Jump to content

Heston Kjerstad 2023


Three Run Homer

Recommended Posts

HK has been on a mission since going to AFL and he isn't slowing down at AAA: 

.333 .410 .685 1.095

He now has passed Cowser: 

.328 .459 .539 .998

 

15 games, 54 ABs, 22% SO rate. In 2 months he will be approaching the 200 AB mark. The bat is special once again, see you in September HK.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 hours ago, Sports Guy said:

Mayo going to first makes more sense than Kjerstad imo

I agree with you and seeing if HK is a viable option at 1B only increases options and possible configurations.

The part I wish I was a fly on the wall is the braintrust talking about who is likely to be dangled in trade talks, which teams value which of our "excess" prospects.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

19 minutes ago, baltfan said:

If both of these guys are ready you obviously move Mounty, but who else do you move in the off-season?  Do you sell high on Hays or try to move Santander?

Move both. Keeping Westburg, Cowser, Kjerstad, and Mayo makes the team's long-term success more sustainable.

  • Upvote 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 hours ago, Brooks The Great said:

Move both. Keeping Westburg, Cowser, Kjerstad, and Mayo makes the team's long-term success more sustainable.

I think you are underestimating the value of steady, good bats.  All of these young guys aren’t going to hit at once. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 hours ago, amdcpus said:

Kjerstad is currently batting .304 with a .979 OPS in 80 PA for Norfolk. He went off in the AFL and never looked back.

It’s pretty incredible.  His AA hitting coach said he could hit in the majors right now, and Kjerstad certainly is making the case.  

  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 minutes ago, Frobby said:

It’s pretty incredible.  His AA hitting coach said he could hit in the majors right now, and Kjerstad certainly is making the case.  

When he was drafted one of the national talking heads thought he could make the jump directly to the majors.  (obviously this was before he fell ill)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 6/25/2023 at 7:10 AM, baltfan said:

If both of these guys are ready you obviously move Mounty, but who else do you move in the off-season?  Do you sell high on Hays or try to move Santander?

I’m not sure that you can get very much for Mountcastle, especially even he does start hitting again. I would probably lean Hays (due to the injury history) but it depends on who could bring back the most return.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 hours ago, Frobby said:

It’s pretty incredible.  His AA hitting coach said he could hit in the majors right now, and Kjerstad certainly is making the case.  

He definitely looks ready to go. The way he's cut his K rate this year, without sacrificing any power at all, has been surprising and impressive. Even at Norfolk so far, he's striking out less than Cowser or Westburg.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

13 hours ago, Frobby said:

It’s pretty incredible.  His AA hitting coach said he could hit in the majors right now, and Kjerstad certainly is making the case.  

Incredible indeed.  Remember last year when this board was concerned if HK’s power would ever return?

Edited by Say O!
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.




  • Posts

    • Yeah both Burnes and Hyde said after the game it's because Burnes is going on regular rest to start the first WC game and so he was shortened up a bit. 
    • You seem to pine for guys in AAA and then (with one notable exception) judge them very harshly if they don’t perform well instantly in the majors.  This is not the time to start experimenting with Young, and that’s no reflection on him at all IMO.
    • I agree with the part about Elias. He needs to operate with a little more humility (regarding his bullpen approach) and pivot in the offense regarding how he puts a pen together. He needs to get away from the arrogant thinking in believing that we are always "the smartest guys in the room" and can fix other teams junk/unwanted parts. That is fine to do some time (regardless of how much you spend). But you can't construct an entire pen made of castoffs and almost no guys with elite/power/strikeout stuff. Yes it worked great with Felix, Perez/Lopez in 22', Cano in 23'. But the problem is that we are in '24. And some of those lightening in the bottle guys have reverted back to what their talent says that they are - mediocre. We have a pen full of decent/league average/mediocre arms. That's not what you really want heading into October.
    • Also, since there’s another interesting discussion going on here, I think it’s time for Hyde to have an uncomfortable conversation with Adley. I hate everything I’m about to say, because Adley is my favorite Oriole. But we have to acknowledge where we are.  Over the last few months, the only sensible approach with Adley — other than the IL, which apparently he hasn’t been eligible for — has been to keep penciling him into the lineup almost everyday and hoping he figures it out. He has a track record of consistent lifelong excellence, so it’s felt like just a matter of time before he busts the slump and rights the ship.  But he hasn’t. Adley’s line over the last 3 months, almost half a season now, is so bad that it requires a double check to be sure it’s right: .186 / .274 / .278 / .552. A 61 wRC+. And -0.2 fWAR. He has been a below replacement player for 3 months now. He has been the 3rd-worst qualified hitter in baseball over that span, and the 7th-worst overall qualified player. The “qualified” part does make it a little misleading — most of the guys who’ve been this bad have long since been benched. I think you have to consider McCann, at least in Burnes’s starts. He’s been hitting a bit (114 wRC+ since the ASB), and even if he wasn’t on a bit of a heater, his normal baseline is still better than a .552 OPS. If you do continue to play him full-time, you just can’t treat him like he’s *Adley* anymore. You have to treat him like the bad backup catcher he’s been. He has to hit at the bottom of the order. The very bottom. There’s really no reasoned basis upon which you could want to have him get more ABs than guys like Mullins or Urias right now. And you have to PH for him liberally — whichever of Kjerstad/O’Hearn doesn’t start should be looking at Adley’s slot as their most likely opportunity.  As I said, I love Adley. It’s been brutal watching him. But there are 25 other guys on the team who deserve the best shot to win a ring. And that means you can’t just keep stubbornly handing all the ABs to a guy who is desperately lost, on the blind hope that he’ll suddenly find it. 
    • I didn’t post it in the game thread no, but I’m also not looking for credit. I thought it was a bad move at the time to remove Burnes in the first place, and choosing Cano at that point after he’d been bombed by those exact hitters, felt odd and off to me. The only real defense I could come up with was who if not Cano?  But taking Burnes out is essentially admitting that winning that night wasnt your top priority anyway, so why not also rest Cano, who you absolutely need in the playoffs and has pitched a lot?  I just didn’t get it in real time, and I still don’t. 
    • I was at a meeting and came out to the Orioles down 1-0. I looked away for what seemed like a minute and it was 5-0, then 7-0. Do we know why Burnes was lifted after just 69 pitches after 5 innings? Was he hurt? Do we know why Cano was brought into the game in the 6th (Have to imagine his adrenaline may not have been as flowing at that stage of the game)?  Obviously the bullpen was pretty horrific last night, but could some of this be because Hyde was using guys who typically are late in game relievers in the 6th inning?  
  • Popular Contributors

×
×
  • Create New...