chance than Smith and a few others on the roster. If the team sees something in his swing or approach they feel they can fix getting him away from the team and to the alternate sight for a bit, I'm all for this move, but I would like to see him back this year and getting another look even if inconsistently with the likelihood of Mountcastle there by the time he returns.

[OriolesMagic83]

13 hours ago, section18 said:

He has a problem with his stance, He keeps bouncing his bat off of the top of his shoulder before every pitch. He needs to stop this bad habit and keep his bat more up rght and still before every pitch. He is late on every pitch due to this glitch. Can someone tell him?

His stance was way worse when he was drafted.  A defensively limited OF with an uncoordinated swing shouldn't be your team's first round pick.  I'm surprised he ever made it to the big leagues. 

[Can_of_corn]

8 minutes ago, OriolesMagic83 said:

His stance was way worse when he was drafted.  A defensively limited OF with an uncoordinated swing shouldn't be your team's first round pick.  I'm surprised he ever made it to the big leagues. 

Pretty sure you don't hit .350 in a major college program with an uncoordinated swing.

[DrungoHazewood]

1 hour ago, Philip said:

By definition, if a pick is unsuccessful it was a mistake.

A choice can certainly be a logical choice that does not work out, but it’s still a mistake. Every team that did not draft Mike Trout had a logical reasons for doing so. But it was still a mistake to not draft Mike Trout.

Nobody mentions Sedlock anymore. Maybe he was a mistake too, and we will know when he works out or doesn’t.

 

1 hour ago, Philip said:

Sure. It was a mistake to not take Bader. It was a mistake to take Stewart. It was not a mistake to take Mancini, even though by that point, teams are pretty much picking on whim.
meh. These things work out. It’s the nature of the draft.
the guy who said taking Stewart was a mistake was right, but his comment is irrelevant. Every pick is a mistake until it isn’t.

I guess this is a philosophical difference, but I don't know how you can call something a mistake when it was basically a failure to predict the future.