August Fagerstrom FanGraphs Chat – 11/17/15

August Fagerstrom: hello, people!

August Fagerstrom: the thing you do is start typing questions about baseball and life into the little box. the thing i do is come back in 15 minutes and begin answering them

August Fagerstrom: today’s chat soundtrack will be Cannibal Ox – The Blue Vein. an all-time classic for hip hop heads. haven’t been able to stop lately

August Fagerstrom:

August Fagerstrom: ok!

August Fagerstrom: let’s begin

Comment From Zonk
Has anyone tried to figure out the value that FO’s place on offensive WAR vs. defensive WAR? Intuitively, it seems like while everyone ackowledges the contribution that defense makes to WINS, guys like Nelson Cruz still get paid more than guys that are more defense-first. Is that right?

August Fagerstrom: the Cruz deals you see are just due to the precedent that has been set throughout baseball history, which is that dingers and RBIz get paid

August Fagerstrom: this began to even out after Moneyball, but markets don’t correct themselves overnight

Comment From Chris
Freddie Freeman for Alex Reyes, Randal Grichuk, and Matt Adams. Who says no?

August Fagerstrom: “Fredi Gonzalez says absolutely Freddie Freeman will be playing 1B for the #Braves on opening day in 2016.” says this here tweet on my cell phone

Comment From Archie
Was this year Lindor’s ceiling, floor, or somewhere in the middle?

August Fagerstrom: Ceiling

August Fagerstrom: Polled a bunch of Indians writers in the press box on the last game of the year whether he’d ever finish a season with a higher wRC+ than what he just posted. Might have been unanimous unders

August Fagerstrom: He’s really good, but he’s not 128 true talent wRC+ good. I think he settles into 105 wRC+, +10-20 runs saved type seasons with good baserunning. A really good player. Not an offensive juggernaut

Comment From Ryan
When the umpire makes a terrible call, the catcher gets credit for good framing – correct?

August Fagerstrom: I know BP’s latest model adjusts for umpire

August Fagerstrom: To what extent, I’m not sure. I’d imagine that, yes, the outlier terrible call does count for some fraction of a credit to the catcher. I know they’re at least attempting to account for this, though

Comment From Archie
How would you project Machado v. Arenado long term? Is Machado a clear favorite?

August Fagerstrom: Yeah

August Fagerstrom: It’s funny — Arenado hit 42 (!) homers this year and drove in 130 runs and he only finished with a 119 wRC+

August Fagerstrom: Only 6 percent better than his previous season, when he hit 18 homers

August Fagerstrom: Finished with the same wRC+ as Adam Lind

August Fagerstrom: Coors, man

August Fagerstrom: They’re probably similar defenders. Machado’s offensive upside over Arenado’s is massive

Comment From Aj
Best free agent over the life of his contract Heyward or Price ?

August Fagerstrom: Heyward

Comment From Zonk
Basically, the Padres traded $53 mil and Matt Wisler for those 4 Bo-Sox prospects, and a year of Kimbrel. Preller was disparaged for the first trade, but now doesn’t look too bad, does it?

August Fagerstrom: Padres made out pretty well in the end, I’d say. Just like you can never evaluate a trade until the player’s involved career’s are over, you can’t evaluate a GM until his tenure with the team is over!

August Fagerstrom: Probably not until after that, actually

August Fagerstrom: I still remember when the Cliff Lee for Carlos Carrasco trade was a total bust for Cleveland after 5 years

Comment From Gary
I feel like this Red Sox trade is the worst I’ve ever seen. Did they give up more for 3 years of Kimbrel than the Blue Jays did for 4 years of Donaldson? What the hell was Dombrowski thinking? Do you think he egregiously misread the market?

August Fagerstrom: The Red Sox acquired one of the best closers in baseball history

August Fagerstrom: They paid a price, sure

August Fagerstrom: They also got exactly what they’d deemed they needed. If they deemed they needed an elite closer, they couldn’t really have done much better

August Fagerstrom: Plus they kept Moncada. They kept Devers. They kept Marrero. They kept Swihart and Rodriguez. Not like their farm system is depleted

August Fagerstrom: Not the best argument to make — value is value regardless of what you have behind it — but I think calling it the worst you’ve ever seen is a gross overreaction

Comment From The Dude
Will you ever make The Simpson’s song “Talkin’ Softball” the chat soundtrack?

