Stowers 2023

[Sports Guy]

Just now, Pickles said:

If the bolded is true, and I have no reason to doubt it, Hays will be here next year.

He also has to be right? They need a right handed bat in the lineup and in the OF and McKenna isn’t that guy, at least not for the amount of at bats you need.

I just don’t see, when you see the likely construction of next years roster, why you would get rid of Hays.

Only thing I can come up with is you want to trade him because you feel he has maxed out here and you plan on making a run at someone like Robert or some power hitting OFer that hits right handed that you feel you need to balance out the lineup.

That’s really the only scenario I can personally come up with that would make sense to move on from Hays. Moving on from AS, again from a pure roster construction standpoint, makes more sense imo.

[Pickles]

3 minutes ago, Sports Guy said:

He also has to be right? They need a right handed bat in the lineup and in the OF and McKenna isn’t that guy, at least not for the amount of at bats you need.

I just don’t see, when you see the likely construction of next years roster, why you would get rid of Hays.

Only thing I can come up with is you want to trade him because you feel he has maxed out here and you plan on making a run at someone like Robert or some power hitting OFer that hits right handed that you feel you need to balance out the lineup.

That’s really the only scenario I can personally come up with that would make sense to move on from Hays. Moving on from AS, again from a pure roster construction standpoint, makes more sense imo.

If Kjerstad is a far inferior OFer to Cowser then I don't think you can play both of them at the same time, regardless of handedness.

But when you factor in defense, and handedness, I agree: Hays almost needs to be on next year's roster.

Also shows the value of Santander's switch-hitting ability.

[Sports Guy]

Just now, Pickles said:

If Kjerstad is a far inferior OFer to Cowser then I don't think you can play both of them at the same time, regardless of handedness.

But when you factor in defense, and handedness, I agree: Hays almost needs to be on next year's roster.

Also shows the value of Santander's switch-hitting ability.

I think people are too concerned over Cowser’s defense. He’s going to be good to very good out there and i think Kjerstad will be fine as well.

 

[Tony-OH]

37 minutes ago, Sports Guy said:

I think people are too concerned over Cowser’s defense. He’s going to be good to very good out there and i think Kjerstad will be fine as well.

 

Cowser will be fine with more experience in LF or RF but he doesn't have the foot speed to make up for his lack of jumps to play CF regularly at a high level at least. Kjerstad will be ok in Camden Yards RF, but I have not been impressed with him overall in the outfield. He catches what he gets too, but I've seen a few too many sub par throws and some balls I thought he should have gotten too. I'm guessing he will come up as below average in jump with statcast and he probably has about average speed. 

[Sports Guy]

5 minutes ago, Tony-OH said:

Cowser will be fine with more experience in LF or RF but I doesn't have the foot speed to make up for his lack of jumps. Kjerstad will be ok in Camden Yards RF, but I have not been impressed with him overall in the outfield. He catches what he gets too, but I've seen a few too many sub par throws and some balls I thought he should have gotten too. I'm guessing he will come up as below average in jump with statcast and he probably has about average speed. 

I wasn’t impressed either but the second tier, just being hesitant/second guessing himself and bringing the struggles at the plate into the field with him all played a part imo.

It happened to Gunnar early on this year too. It’s not uncommon.

Im not really going to judge him much on what we saw of him up here. If he comes Back up and it becomes a pattern, I will be more concerned at that point but I’m not there yet.

[Pickles]

19 minutes ago, Sports Guy said:

I think people are too concerned over Cowser’s defense. He’s going to be good to very good out there and i think Kjerstad will be fine as well.

 

I think in the end he could still end up being solid in a corner, but he was oversold defensively as a prospect, which is ironic because that's what he was really being praised for over the offseason.

He's simply not a CF.  He lacks the ideal speed for it, but in coordination with his route-taking, he shouldn't be out there.

This is not a death sentence.  The tools are there to be solid in a corner.  But he has work to do.

And if Kjerstad is behind him defensively, then they shouldn't both be working on that simultaneously in a major league outfield for a team as good as the Orioles.

[Sports Guy]

2 minutes ago, Pickles said:

I think in the end he could still end up being solid in a corner, but he was oversold defensively as a prospect, which is ironic because that's what he was really being praised for over the offseason.

He's simply not a CF.  He lacks the ideal speed for it, but in coordination with his route-taking, he shouldn't be out there.

This is not a death sentence.  The tools are there to be solid in a corner.  But he has work to do.

And if Kjerstad is behind him defensively, then they shouldn't both be working on that simultaneously in a major league outfield for a team as good as the Orioles.

Well I never bought into the idea that he was a CFer, so that didn’t phase me.

[Pickles]

Just now, Sports Guy said:

Well I never bought into the idea that he was a CFer, so that didn’t phase me.

I think the scouting consensus was he should be able to hold down CF early in his career at least.  That was the consensus last offseason, which had been an upgrade over what it had been coming out of the draft.

I think it looks like they got that wrong.

[Sports Guy]

5 minutes ago, Pickles said:

I think the scouting consensus was he should be able to hold down CF early in his career at least.  That was the consensus last offseason, which had been an upgrade over what it had been coming out of the draft.

I think it looks like they got that wrong.

