Jordan Westburg 2023

[Bemorewins]

29 minutes ago, btdart20 said:

Sorry.  I misread your comment.  I thought you were painting with broader strokes than you were.

This is fair in general.  I responded that way because a) I misunderstood the post but b) it seems like sometimes we come to the board projecting our belief that this is a D team who is only in it by sheer luck with little to support that claim.  (Just like I don't think Gunnar is the bum many thought he was a few days ago.)  @Bemorewins clearly wasn't doing that in the context here and that's on me.

Of those many who were down on Gunnar. I would say most were not able or refused to contextualize his early season struggles within the context of the modern game. The reality is for most young guys nowadays, even  for the very elite prospects, they initial struggle and take time to acclimate at this level. Gunnar won’t be the first and certainly not the last.

But I try to make it a habit of believing/betting on talent. Gunnar was the #1 rated prospect entering the season for no reason. That means the overwhelming consensus of talent evaluators watched/observed him and believed that he had special abilities. 

I think it’s unfair that some put unrealistic expectations on “our guys” to come up and experience immediate success. It’s just not the norm in the modern game.

[deward]

 

 

[Billy F-Face3]

1 hour ago, deward said:

 

 

I love watching Jordan Westburg highlights. Especially when they show off good defensive play. Thank you for posting!

[Frobby]

8 hours ago, Billy F-Face3 said:

I love watching Jordan Westburg highlights. Especially when they show off good defensive play. Thank you for posting!

I think some people have the impression that Westburg is a poor defender.  He’s not, from what I’ve seen.  It’s just that we have two young guys who are better defensively (Ortiz and Henderson), plus two vets who respectively won a Fielding Bible award and a gold glove last year.   So, the bar is really high.   

[ChosenOne21]

25 minutes ago, Frobby said:

I think some people have the impression that Westburg is a poor defender.  He’s not, from what I’ve seen.  It’s just that we have two young guys who are better defensively (Ortiz and Henderson), plus two vets who respectively won a Fielding Bible award and a gold glove last year.   So, the bar is really high.   

I mean, he's not Delmon Young, Aubrey Huff or Mike Trumbo bad, but I don't get the impression his glove is going to be an asset anywhere on the dirt except maybe second base. He could probably play shortstop, especially while he's younger, but I doubt he'd put up positive fielding metrics over a long timespan there. You can even see on that play he doesn't have the greatest SS arm.

[deward]

2 hours ago, ChosenOne21 said:

I mean, he's not Delmon Young, Aubrey Huff or Mike Trumbo bad, but I don't get the impression his glove is going to be an asset anywhere on the dirt except maybe second base. He could probably play shortstop, especially while he's younger, but I doubt he'd put up positive fielding metrics over a long timespan there. You can even see on that play he doesn't have the greatest SS arm.

Considering that he was throwing off his back foot, without getting to properly set himself, the arm strength seemed reasonable enough to me.

[deward]

 

[Just Regular]

I'll just throw this here from Fangraphs Jeff Zimmermann.

https://fantasy.fangraphs.com/savant-hitter-aging-curves-improvement-chances/

The key takeaway for me is that, on average, it’s tough to show a significant power improvement after a batter’s age-24 season. While the curves head up after that age, it is in small increments.

Westburg today is about 24.3 years old so it may be the power we'll see right off the bat from him will be near to his peak capability.

 

[deward]

 

[deward]

 

[Frobby]

The Memphis pitcher was literally named Junk.

[Frobby]

From Steve Melewski:

This season [Westburg],is batting .290 with a .934 OPS, 17 homers and 52 RBIs in 63 games through Wednesday night. In his two seasons with Norfolk, he has now played 154 games batting .280/.364/.532/.896 with 40 doubles, five triples, 35 homers, 119 runs and 126 RBIs.

It is easy to see why many in Birdland wonder when his call will come? But Britton paints a picture of a player seemingly relentless to keep pushing and keep getting better.

“Just a testament to the makeup of this kid,” Britton said. “He is super consistent. He pretty much has the same routine every day that he comes to the ballpark, he has a purpose for everything that he does. I think in the end - I know he is putting up these gaudy numbers - this will be something that makes him an even better big leaguer. He is going to appreciate the opportunity when it does come. He is on pace to go 40-40 here, after the year he had last year. Really proud of what Westburg has done on a daily basis.

“We’ve hit him in the middle of the lineup, just to give him a different look into how he is being pitched. Try to get more guys in scoring position for pitchers to attack him differently. He has responded with nothing but big numbers."

Westburg is clearly aware others have gotten to Baltimore ahead of him.

“I talk to the major league staff often and his name comes up all the time. Just remind him it’s not gotten lost in what he is doing. They are watching and very pleased about what he is doing. Now it’s about opportunity and keep doing what you are doing so when the time comes you are ready to go win up there.”

[Moose Milligan]

It’s absurd that he hasn’t been called up. 

[terpoh]

Ah the old "we are having conversations about him daily"

[Orioles0615]

43 minutes ago, terpoh said:

Ah the old "we are having conversations about him daily"

Britton - "Hey Mike how about Westburg?"

 

Elias - "Good player, can't wait to watch him lead the Tides to the Championship"