Ben Clemens FanGraphs Chat – 6/3/22

12:30
Ben Clemens: Hey everyone, welcome to the chat

12:31
Ben Clemens: Today’s gonna be a lightning round in general; fewer deep dives, more takes and letting you readers be funny and insightful on your own

12:31
Ben Clemens: Let’s get started right away, it’s a fun day for baseball

12:31
Guest: Points league, needing to switch things up with numerous injuries to my team. Should I trade India for Rasmussen?

12:31
Ben Clemens: I would not, but I’m kinda low on Rasmussen

12:31
Insert Witty Name Here: Well my day just got even better! Girardi fired and a Ben chat!!  If you were given the interim manager job for the Phightin’s, what would your priorities be?

12:32
Ben Clemens: Oh man, it’s gonna be a tough job b/c of the fans, but I think a rewarding job b/c the Phillies aren’t THIS bad

12:32
Ben Clemens: My priorities would be 1)figure out a bullpen hierarchy

12:32
Ben Clemens: 2)figure out a bullpen hierarchy

12:33
Ben Clemens: The defense is a tough fix for a manager, that’s kinda on Dombrowski, but managing the bullpen is something that I think a amanger can really impact

12:33
The Real Ben Clemens: Think this is the end for Greinke? Got hit a lot harder in May, still not a ton of swing and miss, velo as low as ever, and flexor problems are about the last thing you want to see on a 38 year old pitcher.

12:33
Ben Clemens: Yeah… I think it might be, sadly

12:33
Colton: Hey Ben, hope all is well! Was curious if you could give some thoughts on what type of impact you think Shane Baz could give the Rays moving forward in the season with him coming off the IL soon?

12:34
Ben Clemens: He could be great! I don’t know how well he’s holding his velocity gains from last year (he’s generally either had pure stuff or pitchability but not both at the same time) so I think there’s some wait and see mode here until he’s thrown a few games, but he’s an impact arm for sure

12:34
Ben Clemens: I’m very curious to see how they go about building him up

12:34
fanoftheman: Any chance we have the idea of lineup protection all wrong, and that batting *behind* another good hitter helps make sure you get to see pitches to hit?

12:34
Ben Clemens: Definitely a chance of this

12:34
Ben Clemens: It’s not even a particularly crazy claim. Everyone knows that you see more pitches to hit when there’s someone on base

12:34
Ben Clemens: It’s just strange to hear it said that way

12:34
Dave: Have you ever played 6 Nimmt? By far my favorite casual game to play with a handful of friends. Fun combination of game theory and laughing at friends’ misfortunes.

12:35
Ben Clemens: Underrated gem of a game

12:35
Ben Clemens: I’ve played a ton in my life, and it’s always fun

12:35
Zonk: Willson Contreras probably on the move this summer….where do you see a fit?  NYY seems obvious, but do you see other teams bidding, like NYM, LAA, HOU maybe?

12:35
Ben Clemens: NYM makes a ton of sense to me. Houston seems unlikely, they’ve always been really into Maldonado. LAA, I dunno, that doesn’t feel like the kind of trade they like to swing

12:36
Ben Clemens: I hope the Cubs keep Contreras, he’s a nice connection to the past and I know Cubs fans love him

12:36
Ben Clemens: I myself am not a huge fan of his human rain delay tendencies, but hey, I’m a Cardinals fan, so I can’t exactly talk

12:36
Guest: You said you were going for burritos last chat, what’s your go to spot in SF?

12:36
Ben Clemens: Don’t judge me, but there’s a The Little Chihuahua near me that I usually go to

12:37
Ben Clemens: my favorite in the city is La Taqueria but I don’t live near the mission

12:37
Ben Clemens: so that’s more of an event

12:37
Smucky the Cat: Hi Ben, I really liked your article on the AppleTV probabilities. Is there anything interesting or weird you found in your assessment that you weren’t able to include in the article? Like maybe one of the models was pretty good at predicting one specific category but awful at another

12:37
Ben Clemens: I thought it was interesting that the errors on GIDP and RBI were meaningfully lower than on reach base

12:38
Ben Clemens: I don’t have a great way of thinking about that, because I couldn’t create a naive model there, but I thought that was interesting

12:38
Ben Clemens: Maybe players are more uniform in those situations? Maybe modeling groundball rates adds something helpful?

