Dan Szymborski FanGraphs Chat – 7/20/15

Dan Szymborski: During the Age of Heroes, Dafyff of House Cameron made a prophecy.

Dan Szymborski: That in the future, we would all collect here at noon on July 20, 2015. That prophecy, foretold ages ago, has now been fulfilled.

Comment From joe
alright cueto goes where?

Dan Szymborski: I’m saying Toronto.

Comment From joe
jay bruce brings back what kind of return?

Dan Szymborski: Decent prospect, but nobody insane.

Comment From Ryan
What do you make of Addison Russell’s particularly bullish 5 year zips?

Dan Szymborski: I don’t disagree. ZiPS has liked Russell.

Dan Szymborski: He hasn’t been amazing or anything, but that’s good performance for a 21 year-old that essentially skipped AAA.

Comment From owensurett35
Should the Padres be buyers or sellers?

Dan Szymborski: Sellers

Comment From Johnny5Alive
soriano get the closers job sooner or later in chicago?

Dan Szymborski: I don’t expect him to.

Dan Szymborski: At least quickly.

Dan Szymborski: Oh wait, we have some business!

:

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Comment From Josh G
Which prominent player do you think will be the first to be traded?

Dan Szymborski: Upton

Comment From joe
todd frazier wont be traded but what type of return right now?

Dan Szymborski: He’d get some solid prospectage. I think you’d definitely have at least one big name in there

Comment From Joe
Assuming the Orioles could even make an impact deal for an outfielder with their shallow farm system, should they?

Dan Szymborski: Honestly, not really sure. It’s in there interest to delay that as long as possible to see just how worthwhile an extra win could be.

Dan Szymborski: THEIR

Dan Szymborski: dammit

Comment From Neal
The Jays are moving Aaron Sanchez to the bullpen on his return. Is this setting up for a trade in the coming week or so?

Dan Szymborski: I wouldn’t read anything into it.

Comment From Neal
Who picks up Edwin Jackson?

Dan Szymborski: No idea really. Probably a team that’s desperate enough to try him for the minimum, like Detroit

Comment From owensurett35
Who;s a better fit for the mets? Justin Upton or Carlos Gomez?

Dan Szymborski: Upton

Comment From joe
Other than “that’s how it’s always been’, is there any reason takeout slides at second base are acceptable? How is that any different than tackling a guy who is attempting to catch a pop up or drop kicking the catcher on a third strike in the dirt?

Dan Szymborski: That’s How It’s ALways Been is pretty much the reasoning.

Comment From Johnny5Alive
now that cuddyer is (probably) headed to DL, do they bring up Conforto?

Dan Szymborski: They may, but I wouldn’t get too excited about him initially.

Dan Szymborski: He’s still turning his power potential into actual performance.

Comment From Guest
Taking lightning round questions today?

Dan Szymborski: Ever week

Comment From Rob
Another dominant start from Jake Arrieta yesterday. Is he a top 10 MLB pitcher going forward?

Dan Szymborski: Top 10 a little aggressive still

Comment From alex
Maybin for Zunino and Granderson in an OPS league, which side?

Dan Szymborski: Wash

Comment From I was wondering when the next metric would be created and become popular? Everyone loves metrics for fantasy but how about handicapping games. Something along the lines of Chris Archers 2 er performance yesterday in a loss ranged with Jeremy Guthries =
What ever happened to Dylan Bundy?

Dan Szymborski: Injuries

Comment From Neal
Is Anthony Alford a big enough prospect to be the center of a deal for the Jays?

Dan Szymborski: Depends what the deal is. For Cueto or Hamels, you’ll need a bigger centerpiece

Comment From Ched
Who’s going to win the AL East?

Dan Szymborski: Yankees unfortunately. Having a 4 game cushion when everyone is about the same ability gives you the edge

Dan Szymborski: Anybody who catches the Yankees essentially has to be 9 wins/162 better than they are. The division’s close enough in ability that it’s tough

Comment From Julio Pepper
In the Five Year ZIPs chart on the trade value thing it looks like Sale and Hernandez are both projected to be better than Kershaw over the next 5 years; I realize Sale is a bit younger, but does this strike you as odd?

Dan Szymborski: Most likely age – Sale’s still got some upside left.

Comment From Houzer
Tai Walker- top 25 SP second half?

Dan Szymborski: Possibly. Until the last couple starts (and it was only the Tigers game that he really looked off) he was making a believer out of me

Comment From hscer
Garfield was actually a decent human being…so there goes his chances of beating Jackson here.

Comment From Paul
What do the Yankees need at the deadline? Who do they go after?

Dan Szymborski: I think they’re fairly quiet.

Comment From Austin
What do you expect from the Cubs at the deadline?

Dan Szymborski: I expect Cubs will only make moves for either secondary talent or players that can help them in recent years.

Comment From EC
Could Ian Desmond be the first to accept a QO? And if Nats don’t intend to offer one, why not trade him now?