August Fagerstrom: not a Simpson’s fan, so nope

August Fagerstrom: /ducks

August Fagerstrom: /cowers

Comment From Ben
Several teams have new front offices and managers. Which of these teams have the best chance to find success under their new leadership?

August Fagerstrom: Dombrowski is a great baseball mind who’s been successful in turning around poor situations at every job he’s had, and he has a massive payroll. I like the Red Sox chances for success under his guidance.

Comment From Q-Ball
Rosenthal says the Padres would like to deal Matt Kemp (surprise!), and may accomplish this by pairing him with Tyson Ross in a deal. Do they pretty much cancel out? Wouldn’t Kemp have some value to an AL club?

August Fagerstrom: it’s probably close

August Fagerstrom: Tyson Ross is a super valuable asset, and yes Kemp would have some value to an AL club in theory, but, m’gawd that contract

August Fagerstrom: still can’t believe the Padres gave up Grandal for that

Comment From The Dude
Delino DeShields managed to get a vote for ROY. How rare is that for a Rule 5 draft pick?

August Fagerstrom: this is a superb question.

Comment From Kadavar
Do you think Kolten Wong breaks out this season? I like to target guys who are “post hype sleepers” and I feel Wong fits the bill. Do you see a 20/20 season coming for Kolten Wong?

August Fagerstrom: I think Wong is a solid player and Farnsworth seems to really like his swing. Not sure what the extent of a “breakout” for him could be though

August Fagerstrom: 20 homers seems high, but we’ve seen it happen before. Matt Carpenter hit 28 last year!

Comment From Trainman
Very interesting deal yesterday with L. Martin for Tom Wilhelmsen.. Who got the better end of the deal, and who closes in Seattle: Benoit or Carson Smith?

August Fagerstrom: Carson Smith was a freakin’ stud last year

Comment From Nadia
Presuming the Red Sox sign (or trade for) a TOR pitcher, which of their starters are most likely to be traded?

August Fagerstrom: probably Kelly or Miley

August Fagerstrom: though, I’m not sure a trade would be *totally* necessary if they sign a guy like Price. Price/Buchholz/Porcello/Miley/Rodriguez and then put Kelly in the bullpen with Owens and Johnson in AAA

August Fagerstrom: depth is important

August Fagerstrom: and outside of that ace, the Sox don’t really have many more glaring holes that need addressed

Comment From Ernie Camacho
If Chris Johnson were a free agent, would any team offer him a major league contract?

August Fagerstrom: yep. he’s got value on an AL club as a lefty-killer

August Fagerstrom: he’d get a couple million though, not the 8 he’s making now.

Comment From Aj
Cubs opening day starter 2016 Lester , Arrieta , or Price ?

August Fagerstrom: Arrieta

Comment From The Dude
Which of the three players to accept the QO surprised you the most?

August Fagerstrom: Rasmus

Comment From mtsw
Possible the Kimbrel trade is as simple as the new regime in Boston not liking some of their prospects as much as the old regime did? Could it have been more “what can we get for these guys we don’t want” as “what do we need to give up to get Kimbrel?” in other words?

August Fagerstrom: I mean, I definitely don’t think DD looked at Manuel Margot and said “man, we need to get this guy out of here.”

August Fagerstrom: But there’s always definitely an aspect of a new regime coming in, they don’t have the same attachment to prospects as the regime that drafted them and put their reputation on the line for them

Comment From Q-Ball
Who do you like more long-term: Correa, or Lindor?

August Fagerstrom: Correa

August Fagerstrom: Think we saw close to Lindor’s ceiling this year. I’m not sure we have any idea of Correa’s ceiling

August Fagerstrom: Think you always take the higher offensive ceiling over the higher defensive ceiling, too

Comment From Q-Ball
Will Kris Bryant continue to be a 5-6 WAR player? Do you see room for improvement?

