Tim Dejohn

[RZNJ]

Great, “feel good” interview with fundamentals (infield) coach at Bowie.   Great things to say about.  On the verge podcast.

1.  Joey Ortiz, great defender. Great bat speed.  Clubhouse leader took Prieto under his wing.

2. Cesar Prieto.  Hard worker. Fun to be around.  Looks really good at 3B.  Knows he needs to tap into his power more.

3. Connor Norby.  Needed a lot of work defensively when he got to Bowie.  Hard worker. Getting better.

4. Jordan Westburg.  Sounds like DeJohns favorite.  A “grinder”.  Quiet leader.  Never satisfied.  Wants it.

5. Coby Mayo.  Best infield arm he’s ever seen.  Hard worker. Confident but humble.  Doesn’t get down on himself after a bad game.  Didn’t discount that he might move from 3B.

6. Collin Burns. Answered a leading question but agreed that he could be a sleeper.

7. Darell Hernaiz.  Working to improve throwing accuracy.

8. Frederick Bencosme. Natural ability but unrefined.

Dejohn comes across as energetic, positive, and passionate about coaching and the organization.

Edited January 11, 2023 by RZNJ

[Frobby]

All On the Verge podcasts and interviews are “feel good.”   That’s how they roll.   But, they do know the system and get good interview guests.   A coach isn’t going to give an interview and say discouraging things about a player, so you have to listen carefully to see who they’re really singling out for top praise.  The guy who consistently gets that is Ortiz.  Even when the interviewees aren’t asked about Ortiz specifically, his name always seems to come up.   

[Tony-OH]

DeJohn seems to have a good feel for the players without overstating them, I like that.

He has a great way of putting Bencosme. "Natural ability but unrefined." That's pretty accurate. That guy made some nice plays, but also some of the goofiest errors I saw last season. He'll need to tighten up or they'll have to give him a look in the outfield. Personally, I'd stick him on second base for at least 80% of his PAs next year. 

[Frobby]

14 minutes ago, Tony-OH said:

DeJohn seems to have a good feel for the players without overstating them, I like that.

He has a great way of putting Bencosme. "Natural ability but unrefined." That's pretty accurate. That guy made some nice plays, but also some of the goofiest errors I saw last season. He'll need to tighten up or they'll have to give him a look in the outfield. Personally, I'd stick him on second base for at least 80% of his PAs next year. 

In a prior interview they did, the Delmarva radio announcer really liked Benscome as a hitter but said there’s no way he’d stick on the left side of the infield, if he’s able to stay on the dirt at all.   

[Tony-OH]

2 hours ago, Frobby said:

In a prior interview they did, the Delmarva radio announcer really liked Benscome as a hitter but said there’s no way he’d stick on the left side of the infield, if he’s able to stay on the dirt at all.   

I wanna see a full season of him at 2B before making that claim, but yeah, he was a bit of a disaster at times on the left side, especially with his throws. 

He just looks like a guy with tools who is very inexperienced when it comes to the glove. Now hit tool, that's another thing. If he can grow into his power a bit they'll find a place for him to play on the diamond. 

[btdart20]

Another voice in a long list praising Ortiz' character and pride in his craft.  Even when the focus was on Prieto and Daschbach.

They snuck a Jackson Holliday question in about whether he'll make it to AA in 2023.  A bunch of hedging and praise before Tim said he "has been told there's a possibility of AA".  But with a question mark in his voice.

Tim talked about a 'roving' position where he'll be floating through various levels.  You could hear a passion and a humility for the trust he's been given.  This has to be related to overall push toward better continuity of teaching across the various levels.

I liked the comments about sleeping on Burns.  I felt that way too when I saw him at Aberdeen last season.  Only one game, but his PAs were solid and made solid contact (second only to Adley that game).  He's the dark horse I'm rooting for.

[Frobby]

Fun interview.   I’d say the one new thing I learned is that Andrew Daschbach has made himself into a very good defensive 1B, per DeJohn.   And he does seem to think Benscome has the tools to remain in the infield if he works at it.   

[RZNJ]

27 minutes ago, Frobby said:

Fun interview.   I’d say the one new thing I learned is that Andrew Daschbach has made himself into a very good defensive 1B, per DeJohn.   And he does seem to think Benscome has the tools to remain in the infield if he works at it.   

Unfortunately, it's almost inconsequential that Daschback has become a plus defender at 1B.

[Tony-OH]

13 hours ago, RZNJ said:

Unfortunately, it's almost inconsequential that Daschback has become a plus defender at 1B.

 "Bats, they are sick. I cannot hit curveball. Straightball I hit it very much. Curveball, bats are afraid."

[interloper]

This interview got me hyped, I'm not gonna lie. 

The part where he said he met with Elias and the front office and was like "....whew, uh... they really know what they're doing." (paraphrasing) He seemed to really like Eve Rosenbaum "she's awesome", etc. 

I know we've all had our complaints about this off-season, and rightly so, but ownership nonsense aside... this front office is just so competent and with-it, for lack of a better term. Everyone really seems like they're pulling on the same rope. Pretty unprecedented in recent times around here. 

[interloper]

Loved the part about Ortiz kind of taking Prieto under his wing. That's the kind of stuff we don't know much about in the minor leagues.