Who significantly steps up their game in 2024?

[baltfan]

13 hours ago, DirtyBird said:

Hopefully Adley

I feel like he either swings too hard or not hard enough.  I wish he would just swing at about 90% of that swing he takes when he swings out of his shoes.  He seems to seldom barrel with the big swing. 

[InsideCoroner]

13 hours ago, oriole said:

I’ll go with Kyle Stowers and DL Hall. Stowers has shown he can really hit in the minors…given a chance, I feel like he could be a very solid bat. I think Hall just showed what he’s capable of out of the pen towards the end of the year and it wouldn’t surprise me at all to see him get even better. It might be an interesting idea to consider him as closer next year and then revisit the idea of him in the rotation once Bautista is back.

I would like to see Stowers bloom, but how/where do you see him getting enough ABs to prove himself? The outfield is set barring a trade or injury, and I think Adley/Kjerstad might get most of the DHing. 

[sportsfan8703]

We’re such a young team that I could see a bunch of guys step up. Westburg, Gunnar, Adley, Mullins and the phenom Holliday. 

We were also running wild on the bases before Mateo and Mullins had leg injuries. I could see stolen bases coming back as a team wide effort. 

[Sports Guy]

Hopefully everyone because without it, I’m not sure we make the playoffs next year. 
 

I think we enter next year with only 3 teams that will have virtually no chance at contending for the playoffs. The Angels could be a 4th.

Its going to be a tough league next year.

[wildcard]

Holliday, Grayson and Ortiz

Edited October 14, 2023 by wildcard

[SemperFi]

5 hours ago, baltfan said:

Kjerstad.  He mashes.  Another year and some more swing adjustments and he is going to be a beast.  I just don’t know how well he will play in the field. 

I agree, I think he's a good fit in right not sure about left.  Just my eye but I thought he was better than advertised defensively-I only saw highlights which may be an aberration, but he looked fluid for his size, got decent jumps and had a couple nice assists at home.  He has that power component others lack but does he get PT ahead of a switch hitting Santander-I'm not sure.  Bear in mind I complain about Stowers and Cowser defensively- but I (we) saw all their warts, not yet with Heston. 

[RZNJ]

6 hours ago, baltfan said:

I feel like he either swings too hard or not hard enough.  I wish he would just swing at about 90% of that swing he takes when he swings out of his shoes.  He seems to seldom barrel with the big swing. 

That’s a pretty good observation.  He seems to flatten out his swing when he goes into more of a protect mode.  When he swings from his heels he seems to uppercut and rarely squares it up.

[Jagwar]

One name I totally forgot... Dillon Tate. If he's healthy and can return to form, he helps the BP tremendously. 

[foxfield]

Gonna have to say…..

Frazier?

[CaptainRedbeard]

1 hour ago, Jagwar said:

One name I totally forgot... Dillon Tate. If he's healthy and can return to form, he helps the BP tremendously. 

Tate, Akin and Baker are total afterthoughts now but were very good in 2022. Decent chance at least one of them bounces back if they manage to stick on the roster. I believe Baker is now out of options and Tate and Akin still have theirs, but Tate and Akin are arbitration eligible and could get non-tendered. 

Wouldn’t surprise me to see any of those 3 have a good season in 2024 for a different team. 

[RZNJ]

8 minutes ago, CaptainRedbeard said:

Tate, Akin and Baker are total afterthoughts now but were very good in 2022. Decent chance at least one of them bounces back if they manage to stick on the roster. I believe Baker is now out of options and Tate and Akin still have theirs, but Tate and Akin are arbitration eligible and could get non-tendered. 

Wouldn’t surprise me to see any of those 3 have a good season in 2024 for a different team. 

Tate had the forearm tightness and was never good or healthy all year.  I’m surprised we haven’t heard about TJ surgery for him.   I don’t expect Tate to be a factor for anyone next year.   Akin and Baker are bubble guys but either one could bounce back.

[Aristotelian]

Hall is a great choice on the pitching side. Whether he starts or pitches high leverage, I was very impressed with his performance down the stretch and in the playoffs. He could become a core guy in either role.

Also, not sure if it counts as a breakout, but if Grayson just continues what he did post callup, maybe learns to pitch a bit more efficiently, he could have a season like Bradish did this year. 

I think Adley has an extra gear offensively that we haven't seen yet. One true breakout candidate would be Westburg. He flashed barely any of that 25 HR power he has shown in the minors.  He could hit 17-20 HR if given more of a full time role. 

[waroriole]

Agree about Westburg. I think we see the power and plate discipline he had in the minors. 
 

After Cal won ROY, he won MVP the next season. Maybe Gunnar doesn’t win MVP, but he can definitely take another step forward. 

[Rbiggs2525]

Westburg if they stop platooning him and letting him hit 5-6 days a week.

[oriole]

4 hours ago, InsideCoroner said:

I would like to see Stowers bloom, but how/where do you see him getting enough ABs to prove himself? The outfield is set barring a trade or injury, and I think Adley/Kjerstad might get most of the DHing. 

Very good point. Stowers has unfortunately found himself in tier B as far as prospects go. Technically, I don’t even think he is a prospect anymore. I still think he can be a really good player in MLB and it seems like such a waste to overlook him. 
Personally, I think guys like Cowser or Kjerstad should be made available for trade for a SP since they have the higher value. Hays and Santander are usually injured (2023 was a good year for health for both of them) so that could open up spots. Mullins is also becoming more and more average as time goes on, so I could see his playing time get reduced if that continues. Obviously Stowers isn’t anywhere near the CF that Mullins is, but I’d bet his offense can be significantly better than what we got from Mullins in 2023.