August Fagerstrom: Good lord, Kris Bryant was worth 6.5 WAR this year

August Fagerstrom: I had no idea

August Fagerstrom: Defense and baserunning numbers seem a bit high for what is likely his true talent, but he can (and likely will) easily surpass a 136 wRC+ in his peak

August Fagerstrom: Think he definitely has some Goldschmidt .400 OBP/40 HR seasons in him where he posts a 170 wRC+ en route to a 7-8 win seasons. That’s probably the peak

August Fagerstrom: But yeah, an average of 5-6 wins a year seems very possible

Comment From Q-Ball
Speaking of framing, are FO’s fully bought into it? If they are, wouldn’t that mean that Chris Ianetta should get a really fat contract?

August Fagerstrom: I’d say 30/30 front offices believe it’s a real, quantifiable thing, and probably have for a while

August Fagerstrom: Now, those FO’s all certainly value it differently

August Fagerstrom: As for your Iannetta question — no, because the market doesn’t yet pay for framing according to what the public thinks it works

August Fagerstrom: Kind of the opposite of the Cruz question from earlier on HRs and RBIs still getting paid more than defense. Markets take a while to correct

Comment From mtsw
In my OOTP16 save, Mike Napoli hit an inside-the-park HR without the defense committing an error in an ALDS game. Is this the least realistic thing ever to happen in a video game?

August Fagerstrom: Kurt Suzuki hit one last year without an error!

August Fagerstrom: http://www.fangraphs.com/bl…

Comment From Eastern NC
If you ran the Cubs, what do you improve: Starting pitching, relief pitching, or contact hitting?

August Fagerstrom: Outfield defense

Comment From The Dude
How does Steamer project Rich Hill to be worth 1.5 WAR based on 4 stars in 2014?

August Fagerstrom: what do you project out of Rich Hill?

August Fagerstrom: whatever your answer is, someone disagrees with it

August Fagerstrom: no one has any idea what Rich Hill is going to do

August Fagerstrom: Also, it’s not just based on 4 starts in 2015*. It’s based on a career

August Fagerstrom: Hasn’t been a super great career, but the last few seasons Rich Hill has pitched (very infrequently, granted!) he’s been pretty decent. And then he was awesome

Comment From jeff
Has anyone tried to explained the Cardinals ERA/FIP difference?

August Fagerstrom: Ben Lindbergh’s Grantland ( 🙁 ) piece is the first that came to mind – http://grantland.com/the-tr…

Comment From Nelson
Will Ryan Howard be out of baseball in 1 year when his contract and buyout is over?

August Fagerstrom: no. he’ll latch on to an AL club on super cheap 1-year deal(s) for at least a year

Comment From Eastern NC
Who ages better in the next few years: Addison Russell, Jose Bautista, or XBoegarts? Who do you predict as the best hitter for the next 3 years or so?

August Fagerstrom: I mean, it’s hard to compare who “ages” better when you’re talking about two guys in their early 20’s and a guy in his mid-30’s

August Fagerstrom: As for your second question, Jose Bautista will be the best hitter over the next 3 years, by far.

Comment From Nelson
Do you see the Indians getting any impact FAs?

August Fagerstrom: Nope. Austin Jackson or Gerrardo Parra maybe. Their big move(s) will come through trades. They have a lot of expendable, valuable young assets

Comment From Bruce
Are you named after the month or Caesar?

August Fagerstrom: neither!

August Fagerstrom: I’m named after my great grandfather, August, who earned a silver medal in the 1924 Olympics

August Fagerstrom: https://en.wikipedia.org/wi…

August Fagerstrom: not sure what he was named after

Comment From Aj
The worst free agent signing of this year will be ?

August Fagerstrom: hmm…

August Fagerstrom: Howie Kendrick?

August Fagerstrom: the upside on how bad his contract could be is limited though

August Fagerstrom: I think Justin Upton will be fine, but he’s gonna get paid a ton and has some collapse potential, IMO

Comment From Rob
What if the White Sox decided to build around Sale, Rodon, Fulmer, Eaton and T Anderson? Trading Abreu, Quintana and possibly D Robertson for prospects, near ready ones if possible?

