Jordan Westburg 2021

[ShoelesJoe]

Westburg with a 3 run HR tonight. 

[Frobby]

 

[Aglets]

So this guy seems pretty good eh.

[Frobby]

11 minutes ago, Aglets said:

So this guy seems pretty good eh.

Committed a pretty crucial error in the 10th inning, missing a Gunnar Henderson throw on a force play and allowing one run to score and two other runners to take an extra base.   But he did have a homer, a double and a walk.  

[Chaka Garcia]

I saw this article about Westburg - seems to be less glowing than other articles that I have read (in regards to his defense and draft day potential).

https://eutawstreetreport.com/jordan-westburg-showing-impressive-bat/

Quote

Westburg’s main issue is that he isn’t the best defender wherever you put him. The Orioles have been putting him at third base and shortstop this year, and he hasn’t been that impressive at either. He has made a lot of errors and seems to be a little limited with his range. He also doesn’t have that strong of an arm, so his fits in the infield are a little tough to figure out.

 

For some reason, I thought he had "Hardy" like defense -good, but not flashy defense, plus decent arm.

Edited August 3, 2021 by Chaka Garcia

[Can_of_corn]

3 minutes ago, Chaka Garcia said:

I saw this article about Westburg - seems to be less glowing than other articles that I have read (in regards to his defense and draft day potential).

https://eutawstreetreport.com/jordan-westburg-showing-impressive-bat/

 

For some reason, I thought he had "Hardy" like defense -good, but not flashy defense, plus decent arm.

They can always just move him to the outfield.

[Can_of_corn]

On a more serious note, it isn't an easy thing to find someone with JJ Hardy level defense.

[emmett16]

5 minutes ago, Can_of_corn said:

On a more serious note, it isn't an easy thing to find someone with JJ Hardy level defense.

What's so hard about finding someone with impeccable glove skills & a deadly accurate cannon who also happens to be the consummate professional?  

[Can_of_corn]

7 minutes ago, emmett16 said:

What's so hard about finding someone with impeccable glove skills & a deadly accurate cannon who also happens to be the consummate professional?  

That's the easy part, the hard part is they have to have a deft hand at Table Tennis.

[Frobby]

32 minutes ago, Chaka Garcia said:

I saw this article about Westburg - seems to be less glowing than other articles that I have read (in regards to his defense and draft day potential).

https://eutawstreetreport.com/jordan-westburg-showing-impressive-bat/

 

I wouldn’t put too much credence in it.   I’m not saying he’s wrong, but I don’t know enough about Jared Pinder or how many times he’s seen Westburg play to put a lot of weight on his opinion.   Statistically speaking, Westburg’s 968 fielding % at SS is fine, while his .920 at 3B is not, but neither is a huge sample.   His range stats suggest he may not be the rangiest SS you’ve ever seen, but it’s a limited sample and a lot of extraneous factors affect the traditional range stats, and advanced metrics aren’t available.   

So far as defense goes, I’m a bit more nervous about Henderson, whose fielding percentages are .914 at SS and .866 at 3B, neither of which are remotely acceptable.   Of course, he’s less experienced than Westburg and hopefully will cut down on the errors with experience.   
 

[7Mo]

54 minutes ago, Chaka Garcia said:

I saw this article about Westburg - seems to be less glowing than other articles that I have read (in regards to his defense and draft day potential).

https://eutawstreetreport.com/jordan-westburg-showing-impressive-bat/

 

For some reason, I thought he had "Hardy" like defense -good, but not flashy defense, plus decent arm.

MLB.com grades the arm at 55. Not sure I would agree with the writers opinion there. 

[Frobby]

4 minutes ago, 7Mo said:

MLB.com grades the arm at 55. Not sure I would agree with the writers opinion there. 

Fangraphs gave his arm a 45 in their preseason write-up, so opinions may vary.   And they gave his fielding a 40/45.

[7Mo]

2 minutes ago, Frobby said:

Fangraphs gave his arm a 45 in their preseason write-up, so opinions may vary.   And they gave his fielding a 40/45.

That's a big difference. Sorry to see that.

In the little bit I've seen him, he looks more like a third baseman. He's never going to move like an Iglesias but I thought he'd move well enough, and throw well enough at third. Guess that's still to be determined. 

[Frobby]

Just now, 7Mo said:

That's a big difference. Sorry to see that.

In the little bit I've seen him, he looks more like a third baseman. He's never going to move like an Iglesias but I thought he'd move well enough, and throw well enough at third. Guess that's still to be determined. 

My view is, it takes a lot of reps to know how good a player can become on defense.   I remember Caleb Joseph was seen as a bat-first C for several years in our organization but he developed into a good defensive C.    Obviously C is a different type of position than SS/3B and there are certain natural skills you have to have that can’t be improved significantly by mere repetition.  But I’d certainly never assume that a guy in his first season of pro ball is anywhere near as good as he’s going to get.   

That said, it’s my guess that Grenier and Ortiz will remain ahead of Westburg on the defensive side of things.   
 

[7Mo]

3 minutes ago, Frobby said:

My view is, it takes a lot of reps to know how good a player can become on defense.   I remember Caleb Joseph was seen as a bat-first C for several years in our organization but he developed into a good defensive C.    Obviously C is a different type of position than SS/3B and there are certain natural skills you have to have that can’t be improved significantly by mere repetition.  But I’d certainly never assume that a guy in his first season of pro ball is anywhere near as good as he’s going to get.   

That said, it’s my guess that Grenier and Ortiz will remain ahead of Westburg on the defensive side of things.   
 

Agree with all of that. Bad break on the Ortiz injury. Hopefully he can come back and handle short adequately. 

I'm pretty sure Westburg will put in the work. That may not make enough difference but I'm confident he'll improve as much as he's able.