Could Jahmai Jones be a better overall left fielder than Austin Hays?

[MurphDogg]

7 minutes ago, Tony-OH said:

I think we've seen enough of Stewart. He provide no defensive value and I think the bat will always be streaky but will never amount to anything worth his deficiencies in his defensive game. 

I am as big a Stewart apologist as anyone on this board, but at this point I agree that the window is pretty much closed. He is a pinch-hitter off the bench and a flawed fill-in corner outfielder, but not someone you build around.

[wildcard]

4 minutes ago, SteveA said:

What young pitchers?   We've got Spenser Watkins (28), Matt Harvey (32), Jorge Lopez (28), Thomas Eshelman (27), and Keegan Akin (26) in our rotation, with John Means (28) set to come off the IL and rejoin the rotation soon.

Dean Kremer is the only pitcher who hasn't turned 26 yet who has pitched more than 8.1 innings for us this season.

Zimmermann, Kremer, Akin, the Wells bros,  Lowther, hopefully Bausmann at some point, Mattson,  Scott, Bradish, and Smith

[HowAboutThat]

Regarding Jones, I think the guy he would replace would be Stewart, who has a very good eye, and not much else. Could Jones replace Mancini in the 1B/DH platoon, if/when Mancini is traded? Our infield is sloppy enough without adding another bad glove, but maybe they can find a place for him.

[Ruzious]

39 minutes ago, SteveA said:

What young pitchers?   We've got Spenser Watkins (28), Matt Harvey (32), Jorge Lopez (28), Thomas Eshelman (27), and Keegan Akin (26) in our rotation, with John Means (28) set to come off the IL and rejoin the rotation soon.

Dean Kremer is the only pitcher who hasn't turned 26 yet who has pitched more than 8.1 innings for us this season.

This is a sad elephant in the room fact about our so-called rebuilding effort.  

[Ruzious]

19 minutes ago, wildcard said:

Zimmermann, Kremer, Akin, the Wells bros,  Lowther, hopefully Bausmann at some point, Mattson,  Scott, Bradish, and Smith

As far as the pitchers that are being used, we don't have a young pitching staff this season.  

[Frobby]

I’ve always been a big Hays fan, so take this with a grain of salt.   But I believe in Hays’ bat.   I think the injuries disrupted his rhythm and he has hit below his capabilities.   I think if he stays healthy the rest of the year, his OPS will rise.  Over the last 13 games, he’s carrying a .908 OPS.

As it is, Hays has been worth 1.3 rWAR in 56 games.   That’s close to a 4 rWAR pace.   Even with the games he’s missed, he could end up at 3+ rWAR for the year if he holds that pace.  

So, no I do not think Jamai Jones would be a better overall LF than Hays.   But I am intrigued by his bat and hope we can polish up his 2B defense enough to try him there.

 

[OsFanSinceThe80s]

6 minutes ago, Frobby said:

I’ve always been a big Hays fan, so take this with a grain of salt.   But I believe in Hays’ bat.   I think the injuries disrupted his rhythm and he has hit below his capabilities.   I think if he stays healthy the rest of the year, his OPS will rise.  Over the last 13 games, he’s carrying a .908 OPS.

As it is, Hays has been worth 1.3 rWAR in 56 games.   That’s close to a 4 rWAR pace.   Even with the games he’s missed, he could end up at 3+ rWAR for the year if he holds that pace.  

So, no I do not think Jamai Jones would be a better overall LF than Hays.   But I am intrigued by his bat and hope we can polish up his 2B defense enough to try him there.

 

Plus the Orioles badly need more help in the infield, and my preference would be seeing Jones develop into a competent defensive 2B before converting him into an outfielder.  

[wildcard]

7 minutes ago, Frobby said:

I’ve always been a big Hays fan, so take this with a grain of salt.   But I believe in Hays’ bat.   I think the injuries disrupted his rhythm and he has hit below his capabilities.   I think if he stays healthy the rest of the year, his OPS will rise.  Over the last 13 games, he’s carrying a .908 OPS.

As it is, Hays has been worth 1.3 rWAR in 56 games.   That’s close to a 4 rWAR pace.   Even with the games he’s missed, he could end up at 3+ rWAR for the year if he holds that pace.  

So, no I do not think Jamai Jones would be a better overall LF than Hays.   But I am intrigued by his bat and hope we can polish up his 2B defense enough to try him there.

 

I like Hays too.  And I hope he hits.  But a great defensive outfielder that does not hit is a 4th outfielder.  With the injuries Hays and Santander have had and the slump Mancini is in, I think the O's could use another bat.

[Ruzious]

And while Jones' offense has been a pleasant surprise at AAA, it's not as if he came out of nowhere.  Baseball Prospectus had him as a top 80 prospect in MLB entering the 2017 season (78), 2018 (64), and 2019 (68).  This is the kind of player we should be seeing if he can be part of our MLB team.  The guys coaching him in AAA have done their job - at least on the offensive side.  But we need to see what he can do at the ML level.     

[wildcard]

3 minutes ago, OsFanSinceThe80s said:

Plus the Orioles badly need more help in the infield, and my preference would be seeing Jones develop into a competent defensive 2B before converting him into an outfielder.  

I'd like to see Vavra and Dorrian promoted to AAA.  There is the infield help.

[Ruzious]

1 minute ago, wildcard said:

I'd like to see Vavra and Dorrian promoted to AAA.  There is the infield help.

That's great for AAA, lol.  

[Moose Milligan]

18 minutes ago, Frobby said:

 Over the last 13 games, he’s carrying a .908 OPS.

 

wildcard!  Is that you!?!?!?

[Frobby]

8 minutes ago, wildcard said:

I like Hays too.  And I hope he hits.  But a great defensive outfielder that does not hit is a 4th outfielder.  With the injuries Hays and Santander have had and the slump Mancini is in, I think the O's could use another bat.

I don’t understand the “does not hit” part of your sentence.   He has a .734 OPS.   That’s not great, but it’s not awful.   The average AL OPS in LF this year is .706.  So he’s slightly above average with the bat for LF, and well above average with the glove.  And that’s how he gets to a place where he’s on pace for a 3+ rWAR season, which is above average for a starter.    

[Frobby]

5 minutes ago, Moose Milligan said:

wildcard!  Is that you!?!?!?

I’m just saying he’s been heating up lately.  We all know players have their ups and downs.   I’m not suggesting he’ll post .908 the rest of the year.   I do think he’ll top .734 by a good margin if he stays healthy (always a big if with him).   

[interloper]

Fun post.

I'm a little skeptical about Jones being anywhere the impact hitter that Hays at times can be. 

Also, I think there are other guys who would slot into a starting LF role before Jones ever got there. They're going to give him a lot of run at 2B it looks like.