12:38
brad penny for your thoughts: putting your cards fan hat on, what are your initial opinions/thoughts of liberatore and gorman?

12:39
Ben Clemens: Gorman bops just like we expected. Liberatore shows flashes of pretty secondary stuff but isn’t very efficient; I’m definitely higher on Gorman than Libby and I think the early evaluations match that. I still find Liberatore’s pitch mix kinda confusing, they don’t seem to pair well, but I’m gonna hold judgment for a while longer

12:39
Matt: What do you think went on behind the scenes to cause Girardi to get fired?

12:40
Ben Clemens: I think that it wouldn’t take much. Probably the players were bristling a little bit and that’s all they needed

12:40
Smucky the Cat: With all the talk about model assessment, one page I’ve found interesting on assessing model accuracy is 538’s “Checking our Work” page. I think the calibration plots in particular are a simple, interpretable way to see that events are occurring at roughly the same rate a model says they will. Does FanGraphs have something similar to this?
https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/checking-our-work/

12:40
Ben Clemens: We did it for our playoff odds last year:

12:41
Golan Norman: Why does Fangraphs use Neil Pallante instead of Andre Pallante?

12:41
Ben Clemens: There are a few of these, I think

12:41
Ben Clemens: We pull our data from MLB directly

12:41
Ben Clemens: so whatever they’re listed as by the league, we follow

12:41
Ben Clemens: causes some Josh/Joshua Fuentes mishaps, the occasional Jonathon/JP Feyereisen, etc.

12:42
Quarantino Martinez: Curious about Josh H. Smith in Tex. He’s listed as a top 100 prospect but as N/A on the team list. Is that because of the midseason trade or just an oversight?

12:42
Ben Clemens: It’s b/c of the midseason trade last year and b/c this year’s Rangers list isn’t out yet

12:42
Ben Clemens: So he’s never been on a Rangers list we’ve produced. When this year’s comes out he’ll be on it, near the top if not at the top

12:43
TStats: worried about Merrifield?

12:43
Ben Clemens: We passed worried a while ago

12:43
The Great Giambino: ESPN released their deadline preview today, and I spotted Austin Hedges on their list of “bats”. First of all, lol. Second, would the Guardians actually move on from Hedges even if they’re out of contention? Seems like they really like his guidance of a young pitching staff

12:43
Ben Clemens: I mean, Austin Hedges owns more bats than I do

12:43
Ben Clemens: but yeah I think he stays

12:43
Insert Witty Name Here: Whoa, whoa, whoa, tough because of the fans? That’s only if you suck, and then you deserve our scorn.  If you win, you’re a legend.  Fans aren’t a problem, we’re just a barometer on how good of a job you’re doing.

12:43
Ben Clemens: Haha I don’t entirely agree with this. I don’t think that if there were a different manager in town, the team would be 35-25 or whatever

12:44
Ben Clemens: Like yeah, Philly (and New York and Boston and….)

12:44
Ben Clemens: fans only get down on you when the team is bad

12:44
Ben Clemens: But sometimes the team is bad for reasons outside your control. Girardi isn’t the one out there playing little league defense, though perhaps his clubhouse management didn’t help things

12:45
Ben Clemens: I like passionate fans! But given the current composition of the Phillies, the manager is gonna get booed unless they start hitting a LOT of homers

12:45
Taillon: So that’s a pretty cool story with two TJ and cancer

12:45
Ben Clemens: Indeed

12:45
Ben Clemens: Everyone is rooting for him, I think it’s safe to say. Hell of a story

12:45
TStats: I think Libatore might need to switch the slider to a truer cutter, looking at the spin profiles on savant makes it seem like the fourseam and curve have good spins together and the changeup and fastball have good tilt differences. Pair the sinker with a cuter?

