Is Hyde/Sigbot burying another prospect?

[Moose Milligan]

6 minutes ago, Tony-OH said:

No, I'm on the side of if you bring up a top prospect, you don't treat him like the 26th man on the bench when you can rotate guys around and keep everyone fresh while keeping you top prospect fresh.

Not sure how that is a hard concept or why you would think I just want to play the prospects over vets.

There are enough at bats between Cowser Mullins, Santander, O'Hearn, Mountcastle and Rutschman to give one a day off so Kjestad can play 4-5 a week.

Giving any player one at bat over a week is not good roster usage and it certainly does not keep a player fresh and game ready. It's almost criminal to do that to a guy OPSing over a 1.000 in AAA. 

If you plan on just running your regulars out there until they get tired, sure, go ahead, but don't bring up Kjerstad. They could have just brought up Stowers to do that.

 

I agree with this, but it's apparent they brought him up to be the 26th man.

I've never been a big Kjerstad fan so I'm not really upset about it but I also agree with you...if you're going to bring someone up that's ranked like he is, you play them.

If it were me, I'd be on the horn trying to trade him for a great bullpen arm.

[OsFanSinceThe80s]

7 minutes ago, ChuckS said:

Well, if they don't trust him to put a glove on and catch the ball, he probably should be traded ASAP so that this severe deficiency isn't exposed. 

I don't think it's that simple. I think he's highly regarded by the team, but at the same time they are extremely risk averse to breaking prospects in who aren't named Rutschman, Henderson, or Holliday. 

 

The organization definitely likes Kjerstad's bat, but there is a logjam at 1B/RF/DH that makes it tough for him to crack the lineup. I agree with Tony that there is enough wiggle room to give the other regulars a rest day during the week opening up room for Kjerstad to start 2 to 3 times.

Rutschman complicates this as well because of his bat on the days he's not catching there's a good chance he's playing DH (like tonight).

Edited April 30 by OsFanSinceThe80s

[interloper]

Just my take:

I think they just called up the best player available. He's here to be a pinch-hitter or a Santander sub for a short period of time if Hyde wants to utilize him like that. If he doesn't, that's his prerogative, but Elias has given him the best hitter available on the farm to use as he sees fit. Once Hays is back, Kjerstad will go back down to get regular ABs, just like Stowers did, just like Cowser did. They won't let him linger on the bench too much longer.

Kjerstad, Stowers, Norby, and Mayo are all incredible depth pieces, future ML starters, and excellent trade chips. Perhaps Elias didn't get any offers he liked in the offseason, so I think the plan is to hold them all as depth until July, and then swing something big. At least, that's what I hope happens. 

Another potential is that perhaps Elias could have dealt one or two for pitching in the offseason, but is holding his cards for now just in case he needs to trade for another big name SP. Like if Bradish doesn't work out, or Burnes gets hurt. Something like that. 

Like most of their decisions, Elias/Sig seem to like to kick the can down the road as long as possible. 

Edited April 30 by interloper

[Tony-OH]

9 minutes ago, Malike said:

I am under the impression (possibly, maybe, usually wrong) that he is up here until Hays gets off the IL. I don't think the intention was to keep him on the team all year and then not play him. I think they are probably a bit concerned with his defense being a liability in this series with the Yankees. I do believe he will get his chance at some point this season and hopefully, he runs with it. The job was his to lose in spring training, IMO, and he did just that.

This is a team that runs O'Hearn out to RF. If they are willing to do that, they should be willing to run Kjerstad out there because they are not really all that different defensively in RF. Kjerstad is not a great defender, but he's not some Trumbo like liability out there either (though Trumbo threw way better than Kjerstad).

I did this once before, but I showed how you can rotate guys around to give him semi-regular PAs.

Player day off:
Santander - Kjerstad plays RF
O'Hearn - Kjerstad DH
Mountcastle - O'Hearn to 1B, Kjerstad to RF
Mullins day off - Cowser to CF, Kjersatd to LF (live with the defense that day)
Cowser day off - Kjerstad to LF
Rutschman day off after catching too often - MCann catch, Kjerstad DH

Even if you don't want Kjerstad in LF, that's still 4 other starters you can give a day off to and Kjerstad hit left-handers ok, so it's not like he can't play against Lefties. 

