Ryan McKenna as a 4th Outfielder

[7Mo]

3 hours ago, Roll Tide said:

Honestly, we have guys who have limited at bats in the majors. It took Santander about 600 at bats to become the hitter and  Im not 100 percent sure he’s peaked yet. Mateo on has 576, McKenna has 290, Nevin has 165, Adley 240 and Vavra 36. To make a hard decision on these until they guys get 600 ABs is unfair IMO.  I know we don’t expect much from Nevin at this point but even he’s hitting we’ll despite 

Does that also apply to pitchers? Kremer sure looks much improved. Akin is much improved. Maybe these guys have a plan for DL Hall too.

[RZNJ]

10 minutes ago, DirtyBird said:

Most on the board were saying he had defined who he was after 200 major league plate appearances. It was ridiculous.

Well, I found many of his AB's embarrassingly bad and cringe worthy.  Some guys never make the adjustments.  It looks like he has.  I think he got caught up in trying to be a power hitter. 

[mikezpen]

McKenna was terrible early on. He was pretty much a sure out, but he's coming on now.

[RZNJ]

42 K's in 134 PA for the year.  Of course, that's bad.  Of course,  it was 39 K's in 107 PA which is atrocious.   In August 3 strikeouts in 27 PA.   He looked like a professional hitter against a good RH pitcher last night.  His last AB against Manoah he takes a 93-94 mph fastball on the inner half and takes a level swing and  lines it into CF.  Two months ago he upper cuts, tries to pull it, is late and under the ball by 6 inches.

[Sports Guy]

I still wouldn't want him as an everyday player.  Maybe he develops more but he has a sub 600 OPS vs righties this year and its 630 for his career.  Now, its a SSS and maybe he is finding something new in his hitting stroke, approach, etc..but I wouldn't count on that.

What is possible is that he is a legit 4th OFer.  A player you can give 300-400 at bats too, mainly vs lefties and can play all OF positions.  That is a lot more than the 5th OFer role, where he starts sparingly and is mainly a pinch runner/late inning def sub type guy.

The Orioles have a lot of depth in some areas but they need to make some moves with that depth.  Improvements on the roster need to be made while also giving yourself a good quality bench.  

[MCO'sFan]

4 hours ago, Roll Tide said:

Honestly, we have guys who have limited at bats in the majors. It took Santander about 600 at bats to become the hitter and  Im not 100 percent sure he’s peaked yet. Mateo on has 576, McKenna has 290, Nevin has 165, Adley 240 and Vavra 36. To make a hard decision on these until they guys get 600 ABs is unfair IMO.  I know we don’t expect much from Nevin at this point but even he’s hitting we’ll despite 

I would say that you can't truly know what kind of hitter someone is until 1,500 ABs. There are guys start out strong for the first 400 - 600ABs and the scuffle and other who scuffle and then improve significantly. 

Edited August 17, 2022 by MCO'sFan

[RZNJ]

Look at the difference between May and last night.  Significant changes were made. I didn't notice when but I knew it when I watched him last night. 

https://www.mlb.com/video/aroldis-chapman-in-play-run-s-to-ryan-mckenna

https://www.mlb.com/video/anthony-bass-in-play-run-s-to-ryan-mckenna

[Ohfan67]

Just a note...Ryan has a history of being a streaky hitter. He's very athletic and when he is on a hot streak he looks like the real deal. But when he's cold, he is approaching absolute zero kind of cold. Ryan can look like a Bryce Harper clone for a while, then quickly morph into a guy who looks like he is in a glam rock tribute band (couldn't resist a hair-related joke). 

[RZNJ]

1 minute ago, Ohfan67 said:

Just a note...Ryan has a history of being a streaky hitter. He's very athletic and when he is on a hot streak he looks like the real deal. But when he's cold, he is approaching absolute zero kind of cold. Ryan can look like a Bryce Harper clone for a while, then quickly morph into a guy who looks like he is in a glam rock tribute band (couldn't resist a hair-related joke). 

I don't remember too many hot steaks as an Oriole.  He had power streaks at Norfolk accompanied by a 30% strikeout rate.  Years ago in Frederick in 2018, in 67 games he hit .377 with a 1+ OPS, and 37 walks to 45 K's.  That guy has been missing for a long time.  I'm not saying he's going to be good or great BUT he think he's a professional hitter now.  

[Roll Tide]

46 minutes ago, mikezpen said:

McKenna was terrible early on. He was pretty much a sure out, but he's coming on now.

We still have Odor and especially Phillips

[RZNJ]

16 minutes ago, Roll Tide said:

We still have Odor and especially Phillips

Phillip's is almost a zero offensively.  Odor is not as bad.  I know he has a .200 average but I always feel like Odor is a threat.

[Roll Tide]

1 hour ago, 7Mo said:

Does that also apply to pitchers? Kremer sure looks much improved. Akin is much improved. Maybe these guys have a plan for DL Hall too.

I was trying to avoid questions about Hall…but you got me and I’ll indulge.

Sure, it takes time for players to adjust to the majors without exception. 
 

@Frobby mentioned Bedard in the thread about Hall. My opinion is that he’s not ready and can’t believe that the Orioles think he is.

Erik Bedard:  before call up ERA 2.79, WHIP 1.03, HR/9 0.5, BB/9  1.9

Hall:                                            ERA 4.52, WHIP 1.43, HR/9 1.2 , BB/ 9 5.2 

**** Stats are from BBref Bedard 2003 combined minors, Hall 2022 combined.*****

[Roll Tide]

7 minutes ago, RZNJ said:

Phillip's is almost a zero offensively.  Odor is not as bad.  I know he has a .200 average but I always feel like Odor is a threat.

Neither is demanding playing time with their stats. Odor seems to be adequate in clutch situations. His issue may be related to focus as he seems to excel in those situations. 

[jabba72]

McKenna's 6% walk rate probably limits his ceiling as a bench player, but I think if he gets LF matchups he can be a useful OF. It wouldnt be the worse thing to find a 4th OF who bats LF so to get better matchups more often. Maybe Phillips was the answer to that.

[Frobby]

24 minutes ago, Roll Tide said:

I was trying to avoid questions about Hall…but you got me and I’ll indulge.

Sure, it takes time for players to adjust to the majors without exception. 
 

@Frobby mentioned Bedard in the thread about Hall. My opinion is that he’s not ready and can’t believe that the Orioles think he is.

Erik Bedard:  before call up ERA 2.79, WHIP 1.03, HR/9 0.5, BB/9  1.9

Hall:                                            ERA 4.52, WHIP 1.43, HR/9 1.2 , BB/ 9 5.2 

**** Stats are from BBref Bedard 2003 combined minors, Hall 2022 combined.*****

I’m not sure why this is being addressed in a thread about McKenna.  I’m going to paste this in to the Hall thread and respond there.