12:46
Ben Clemens: I could see that. I haven’t been impressed by his four-seam yet but I’ve only seen parts of his ML starts and not the minor league ones, so that’s not a huge sample size

12:46
Sharps: Board Game Weekend was amazing. Gaia Project might be one of the most frustrating/enjoyable games I’ve ever played.  Anachrony is amazing.  The Strat-o-matic idea was met with interest by one pal, so we’ll see what comes of that…

12:47
Ben Clemens: Nice! I’ve heard Gaia Project is exactly that, and I’m intrigued

12:47
Ben Clemens: I played Dune:Imperium this week for the first time, it is very well designed in my opinion

12:47
namiki: Do you think a slow curve or a slow change-up is necessary in pitching? I think a fast curve and a fast change-up are more likely to get strikeouts. Do slow curves and changeups make it harder for batters to aim?

12:48
Ben Clemens: I think it’s contextual to the pitcher. If you have really good strikeout stuff I think it generally makes sense to lean into it. If you’re still not gonna strike out too many even with your harder secondaries, mixing them up to make contact and timing harder seems wise

12:48
sam m: have you ever played slay the spire? feel like you would like it

12:48
Ben Clemens: Yeah, love it

12:49
Zonk: Is Kyle Hendricks approaching the end of the line?  He’s getting hit hard!

12:49
Ben Clemens: Yeah I think so

12:49
Ben Clemens: I did a segment on Sleeper and the Bust last week about him

12:49
Ben Clemens: His command has gone from ‘otherworldly precise’ to ‘eh, okay’ and that isn’t gonna work

12:49
Ben Clemens: If that comes back I’ll be more into it, but he’ll have to prove it to me first

12:50
Ben Clemens: Incidentally, check out ‘Ben Clemens Investigates’, coming to the Sleeper and the Bust intermittently throughout the year

12:50
Zac Lowther of the Hill People: Who closes for the O’s once Lopez is traded?

12:50
Ben Clemens: Akin, maybe? That’s who I would try first

12:50
Sports Fan: Ben. I am a big sports fan and have friends that are sports fans. How soon can MLB put my company on its broadcasts to show off our newest stats.

12:50
Ben Clemens: Immediately!

12:50
Ben Clemens: Well, it depends, do you have some nebulous connections to in-game wagers?

12:50
Ben Clemens: If so, immediately!

12:50
Marty McFlyball: Tiny sample size theater – are you intriqued by Matt Carpenter’s new flyball swing?

12:50
Ben Clemens: Yes! Particularly in Yankee Stadium

12:51
Ben Clemens: Those Triple-A numbers even looked real

12:51
Joe: Looks like Caleb Kilian might debut tomorrow in the cubs double header. I know cubs fans are excited because he is the first real pitching prospect they have had. But he also seems to have changed and added more velo. Is he going to be a top of the rotation guy or a 4/5?

12:51
Ben Clemens: I am wayyyyyy into Kilian

12:51
Ben Clemens: Saw him in Fall League, he looked great, the velo was there too

12:51
Ben Clemens: I think he is a potential Pablo Lopez type

12:51
Ben Clemens: Where you aren’t wowed by any one thing but he just shoves

12:52
Insert Witty Name Here: who’s responsible for the content of teams announcers? The league or the individual team? Im starting to get annoyed by some announcers spending the whole broadcast complaining about how the game is played.  Someone needs to realize that’s not a great way to keep fans.

12:52
Ben Clemens: Mostly the individual team or their RSN

12:52
Ben Clemens: There’s some shared responsibility there. But in essence, they’re team employees

12:52
Blake: I didn’t think Rafael Montero was more than a salary dump throw-in in the Graveman trade. But here he is in June with a 0.44 ERA. Real or fool’s gold?

12:52
Ben Clemens: I’ll take a (small) victory lap here, I thought Montero was a great get for the Astros, since the Mariners DFA’ed him and then threw him in for free

12:53
Ben Clemens: I totally believe. Why wouldn’t you? His career stats are still really good. He’s not this good but he’s an above-average reliever imo

12:53
Zonk: Christopher Morel…..flash in the pan, or is this real?