August Fagerstrom: don’t see why Abreu wouldn’t be included in that group

Comment From Bruce
What do the Reda have to gain my trading Chapman now as opposed to in-season? Is it only injusry-risk?

August Fagerstrom: Bigger market now. More teams think they’re contenders in November than in July

Comment From mtsw
Did Boras kinda screw himself with having Wieters sign the QO? Likely takes the Orioles out of the running for Chris Davis, when they looked like one of the major players for him. Wieters easily could’ve gotten 1/12 elsewhere, no?

August Fagerstrom: I don’t think the Orioles were real players for Davis in the first place

August Fagerstrom: Until they actually make a big free agent signing, I don’t buy the Davis/Cespedes/Gordon/Upton rumors

August Fagerstrom: That being said, I was a little surprised by Wieters taking the QO. I thought he’d get 3 years somewhere, tbh. Rangers seemed like a great fit for him

Comment From Trainman
In regards to the Lindor Ceiling, floor or somewhere in the middle, how does Correas season rate in regard to ceiling, floor or somewhere in middle? Also, are you surprised at all how close Lindor was votes wise to Correa? The person who left Lindor off their ballot was crazy!

August Fagerstrom: Offensively, likely somewhere in the middle for Correa. He’s not gonna be a 133 wRC+ hitter every season, probably, but I think he might have a 140 or 150 season in him at some point. Lindor doesn’t have that.

Comment From mtsw
More likely to bounce back in 2016: Hanley Ramirez or Matt Kemp?

August Fagerstrom: I mean I think Hanley is the better bet to be better than he was last year

August Fagerstrom: Hanley’s way better than an 89 wRC+ and he’ll obviously be better not playing left field

August Fagerstrom: Kemp had a 109 wRC+ last year. Not totally sold he’s demonstrably better than that at this point

Comment From Robert
Can you think of a baseball comp for El-P? Became far more known later on (Run the Jewels) rather than when he really was at MVP production levels (Funcrusher Plus)?

August Fagerstrom: great question

August Fagerstrom: Zobrist?

August Fagerstrom: was always underrated until he became overrated

August Fagerstrom: (not a huge Run the Jewels fan)

August Fagerstrom: /ducks, cowers again

Comment From mtsw
Now that Torii Hunter has retired, which active player is most likely to end up as a manager who makes baffling tactical decisions 10 years from now?

August Fagerstrom: pick a catcher, any catcher

Comment From Q-Ball
Local Chicago Tribune writer says White Sox should trade Quintana to re-stock the team. What kind of value does he have? What would you do if you were the White Sox, given the massive holes (like left side of infield)?

August Fagerstrom: Quintana has a ton of value. He could net a couple solid prospects for sure

August Fagerstrom: As for what I’d do, I’d trade Jose Quintana

August Fagerstrom: And try to trade either Melky and/or LaRoche if that’s possible. They both need to be DH/1B’s, which isn’t feasible when Jose Abreu is on the same team

Comment From Bork
Rich Hill is apparently going to sign by the end of the week. Who’s he going to? CALL IT AUGUST CALL IT.

August Fagerstrom: literally gonna use a random number generator

August Fagerstrom: Cardinals!

August Fagerstrom: if that happens Rich Hill is totally gonna pitch 180 innings and be worth 4 WAR next year

Comment From Zonk
To what extent do you think history drove Dombrowski to ante-up for Kimbrel? By that, I mean a) the Royals march to WS, and b) the Tigers countless bullpen implosions over the years?

August Fagerstrom: those things both played a factor I think, yes

August Fagerstrom: I’ll say… 18% Royals recent success, 31% Dombrowski’s terrible Tigers bullpens, 51% Dombrowski just thinking it’s the right move in a vacuum anyway

Comment From French Tribe Fan
Hi August, glad to have you back on FG, especially as a Tribe fan ! What could be the Indians first move this offseason ?

