I’m about ready to give up on DJ Stewart

[oriole]

As soon as he let that fly ball boop him on the head I couldn’t see him in a positive light. I don’t know why but that totally shifted my attitude on him.

[survivedc]

Ready to give all of his AB’s to McKenna and next year hopefully Neustrom or Watson 

[Sports Guy]

Last year, DJ hit 197 but he had an OPS over 800 and a wRC+ of 124.

The problem with DJ isn't the BA.   Its the lack of power this year.    He can have a poor average if he is getting on base 35% of the time and has a slugging in the mid 400s.  That is fine as some kind of a platoon DH option.

But if he isn't going to hit for power, that is when he become relatively useless as a player.

[DrungoHazewood]

1 hour ago, Sports Guy said:

I don’t think people understand how difficult it is to get real production out of a draft pick in the mid to late 20s

Stewart is about average for a #25 overall pick.  But as we've talked about many times, if you're not in the 90th percentile for your draft slot you're a bitter disappointment.  Even a lot of really engaged fans think the scouting director should be fired if every third rounder doesn't start in the majors for five years.

[waroriole]

54 minutes ago, survivedc said:

Ready to give all of his AB’s to McKenna and next year hopefully Neustrom or Watson 

Ewww. McKenna is not a ML hitter. He is fine as a 9th inning defensive replacement or a pinch runner but he shouldn’t be holding a bat, unless he’s giving it to someone else. 
 

DJ can stick around until he’s out of options. It’s not like we’ve got guys beating down the doors to replace him on the 40 man. But he’s a AAAA player at this point. 

[DrungoHazewood]

48 minutes ago, Sports Guy said:

Last year, DJ hit 197 but he had an OPS over 800 and a wRC+ of 124.

The problem with DJ isn't the BA.   Its the lack of power this year.    He can have a poor average if he is getting on base 35% of the time and has a slugging in the mid 400s.  That is fine as some kind of a platoon DH option.

But if he isn't going to hit for power, that is when he become relatively useless as a player.

He now has about a full season's worth of plate appearances in the majors, and is slashing .212/.326/.388.  And is a -12 fielder, and is 27.  Of course that's not written in stone as his career numbers, but probably his most likely path.

There's a pretty small difference between productive regular and replacement level commodity.  He looks like he just didn't quite get there.

[DrungoHazewood]

1 minute ago, waroriole said:

Ewww. McKenna is not a ML hitter. He is fine as a 9th inning defensive replacement or a pinch runner but he shouldn’t be holding a bat, unless he’s giving it to someone else. 
 

DJ can stick around until he’s out of options. It’s not like we’ve got guys beating down the doors to replace him on the 40 man. But he’s a AAAA player at this point. 

He has a .797 OPS in AAA.  He's a AAA player.

[jamalshw]

51 minutes ago, Sports Guy said:

Last year, DJ hit 197 but he had an OPS over 800 and a wRC+ of 124.

The problem with DJ isn't the BA.   Its the lack of power this year.    He can have a poor average if he is getting on base 35% of the time and has a slugging in the mid 400s.  That is fine as some kind of a platoon DH option.

But if he isn't going to hit for power, that is when he become relatively useless as a player.

Even with the power, it's a useful player in that context, but one that probably doesn't fit on the roster given his lack of a position. I'm not sure he makes it through the winter with the need of roster spots. 

[interloper]

I do think it's a bit of a hot take (a bit) from @Tony-OH to say he's a DFA candidate this winter. I think it's absolutely possible and wouldn't really fault that move, but I personally hadn't even really considered it. There will certainly be a lot of 40-man casualties this winter, but he wasn't on my radar considering the draft status and the options. Not to mention the questionable health of guys like Hays and Santander, potential open DH spot if Mancini is traded, etc. 

[interloper]

1 hour ago, survivedc said:

Ready to give all of his AB’s to McKenna and next year hopefully Neustrom or Watson 

I agree. McKenna has been taking walks and making some things happen of late. He's obviously a much better fielder. I don't think McKenna is going to be a very good player overall, but he definitely brings more to the table right now than DJ. 

[Matt Bennett]

He's been frustrating to watch. Stewart had a huge opportunity this year and I've just seen him swing under so many fastballs down the middle. I'm not sure if his long swing is a mechanical hiccup or something that is unfixable. I don't have a problem trotting him out there the rest of the year and see if he goes on one of his hot streaks. 

 .146/.271/.220 since June 9th, exactly 2 months from today. If he doesn't significantly turn that around then it'll be time to move on. 

[Oriole1940]

I really like his attitude, hustle, etc.  But I have to hope he hits it big in Japan or elsewhere and glad he had some time in the Majors.  

[Gurgi]

2 hours ago, oriole said:

As soon as he let that fly ball boop him on the head I couldn’t see him in a positive light. I don’t know why but that totally shifted my attitude on him.

We knew he was not a big leaguer as soon as that ball hit his head.  And we were correct. 

[Sports Guy]

6 minutes ago, Gurgi said:

We knew he was not a big leaguer as soon as that ball hit his head.  And we were correct. 

Yea, Jose Canseco was clearly never worthy of playing in the majors!

[Gurgi]

2 minutes ago, Sports Guy said:

Yea, Jose Canseco was clearly never worthy of playing in the majors!

Jose had the skill to turn his into a homerun.   DJ just got a concussion and missed lots of playing time.  

Go back and watch the DJ play again and tell me you see the skills of a big leaguer there.