Means off IL, McKenna optioned

[SteveA]

So we are back to a 3 man bench.

AFAIK, Hyde hasn't said who will start tomorrow.   Either Akin or Eshelman.   Is the other in the pen now?   We certainly don't need 6 men in the rotation with two off days in the next 9 days.  I was surprised we didn't send a pitcher (Akin, Eshelman, or Anderson) down.

I guess Hays and Santander are healthy enough that they feel they can get by without McKenna.

[OsFanSinceThe80s]

 

[Ruzious]

3 minutes ago, SteveA said:

So we are back to a 3 man bench.

AFAIK, Hyde hasn't said who will start tomorrow.   Either Akin or Eshelman.   Is the other in the pen now?   We certainly don't need 6 men in the rotation with two off days in the next 9 days.  I was surprised we didn't send a pitcher (Akin, Eshelman, or Anderson) down.

I guess Hays and Santander are healthy enough that they feel they can get by without McKenna.

They better stay healthy, because if I see Stewart in LF, I'm gonna reach through the screen and... welp, it was a luxury having McKenna complete that OF defensively, but he's gotta prove himself with the bat.  

[yark14]

3 minutes ago, Ruzious said:

They better stay healthy, because if I see Stewart in LF, I'm gonna reach through the screen and... welp, it was a luxury having McKenna complete that OF defensively, but he's gotta prove himself with the bat.  

Exactly.  I love McKenna's energy and defensive skills...but in many of his at bats recently he just looks lost.

[Frobby]

51 minutes ago, yark14 said:

Exactly.  I love McKenna's energy and defensive skills...but in many of his at bats recently he just looks lost.

It’s interesting to note that he’s hit pretty well at Norfolk when there, including showing some pop we haven’t seen at all at the big league level.   

[SteveA]

Akin is officially announced as tomorrow's starter.   So Eshelman is in the bullpen now.

[Legend_Of_Joey]

2 hours ago, Frobby said:

It’s interesting to note that he’s hit pretty well at Norfolk when there, including showing some pop we haven’t seen at all at the big league level.   

Him, Wynns and Stevie have all done that this season. Tyler Nevin wasn’t up long enough to judge. Urias seems to be the only one so far who has been able to produce both at AAA and MLB. Even Sisco struggled horribly for Baltimore, was ok in Norfolk and doing a lot better in Syracuse.

[Tony-OH]

15 hours ago, Frobby said:

It’s interesting to note that he’s hit pretty well at Norfolk when there, including showing some pop we haven’t seen at all at the big league level.   

Unfortunately, the stats have shown my scouting eye was not wrong about his inability to hit velocity. He's seen 203 fastballs and has a .121 average with a .167 XBA. Even worse he has a 37.8% WHIF against the pitch. If you go with pure 4-seam fastballs (125 pitches) that average 94.1 MPH, he's hitting .059 with an awful 50% whiff rate. 

A lack of ability to hit a fastball is a tough thing to get better at and one of the reason despite his outstanding defense and running ability, he's going to be limited to being a 4th/5th outfield kind of guy. If they expand the roster to 27 he could be a good guy to have on the bench because of his plus defensive abilities and pinch running.