They can find a way to get him 3-4 starts and PH in another 1-2 easily. If they don't want to do that, and it's ok if they have a different opinion of him, then send him back down and have him wait his turn and bring up Stowers or go get Hicks and let them play once a week.

[Malike]

As disappointing as Santander seems right now, he was worse last year through March/April, we all know what he did after that. I think it's too early to call him dead weight.

[Malike]

1 minute ago, Tony-OH said:

This is a team that runs O'Hearn out to RF. If they are willing to do that, they should be willing to run Kjerstad out there because they are not really all that different defensively in RF. Kjerstad is not a great defender, but he's not some Trumbo like liability out there either (though Trumbo threw way better than Kjerstad).

I did this once before, but I showed how you can rotate guys around to give him semi-regular PAs.

Player day off:
Santander - Kjerstad plays RF
O'Hearn - Kjerstad DH
Mountcastle - O'Hearn to 1B, Kjerstad to RF
Mullins day off - Cowser to CF, Kjersatd to LF (live with the defense that day)
Cowser day off - Kjerstad to LF
Rutschman day off after catching too often - MCann catch, Kjerstad DH

Even if you don't want Kjerstad in LF, that's still 4 other starters you can give a day off to and Kjerstad hit left-handers ok, so it's not like he can't play against Lefties. 

They can find a way to get him 3-4 starts and PH in another 1-2 easily. If they don't want to do that, and it's ok if they have a different opinion of him, then send him back down and have him wait his turn and bring up Stowers or go get Hicks and let them play once a week.

I get it, like I said, I personally think is a temporary move for a bench player while Hays is on the IL and not a trial run for a really long look at him yet. If the argument is O'Hearn isn't good out there, I'll buy that every day all day, I will also say that O'Hearn, right now, is a much more valuable bat to have in the lineup at this point in the season.

[Tony-OH]

6 minutes ago, Bemorewins said:

You a very fiery today, friend. I get it. I don't begrudge you for your passion.

I think anyone on this board deserves more respect than a comment like that. That's like saying, "Nobody cares what you have to say" on a board that is specifically designed to allow people to have their say. 

Nobody here thinks Elias is reading this board and going, "Oh, Tony doesn't like that so I better stat playing Kjerstad!" lol

[Bemorewins]

Just now, Tony-OH said:

I think anyone on this board deserves more respect than a comment like that. That's like saying, "Nobody cares what you have to say" on a board that is specifically designed to allow people to have their say. 

Nobody here thinks Elias is reading this board and going, "Oh, Tony doesn't like that so I better stat playing Kjerstad!" lol

I don't know if Elias is reading this board. But I bet someone from the Orioles is. They would be foolish not to. It gives them tremendous insight into fan perspective. I think any organization that is healthy and attempting to thrive/grow wants to know what is on the minds of it's customers as it relates to their product.

Operating in isolation/opposition to the fans was very much on brand with the way the Angeloses appeared to run things. I don't think the Orioles under Rubenstein will have such a posture.

[Gurgi]

14 minutes ago, Tony-OH said:

What an idiotic comment. If this is the brilliance you want to bring to the board, keep it to yourself. This is a community for conversation. If you think for one second I think they care what i have to say, then your delusional. But that doesn't mean I'm not going to give my take. That's what i do and if you don't like it, go away and don't post here no more.

You took it the wrong way.  I was attempting to make a joke about them not being sure if they should care about what the fans thought because they didnt have the stats finished on the study of if they should care what the fans thought.  It was not a snarky comment pointed at you just an attempt at humor.  

Really I was just joking that the front office is perhaps too stat driven.  Again I was not insulting you.  

[Warehouse]

11 minutes ago, Bemorewins said:

I'm pretty sure that the fan opinion doesn't drive most or maybe not any of their decisions. But I am certain that somebody who is high up in the Orioles decision making matrix is concerned about the satisfaction of their customers. Probably not so much under the awfulness of the Angelos regime. But most certainly under the leadership of Rubenstein. I'm very confident in saying that a man as smart and as business savy as him, did not make a decision to purchase the Orioles so that he could then turn around and run a business that wouldn't care about alienating it's customer/potential customer base (and the possible expansion of that base) while not increasing the value on his asset.

Actually, you have it reversed. During the Angelos years, there was more of a focus on overruling baseball ops to placate perceived fan opinion. Play Leo Gomez. Don’t trade vets for prospects. Keep Chris Davis in Baltimore long term.

