Should we claim Ka'ai Tom?

[Hazmat]

We just picked up Mateo.  Ka'ai Tom has also had success in AAA but has yet to put it together in the bigs.  According to MLBTradeRumors, he's satisfied the Rule 5 time and could be optioned next year.  We'd just have to keep him up for the remainder of the season.  Here's the write up from when the A's selected him in the Rule 5 (he was DFA'd, I believe, and claimed by the Pirates who just DFA'd him.)  Why not add to the talent in our system or at least give him a look over the remainder of the season like with Mateo?

https://www.athleticsnation.com/2020/12/10/22168019/mlb-rule-5-draft-results-picks-2020-oakland-as

"A 5th-round pick in 2015, he’s spent his entire pro career in the Indians’ system. He’s a lefty hitter who has flashed potential in every area of the offensive game, with a consistently high walk rate, not too many strikeouts, and above-average batting lines at every stop. In the upper minors in 2019 he saw a spike in both BABIP and power, resulting in excellent small-sample performances in both Double-A and Triple-A split over one full season. He even stole some bases in the lower minors.

On defense, he’s split time roughly evenly at all three outfield positions. The available metrics are a bit wobbly, and they suggest he might be a stretch in CF, but there are signs for hope in his numbers in the corner spots.

• Tom, 2019 AA: .285/.386/.512, 162 wRC+, 14 HR, 12.5% BB, 21.3% Ks
• Tom, 2019 AAA: .298/.370/.564, 132 wRC+, 9 HR, 10.0% BB, 25.1% Ks

Quick report from Jeff Ellis, an Indians radio host with knowledge of their minors: “Honestly, Tom should have gotten a chance last year, he did not and I could see him sticking with the A’s easily. He plays all three spots and hits at every stop. He isn’t the best athlete and is way undersized [5’9], which has been the knocks but he just kept performing.”"

 

[Brooks The Great]

Yes, most definitely.

[Legend_Of_Joey]

I liked how he played when I saw him in Frederick and Bowie when he played against them. I was surprised he was left in the Rule 5 and could be good insurance for Hays/Santander.

[NelsonCruuuuuz]

Great thread, great potential, yes we should! But it might cut into the future HOFer DJ Stewart’s playing time…

Edited August 17, 2021 by NelsonCruuuuuz

[Tony-OH]

His Savant information shows him to have very low avg EV and has been slightly below average defensively in the outfield. He looks like he's struggled to hit good fastballs. 

While we only have small sample size, there's nothing in his numbers besides a high MAX EV that suggests he should be looked at. Saying that, if the Orioles wanted to give him a shot over the last month and half, why not?

[OsFanSinceThe80s]

I'll be happy when the day comes and the Orioles are a good enough team, that we don't think about if the team should sign every ex-prospect that gets DFA-ed. 

I don't know, but you could make Tom the fourth outfielder and stop playing Stewart. 

 

[HowAboutThat]

Like the song says, “… Looking for a better class of loser. “

[OriolesMagic83]

DJ Stewart not good enough defensively to be a 4th OF, doesn't have the bat for DH or corner OF for that matter. 

DJ Stewart, you're the weakest link, goodbye!

[ChosenOne21]

With him and Mullins we could have the shortest outfield in MLB!

[OsFanSinceThe80s]

7 hours ago, OriolesMagic83 said:

DJ Stewart not good enough defensively to be a 4th OF, doesn't have the bat for DH or corner OF for that matter. 

DJ Stewart, you're the weakest link, goodbye!

I do agree that if the Orioles select Tom's contract then it's time for Stewart to get voted off the island. And I think there's a decent chance Stewart clears waivers anyways. 

[HowAboutThat]

I came here to ask why McKenna  was just option instead of Stewart. McKenna is a valuable defensive replacement, even if he doesn’t hit any better than you or I. But “valuable defensive replacement“ has meaning. The only thing Stewart has on his side of the ledger is that he’s a first round pick, and that is very weak sauce.

[SteveA]

19 minutes ago, Philip said:

I came here to ask why McKenna  was just option instead of Stewart. McKenna is a valuable defensive replacement, even if he doesn’t hit any better than you or I. But “valuable defensive replacement“ has meaning. The only thing Stewart has on his side of the ledger is that he’s a first round pick, and that is very weak sauce.

That's not the ONLY thing Stewart has on McKenna.

Season OPS:  Stewart .688, McKenna .615

Career MLB OPS:  Stewart .730, McKenna .615

Career minor league OPS:  Stewart .790, McKenna .745

I'm not saying DJ should stay in the majors.   He is 27 and is in the process of proving to be not a major league player.   But let's not pretend that he isn't a significantly better hitter than McKenna.   