12:53
Ben Clemens: Eh, little of both

12:53
Martin Perez: Can you explain how I’ve been so good??? And whether it has any chance of continuing

12:53
Ben Clemens: I absolutely cannot

12:53
sam m: are you a brad Thompson enjoyer on the cards broadcast? I think he and Dan’s chemistry is pretty alright

12:53
Ben Clemens: He’s grown on me

12:53
Insert Witty Name Here: If you had a child and named him or her after a ball player, who would it be?

12:53
Ben Clemens: Oh, I like this question

12:54
Ben Clemens: Ozzie Smith is my favorite player of all time but that’s not really a name I’m in love with for my kid

12:54
Ben Clemens: How about Curtis?

12:54
Ben Clemens: Granderson is my wife’s favorite player of all time, he’s just an awesome dude, and I like the name

12:54
Cortes: Almost boring that he keeps doing this but he’s really pitching this well. Not 1.5 good but still.

12:54
Ben Clemens: It’s not boring but it’s shocking that I kinda expect it

12:55
Ben Clemens: I don’t think he’ll keep it up but when you find one of these sum-more-than-parts guys I feel like they tend to keep it going

12:55
Ben Clemens: Unscientific in the extreme, but that’s just the kind of answers you’re getting in today’s speed chat

12:55
Appa Yip Yip: What is wrong with José Berríos? Can u fix him pls?

12:55
Ben Clemens: So you’re saying I shouldn’t have picked him to win the Cy Young?

12:55
Ben Clemens: That one didn’t age well, to say the least

12:56
The Real Ben Clemens: Re: the thing about announcers complaining: if I had a nickel for every time Rex Hudler talks about the Royals needing to bunt, pitch to contact, and hit dinky opposite field singles I would have enough money to buy the team and hire a GM that’s not Dayton Moore

12:56
Ben Clemens: Not every broadcast does this, but the ones that do really stick with you, you know?

12:56
The Real Ben Clemens: this impostor Ben doesn’t even know my real chat schedule

12:57
Ben Clemens: I couldn’t resist a chance to get some Phillies fans in here and also talk Apple odds on the day their broadcast goes up

12:57
Ben Clemens: Also, didn’t chat this Monday b/c of the holiday

12:57
TheCasualFan: Another Cards question: why have Alec Burleson and Moises Gomez not been promoted yet? (to MLB and AAA, respectively)

12:57
Ben Clemens: No clue tbh. Corey Dickerson’s welcome is wearing thin

12:58
Appa Yip Yip: Enjoyed the Cimber piece and I’m wondering how much stock you put into the effectiveness of having multiple “looks” out of the bullpen. By swapping out guys with different arm slots can you basically get better results than if you have similar guys instead.

12:58
Ben Clemens: I do believe it and have tried on and off to quantify it

12:58
Ben Clemens: I’ve consistently failed!

12:59
Ben Clemens: But it’s the kind of effect I’ll keep looking for, b/c smart teams keep doing it and it keeps making good intuitive sense

1:00
Ben Clemens: I’ve been a longtime Cimber fan, since his Padres days, because that delivery is just SO weird

1:00
Cortes: Maybe it’s just a late breakout. He’s only 27 not 35 right?

1:00
Ben Clemens: Oh yeah, totally could be. I more mean the way he does it, with a mixture of good-not-great pitches and good command and sequencing and deception

1:00
Insert Witty Name Here: Phillies fan here, watch tonight’s game and see how loudly we cheer Trout.  It’s cool to see that we’re not always asshats.

1:00
Bring Back DeSpaniel Hair!: Lived in Philly for four years. Their fans are the absolute worst. Made me an anti Philly fan

1:00
brad penny for your thoughts: any reason why pujols has nearly double the PA’s against righties than lefties?  i thought stl was going to be strategic with his use.

