Orioles calling up Westburg.

[jabba72]

19 minutes ago, interloper said:

Roch: 

Westburg wasn’t summoned to sit. He’ll be in tonight’s lineup, especially against Reds left-hander Brandon Williamson.

The expectation is that Westburg will replace left-handed hitting Adam Frazier at second base or move to the left side of the infield with Gunnar Henderson. It depends whether Jorge Mateo remains at shortstop.

However it shakes out, he’s going to wear No. 11 and receive a loud ovation.

 

This pretty much answers the question then. Elias sees Westburg as a lineup regular and the order was given for Hyde to play Westburg over Frazier and possibly Mateo. 

Definitely a different feel when compared to Ortiz.

[wildcard]

1 hour ago, interloper said:

I think we'll know a lot more when the O's are back to facing RH SPs. In those scenarios, it would make sense for Mateo to transition to a late-game defensive guy and Gunnar to play SS with Westburg at 3B and likely Frazier at 2B.

But now you're benching Urias with O'Hearn likely at 1B and Santander at DH. Which is where I worry because I find it hard to believe Hyde will choose to play Westburg over the gold glover Urias vs RHP in a pennant race. 

Urias is hitting for a 810 OPS vs righties.   Westburg will not be replacing him.

Gunnar has a 883 OPS vs righties.  Westburg will not be replacing him.

Frazier has a 686 OPS vs righties.  If Westburg replaces anyone vs righties that will be the spot.

And I expect Westburg to play vs lefties at 2B most likely.

 

[interloper]

8 minutes ago, jabba72 said:

This pretty much answers the question then. Elias sees Westburg as a lineup regular and the order was given for Hyde to play Westburg over Frazier and possibly Mateo. 

Definitely a different feel when compared to Ortiz.

Hopefully, we shall see. Things are definitely looking good between the videos and the uniform number, and Roch's blurb. 

To me, it will be fascinating to see what happens vs RHP. That will tell us basically everything. 

[Uli2001]

16 hours ago, crawjo said:

It's kind of funny watching people bitch about the roster moves being made. Elias is easily the best GM in my lifetime of rooting for the Orioles, which goes back to the mid-1980s. Almost every player this guy drafts turns into a real prospect. In my lifetime this organization has never been so loaded with positional talent. It's insane. 

Better than the great Syd Thrift?

[wildcard]

19 minutes ago, clapdiddy said:

...sitting on the bench yet again.  I'd rather he just tear it up in Norfolk.

Depends on who is injured.

[wildcard]

4 minutes ago, Uli2001 said:

Better than the great Syd Thrift?

Hank Peters was GM when the O's won the 1983 World Series and was Executive of the Year twice which  managing the O's.   He was O's GM  12 years  from 1976 to 1987.   I would say Elias has a ways to go to beat that.

https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/hank-peters/

[Bemorewins]

37 minutes ago, glenn__davis said:

And yeah - the Orioles definitely make it pretty clear who they do and do not see as legitimate pieces based on the buildup.  They need to improve on that, I've gotta think it's just a bit demoralizing if you're not one of the chosen that they highlight.

It's not like who they choose is some sort of random selection. They choose the best/most talent/highest ceilinged prospects that they believe are future cornerstones/starters/stars of the team. I think it would be unreasonable to "hype" and make a big deal about every single player debuting with the team, especially given how many they are at this time.

[86this]

I see Westburg is being assigned uniform #11.  I guess that's a good sign considering Stowers and Ortiz were assigned relatively high uniform numbers whereas Adley and Gunnar we assigned low numbers.

[Bemorewins]

31 minutes ago, Getz said:

Yeah, I don't remember Stowers and Ortiz get this type of treatment from the Orioles social media. I think this means we'll play more regularly than those two.

And he should. He is thought of much more as a prospect by the consensus of the baseball scouting/talent evaluation community.

Not all prospects are created the same and nor should all be treated the same. The ones with more talent/upside will be given more opportunities than the others, as it should be and IS in ALL organizations.

[Malike]

Very glad to see Westburg get the call-up and I hope he makes the most of it.

[waroriole]

1 hour ago, interloper said:

Roch:

 

This is refreshing to see. If the state run media is labeling Westburg as a must play, it sounds like the team sees him that way. Still not sure what took so long, but I look forward to seeing less of Mateo and Frazier. 

[Frobby]

3 hours ago, Hank Scorpio said:

He's Mateo with more power. 

And less speed.

And a better hit tool, I suspect. 

[ChuckS]

45 minutes ago, wildcard said:

Urias is hitting for a 810 OPS vs righties.   Westburg will not be replacing him.

Gunnar has a 883 OPS vs righties.  Westburg will not be replacing him.

Frazier has a 686 OPS vs righties.  If Westburg replaces anyone vs righties that will be the spot.

And I expect Westburg to play vs lefties at 2B most likely.

 

You forgot about the DH and deploying a rotational strategy to get everyone sufficient playing time.  

Westburg could start every game versus lefties with Frazier sitting and 3 out of every 4 games against righties with Urias, Mateo, or Frazier sitting on any given night.  This would give him and Urias roughly five starts a week.  Mateo and Frazier could still play 3-4 games a week under this model. 

Edited June 26, 2023 by ChuckS

[deward]

4 hours ago, Frobby said:

You’re really that into Westburg?  There’s a handful of guys for whom I felt that way about their debut - Wieters, Manny, Adley, Gunnar.  I can’t say I put Westburg in that class in terms of “must see” debuts.  As it happens, I’m out of town and won’t see Westburg’s debut, but it’s not really that big a deal to me.  

No worries, I'm excited enough for both of us. 

(queue Westburg going 0-4 with 3 k's, a GIDP, and a throwing error tonight)

[baltfan]

I am not saying this is a problem, but it seems that the team values it's higher draft picks vs the lower ones.  All first and second rounders appear to still be in front of any of the later picks.  That, of course, is consistent with most of the rankings that you see out there as well but it is intersting that the Orioles don't seem to have an exception to that at the moment.