Stewart is showing he is not good enough hitter to stay in the majors with his defensive liabilities.

McKenna, so far, is not a good enough hitter to bein the majors, period, despite his defensive prowess.   But he IS still 24 and that's worth something, there is hope for some improvement there.

So given a choice I would keep McKenna.   But stop pushing the narrative that Stewart is only still here because he is a first round pick.   He certainly earned the opportunity for a look this year by having a .756 OPS in 301 MLB ABs spread out over the previous 3 seasons.   We are giving him his look and it looks like he is failing the test.   But the obsession with getting rid of him is not warranted.  This is what 2021 is about, finding out who can and can't do the job.   We are finding out that DJ can't, but I don't see the urgency in ending the experiment now.

[Ripken]

34 minutes ago, Philip said:

I came here to ask why McKenna  was just option instead of Stewart. McKenna is a valuable defensive replacement, even if he doesn’t hit any better than you or I. But “valuable defensive replacement“ has meaning. The only thing Stewart has on his side of the ledger is that he’s a first round pick, and that is very weak sauce.

They both stink and we just drafted 37 outfielders.  Stewart at least has a small chance to stick around as a LH bench guy.

[interloper]

2 hours ago, SteveA said:

That's not the ONLY thing Stewart has on McKenna.

Season OPS:  Stewart .688, McKenna .615

Career MLB OPS:  Stewart .730, McKenna .615

Career minor league OPS:  Stewart .790, McKenna .745

I'm not saying DJ should stay in the majors.   He is 27 and is in the process of proving to be not a major league player.   But let's not pretend that he isn't a significantly better hitter than McKenna.   

Stewart is showing he is not good enough hitter to stay in the majors with his defensive liabilities.

McKenna, so far, is not a good enough hitter to bein the majors, period, despite his defensive prowess.   But he IS still 24 and that's worth something, there is hope for some improvement there.

So given a choice I would keep McKenna.   But stop pushing the narrative that Stewart is only still here because he is a first round pick.   He certainly earned the opportunity for a look this year by having a .756 OPS in 301 MLB ABs spread out over the previous 3 seasons.   We are giving him his look and it looks like he is failing the test.   But the obsession with getting rid of him is not warranted.  This is what 2021 is about, finding out who can and can't do the job.   We are finding out that DJ can't, but I don't see the urgency in ending the experiment now.

Good post. No one here is a Stewart mega fan, but there's decent enough reasoning to keep giving him his look. 

[HowAboutThat]

2 hours ago, SteveA said:

That's not the ONLY thing Stewart has on McKenna.

Season OPS:  Stewart .688, McKenna .615

Career MLB OPS:  Stewart .730, McKenna .615

Career minor league OPS:  Stewart .790, McKenna .745

I'm not saying DJ should stay in the majors.   He is 27 and is in the process of proving to be not a major league player.   But let's not pretend that he isn't a significantly better hitter than McKenna.   

Stewart is showing he is not good enough hitter to stay in the majors with his defensive liabilities.

McKenna, so far, is not a good enough hitter to bein the majors, period, despite his defensive prowess.   But he IS still 24 and that's worth something, there is hope for some improvement there.

So given a choice I would keep McKenna.   But stop pushing the narrative that Stewart is only still here because he is a first round pick.   He certainly earned the opportunity for a look this year by having a .756 OPS in 301 MLB ABs spread out over the previous 3 seasons.   We are giving him his look and it looks like he is failing the test.   But the obsession with getting rid of him is not warranted.  This is what 2021 is about, finding out who can and can't do the job.   We are finding out that DJ can't, but I don't see the urgency in ending the experiment now.

I don’t disagree with anything you said, but my point wasn’t that Stewart hits marginally better than McKenna. I don’t think I mentioned offense at all. The point is that McKenna offers more than Stewart. I certainly agree that he should have(had) a long look, Because of his draft pick Pedegree: however there comes a time when you’ve had enough of a look. Do you think he would still be here if he were a fifth round pick? Maybe, but I don’t think so. First round picks have more invested in them and therefore get a longer leash. But Stewart doesn’t hit well or defend well. At least with McKenna, you’re getting 50% of the equation.

Mckenna is valuable on defense. He’s not a starter but he is a late inning defensive replacement.

I’m not pushing any particular agenda or narrative. As I’ve made clear, I want all of the prospects( even the marginal ones) to get looks, Especially with a team like this. Also, it is logical, and simple human nature, that a higher draft pick is going to get a longer look. But once a player has shown who he is, there’s no argument against moving on.

It is quite possible that McKenna has also shown who he is, But who he is still has value to this club now. He might not be worthwhile when the team is winning 85 to 90 games, but he certainly is right now.