1:00
Ben Clemens: It’s b/c he’s Albert Pujols

1:01
Ben Clemens: It’s maddening

1:01
Ben Clemens: They’re giving away the very valuable skills they get from him (crushing lefties, occasional DH duty vR when no one else is rested) by overusing him

1:02
Ben Clemens: Truly not a fan of it

1:02
Ben Clemens: I like a lot of the stuff Oli Marmol is doing, his usage of Pujols is not one of those things

1:02
Ben Clemens: Some of it is b/c Dickerson has just been awful; but when you use Pujols against soft-tossing righties, that leaves Dickerson to face elite velocity a ton of the time

1:02
Ben Clemens: He’s not exactly getting a fair shake either

1:02
David: How do you feel about Robbie Ray? His velocity and strikeouts have been trending back to what you’d expect but he’s still getting blown up a lot.

1:03
Ben Clemens: I think he’ll be fine

1:03
Ben Clemens: Some blowups come with the territory in Robbie Ray land, but the stabilization in velo cuts down my worries that he’s hurt, and if his command keeps being acceptable, he’s just gonna strike a ton of guys out and provide value

1:03
Ben Clemens: He’s just so hard to hit

1:03
That guy: Seeing Marmol using Pujols over Gorman last night was quite maddening.

1:04
Ben Clemens: Gorman may have been hurt, I’ll give him a pass there

1:04
Insert Witty Name Here: Curtis Clemens? Gotta go with a C middle name for the alliteration.

1:04
Ben Clemens: I dunno what we’d do about last names. Maybe choose a completely new one

1:04
Ben Clemens: Seems weird to pick one of our names over the other

1:04
Rob: Is Carson Kelly’s defense good enough to push Varsho back to the OF and Pavin Smith to the bench? I know you’re getting lots of questions about D-Backs roster construction but this is definitely the best one.

1:04
Ben Clemens: I think it should be

1:05
Ben Clemens: I’m not a huge fan of Varsho behind the plate, though I can understand why they want to try him there — that’s a valuable extra skill to have, regardless of whether he can play the outfield and hit well

1:05
Ben Clemens: I just think Kelly’s defense is so clearly good that it’s a shame to waste it

1:05
The Real Ben Clemens: think Marmol being younger than Pujols has anything to do with that or is it mostly just a farewell tour thing

1:05
Bring Back DeSpaniel Hair!: i still want to see Pujols get the all the home runs though.

1:05
Ben Clemens: Farewell tour thing, in my opinion

1:06
Ben Clemens: He’s Albert Freaking Pujols. He’s one of the best-respected players in the game

1:06
Lorenzo Cain:: What outfield help should the Brewers be looking for at the trade deadline? Taylor and Renfroe doesn’t quite cut it…

1:06
Ben Clemens: Dan wrote about some today

1:06
Ben Clemens: I could see Benintendi working out okay, they really could just use more bats of any stripe

1:07
Hunter Jesus: Will Brujan hit enough to stay up and hold down a job?

1:07
Ben Clemens: Ooh, good question

1:07
Ben Clemens: I’m skeptical that he’s going to be a plus hitter, but I think the speed and versatility play enough that he’ll get plenty of chances to develop

1:08
Eric: Is Jackson Chourio actually the next top prospect in the minors? Seeing a lot of hype that he’s the future number 1 overall prospect in the MLB

1:08
Ben Clemens: I’ll be honest: I’ve seen the same hype and I really don’t know

1:08
Ben Clemens: The error bands on guys his age are so wide

1:08
Wander Walls by Margotasis: When does Aranda get a look, because Walls and Brujan aren’t cutting it.

1:08
Ben Clemens: I think Walls is pretty locked in

1:09
Ben Clemens: They like his defense more than they dislike his offense

1:09
Ben Clemens: I’d like to see Aranda get some run, though, there’s just not that much more for him to prove in the minors

1:09
BettsBellingerCaruso: How great was that Pham-Pederson story? I haven’t laughed at a headline like that in a while.

