McKenna has himself a day

[RZNJ]

4 minutes ago, Moose Milligan said:

I mean, I’m not calling anyone an a-hole or a “butt boy” but point taken. 

 

4 minutes ago, Moose Milligan said:

I mean, I’m not calling anyone an a-hole or a “butt boy” but point taken. 

If the boot fits ........   Sorry, just too good to pass up.   Truce.   I am sorry for calling you names.    Peace!

[Moose Milligan]

1 minute ago, RZNJ said:

 

If the boot fits ........   Sorry, just too good to pass up.   Truce.   I am sorry for calling you names.    Peace!

Ok…

[HowAboutThat]

1 hour ago, Three Run Homer said:

The O's aren't trying to contend, so they have the luxury of carrying McKenna as a fourth outfielder and seeing if he can get better.  But no way does a contending team want to have a 4th outfielder who hits .200, even if his speed and defense are excellent.  

I will disagree with that. An outfielder that can hit, run, and field at a high-level is not a fourth outfielder, he is a starter. If McKenna were hitting .250, maybe even .230, he’d be in the outfield every day. Almost by definition a fourth outfielder is somebody who is lacking in an important category, but excels in others. Bad teams have fourth outfielders that do nothing well. Until McKenna showed up, Stewart was apparently ours.

 

[Ruzious]

Do they keep track of sliding stats?

Well, I think we can all agree that if McKenna has another big game, we should retire his number.  

[Chuck A]

1. 9 minutes ago, Philip said:

I will disagree with that. An outfielder that can hit, run, and field at a high-level is not a fourth outfielder, he is a starter. If McKenna were hitting .250, maybe even .230, he’d be in the outfield every day. Almost by definition a fourth outfielder is somebody who is lacking in an important category, but excels in others. Bad teams have fourth outfielders that do nothing well. Until McKenna showed up, Stewart was apparently ours.

 

Hey now, Stewart makes the highlight reels for heading the baseball and otherwise looking like he never played in the OF before that game.  I laugh at those highlights.

[Ruzious]

24 minutes ago, Chuck A said:

Hey now, Stewart makes the highlight reels for heading the baseball and otherwise looking like he never played in the OF before that game.  I laugh at those highlights.

Nobody has a more picture perfect follow-through from his swing to the catcher's head than Stewart.    

[Moose Milligan]

42 minutes ago, Philip said:

I will disagree with that. An outfielder that can hit, run, and field at a high-level is not a fourth outfielder, he is a starter. If McKenna were hitting .250, maybe even .230, he’d be in the outfield every day. Almost by definition a fourth outfielder is somebody who is lacking in an important category, but excels in others. Bad teams have fourth outfielders that do nothing well. Until McKenna showed up, Stewart was apparently ours.

 

There aren't many 5 tool players in the game at all.  What you outlined, an outfielder who can hit, run, and field (IMO, you're talking about hitting for average and power...fielding includes good glovework but also in this case taking good routes to balls and at least an average-to-strong throwing arm).  

Yes, a 5 tool player would be in the outfield every day.  

I agree with @Three Run Homer, a good team probably doesn't want a .200 hitter as their 4th outfielder.  They want as little dropoff as possible for when a starter is out for a bit or taking a day off.  

If McKenna were in the outfield hitting .230 and playing every day, I guess that'd be fine but I'm pretty sure he wouldn't be looked at as a guy to build around and could be expendable.

[Tony-OH]

1 hour ago, Philip said:

I will disagree with that. An outfielder that can hit, run, and field at a high-level is not a fourth outfielder, he is a starter. If McKenna were hitting .250, maybe even .230, he’d be in the outfield every day. Almost by definition a fourth outfielder is somebody who is lacking in an important category, but excels in others. Bad teams have fourth outfielders that do nothing well. Until McKenna showed up, Stewart was apparently ours.

 

And personally, I'd rather have a good defense and run guy as my 4th outfielder than a Stewart kind of guy because he can help you late in games more. 

[Tony-OH]

25 minutes ago, Ruzious said:

Nobody has a more picture perfect follow-through from his swing to the catcher's head than Stewart.    

He's a HoF catcher knocker for sure! 

[doccat]

PREDICTION:

 

At some point the O's give up on Mckenna and either release him or include him in some trade...

 

... and he becomes a solid starter/borderline stud for another team!

