Jordan Westburg 2022

[RZNJ]

13 minutes ago, Just Regular said:

Some observations from BP in a wrap-up piece on guys to follow in the 2nd half who missed their midseason Top 50-60.

Jordan Westburg, IF, Baltimore Orioles

Why he was considered: Westburg has taken a significant step forward, a common refrain among Orioles hitting prospects this year. In his case, he’s hitting the ball harder than ever before. Given his sure hands around the infield and solid approach, a bigger power outcome goes a long way.

Why he didn’t make it: Contact is an issue: Westburg has struck out at a moderately concerning rate at nearly every level. There still isn’t an obvious plus offensive tool anywhere, and he could just end up being a nifty multi-positional player with pop who isn’t a clear first-division regular.

Westburg and Henderson strikeout rate at Norfolk virtually identical.

[MurphDogg]

18 minutes ago, RZNJ said:

Westburg and Henderson strikeout rate at Norfolk virtually identical.

Henderson is two years younger and has 22 walks along with his 36 AAA strikeouts. Westburg has 5 walks to go with his 31 strikeouts.

That would seem to indicate a potential contact issue for Westburg but not for Henderson who could just be seeing a lot of pitches.

Curious about the swstr%, not sure whether that data is available for the minors.

Extremely small sample size but a 6/1 K/BB ratio is going to raise eyebrows.

[RZNJ]

13 minutes ago, MurphDogg said:

Henderson is two years younger and has 22 walks along with his 36 AAA strikeouts. Westburg has 5 walks to go with his 31 strikeouts.

That would seem to indicate a potential contact issue for Westburg but not for Henderson who could just be seeing a lot of pitches.

Curious about the swstr%, not sure whether that data is available for the minors.

Extremely small sample size but a 6/1 K/BB ratio is going to raise eyebrows.

It was more like 2 to 1 in AA.  I just think he was so hot that he was a little more aggressive than usual. We'll see. The article only mentioned strikeout rate. There weren't any qualifiers although I agree with what you said.

[Just Regular]

I kind of enjoyed Westburg ambushing AAA pitchers.    Honestly I kind of felt it was a planned strategy gaming around with confounding opponent expectations after his more patient AA style.      Month2 it is on my mental watchlist to look how/if it settles down.

[MurphDogg]

2 minutes ago, RZNJ said:

It was more like 2 to 1 in AA.  I just think he was so hot that he was a little more aggressive than usual. We'll see. The article only mentioned strikeout rate. There weren't any qualifiers although I agree with what you said.

It is definitely a little nit-picky and I do disagree with them in that I don't think his strikeout rate is all that concerning, moderately or otherwise. Neither is his career 2/1 K/BB rate, but the AAA K/BB rate does jump out at you a bit.

The difference between a number 45 and a number 55 prospect is pretty small though, so it makes sense to be nit-picky.

[Frobby]

Either way, if he’s just off that list, that’s good progress.   

[Remember The Alomar]

Forgive my laziness--I'm sure I could find it by poking around--but what's a ceiling comp for Jordan?

[bpilktree]

1 hour ago, Remember The Alomar said:

Forgive my laziness--I'm sure I could find it by poking around--but what's a ceiling comp for Jordan?

Trevor Story could be a good comp of his ceiling.  

[SteveA]

 

[Filmstudy]

13 minutes ago, SteveA said:

 

The HBP tonight did not look like much, but he went down to 1B walking with the trainer.  Hopefully this is purely precautionary.

[LookinUp]

Hope he's alright. He could be a week or two away from Baltimore.

[waroriole]

Westburg is in the lineup tonight. Glad to see this was minor. 

[Orioles Jim]

OPS of .561 in July, .540 thus far in August.

Last 28 days it's been .467 OPS.

Sounds like he'll (eventually) fit right in with the current culture of running extremely hot and cold!

[RZNJ]

4 minutes ago, Orioles Jim said:

OPS of .561 in July, .540 thus far in August.

Last 28 days it's been .467 OPS.

Sounds like he'll (eventually) fit right in with the current culture of running extremely hot and cold!

Disappointing but similar to his slump at Bowie.  Hopefully he finishes well but he definitely hurt is chances compared to Vavra and Gunnar for a callup.

[waroriole]

1 hour ago, RZNJ said:

Disappointing but similar to his slump at Bowie.  Hopefully he finishes well but he definitely hurt is chances compared to Vavra and Gunnar for a callup.

He does seem to slump badly at every level before figuring it out and moving up. He was red hot went he got called up to Norfolk, so probably some of that carried over and allowed him to get off to a hot start in AAA.