1:09
Ben Clemens: It is the best story we’ve had in baseball all year

1:10
Ben Clemens: It made me like both Joc and Pham more

1:10
Ben Clemens: The delightful interview where Joc was just showing his phone to reporters, A+

1:11
Ben Clemens: Pham saying he owed Joc a slap for disrespecting the Padres and then doing it six months later, I don’t condone slapping, but if you’re going to do it, doing that and then being done with it is also hilarious

1:11
Ben Clemens: Them both agreeing that Trout was maybe not the best commissioner, and then Trout having to decline comment on whether he’d step down as commissioner? I mean, you can’t make this stuff up

1:11
BettsBellingerCaruso: Re:Pham-Joc. I wish The League was still on to cover this beef

1:11
Ben Clemens: It would have been an excellent episode theme

1:11
Guest: What do you make of Anthony Volpe’s struggles in AA? Adjustment period or too high expectations after last season?

1:12
Ben Clemens: A little from column A, a little from column B

1:12
Ben Clemens: Prospects don’t usually overwhelm every level they play in forever

1:12
Blake: Odds Jose Altuve tops his career high in wRC+ this year? At 159 now, vs 160 his MVP year in 2017.

1:12
Ben Clemens: I’ll make it 15%

1:12
Ben Clemens: To top your career wRC+ when it’s something that high, you want to be well ahead of the pace at this point in the year

1:13
Wander Walls by Margotasis: That MTV claymation death match show would make baseball mainstream again with the Pham slap.

1:13
Hunter Jesus: Vinnie P or Casas long term? I feel like the team context will hold Vinnie down, even though its possible he’s the superior overall hitter.

1:13
Ben Clemens: Gimme Casas, I feel like his natural power is going to lead to a lot of oppo homers and doubles in Fenway

1:14
chilly: who would you have as the early roy in each league based on performance up to this point?  pena and morel?   both look legit to my untrained eye but id like to hear your take

1:14
Ben Clemens: Pena and TBD in the NL

1:14
Ben Clemens: just no one really impressing me so far

1:15
calbert: Do the Cubs extend or trade Willy? If they trade him, what is a realistic return? Would the Mets consider giving up one of their top prospects for another Cub rental?

1:16
Ben Clemens: I don’t know but I hope they extend him

1:16
Ben Clemens: Like I said, it’d be weird to have no Cubs left over from that team so soon

1:16
The Real Ben Clemens: hot take: trading Soto would be bad for baseball if it happened

1:16
Ben Clemens: Is that a hot take?

1:17
Maybe Ben Clemens: How good are Masyn Winn and Moises Gomez, really? They’re putting up videogame numbers, and Winn is out slugging Walker (!).

1:17
Ben Clemens: Masyn Winn is gonna be a top 50 prospect next year, and in my head he’ll be a top 10

1:17
Ben Clemens: I’m skeptical of Gomez, just b/c the rest of the track record is so different

1:17
chilly: RE: ROY is harris advanced enough offensively to jump into that mix or is he just a stopgap til they come up with something better?  his def at least looks ready

1:18
Ben Clemens: I don’t really know enough about his bat to give you a solid answer there. But the barrier to entry is low! The NL ROY has just been a mixture of underperformance and injury so far

1:18
Romulus: Can you help me figure out who Luis Castillo is? Seems to vacillate between near-ace and back-end innings eater.

1:19
Ben Clemens: I think his actual level is somewhere in between, obviously, but that’s not exactly the most helpful comment. I’d say that  he might just be a change of scenery guy at this point

1:19
Ben Clemens: The Reds seem to have good pitching develpoment… but they don’t seem to be getting the most out of Castillo

1:19
Ben Clemens: Might be time to hear a different voice

1:19
Teddy: Yordan and ‘Stros. 6 years $115M.

