Jordan Westburg 2023

[Yossarian]

11 HRs, 38 RBI, 1.021 OPS.  What more does he have to do? Trade him for pitching or bring him up.  It's a waste to keep him in Norfolk.

[Gurgi]

6 hours ago, Brooks The Great said:

Yes, Frazier needs to be moved/phased out. This situation is one of several reasons most of this message board thought the Frazier signing was terrible. Frazier has been blocking two premium prospects who could be helping the team win now (Ortiz is technically helping the team today, but only because Mateo is getting a day off). 

Frazier's OPS+ is 91. He's not a good hitter. Like Odor last year, he's had timely hits. And unlike Odor, Frazier does a decent job taking pitches and working some walks. But Frazier shouldn't have been signed, and the sooner Westburg and Ortiz are everyday players, the better for the major league team both short-term and long-term. 

I agree.  I was mystified by the signing.  It made no sense to me.  I thought this year was going to be about breaking the rookies in. 

[ShoelesJoe]

.321 /.395 /.626 for the season at AAA. Anybody have a reasonable idea of what that would translate to at the big league level? Has to be better than what we’re getting from Frazier. 

[RZNJ]

1 hour ago, Yossarian said:

11 HRs, 38 RBI, 1.021 OPS.  What more does he have to do? Trade him for pitching or bring him up.  It's a waste to keep him in Norfolk.

Sounds like an ultimatum.

[Frobby]

2 hours ago, Gurgi said:

I agree.  I was mystified by the signing.  It made no sense to me.  I thought this year was going to be about breaking the rookies in. 

Instead it’s about winning the World Series.  Bummer.

[Bemorewins]

2 hours ago, Yossarian said:

11 HRs, 38 RBI, 1.021 OPS.  What more does he have to do? Trade him for pitching or bring him up.  It's a waste to keep him in Norfolk.

If they have decided to trade him, it won’t be until somewhere around the deadline.

[IPlayGM]

He’s Jeff Kent. Hope he is Jeff Kent for us.

[Otter]

3 hours ago, IPlayGM said:

He’s Jeff Kent. Hope he is Jeff Kent for us.

I like that comp.  Bat better than the glove, but the bat is good enough to justify keeping him at 2B.  Although Westburg is a better athlete with more defensive versatility IMO.

[IPlayGM]

1 hour ago, Otter said:

I like that comp.  Bat better than the glove, but the bat is good enough to justify keeping him at 2B.  Although Westburg is a better athlete with more defensive versatility IMO.

Yeah I have not seen enough of him to truly know if this comp is legit, but that is what I have always thought given his profile.

[Billy F-Face3]

Does anyone know what the front office is looking for with Jordan Westburg? He's dominating the minor leagues for almost 2 years now. What else do they want to see from him? Is it his defense?

[RZNJ]

38 minutes ago, Billy F-Face3 said:

Does anyone know what the front office is looking for with Jordan Westburg? He's dominating the minor leagues for almost 2 years now. What else do they want to see from him? Is it his defense?

He hasn’t been dominating the minors for two years.  As recently as last July or August he was putting up a sub .600 OPS at Norfolk.

[Billy F-Face3]

8 hours ago, RZNJ said:

He hasn’t been dominating the minors for two years.  As recently as last July or August he was putting up a sub .600 OPS at Norfolk.

That's not what the stats say. Says he was putting up a OPS of .860 for the month of August and a entire seasonal OPS of .851 in 2022. In 2021 he had an OPS of .868.

https://www.milb.com/player/jordan-westburg-676059?stats=career-r-hitting-minors&year=2023

[RZNJ]

46 minutes ago, Billy F-Face3 said:

That's not what the stats say. Says he was putting up a OPS of .860 for the month of August and a entire seasonal OPS of .851 in 2022. In 2021 he had an OPS of .868.

https://www.milb.com/player/jordan-westburg-676059?stats=career-r-hitting-minors&year=2023

I said last July or August.  It was July.  He put up a .561 OPS in the month of July in 2022 at Norfolk.  And despite a good .860 OPS in August, hit for a .223 average that month.

You said he’s been “dominating” the minors for two years.  Most here know that he had his ups and downs last year.

Edited May 16, 2023 by RZNJ

[geschinger]

1 minute ago, RZNJ said:

I said last July or August.  It was July.  He put up a .561 OPS in the month of July in 2022 at Norfolk.  

He also struggled with his initial ~150 ABs in AA (ending 2021 and 2022).  I don't think anyone would call that dominating. 

The tricky part of promoting him while trying to win is that it's more likely than not he'll need a similar amount of time to adjust and become productive and when he is promoted he needs to play regularly.  I think it's worth the tradeoff but not sure the team has the patience to give a guy ~125 ABs of regular playing time if he's putting up a ~.550 OPS to allow him to acclimate and get going. 

[Sports Guy]

10 minutes ago, geschinger said:

He also struggled with his initial ~150 ABs in AA (ending 2021 and 2022).  I don't think anyone would call that dominating. 

The tricky part of promoting him while trying to win is that it's more likely than not he'll need a similar amount of time to adjust and become productive and when he is promoted he needs to play regularly.  I think it's worth the tradeoff but not sure the team has the patience to give a guy ~125 ABs of regular playing time if he's putting up a ~.550 OPS to allow him to acclimate and get going. 

When does this change though?  They should be contending next year too. At some point, you just have to deal with it.

Of course, had they done more to make the team (especially starting pitching) better to begin the year, it would be easier to do this.

They have gotten out to a great start. You have some time to get these guys acclimated. Do it now.