Heston Kjerstad 2022

[ShoelesJoe]

With all of the OF depth we have in our minors, plus the reports that Kjerstad probably isn't a plus defender, I wonder how much effort it would take for him to move to first base. At the very least it would put some pressure on Mountcastle to up his game. 

[btdart20]

Kjerstad was on today's MLB Pipeline podcast with Jim Callis.  It was a great interview that covered a lot of ground.  Kjerstad sounds like he's got a good head on his shoulders.

Callis asked about things Kjerstad learned or needs to focus on to be successful in the bigs.  Kjerstad's response "I always have to keep an eye on" spraying to all fields and working the counts to get into a hitters count/get your pitch.

Callis made a comment about Kjerstad going for a certain pitch/location.  Kjerstad said he does "hunt" pitches.  Kjerstad said the velo/off-speeds in AFL were consistently better than he's faced before.  Every AB is a new game-plan and it changes by pitcher.  This is where scouting metrics comes into play.

Kjerstad called out Andrew Painter as the best pitcher he's faced.

Some interesting 2020 draft chatter as well.  Speaking of the O's FO "They're great at what they do and they have a format."  And Kjerstad believes it's a fit.

Kjerstad spoke with great passion about his personal expectations and drive.

Kjerstad called out Ortiz being unreal athlete.  And generally praised the talents' work ethic, competitiveness, and sharing approach.

Kjerstad realized how much he likes the O's "super simple" scouting reports compared to AFL scouting reports.  O's give a post-game check on swing decisions.

[Frobby]

Sorry I didn’t see @btdart20’s post above before making several of the same points in the Kjerstad thread over on the MLB forum.   Also worth mentioning that, in addition to the points covered in the interview, Callis ranked Kjerstad the 4th/5th best prospect in the AFL and said some scouts thought he was the top prospect out there.   

[RZNJ]

Callis article reiterating some earlier points.  One scout thought Kjerstad was the best prospect in the entire AFL.   Callis thinks Holliday will be the #1 on the Prospect list at the end of this season.

https://www.mlb.com/news/afl-performances-impacting-rankings-pipeline-inbox

[OriolesMagic83]

On 11/16/2022 at 3:03 PM, btdart20 said:

Kjerstad was on today's MLB Pipeline podcast with Jim Callis.  It was a great interview that covered a lot of ground.  Kjerstad sounds like he's got a good head on his shoulders.

Callis asked about things Kjerstad learned or needs to focus on to be successful in the bigs.  Kjerstad's response "I always have to keep an eye on" spraying to all fields and working the counts to get into a hitters count/get your pitch.

Callis made a comment about Kjerstad going for a certain pitch/location.  Kjerstad said he does "hunt" pitches.  Kjerstad said the velo/off-speeds in AFL were consistently better than he's faced before.  Every AB is a new game-plan and it changes by pitcher.  This is where scouting metrics comes into play.

Kjerstad called out Andrew Painter as the best pitcher he's faced.

Some interesting 2020 draft chatter as well.  Speaking of the O's FO "They're great at what they do and they have a format."  And Kjerstad believes it's a fit.

Kjerstad spoke with great passion about his personal expectations and drive.

Kjerstad called out Ortiz being unreal athlete.  And generally praised the talents' work ethic, competitiveness, and sharing approach.

Kjerstad realized how much he likes the O's "super simple" scouting reports compared to AFL scouting reports.  O's give a post-game check on swing decisions.

Kjerstad seems to have a better grasp of what it takes to be an effective hitter at the major league level than pre Elias hitters like Mountcastle.  So good to see a consistent organizational philosophy in action.

[RZNJ]

1 hour ago, OriolesMagic83 said:

Kjerstad seems to have a better grasp of what it takes to be an effective hitter at the major league level than pre Elias hitters like Mountcastle.  So good to see a consistent organizational philosophy in action.

That's a great point.   Although, hopefully, some osmosis from Henderson, Rutschman, Vavra, Stowers, etc. starts to take place.

These hitters have all had positive reinforcement from the success they've had.   Hopefully, Mountcastle, whose OPS has dipped 3 straight years will start buying into a more disciplined approach.   Towards the end of the year it did seem as though he wasn't quite so aggressive early in the count.

Edited November 18, 2022 by RZNJ

[Frobby]

2 hours ago, RZNJ said:

That's a great point.   Although, hopefully, some osmosis from Henderson, Rutschman, Vavra, Stowers, etc. starts to take place.

These hitters have all had positive reinforcement from the success they've had.   Hopefully, Mountcastle, whose OPS has dipped 3 straight years will start buying into a more disciplined approach.   Towards the end of the year it did seem as though he wasn't quite so aggressive early in the count.