1:20
Ben Clemens: Tune in Monday for me to write about the Yordan extension and tell you why he’s better than you think even if you think he’s good

1:20
RJD: Best 1-2 in baseball Nestor-Taillon? Only team with multiple top 10 in fWAR; yankees 3 is not bad, some guy named Gerrit Cole (10th currently)

1:20
Ben Clemens: joy

1:20
Bring Back DeSpaniel Hair!: J-Rod deserves some play for ROY

1:21
Ben Clemens: He does. I don’t think that race is over and done with by any means

1:21
Ben Clemens: It’s kind of the opposite of teh NL

1:21
Joe: Do you expect Seiya to adjust when he returns from the IL? After such a hot start he fell really hard

1:21
Ben Clemens: I do, because he looks to me like someone who is making adjustments a lot out there, but yeah, the drop was almost as big as the build up

1:22
Bring Back DeSpaniel Hair!: Please stop telling people about Yordan! I drafted him in the seventh frickin round this year and I want to keep it that way

1:22
Ben Clemens: I think that contract has ended your odds

1:22
Ben Clemens: Of doing that again

1:22
Board Game Enjoyer: If you like 6 Nimmt, I highly suggest Skull King.  Mixes the “will my card do what I want it to” feeling with copious amounts of pirate talk.  Also screwing over your friends.

1:22
Ben Clemens: I’ll add that to the list for next time, I like that style of game

1:22
Insert Witty Name Here: Me and the wife are hyphenating our child’s name.  We didn’t like choosing one or the other either, so why not both?

1:22
sam m: re: lastnames my partner and I have thought of a joint lastname BhucClellan I suppose

1:22
Ben Clemens: That’s a possibility, or something totally new

1:23
Ben Clemens: A friend of mine’s brother changed his last name from Brown to Phoenix when he got married, I kinda liked that

1:23
Guest: Do you think this Astros core of Tucker/Alvarez/Pena + Javier/Garcia/Uruiqudy/Valdez + Lee coming through, is maybe better than the past one?

1:24
Ben Clemens: It’s honestly kinda close

1:24
Ben Clemens: Yeah I think it’s better

1:24
Ben Clemens: or like, if people pan out as I expect, I think it’ll be better

1:25
Ben Clemens: Yordan is a better hitter than anyone in that last generation, I think

1:25
Ben Clemens: perhaps not a better all around player, Correa, Springer, and Altuve all provided more defensive value by a lot

1:25
Ben Clemens: but man he is such a good hitter

1:25
Ben Clemens: Tucker is Springer-ish, and there’s much more pitching this time around

1:25
Teddy: Should Astros explore 1B options?

1:26
Ben Clemens: They should. I’m not convinced there’s much out there unless Votto wants to move, but getting a first baseman would be nice

1:26
Ben Clemens: I don’t think they will do it unless they’re getting a huge upgrade

1:26
Ben Clemens: The team loves Yuli

1:26
Ben Clemens: But life comes at you pretty fast sometimes

1:26
Drew: What about Gore doe NL ROY?  Kid has been dealing.

1:27
Ben Clemens: Yeah if he keeps it up throw him in there too. He might actually lead the group in WAR

1:28
chilly: is yordan for fields more lopsided than tatis for shields?   lad usu doesnt make those types of mistakes

1:28
Ben Clemens: It’s not

1:29
Ben Clemens: But it’s not THAT far behind

1:29
Guest: How worried should Mariners fans be about kelenic?

1:29
Ben Clemens: I’d say quite worried

1:30
Ben Clemens: I’m not closing the book on him or anything, but look, that’s a lot of failure

1:30
Floyd: As a Cardinal fan (right?), any thoughts on Andre Pallante?  Think he can be a starter?

1:30
Ben Clemens: Indeed… and yeah, I think he could be, I’ve been impressed by his ability to shift to the majors pretty seamlessly

1:30
Ben Clemens: Alright, on that note, speed chat has been accomplished, that was a pretty furious hour of questions and answers

1:31
Ben Clemens: If you’re watching the fancy Friday night baseball broadcast tonight, please check out my article on checking the odds:

1:31
Ben Clemens: Oh, and definitely also listen to the interview with nVenue’s CEO on Effectively Wild:

1:32
Ben Clemens: It was a bit surreal but an enjoyable listen

1:32
Ben Clemens: Have a great day, everyone, and heck, have a great weekend!





Ben is a writer at FanGraphs. He can be found on Twitter @_Ben_Clemens.

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