Heston Kjerstad 2024

[Hank Scorpio]

Watching Kjerstad at the plate is very encouraging right now, he's not even flinching at balls. No flailing away at sliders in the dirt, taking balls very slightly off the black, etc...

 

[interloper]

29 minutes ago, Hank Scorpio said:

Watching Kjerstad at the plate is very encouraging right now, he's not even flinching at balls. No flailing away at sliders in the dirt, taking balls very slightly off the black, etc...

 

Unfortunately watching him on defense is the opposite. Cost Means a run there with a catchable, if slightly wind-aided, ball that he kind of gave up on and it fell into RF. Tony would have had it for sure. I've seen a few balls like this where Heston seems hesitant to attempt a dive or sliding catch. 

Edited April 11 by interloper

[scarey1999]

Kjerstad with a HR in his 1st AB tonight. His 7th. 

[Tony-OH]

Kjerstad is pretty locked in at the plate right now and just looks like a guy who is 100% ready for the big leagues.

But he's completely blocked right now and I don't see how they get him on this roster without an injury to Santander, Mountcastle, O'Hearn or Cowser. 

Yes I left Hays off the guys above because the Orioles need a right handed hitting outfielder and I'm not sure they want Kjerstad in LF for any extended time. I think if Hays went down, Norby would get that RH bat opportunity. 

Tough to be him right now, but he's definitely ready to be adding his power bat to the Orioles lineup. 

 

[Frobby]

I see that the O’s are continuing to play Kjerstad at 1B about twice a week.   He hasn’t made any errors there (or in the OF) since his egregious drop in the opening game.   But, I wonder if he’s looking any better overall.  

[casadeozo]

25 minutes ago, Tony-OH said:

Kjerstad is pretty locked in at the plate right now and just looks like a guy who is 100% ready for the big leagues.

But he's completely blocked right now and I don't see how they get him on this roster without an injury to Santander, Mountcastle, O'Hearn or Cowser. 

Yes I left Hays off the guys above because the Orioles need a right handed hitting outfielder and I'm not sure they want Kjerstad in LF for any extended time. I think if Hays went down, Norby would get that RH bat opportunity. 

Tough to be him right now, but he's definitely ready to be adding his power bat to the Orioles lineup. 

 

I know it’s a ways off but the assumption has to be they let Santander walk and give the job the Kjerstad right? Probably doesn’t help being stuck in AAA all year and hopefully they find a way too to get him to the majors at some point this year 

[interloper]

I go between viewing Kjerstad as deadline trade bait versus viewing him as Santander's replacement. 

It's like 50/50 for me. 

[CaptainRedbeard]

Kjerstad obliterating AAA pitching is almost to be expected at this point, so the thing I’m keeping a close eye on is his BB rate. Up at 11.5% now, while still maintaining only a 20.7% K rate. Very encouraging, since I’m sure pitchers are pitching him more carefully now. It’s good to see him willing to take those walks.

He’s now turned the hard contact into power and he has good contact ability for a power guy, so the biggest flaw in his offensive profile is his aggressiveness and tendency to chase. I’m sure the Orioles’ message is that’s what they want to see improved from him at the AAA level. 

[RZNJ]

4 hours ago, Frobby said:

I see that the O’s are continuing to play Kjerstad at 1B about twice a week.   He hasn’t made any errors there (or in the OF) since his egregious drop in the opening game.   But, I wonder if he’s looking any better overall.  

Looks for comfortable and natural there as he gets mor reps, IMO.  No longer looking like a fish out of water.

[Say O!]

5 hours ago, interloper said:

I go between viewing Kjerstad as deadline trade bait versus viewing him as Santander's replacement. 

It's like 50/50 for me. 

Is that your preference OR what you think Elias will do?

[Dunk35]

He's up to 10 HRs now.  30 RBI. .1230 OPS 
 

Geez, Norfolk has lost 10 straight coming into tonight. 

[Jagwar]

8 hours ago, Dunk35 said:

He's up to 10 HRs now.  30 RBI. .1230 OPS 
 

Geez, Norfolk has lost 10 straight coming into tonight. 

Holy moley. 10 HR and 30 RBI… through April 19. 

[Sports Guy]

You have to find a way to get him on the ML team. 

[mddisney]

34 minutes ago, Sports Guy said:

You have to find a way to get him on the ML team. 

i think they have to make a trade for it to happen, no?  and, i agree with you.  he needs to be up here!

[Warehouse]

25 minutes ago, Sports Guy said:

You have to find a way to get him on the ML team. 

He can only play RF or DH.  

Among players with 40+ PAs, Ryan O’Hearn leads the league in xwOBA at .531. He has a .950 OPS with .260 BABIP.  Despite not playing against lefties, I can’t see them decreasing O’Hearn’s role.  Adley often takes the DH spot vs lefties.

I’m not sure if Elias/Hyde are fully comfortable yet with Kjerstad in RF.  He may be a downgrade from Tony defensively. Tony has struggled at the plate so far but he’s a streaky hitter that will be close to .800 OPS and 30 HRs when the season is over. It’s not a sure thing that we get better production from Kjerstad the rest of the way.  Replacing Tony with Kjerstad also makes us our lineup very lefty heavy.

I don’t think Kjerstad is a massive upgrade from what we currently have in those spots given what we’ve seen in terms of MLB adjustment periods. Now maybe we can trade Tony or O’Hearn for a key piece while replacing most of their production.  However, it’s not clear what their trade value is in terms of MLB players - they will only be if interest to win-now teams who are unlikely to move top quality pitching.