The same thing happened in 2021 with RMC suddenly drawing a lot of walks in Sept./Oct.   He needs to do that more consistently.  

[RZNJ]

43 minutes ago, Frobby said:

The same thing happened in 2021 with RMC suddenly drawing a lot of walks in Sept./Oct.   He needs to do that more consistently.  

Yeah, when he's going bad it seems like he makes up his mind to swing at anything until he gets two strikes.

[CharmCityHokie]

This may have already been posted elsewhere but there was an article today in The Athletic on AFL Prospects who deserved mention (Good and Bad) and Kjerstad was included in the Good section. Here's some snippets: 

Quote

“He was a dude,” a scout said. “He deserved MVP.”

Kjerstad possesses good natural power from the left side, earning a 65 grade from some scouts, with a feel for making frequent hard contact. Though he struck out 31 times in 104 fall plate appearances, a few evaluators expressed limited concern about how often Kjerstad will swing and miss going forward. “Probably has 30 home run potential,” another scout said. He’s more limited as a defender, although a strong arm should make him a fit in right field.

Opinions diverge when it comes to just how good Kjerstad will be as a big-leaguer. There are those who see a talent on par with some of the prospects the Orioles have graduated recently — “Future beast,” said one scout — but most others see Kjerstad falling a bit below that kind of performance. He might have trouble against lefties and may be limited in the field. He’ll still be good. “His bad seasons,” said another scout, “he’ll still be an everyday player.”

https://theathletic.com/3912465/2022/11/21/arizona-fall-league-prospects-scouting-reports/?source=dailyemail&campaign=601983

[btdart20]

1 hour ago, CharmCityHokie said:

This may have already been posted elsewhere but there was an article today in The Athletic on AFL Prospects who deserved mention (Good and Bad) and Kjerstad was included in the Good section. Here's some snippets: 

https://theathletic.com/3912465/2022/11/21/arizona-fall-league-prospects-scouting-reports/?source=dailyemail&campaign=601983

“On par with some of the prospects the Orioles have graduated recently”?  Surely that/those scout(s) don’t see Kjerstad like Gunnar or Adley hitting-wise, right?  Maybe a Stowers+?  Hopefully 2023 will stretch the ceiling and I can have those same visions!  

[Frobby]

Steve Melewski:

Kjerstad’s strong AFL showing could mean he will begin the 2023 season with Double-A Bowie and not return to Aberdeen.

“I would say that would be an intelligent guess,” O’s director of player development Matt Blood said recently about Kjerstad moving up to begin next season.

[Can_of_corn]

57 minutes ago, Frobby said:

Steve Melewski:

Kjerstad’s strong AFL showing could mean he will begin the 2023 season with Double-A Bowie and not return to Aberdeen.

“I would say that would be an intelligent guess,” O’s director of player development Matt Blood said recently about Kjerstad moving up to begin next season.

Aggressive.

I like it.

 

[Frobby]

5 minutes ago, Can_of_corn said:

Aggressive.

I like it.

 

With the exception of Rutschman and arguably Rodriguez, they’ve been pretty aggressive the last two years IMO.   Henderson went from Delmarva to the majors in less than two years.  Stowers and Westburg jumped two levels in 2021, Cowser, Norby and Mayo did it this year. They’ve been a little conservative with initial placements but pretty fast to move people up when they’re handling that level.  

[Tony-OH]

On 11/21/2022 at 6:02 PM, Frobby said:

With the exception of Rutschman and arguably Rodriguez, they’ve been pretty aggressive the last two years IMO.   Henderson went from Delmarva to the majors in less than two years.  Stowers and Westburg jumped two levels in 2021, Cowser, Norby and Mayo did it this year. They’ve been a little conservative with initial placements but pretty fast to move people up when they’re handling that level.  

On point. The Orioles clearly like players to get off to good starts at lower levels then aggressively promote them throughout the season. No way anyone can look at the system this yea and say they were being too passive in promotions. Heck, three guys from the draft ended up in Aberdeen for the last week of the season.

[btdart20]

10 minutes ago, Tony-OH said:

On point. The Orioles clearly like players to get off to good starts at lower levels then aggressively promote them throughout the season. No way anyone can look at the system this yea and say they were being too passive in promotions. Heck, three guys from the draft ended up in Aberdeen for the last week of the season.

At one point Elias said he liked promoting guys toward the end of the season so they get a taste (even struggle) of the next level.  I have to think that's as much a mental motivator to give them something tangible and fresh to pursue in the off-season than anything else.