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Heston Kjerstad 2023

Three Run Homer

By Three Run Homer
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Alasdaire
Alasdaire

Given that the O's were pretty clearly determined to go underslot, they were never going to choose someone like Martin. Personally, I felt that if they were going to go underslot, they should have gon

Paul in Virginia
Paul in Virginia
RZNJ
RZNJ

Half the home runs in baseball are on mistake pitches, center cut fastballs, high changeups, and hanging breaking pitches.   Some hitters take advantage of those mistakes more than others.

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yark14 Major Leaguer Rising Star

yark14

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6 minutes ago, Hallas said:

I know very little about the mechanics of hitting a major league baseball, but Kjerstad's leg kick is a bit unnerving to me.  It feels like he's standing on one leg forever on every pitch.

The father of one of our no-name minor leaguers had a pretty decent career despite a high leg kick...
 

 

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Hallas Hangout Grand Counsel

Hallas

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1 minute ago, yark14 said:

The father of one of our no-name minor leaguers had a pretty decent career despite a high leg kick...
 

 

 

It's not just the high leg kick, it's the fact that he seems to hold his leg up for a little while before planting.  I've never seen that before and it seems a bit counterintuitive.

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owknows All-Star

owknows

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1 minute ago, Hallas said:

 

It's not just the high leg kick, it's the fact that he seems to hold his leg up for a little while before planting.  I've never seen that before and it seems a bit counterintuitive.

 

14 minutes ago, Hallas said:

I know very little about the mechanics of hitting a major league baseball, but Kjerstad's leg kick is a bit unnerving to me.  It feels like he's standing on one leg forever on every pitch.

Based on what he's done with it thusfar, I'd say there's a decent chance that "the Flamingo" stance might catch on.

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Yossarian Hangout Grand Counsel

Yossarian

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I was wondering if Kjerstad's numbers in the minors could translate to big league success.   Just looking at the AAA numbers,  I compared Kjerstad to a prospect that scouts were drooling over for his power - Spencer Torkelson.  Torkelson started off slow in the majors but seems to have hit his stride with power numbers (2 more homers today to give him 27 on the year and a respectable .772 OPS).

In AAA, Tork played in 75 games,  hit 14 2Bs, 16 HRs, had 45 RBI and a BA of .234 and an OPS of about .810 over two partial seasons.

Kjerstad has played in 71 games in AAA this year.  He has 19 2B, 10 HRs, 31 RBI, and a BA of .302 and an OPS of .885.

I think Kjerstad can see success at the next level.  I even prefer him to Torkelson.

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Jammer7 Hangout Veteran Council

Jammer7

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On 9/5/2023 at 7:55 PM, Hallas said:

I know very little about the mechanics of hitting a major league baseball, but Kjerstad's leg kick is a bit unnerving to me.  It feels like he's standing on one leg forever on every pitch.

It doesn’t work for everyone, but he makes it work. It’s just simply about his timing, his trigger. Getting his body in motion to pull the trigger by landing and firing the hands and hips.

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joelala All-Star

joelala

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17 minutes ago, Jammer7 said:

It doesn’t work for everyone, but he makes it work. It’s just simply about his timing, his trigger. Getting his body in motion to pull the trigger by landing and firing the hands and hips.

Ely De La Cruz does it as well. It also disconcerts me a bit as it would seem it’s easier to get out of sync with such a large moving part. Also for as good as De La Cruz is, he’s striking out a TON. Granted he’s a 21 year old kid still so some of that’s to be expected. 

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Jammer7 Hangout Veteran Council

Jammer7

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33 minutes ago, joelala said:

Ely De La Cruz does it as well. It also disconcerts me a bit as it would seem it’s easier to get out of sync with such a large moving part. Also for as good as De La Cruz is, he’s striking out a TON. Granted he’s a 21 year old kid still so some of that’s to be expected. 

Yeah, and that is the concern. If you recognize spin, and other pitches, well, then the concern is less. If the hitter simply uses a “reach step” and does not “gain ground” with the hips moving forward much laterally, I have always thought a leg kick is fine. Kjerstad stays on his back side well, so I have no reason to think it should be an issue. Once he lands, it’s a simple twist and a bang. Heston’s hands are soooo good.

I think he is still very underrated here on this board. Particularly as a defender in RF. I will be absolutely shocked if he is not in the major leagues, somewhere, to start 2024.

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UMDTerrapins Hangout Veteran Council

UMDTerrapins

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Posted (edited)
On 9/5/2023 at 8:05 PM, Hallas said:

 

It's not just the high leg kick, it's the fact that he seems to hold his leg up for a little while before planting.  I've never seen that before and it seems a bit counterintuitive.

I’ve been using him as an example for my nine year old. Kjerstad is an extreme example of loading early, and my son is adjusting to faster pitching and was loading too late. It may be unorthodox, but I love his swing. I think it will translate well at the next level. 

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Tony-OH Hangout Grand Counsel

Tony-OH

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Kjerstad has had a nice season, but I would have liked to have seen a little more game power at Norfolk this year. His .206 ISO at AAA is significantly below Westburg's .272 and Westburg has not exactly lit up his major league stats with good home run numbers.

Kyle Stowers (.280 ISO, .420 WOBA) and Coby Mayo (.246 ISO and .383 WOBA) both have outperformed Kjerstad (.380 WOBA) and those two categories in AAA. 

Kjerstad does lead the organization with a 31.3% LD rate so he's getting a lot of hard contact, he just doesn't lift the ball as much as you would like from a HR hitter. He has the 11th lowest flyball percentage at just 29.4% but his 19.4% HR/FB percentage (6th best in org) indicates when he does get it up, he gets good carry.

 

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Jim'sKid26 Major Leaguer Rising Star

Jim'sKid26

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7 hours ago, Tony-OH said:

Kjerstad has had a nice season, but I would have liked to have seen a little more game power at Norfolk this year. His .206 ISO at AAA is significantly below Westburg's .272 and Westburg has not exactly lit up his major league stats with good home run numbers.

Kyle Stowers (.280 ISO, .420 WOBA) and Coby Mayo (.246 ISO and .383 WOBA) both have outperformed Kjerstad (.380 WOBA) and those two categories in AAA. 

Kjerstad does lead the organization with a 31.3% LD rate so he's getting a lot of hard contact, he just doesn't lift the ball as much as you would like from a HR hitter. He has the 11th lowest flyball percentage at just 29.4% but his 19.4% HR/FB percentage (6th best in org) indicates when he does get it up, he gets good carry.

 

Sounds like things that can be addressed in the off season and into spring training. Hitting the ball hard is a good thing. Hitting the ball in the air more can be taught. 

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