August Fagerstrom: appreciate it

August Fagerstrom: looking into my crystal ball, I see Antonetti striking a deal during the Winter Meetings that sends some combo of Ramirez, Chisenhall, Perez, Urshela, Naquin, E. Gonzalez to upgrade the outfield or corner infield

August Fagerstrom: then they make a smaller (3/30 tops) free agent signing to fill another need

Comment From Ernie Camacho
There is a __% change Trevor Bauer is still in the Tribe’s starting rotation in August, 2016. And if he’s not in the rotation, the most likely reason is [trade][injury][moved to bullpen].

August Fagerstrom: in August?

August Fagerstrom: 77%

August Fagerstrom: if he’s not: trade, then bullpen, then injury

August Fagerstrom: gotta also factor in possible trade or injury for any other Cleveland starter. then he’s in for sure

Comment From Snarfle
I love that some artists still take music videos seriously. There was a rough patch between MTV’s prominence and YouTube becoming a real destination for music.

August Fagerstrom: I love how awesome music videos can be today with tiny budgets

August Fagerstrom: rappers were making music videos in the 90’s on million-dollar budgets and they were still corny as hell

Comment From Timmy
Does Jose Ramirez have any trade value? What about Lonnie Chisenhall?

August Fagerstrom: yes and yes. Ramirez moreso than Chisenhall

Comment From Omar
Are you worried about Danny Salazar ability to work deep into games? Will this keep him from becoming a top SP? Will he go to the bullpen eventually?

August Fagerstrom: Salazar threw 185 innings last year

August Fagerstrom: Averaged more than 6 a game

August Fagerstrom: I think he’s already close to being a top SP, and I think he still gets better

Comment From Jake
How are your SQL skills?

August Fagerstrom: nonexistant

August Fagerstrom: really need to get around to learning the basics

Comment From Lloyd
Do the Reds trade Chapman before this calendar year is over?

August Fagerstrom: yes

Comment From French Tribe Fan
I’m worried about Kipnis… Should I ?

August Fagerstrom: he’s not the player he was in the first half last year, but no reason to be worried

August Fagerstrom: He’s a well above-average starting second baseman. He’s easily a top-10 second baseman, pushing top 5

Comment From Bleacherite
If you watched #KBOOM all season, you wouldn’t discount those baserunning numbers. We did not expect such a well-rounded game for a “slugging third baseman”.

August Fagerstrom: He’s definitely quick. Expecting a win of baserunning value a year from him seems pretty high though

Comment From Merv Throneberry
Are you as worried about Carlos Martinez’ shoulder as Merv is?

August Fagerstrom: I’m worried about all shoulders

August Fagerstrom: coming from someone who’s had shoulders problems

August Fagerstrom: The ones that speak up at any point are particularly concerning

August Fagerstrom: The thing that’s real troubling about shoulders is there’s no Tommy John that magically fixes a shoulder. When a pitcher has a major shoulder injury, it seems to just… linger. Martinez’s teammate Jaime Garcia knows a thing or two about that

August Fagerstrom: Now of course, Martinez hasn’t *had* a major shoulder injury yet. But it’s definitely a little scary, especially considering this isn’t the first time it’s barked

Comment From Norrin Radd
Should external factors, such as the ability to lure free agents, be apart of the formula for manager WAR? Say Price signs with the Cubs and mentions reuniting with Maddon was a factor. Hard to quantify but that’s valuable right?

August Fagerstrom: definitely

August Fagerstrom: “hard” to quantify should probably be “impossible” to quantify though

Comment From Lloyd
Are you going to be in Nashville applying for jobs in MLB?

August Fagerstrom: I’m going to be in Nashville. I will not be applying for jobs. I quite like the one I just started

Comment From Victor
Does Eric Stamets have a future in Cleveland?

August Fagerstrom: doubt it. might make some appearances for the glove, but the bat doesn’t seem like it has a regular spot on a 25-man roster

Comment From The Dude
Will Delino DeShields and Odubel Herrera be productive players for their respective teams?