 

 

[OsFanSinceThe80s]

5 minutes ago, Tony-OH said:

And personally, I'd rather have a good defense and run guy as my 4th outfielder than a Stewart kind of guy because he can help you late in games more. 

DJ Stewart is a player who would have thrived in the 1970's and 80's when pitching staffs were only 9 or 10 pitchers deep. DJ's ability to draw a walk and hit against RHP would have made him a matchup favorite of Earl.

But in 2021 MLB you can't really afford to have a player like DJ (defensive liability and can't run) be your primary backup outfielder. 

[Frobby]

15 minutes ago, OsFanSinceThe80s said:

DJ Stewart is a player who would have thrived in the 1970's and 80's when pitching staffs were only 9 or 10 pitchers deep. DJ's ability to draw a walk and hit against RHP would have made him a matchup favorite of Earl.

But in 2021 MLB you can't really afford to have a player like DJ (defensive liability and can't run) be your primary backup outfielder. 

There would be plenty of room for Stewart if he could give you a line just slightly better than his career line going into 2021 (.224/.334/.433).   My hope was he could be a .245/.345/.445 guy.   That guy has value even if he has defensive issues and isn’t that fast.   

The simple problem is, he’s not hitting enough.   .205/.311/.344 doesn’t cut it.  And, in the last six weeks he’s hit .156/.239/.216.   

So it’s simple: Stewart either heats up considerably or he’s not worth keeping.    I should mention, Stewart had an .889 OPS from May 1 to June 6.   So it’s not like he’s incapable of heating up and finishing the year with respectable numbers.   But he’d better get on his bicycle.  

 

[accinfo]

11 minutes ago, OsFanSinceThe80s said:

DJ Stewart is a player who would have thrived in the 1970's and 80's when pitching staffs were only 9 or 10 pitchers deep. DJ's ability to draw a walk and hit against RHP would have made him a matchup favorite of Earl.

But in 2021 MLB you can't really afford to have a player like DJ (defensive liability and can't run) be your primary backup outfielder. 

I don't think Earl would have played him much because he is basically platooning now and he is hitting .201 against right handed pitching.  Guys like Benny Ayala hit .309 against Left handed pitching in 1982.  That is what Earl liked.  When Santander comes back I would cut Stewart before McKenna for the reasons given in this thread.  

[HowAboutThat]

58 minutes ago, Moose Milligan said:

There aren't many 5 tool players in the game at all.  What you outlined, an outfielder who can hit, run, and field (IMO, you're talking about hitting for average and power...fielding includes good glovework but also in this case taking good routes to balls and at least an average-to-strong throwing arm).  

Yes, a 5 tool player would be in the outfield every day.  

I agree with @Three Run Homer, a good team probably doesn't want a .200 hitter as their 4th outfielder.  They want as little dropoff as possible for when a starter is out for a bit or taking a day off.  

If McKenna were in the outfield hitting .230 and playing every day, I guess that'd be fine but I'm pretty sure he wouldn't be looked at as a guy to build around and could be expendable.

Oh I agree, he’s expendable, but he’s not value less, and he certainly better than Stewart. He’s like Endy Chavez, for example. If Ron Washington had used Chavez as a defensive replacement for Nelson Cruz, the Rangers would have won the ‘11 series. Every team has a need for a guy like McKenna. He’s not a centerpiece by any stretch, but he’s a valuable part of this team and possibly others.

[Frobby]

22 minutes ago, Philip said:

Oh I agree, he’s expendable, but he’s not value less, and he certainly better than Stewart. He’s like Endy Chavez, for example. If Ron Washington had used Chavez as a defensive replacement for Nelson Cruz, the Rangers would have won the ‘11 series. Every team has a need for a guy like McKenna. He’s not a centerpiece by any stretch, but he’s a valuable part of this team and possibly others.

Funny, I was trying to recall Endy Chavez’s name earlier today when thinking about McKenna.  Thing is, Chavez was a .672 OPS hitter.   That’s subpar, but not ridiculous for a really good defender.   McKenna is presently at .536.    That’s abysmal.   And yes, there will be times where his defense and baserunning will win you a game, but lack of offense loses a lot of games.    You really can’t carry a .536 OPS outfielder.   You just have to hope they are able to get their bat up to a non-embarrassing level.  That’s my hope for McKenna.