I’m glad DJ Stewart is having a moment

[Sports Guy]

18 minutes ago, Aristotelian said:

Seems like the OF is close to set with Mountcastle, Hays, and Santander. That leaves Mancini/Nunez/DJ for 1B/DH. DJ being lefty is a nice plus. I think he is the biggest threat to Nunez more so than any of the outfielders. 

Diaz absolutely should be in the conversation.

I wouldn’t rely on Santander just yet either.

[DrungoHazewood]

7 minutes ago, Sports Guy said:

Diaz absolutely should be in the conversation.

I wouldn’t rely on Santander just yet either.

Or Hays.  He's played 60 games in the majors, and not all that well.  He could be the new Pete Stanicek.

[Sports Guy]

Just now, DrungoHazewood said:

Or Hays.  He's played 60 games in the majors, and not all that well.  He could be the new Pete Stanicek.

Very true.  

[DrungoHazewood]

2 hours ago, Can_of_corn said:

They count for more if they go into the upper deck? 

When we reach the ultimate nirvana of Three True Outcomes and all contact results in a homer there will be rings of value beyond the fence to give players something to shoot for.  A 500' shot is worth six runs.

[Can_of_corn]

Just now, DrungoHazewood said:

When we reach the ultimate nirvana of Three True Outcomes and all contact results in a homer there will be rings of value beyond the fence to give players something to shoot for.  A 500' shot is worth six runs.

Sounds good.  But until then...

[hoosiers]

Stewart has been an interesting prospect to watch.  He has really stuck with it and showed some perseverance.  

Looking at a replay of his HR swing last night, head down, nice launch angle, and a very balanced swing - all of this in tremendous contrast to his stance and swing in college.  Kudos to our coaches, but most of all kudos to DJ Stewart. 

It would be remarkable for him to produce three or four years of league average production from here.  

My son and I are big DJ Stewart fans.  He could not have been nicer when we met him in Brooklyn immediately after a minor league game and then again when we recognized him walking back to the team hotel instead of taking the bus.  I am sure it has been a long road from there to here, and I hope he can enjoy a multi-year major league career for the Orioles.

[SteveA]

3 hours ago, Moose Milligan said:

Fair points, it has been awhile since Hays has had a great season.  

Last year?

[SteveA]

Long term we don't know what we have yet.   It's possible that Stewart, Hays, and Mullins could all fail to be good enough hitters to be major league regulars.

It looks like Santander is good enough to be a major league regular, as is Mountcastle.

So for all our talk of a glut of outfielders... right now we have two guys that we can have high confidence in at least being able to be a regular for the next 4 or 5 years.   And others that we HOPE can... Stewart, Hays, Mullins, Diaz, Kjerstad.

We've done some "finding out" this year and I expect that process to continue next year.

[Moose Milligan]

7 minutes ago, SteveA said:

Last year?

Are you talking about the short stint in Baltimore?  Or the .846 OPS in Bowie?  

 

[SteveA]

Just now, Moose Milligan said:

Are you talking about the short stint in Baltimore?  Or the .846 OPS in Bowie?  

 

Even at Norfolk he was way younger than the rest of the league and hled his own

[Can_of_corn]

8 minutes ago, SteveA said:

Last year?

He put up a 758 OPS in Norfolk with juiced balls over 257 PA. 

He had a great month in 2019, not a great season.

[Can_of_corn]

1 minute ago, SteveA said:

Even at Norfolk he was way younger than the rest of the league and hled his own

A 758 in Norfolk with juiced balls is holding your own?

https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/team.cgi?id=018dd10b

Look at the names listed higher than tell me how well he did in Norfolk.

[MurphDogg]

Ultimately I think worrying about whether Hays is for real or not is pointless. None of the other options can play centerfield, McKenna clearly isn't ready (and he is a lot more questionable to ever be a productive player than Hays is) and the O's aren't going to go out and sign another centerfielder. 

Hays has a much stronger track record than Mullins at all levels of professional baseball, so if he is healthy he is going to play. We will find out in time whether he will be any good and can stay healthy. Hopefully McKenna puts up a great season next year at AAA and it won't be Hays' job by default, but until then, Hays is penciled in as the 2021 centerfielder.

Santander is going to get every chance to be a starting corner outfielder next year, and all indications are that Mountcastle isn't moving to first any time soon. So DJ Stewart either needs to pick up a first baseman's glove to increase his versatility, or look forward to mostly DHing next year, with the occasional start when Mountcastle and Santander have a day off.

[DrungoHazewood]

1 hour ago, SteveA said:

Even at Norfolk he was way younger than the rest of the league and hled his own

 

1 hour ago, Can_of_corn said:

He put up a 758 OPS in Norfolk with juiced balls over 257 PA. 

He had a great month in 2019, not a great season.

 

1 hour ago, Can_of_corn said:

A 758 in Norfolk with juiced balls is holding your own?

https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/team.cgi?id=018dd10b

Look at the names listed higher than tell me how well he did in Norfolk.

Hays was relatively young for a AAA prospect last year.

Hays hit worse than an average Norfolk Tide last year.

Hays had a .703 OPS in AA in '18. 

He hit as well last September as he's hit poorly so far in '20.

In '17 he hit 32 homers and had a .958 OPS in the minors.

Hopefully he can stay healthy long enough at some point to figure out what we have here.

[now]

When Stewart was drafted I thought a good comp might be Kevin Youkilis, for OBP, power, body type. Maybe he's getting there after all. Anyone else see that?