August Fagerstrom: They’ll be productive. I think they both might have overachieved last year, though, and DeShields might not be a center fielder

Comment From Victor
Which Indians player was the biggest jerk to you?

August Fagerstrom: honestly — it’s a great clubhouse

August Fagerstrom: Had this discussion with some other writers. There really isn’t a bad guy on the team

August Fagerstrom: Couple relievers could be a bit cranky when we talked to them after a bad outing. But for the most part it’s an awesome group of guys.

Comment From Tom
Who will have the best career: Michael Wacha, Carlos Martinez, or Shelby Miller?

August Fagerstrom: You just named them in order of their true talent level

August Fagerstrom: predicting a pitcher’s career is impossible, because that means you have to predict injuries too

Comment From stew
freeman for moncada, devers, benintendi…who says no….

August Fagerstrom: The Braves are not trading Freddie Freeman.

Comment From Q-Ball
Are you Finnish, then? Do you have a Finnish basement?

August Fagerstrom: I do come from a Finnish background, yes

August Fagerstrom: I will not humor your awful, awful joke

Comment From Jack
Are the Indians looking to move Chisenhall? I think he’d fit nicely in Pittsburgh as a 3rd baseman until Kang gets healthy and then a spell for Polanco in RF afterwards.

August Fagerstrom: I don’t think they’re necessarily *looking* to move anyone. I think plenty of guys are freely available, though, and Chisenhall is one of them, though I kind of doubt whether he plays anywhere besides RF moving forward after what he did last year

Comment From Bill
Miggy ain’t got nothin’ on Peak Pujols, amirite?

August Fagerstrom: You are right.

August Fagerstrom: Peak Pujols was an all-timer

August Fagerstrom: Peak Miggy was a really, really great bat.

Comment From Ray
Twitter just blew up with rumor that the Marlins might trade Jose Fernandez this offseason.

August Fagerstrom: and David Ortiz is retiring!

August Fagerstrom: sad 🙁

Comment From Bruce
Do you consider Raul Mondesi Jr a World Series Winner?

August Fagerstrom: why not? he’s gonna get a ring

Comment From Bill
Should the Os and Rockies respectively say fuck it and trade Machado and Arenado?

August Fagerstrom: no. these are guys you build a team around.

Comment From Roger
The diamondbacks have some excellent position player talent, but their rotation is shaky, to say the least. They’ve also been connected to Maeda and Gallardo. If they acquire both those starters, does that give them enough of a starting rotation to snare a wild card?

August Fagerstrom: Did a radio hit yesterday and picked the Dbacks as my sleeper team for 2016. Love the Pollock/Goldy combo and that defense

August Fagerstrom: Mid-rotation guys are there. They’d just need a top-flight starter to go alongside a (hopefully) healthy and productive Corbin.

August Fagerstrom: Not sure the top-flight guy is coming, though

August Fagerstrom: Your scenario might be more likely, in which case, no, that team probably still isn’t a realistic contender, but they’d be in a position where a super fortunate sequencing season could keep them in the race in August and September

Comment From Jack
Gene Collier gave Justin Bour a second place vote for Rookie of the year. Would he have made your top 20 list of NL rookies?

August Fagerstrom: I mean yeah he’d make top 20. I thought that pick was astounding too though

August Fagerstrom: Tried to justify it in some way, so I sorted the NL rookie leaderboard for RBI:

August Fagerstrom: 1. Bryant
2. Duffy
3. Bour

Comment From AL East
We’ll miss Hanley in left field 🙁

August Fagerstrom: it really was something I’ll likely never forget. super glad it happened from an outsider’s perspective

Comment From Norrin Radd
Is the FG in your twitter handle for FanGraphs or Fagerstrom?

August Fagerstrom: well it’s always been “AugustF” and then my affiliation (ABJ, MLB)

August Fagerstrom: figured I’d just consolidate the two

August Fagerstrom: really wish I could have AugustFG without the stupid underscore

August Fagerstrom: account isn’t even active! it’s blocked! and i still can’t have it!

Comment From Frank
Are the Rangers legitimate world series contenders next year? Assuming Yu stays healthy all year?