I never believed that and I’m pretty sure Tony didn’t either. I think Tony felt you could put him out there if you had to but that’s about it. (Correct me if I’m wrong @Tony-OH, I don’t want to put words in your mouth)

Either way, the idea that he can’t handle CF isn’t something that bothers me at all. I didn’t like that he looked bad in the corner spot but like I said, I’m giving him a pass for the reasons I said. Just need to see more of him. Definitely didn’t expect him to look so bad though.

[Tony-OH]

3 minutes ago, Sports Guy said:

I never believed that and I’m pretty sure Tony didn’t either. I think Tony felt you could put him out there if you had to but that’s about it. (Correct me if I’m wrong @Tony-OH, I don’t want to put words in your mouth)

Either way, the idea that he can’t handle CF isn’t something that bothers me at all. I didn’t like that he looked bad in the corner spot but like I said, I’m giving him a pass for the reasons I said. Just need to see more of him. Definitely didn’t expect him to look so bad though.

I look at him like Hays. You can put him in CF and he'll catch most balls, but he won't give you the range that a Mullins or any elite defensive CF gives you. And he's big so he's going to slow down even more. Saying that, I could see him end up the big Camden LF and doing well out there. Think Steve Finley-type.

[Pickles]

3 minutes ago, Sports Guy said:

I never believed that and I’m pretty sure Tony didn’t either. I think Tony felt you could put him out there if you had to but that’s about it. (Correct me if I’m wrong @Tony-OH, I don’t want to put words in your mouth)

Either way, the idea that he can’t handle CF isn’t something that bothers me at all. I didn’t like that he looked bad in the corner spot but like I said, I’m giving him a pass for the reasons I said. Just need to see more of him. Definitely didn’t expect him to look so bad though.

I'm not really factoring in Tony's opinion, but IIRC, he was largely in agreement with the national guys: Cowser was better  thought of defensively than when he had been drafted and was now seen as more than a fringe CF, but someone who could be a legit CF, if only early in his career.

From the profile he struck me as having defensive tools like Markakis.  I expected a young Markakis in the corners, which imo was a very good defensive player.  Cowser certainly wan't that.

Doesn't mean he won't improve.

[panick]

4 hours ago, Tony-OH said:

Cowser will be fine with more experience in LF or RF but he doesn't have the foot speed to make up for his lack of jumps to play CF regularly at a high level at least. Kjerstad will be ok in Camden Yards RF, but I have not been impressed with him overall in the outfield. He catches what he gets too, but I've seen a few too many sub par throws and some balls I thought he should have gotten too. I'm guessing he will come up as below average in jump with statcast and he probably has about average speed. 

I've never seen him play, so I'm relying on what you've seen. 

What is sub-par about some of his throws? Is it his arm strength, his accuracy or throwing to the wrong base?

[Yossarian]

7 hours ago, Tony-OH said:

It's been a tough go of late for Stowers who is slashing just .177/.292/.339/.630 over his last three weeks covering 72 PAs. He's struck out 25 times with 9 walks and 3 HRs over that span.

It's been a tough year for him overall, but I still believe that he will end up an everyday player at the major league level. 

The good news for him is he still hits left-handers as good as right-handers and that will look good on his resume. This year started with him buried on the major league bench where he proved he's not a very good part-time player. When he did get his chance he just was not seeing the ball at all and shortly after going back down to the minors he was put on the IL so you have to wonder if something was bothering him at the major league level.

Defensively I think he's fine in RF though his foot speed was down this year. 

The emergence of Ryan O'Hearn's bat this year really limited his opportunities. With the Orioles needing the DH for Rutschman at least 40 times a year, the question of the future will depend on a few things.

Let's take a look at current outfield depth.

Mullins - CF
Hays - LF/RF
Santander - RF/1B
O'Hearn - RF
McKenna - LF/CF/RF
Hicks - LF/CF/RF (FA at end of year)

Minors:
Cowser - LF/CF/RF
Kjerstad AAA (RF) 
Stowers - AAA (RF/LF)

Without an injury it's doubtful that the Orioles will bring up Stowers in September. Hicks is most likely one addition since they said he's taking live BP now and will most likely be activated when the rosters expand. Cowser has been hitting well in AAA since his demotion and is the best defender between him, Stowers and Kjerstad by a long shot so he could be added as well.

The Orioles will most likely add a bullpen arm like Baker or Baumann as the 3rd player that can added for the expanded roster.

The future?

Stowers is a prime target to be traded this offseason since he's buried behind Hays, Mullins, Santander, Cowser and Kjerstad and some team could see his potential as an everyday guy. I would be surprised if he's in spring training with the Orioles next year though I don't see Elias just giving him away.

 

 

 

I think Stowersc joins Vavra and Lester as decent ball players that won't be playing for Baltimore.

[Sports Guy]

Kevin Brown just reported during the game that Stowers was hit in the face by a 90 mph fastball tonight. 

[Tony-OH]

4 hours ago, panick said:

I've never seen him play, so I'm relying on what you've seen. 

What is sub-par about some of his throws? Is it his arm strength, his accuracy or throwing to the wrong base?

Both accuracy issues and occasional arm strength issues. His throws are inconsistent.