Archive for Chat

Brendan Gawlowski: Hello everybody

Brendan Gawlowski: As you all undoubtedly saw, I published the Giants list last week.

Brendan Gawlowski: Eric and James are working furiously on the Twins. I’m about 20 players into the Marlins system, that’s gonna be a long one. I see a path for us to have TB and Miami done next week and be finished with the whole kit and kaboodle but those are both deep systems so we’ll see.

Brendan Gawlowski: I’ve Isotopes/Rainiers fired up in the background

Brendan Gawlowski: Let’s go

Phillip Denny: What’s your 2/5 of the way through the season evaluation of the DePodesta regime in CO?

Jay Jaffe: Good afternoon, folks! Welcome to another edition of my weekly chat. It’s a lovely day here in Brooklyn, but no, I don’t have Knicks fever. After 31 years running along the spectrum from antipathy to apathy towards the team, I’m indifferent at best to their run to the NBA Finals while my wife and daughter (who’s never rooted for a men’s basketball team before) are swept up in it.

Jay Jaffe: Anyway, I’ve got a forthcoming piece on the White Sox’s turnaround today (2 PM ET). Most recently, I wrote about Roki Sasaki’s turnaround (https://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/roki-sasaki-is-putting-it-all-together) and Aaron Judge’s injury (https://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/tough-break-aaron-judge-will-miss-time…).

Jay Jaffe: and now, on with the show

bkgeneral: Why don’t more teams sell earlier in the season?  It seems you would get more for 100 games of use over say 75.

Jay Jaffe: I think there’s a lot going on early in the season, with front offices focusing on the amateur draft as well as on the rosters they spent the previous months building, and on the earliest wave of players who might help from within (perhaps related to service time shenanigans but not necessarily)

Jay Jaffe: After the draft and the All-Star break, it’s easier to focus on the realities of what they’ve put together and where they fit with regards to the playoff races

Eric A Longenhagen: Good morning, y’all. Sorry for the slight delay, had a cat w/ bird situation to handle just as we were supposed to start.

Eric A Longenhagen: (bird was bleeding a bit but also flew away just now so…yay?)

miggy80: Nice to see a very young cubs overslot doing well, what is Hartshorns ceiling as of right now?

Eric A Longenhagen: Everyday 1B driven by OBP and contact, more doubles pop than huge raw. Like 55 hit, 50 power, plus plate discipline. Don’t think he’s a 30+ homer guy. We considered 50’ing him when he did Cubs, but thought the 45 was more in line with the value of the profile when it’s in A-ball.

alec_eiffel: Hey, a Dax Kilby sighting at the Rookie league! Just stay healthy kid!

Eric A Longenhagen: Wooot, now go hit please.

Brendan Gawlowski: Hello everybody. I’ve been told that in this chat, only folks with an account are able to ask questions. It’s a new system. DA has invited us all to share the following statement about that: “We’re trying out a new system where you’re required to log in to FanGraphs to ask a question. You don’t need to be a Member, but you do need to have an account, just like you need an account to comment on any article. We’ll see how it goes. If you have feedback, feel free to just leave it as a question, or you can send a note to support@fangraphs.com.”

Brendan Gawlowski: Looks like a lot of you aren’t having problems, but perhaps it’s a better day than normal for you regulars to submit a few questions. We’ll see!

Brendan Gawlowski: Housekeeping: I’m working furiously on Giants, Eric is almost done with Pirates, James is battling on a Twins list.

Brendan Gawlowski: our milb.tv game of the day is Springfield-Frisco. I’ve got my eye on Rafe Perich in particular, a guy I kinda liked on the backfields in ’25. He crushed High-A this year and is now up in AA.

Brendan Gawlowski: And away we go

P: You and Eric both talked about the the ball possibly being juiced at Double A and below on your chats last week.  Have pitching prospects across the board performed worse this season because of it?  I’ve been wondering why the Braves hitters seem to be raking this year, but the pitchers don’t seem to be.

Jay Jaffe: Good afternoon, folks! Welcome to my first chat of June — it’s lovely here in Brooklyn and I wish I could take this outside. I … probably could except I’m not sure how strong the wifi is in the back yard. Hmmm.

Jay Jaffe: Anyway, yesterday I wrote about the myriad issues that have led to the Tigers bottoming out. At 23-38, they’re still tied for the majors’ worst record, but last night they did win 10-9, scoring more than 6 runs for the first time since May 3 and at least 10 runs for the first time since April 16. The Jaffe Reverse Jinx strikes again!

Jay Jaffe: https://blogs.fangraphs.com/the-tigers-have-collapsed-but-not-because-…

Daniel Bergman: I know this is a lofty comparison but the Yankees rotation right now has me thinking of ’98, with every starter having ace level upside.

Jay Jaffe: whoa whoa whoa, that’s a bit too lofty, I think. We’ve seen Cole and Schlittler pitch like aces, and Rodón’s been reasonably close at his peak but right now is dealing with significant command issues that make it very difficult to imagine him getting back to his 2021–22 form. Warren has taken a big step forward, and I like Weathers but don’t see him as having the stuff to be more than a mid-rotation guy.

Russell: Could it be beneficial for a pitcher to randomly pull out a knuckleball every like 200 pitches

Eric A Longenhagen: Good morning from Tempe on a gorgeous Friday, I’m excited to overeat baseball today. I’ve got Squeeze Play on but the Kentucky/Wake game is the big one starting shortly, so if you have to pick one I suggest that.

YardGoat: Hey Eric, do you have a prediction for who makes it to Omaha?

Eric A Longenhagen: Last week I mentioned Georgia Tech, UCLA, Auburn. Auburn’s path was made easier by the way the brackets shook out. If I’m looking for a deeper seed to sneak in it’s coming from the Chapel Hill and Lincoln regionals.

Justin Krupp: Have you seen Luis Hernandez in person this year or heard anything from scouts to lend context (good or bad) to what hes done so far this year?

Eric A Longenhagen: Yeah, like six times. I like him, I don’t think he has the enormous physical tools of a guy who we eventually rank 3rd or anything like that. He’s a skilled, smaller player who gets a lot out of his body because of how well he rotates.

Eric A Longenhagen: Do they not have velos in Morgantown? Lemme crack the trackman real quick…