Archive for Chat

Travis Sawchik: Happy almost end of spring training, folks

Travis Sawchik: Let’s get started, shall we?

Mel: Projection for Kingery now that he’s up for good?

Travis Sawchik: It looks like Depth Charts haven’t been updated for volume, but we are forecasting a modest 87 wRC+

Lars: Jose Matinez a 10-team bat for you or too shallow?

Travis Sawchik: The upside is so great I’d spend a roster spot on him

Jeff Sullivan: Hello friends

Jeff Sullivan: Welcome to Friday baseball chat

Bork: Hello, friend!

Jeff Sullivan: Hello friend

Jordan: It seems like every publication is underestimating the Jays, they seem to be solid across the board if unspectacular, currently projected for 5th best record in the AL which amounts to a second wild card but when I see publications of contenders they are nearly omitted.
Is there something I’m missing that’s causing them to be completely overlooked?

Jeff Sullivan: Many publications put a lot of weight on previous season record and offseason activity. The Jays are coming off a bad record, and they didn’t have an astonishing offseason. So it goes

Meg Rowley: Hello! And welcome to a special Wednesday chat.

Nat: I’ve been greatly enjoying your contributions since you joined the site! Do you expect any big, Craig Kimbrel-esque trades to go down before opening day?

Meg Rowley: Thank you! And I’d be surprised (though I suppose we are often surprised by these). This isn’t a trade but boy, Greg Holland still needs to sign somewhere, huh?

Davy: Have you read today’s THT article? It was fantastic.

Meg Rowley: I, the managing editor of The Hardball Times, in fact edited today’s piece! And I agree that it is fantastic.

Meg Rowley: You should all read Annie’s piece on her journey through fandom: https://www.fangraphs.com/tht/a-rebuilding-year-my-way-back-to-basebal…

Kiley McDaniel: As I mentioned in other places, have a flight today, so moved things up a bit in the day to accomodate

Tommy N.: Could Madrigal possibly move to the outfield in the future if he had to?

Kiley McDaniel: He could probably catch too, but I can’t imagine why he wouldn’t play 2B or SS.

Ronnie: Hi Kiley, what do you see Willie Calhoun’s hitting ceiling looking like? Is .300/.400/.500 too high for his ceiling?

Kiley McDaniel: Maybe not quite that much, but he’s one of the rare guys with a chance to do that. I would almost bet he does the .300 and .500 at least once in his career in the same year. .400 is much tougher for him with that bat control

Tigers Fan: If you are the GM of the Tigers, with the abundance of pitching prospects that they have up top, would you still take the BPA (like McClanahan or Mize) or go play the bonuses by drafting a hitter (Madrigal)?

Eric A Longenhagen: Hi, everyone. Some links before we get rolling….

Eric A Longenhagen: I wrote up a deep Marlins system: https://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/top-29-prospects-miami-marlins/

Eric A Longenhagen: And dumped some amateur notes: https://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/scouting-oregon-righty-matt-mercer-and…

Larry: Breakout Braves prospect from outside you and Kiley’s top 32?

Eric A Longenhagen: I think Anyelo Gomez is going to be very good.

Waltharius: Is there any updates on prep guys like Hankins, Gorman, Turang and Kelenic?

Travis Sawchik: Greetings from the Pirates media work room in Bradenton, Fla….

Travis Sawchik: The FanGraphs spring training tour bus has made its way to Florida

Travis Sawchik: Still, there’s always time to talk. We have an open-door policy. Let’s get started …

Acuna Matata: Acuna is basically the love child of Mike Trout and Hank Aaron, right?! RIGHT?!

Travis Sawchik: Obviously, right?

Travis Sawchik: If you believed Acuna was a better prospect than Ohtani, that’s looking pretty good as of March 19

Jeff Sullivan: Hello friends

Jeff Sullivan: Welcome to Friday baseball chat

Mike: Hello Jeff, have you contemplated mortality today?

Jeff Sullivan: Yes

The Man With No Name: Still on the Wilmer Font hype train?  What about Scott Alexander?

Jeff Sullivan: Yeah, I still like Font. Not going to abandon that hope because of a bad day on March 6

THE Average Sports Fan: How would you feel about getting rid of extra innings and just having 9 inning ties?

Meg Rowley: Hi and welcome to the chat. Yes, I jumped the gun with a question, but to answer it: If the idea is to prevent injury in the minors, then I’d prefer a tie rather than the weird theater of a runner on second.

Meg Rowley: Sadly, I don’t think that is the purpose here. I think the purpose is as a laboratory for the majors, and boy would that be a dumb bummer.

Meg Rowley: I’ve been with Manfred on mound visits and pitch clocks and automatic intentional walks, but this feels like a fundamental misunderstanding of his product. Extras are exciting!

Uncle Charlie: Hi Meg! Do you do fantasy questions?

Meg Rowley: Never very well! But this is a great chance to encourage you read Fantasy Preview Week over at The Hardball Times! Those guys actually know what they are talking about.

jjp: Do you fill out a March Madness bracket? If so, who do you have winning it all?

Jay Jaffe: I had *planned* to fill out a bracket, but being under the weather and rather swamped for the past couple of days — my own version of March Madness — I didn’t get around to it. NBD, I didn’t watch a single college basketball game this year, and my interest in NCAA sports has basically been stabbed 23 times by so many scandals and revelations over the years. I’ll probably check in on the tournament but with the University of Utah not in it, I have no dog in this hunt.

Aaron : Hey Jay, Keeper help! H2H 5×5 categories, keep 3, as first 3 picks of draft, can keep forever. Betts, Bellinger, G. Sanchez, Syndergaard or Bregman? who you got? Thanks

Jay Jaffe: Standard issue response: I’m sorry but I don’t play fantasy baseball anymore, and don’t want to misrepresent myself as being a useful source of information in that realm. That said it would seem to me that Sanchez, a power-hitting 25-year-old catcher with the defensive skills to hold the position for awhile, is the way to go here.

Sharp: Tom Boswell thinks that this offseason’s FA pricing means that Harper will be lucky to get 7/250 next year.  How wrong is he, and why?

Jay Jaffe: I think Harper can get into the $300 million range with a longer deal than that, but for as much as I love the kid’s game, I’m also among those who believe that he has to put together a 2015-like season — healthy and dominant for 150sh games — to get there. Put that MVP season aside and he’s averaged 3.6 WAR in his other years (it’s better than that if you prorate, obvs), which is nice but hardly transcendent.

Kiley McDaniel: Okay I’m here now, sorry for the delay!

Kiley McDaniel: Had an errand run too late then a dog demanding some cleanup

Rick C: I haven’t seen much progress from Folty over the last couple years.  I suppose right now he could be seen as a #4/5 starter, but do you think it might be best at this point to move him to the bullpen?

Kiley McDaniel: That’s kinda the question with Folty. He’s either 8th/9th inning guy or 4th starter as currently constituted. If he can unlock everything, then it’s more of a 3rd starter, maybe a 2. Kinda depends on the patience of the team when/if you move him to the pen. Braves may have less patience as he gets more expensive and younger arms could pass him

Jim: What are your thoughts on Jose Soriano?

Kiley McDaniel: Intriguing lottery ticket arm, chance to start, shows some above average pitches and feel. Could take off, could just be a guy that only shows glimpses. We’ll see!