August Fagerstrom: obviously so much depends on what happens in the offseason but yeah I mean they were almost a World Series club this year and then you add Yu Darvish

Comment From SabrtoothTangotigerCub
OK Go – kings of the modern music video

August Fagerstrom: so good! I don’t even like their music really and I still watch the videos

Comment From SabrtoothTangotigerCub
Better player in 5 years, Clint Frazier or Bradley Zimmer?

August Fagerstrom: Frazier

Comment From Tribe Fan
Cubs fans want to trade us Jorge Soler, but I agree we should not deal off a top-end starter. Is he a good fit for us? Is there a way to make a match without dealing Salazar or Carrasco?

August Fagerstrom: I don’t think so. If Soler is an Indians uniform next year, either Salazar or Carrasco will not be

August Fagerstrom: That being said, in that scenario I think there would also be other ex-Cubs players in Indians uniforms

Comment From StatBoy
Question: How does David Ortiz have such a negative defensive value when he barely takes the field? Do player value models punish you for just being a DH and not contributing on defense?

August Fagerstrom: yes, that’s it exactly

Comment From Chris
Craig Mish tweeted that there’s growing sentiment that the Marlins trade Jose Fernandez this offseason. If they do, what type of package would he return? Would this make him the most valuable player “available” via trade this offseason?

August Fagerstrom: if true, yes

Comment From mtsw
Could you ever see a pitcher throw from two radically different arm slots? Say, a guy who throws overhand fastball/changeup to opposite handed hitters and throws sidearm fastball/slider to same handed hitters? Seems like it’d be a way to mitigate arm fatigue among other advantages if a guy who pull it off. If Pat Venditte exists, a guy could manage this, right?

August Fagerstrom: guys do this! Bronson Arroyo is the first that comes to mind

August Fagerstrom: someone else that was active last year does this too. name isn’t coming to mind though

Comment From Drew
On Non-competitive pitchers you said they were “unintentional and serve no purpose.” But, with so many solid arms on the list, I would have liked to see proof that they serve no purpose. Plan on exploring this topic any more?

August Fagerstrom: yeah, maybe that was an extreme stance to take. I tried to make it clear later in the article that the ones in the dirt can serve a purpose, but even those ones only generate like ~7% swings

August Fagerstrom: the ones more than 2.5 feet from the center inside, outside and high seem to serve very little purpose. 99% of those are total misses that the pitcher immediately wishes he had back, I’d imagine

Comment From mtsw
How many extra roster spots in the playoffs would there need to be before teams started having “designated pinch runner” type guys that you sometimes see as September call ups?

August Fagerstrom: you mean like Terrance Gore?

Comment From Drew
Especially with the recent evidence that suggests changing eye-levels is effective. Does a non-competitive pitch have a value that is positive enough to count for more than just another tally on a pitch count?

August Fagerstrom: wait, what’s this evidence! I’m not doubting you, I’m just very intrigued by that

Comment From Snarfle
How much room is there between trading Quintana and full blow up? I suppose you can add a little and trade some biggies at the deadline.

August Fagerstrom: when you’ve got Abreu, Sale and Rodon, you’re in a good spot

August Fagerstrom: *total* blowup doesn’t seem to make sense

August Fagerstrom: they just need to consolidate the next-most valuable assets into multiple pieces. the White Sox just have way too many black holes around their stars right now.

Comment From mtsw
Does Ortiz get the Jeter retirement tour treatment or do people not care as much?

August Fagerstrom: not gonna be Jeter-level, but it’ll be a thing

Comment From SabrtoothTangotigerCub
Machado for Urias & Seager?

August Fagerstrom: why

Comment From mtsw
Of the top 20 David Ortiz highlights, how many are HRs pulled down the line? Has there ever been a more boring widely-beloved player than him?

August Fagerstrom: a lot of his biggest moments were in massively high-leverage spots. that’s not boring to me

Comment From Zonk
What is the point?

August Fagerstrom: seems like a good note to end on

August Fagerstrom: thanks for chatting everyone! tried to get to as many questions as I could. same time, same place next week!