Rubenstein’s style seems to be more focused on letting management execute its strategy independently without worrying about the weathervane of fan opinion.

It’s one thing to argue that Kjerstad should play more. It’s another thing entirely to argue that he should play more because that’s what fans want to see.

[Moose Milligan]

9 minutes ago, interloper said:

Just my take:

I think they just called up the best player available. He's here to be a pinch-hitter or a Santander sub for a short period of time if Hyde wants to utilize him like that.  

I think they did call up the BPA but it's hard to pinch hit when you're not getting any at-bats to begin with.  

[Tony-OH]

7 minutes ago, Moose Milligan said:

I agree with this, but it's apparent they brought him up to be the 26th man.

I've never been a big Kjerstad fan so I'm not really upset about it but I also agree with you...if you're going to bring someone up that's ranked like he is, you play them.

If it were me, I'd be on the horn trying to trade him for a great bullpen arm.

The Orioles understand more than anyone Kjerstad's defensive liabilities. But they also know what his bat can bring. What none of us know, including the Orioles is how well Kjerstad hits after getting one PA in a week. So if the plan was to do that, why bring him up? 

He was in a groove all year in AAA. There are plenty of ways to get him into games 3-4 times a week that doesn't require them to bench anyone long term. I'm a big believer that players play better when they get more breaks. Most players over 26-years old are more productive playing 140-145 games year than 155. 

I'm not suggesting Kjerstad should supplant Santander as the everyday RFer because Santander is off to a bad start, I'm suggesting they get more creative in giving guys off a day or two here and there so he can stay fresh. Honestly, with as much talent as they have in the upper minors, this how they could have a really good bench vs having Urias and Mateo take up spots (though at least Mateo brings a lot of versatility and speed). 

 

[OsFanSinceThe80s]

1 minute ago, Moose Milligan said:

I think they did call up the BPA but it's hard to pinch hit when you're not getting any at-bats to begin with.  

It's one thing if Kjerstad was Terry Crowley or Benny Ayala whose role was to pinch hit and might only get one or two at bats in a week. The team has their reasons, but I don't see the value of Kjerstad being up here if he doesn't start cracking the lineup.

[Moose Milligan]

1 minute ago, Tony-OH said:

The Orioles understand more than anyone Kjerstad's defensive liabilities. But they also know what his bat can bring. What none of us know, including the Orioles is how well Kjerstad hits after getting one PA in a week. So if the plan was to do that, why bring him up? 

He was in a groove all year in AAA. There are plenty of ways to get him into games 3-4 times a week that doesn't require them to bench anyone long term. I'm a big believer that players play better when they get more breaks. Most players over 26-years old are more productive playing 140-145 games year than 155. 

I'm not suggesting Kjerstad should supplant Santander as the everyday RFer because Santander is off to a bad start, I'm suggesting they get more creative in giving guys off a day or two here and there so he can stay fresh. Honestly, with as much talent as they have in the upper minors, this how they could have a really good bench vs having Urias and Mateo take up spots (though at least Mateo brings a lot of versatility and speed). 

 

Yep, totally agreed on all points.  

Gotta see what this guy has, it's time to do it.  

Play him or trade him is all I was really saying.  And by playing him, I mean keep giving him at bats in Norfolk as an option, too.  Sitting him here isn't doing him any good, I don't believe.

 

[sportsfan8703]

I don’t think they brought big Heston up to play and be eased into PT like Cowser/Westburg as part of a rotation.  Kjerstad was a move we made because someone got hurt. So he’s served his purpose. Now send him to AAA for a player more suited to be a bench player. I’d like to see,

Kjerstad to AAA for Hicks. DFA Ramirez or Baumman. 

Hays activated off the IL with McKenna DFA. 

Big Heston gets his chance next year once Santa leaves. Heck, maybe Stowers is in the mix too if we move on from Santa.  Although, we probably need a RH bat. That could be Norby. So one of Heston/Stowers could be a part of a deadline deal for a reliever. My guess is we refuse to deal Heston, like how we refused to deal Cowser this offseason. Heston will be off limits. So a team will have to take a package of Stowers and Norby, or opt for other players not names Heston, Mayo, Basallo, and EBJ. 

Overall, @Tony-OH is correct. Heston needs to be playing everyday. 

Edited April 30 by sportsfan8703