Episode 342
Chris St. John is the author of two of the most interesting baseball-related pieces from the past year-plus: first, a post at Beyond the Boxscore (a continuation of a series, in fact) in which he endeavors to detect objectively the biases of different notable prospect lists and, second, a piece at The Platoon Advantage in which he studies the significance of minor-league walk and strikeout rates among top-100 prospects. St. John is also the guest on this edition of FanGraphs Audio.

Don’t hesitate to direct pod-related correspondence to @cistulli on Twitter.

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Audio after the jump. (Approximately 49 min play time.)

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Table of Contents
Here’s the table of contents for today’s edition of the Daily Notes.

1. Brief Review: Rick Porcello’s Tuesday Start
2. Today’s MLB.TV Free Game
3. Today’s Complete Schedule

Brief Review: Rick Porcello’s Tuesday Start
Introduction
Detroit right-hander Rick Porcello, known typically for his power sinker and attendant ground-ball rate, recorded numerous career bests against Pittsburgh on Tuesday night with 11 strikeouts, a 1.04 single-game xFIP, and a 4.03 RE24 (which metric measures runs added relative to the 24 base/out states and is useful for measuring single-game performances by hitters or pitchers). What follows is a brief review of that second start.

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The Fringe Five is a weekly exercise (introduced last month) wherein the author utilizes regressed stats, scouting reports, and also his own heart to identify and/or continue monitoring the most compelling fringe prospects in all of baseball.

Central to this exercise, of course, is a working definition of fringe. Currently, for the purposes of this column, it’s any prospect who was absent from all of three notable preseason top-100 prospect lists. (A slightly more robust meditation on the idea of fringe can be found here.)

Four players retain their place this week among the Five: Mets infield prospect Wilmer Flores; giant, tall Marlins left-hander Brian Flynn; other Mets prospect, right-hander Rafael Montero; and Cardinals Double-A outfielder Mike O’Neill.

Departing from the Five is Yankees right-hander Jose Ramirez, who did nothing in particular to lose his spot except fail to approximate the conspicuous capital-M Mystery provided by recently demoted San Diego prospect Burch Smith.

All those points having been made, here are this week’s Fringe Five.

Wilmer Flores, 2B/3B, New York NL (Profile)
The ongoing struggles of Mets major-league first baseman Ike Davis have led to questions about what Flores’ credentials might be at that same position. With regard to those concerns, it ought first to be noted that, despite his promising offensive approach, Flores is likely not even an average major-league hitter at the moment. It ought further to be noted both that (a) including Tuesday, Flores has played first base just twice this season but also that (b) he (i.e. Flores) is still probably reasonably capable there defensively.

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Table of Contents
Here’s the table of contents for today’s edition of the Daily Notes.

1. Featured Game: Baltimore at Washington, 19:05pm ET
2. Today’s MLB.TV Free Game
3. Today’s Complete Schedule

Featured Game: Baltimore at Washington, 19:05pm ET
Regarding the Purpose of These Notes
This edition of the Daily Notes, broadly speaking, is designed to amuse and/or inform the FanGraphs readership, which readership is generally composed of individuals concerned with thoughtful baseball analysis.

Regarding Another Purpose of These Notes
This edition of the Daily Notes, more particularly, is intended to alert the readership to a mostly compelling debut scheduled to occur Tuesday night in Washington, D.C. — namely, the debut of Nationals right-handed pitching prospect Nate Karns.

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Table of Contents
Here’s the table of contents for today’s edition of the Daily Notes.

1. A Brief Introduction to This Edition of the Notes
2. Today’s MLB.TV Free Game
3. Today’s Complete Schedule

A Brief Introduction to This Edition of the Notes
Owing to the fact that there are games today, so is there an edition of the Notes. Owing to how it is also a holiday, however, this edition of the Notes is decidedly truncated so that the author might dedicate the largest part of his day to Unbridled Leisure.

Please find below both (a) a brief preview of today’s MLB.TV Free Game and, after that, (b) all of today’s games rated according to NERD, this site’s very proprietary watchability metric.

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Table of Contents
Here’s the table of contents for today’s edition of the Daily Notes.

1. Featured Game: Cleveland at Boston, 13:35pm ET
2. Today’s MLB.TV Free Game
3. Today’s Complete Schedule

Featured Game: Cleveland at Boston, 13:35pm ET
Regarding This Game, Who’s Starting It for Cleveland
Starting this game for Cleveland, in terms of a pitcher, is right-hander Corey Kluber.

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Table of Contents
Here’s the table of contents for today’s edition of the Daily Notes.

1. Actual Ways in Which Tom Koehler Was the Best
2. Today’s MLB.TV Free Game
3. Today’s Complete Schedule

Actual Ways in Which Tom Koehler Was the Best
Introduction
Miami right-hander Tom Koehler made his second consecutive impressive start on Friday, recording a 2.79 xFIP over six innings of work versus the Chicago White Sox (box). Koehler was not Friday’s best starter in terms of overall run prevention; however, he was Friday’s best in no fewer than three other ways.

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Episode 341
Pittsburgh left-hander Jeff Locke has been worth about 1.3 wins by WAR calculated with runs allowed (as opposed to FIP) — a figure that places him between the very effective Jake Peavy and also very effective Max Scherzer by that measure. Curiously, he’s been more effective by throwing fewer strikes. Locke comments on that, and other matters, in this edition of FanGraphs Audio, live on tape from the visitor’s clubhouse at Miller Park in Milwaukee, WI.

Don’t hesitate to direct pod-related correspondence to @cistulli on Twitter.

You can subscribe to the podcast via iTunes or other feeder things.

Audio after the jump. (Approximately 12 min play time.)

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Episode 340
Dayn Perry is a contributor to CBS Sports’ Eye on Baseball and the author of three books, now — one of them serviceable and one of them, against all odds, something more than serviceable. In this edition of FanGraphs Audio, he mixes business with other, different business.

Don’t hesitate to direct pod-related correspondence to @cistulli on Twitter.

You can subscribe to the podcast via iTunes or other feeder things.

Audio after the jump. (Approximately 53 min play time.)

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