Dan Szymborski: Well, they woudln’t get much for him. This leaves their options open

Comment From owensurett35
On a scale of 1-10, how good has the replay system been so far this season. (10 would be best)

Dan Szymborski: 3. I don’t like how it was executed

Comment From Rick
How much chaos would there be if the MLB adopted the same extra inning rules as international? Starting each inning with a runner on 1st and 2nd.

Dan Szymborski: Pitchforks

Comment From EC
Who would you rather have, Max Scherzer on his current contract or Zack Grienke on his next one? (and what would Zips give Grienke/what would it have given Scherzer?)

Dan Szymborski: Scherzer on current.

Comment From Aunt Jessie
I’m gonna be in orangeco the next few days and I’m seeing Twins @ Angels tomorrow night (Kyle Gibson v. Shoemaker). Can you remind me who I should pay attention to on the Twins — any base stealers I can point my camera at ahead of time for example? I haven’t paid attention to the twins since they kept killing the A’s in like 2002-2004 or so in postseason series.

Dan Szymborski: Well, ther’es HIcks

Dan Szymborski: It’s not a very good basestealing team

Comment From Haastile
Do you make anything of Kyle Skipworth’s 7 hrs in his last 34 abs? Hes 25 and at AA but he was a first round pick so there was something to like at one point..

Dan Szymborski: Let’s not go nuts about a demoted 25 year old in AA having a big week.

Comment From Marcus Banks
What ever happened to George Brett?

Dan Szymborski: He was a baseball player. He retired. He was inducted to the hall of Fame. He works for the Royals.

Comment From MSW
Is Michael Cuddyer the worst non-megacontract signing this decade? This performance for a first round pick. Stunning.

Dan Szymborski: It was one of the dumbest. Giving up a first-round draft pick for a team in the Mets position for the *privilege* of paying Cuddyer to a $10 million a year contract is textbook medium potatoes stupid.

Comment From Bret
Can the Jays justify trading a significant package for a big name pitcher rental, given their place in the standings?

Dan Szymborski: Like the O’s, they should probably try to push the decision as far as they can, but they have a good match between avialable players and their needs

Comment From Nick
Morosi reported that the Reds didn’t want to trade Cueto last month because they didn’t want to see him represent a different team in the all-star game.

Dan Szymborski: Considering the Reds are a poorly run franchise, i wouldn’t be surprised.

Comment From Julio Pepper
Pineda or DeGrom, in real life?

Dan Szymborski: DeGrom

Comment From hscer
Did you notice the Yankees, at 12.1%, have better WS% odds than any team besides the Dodgers?

Dan Szymborski: I did not. I run my own probs remember.

Comment From Matt
Do you and ZIPS believe in Kyle Hendricks’ long-term viability in the Cub rotation?

Dan Szymborski: Yes, though he has limited upside

Comment From Aaron
Betts or Archer in dynasty league? Just depend on bat/arm preference?

Dan Szymborski: I normally prefer bat when all else is equal, but Betts is better in real life than fantasy

Comment From kevinthecomic
any love for ben paulsen?

Dan Szymborski: Probably better than his ZiPS, but really just likely to be a fillin for a few years than a long-term key part

Comment From Haastile
Do you think Eugenio Suarez is a 20+ HR/season player moving forward?

Dan Szymborski: Not far off, but I’d probably take the under if forced to choose.

Comment From ZIMBO SMASH
What’s the buzz on Brian Johnson for Bos, pretty good or meh?

Dan Szymborski: Interesting at least. Big dude, a real 1970s type of curveball. Stats have liked him better than scouts. But he’s always performed and I think that an organization trying to find their way should have a general attitude of letting players that perform in their minors prove that they’re not major leaguers

Comment From Johnson
If Giolito is such a big time prospect and is currently performing well in A…why isn’t he in AA yet?

Dan Szymborski: They’ve been very cautious wiht him generally

Comment From joe
do you think the Reds actually sell off all the pieces that have been hyped (cueto, chapman, bruce, byrd, parra, etc) or will we be underwhemled?

Dan Szymborski: I think it’ll be underwhelming. They’ll trade Cueto for a diminished package becasue ownership will insist on an MLB-ready player and they’ll trade Leake and Byrd.

Comment From Marcus Banks
Has Scherzer Maxed out or is he still getting better? I’m not so sure that’s we’ve seen Maximum Scherzer yet.

Dan Szymborski: I think the Silver Hammer is at peak.

Comment From Aunt Jessie
(Ha, I read Haastile’s question about “7 hrs in last 34 abs” as “hours” — I was like “damn, he must take a lot of pitches.)

Comment From makeitrayn
Does Kevin Kiermaier make your top 50 trade value list? What does your projects think of him over the next 5 years, 19 WAR?

Dan Szymborski: I haven’t given much thought of him, but crazy elite defense is really hard to maintain long-term – it’s the one stat that appears to peak when a player reaches the majors.

Comment From Aunt Jessie
Whatever happened to George Brett? He’s preserved in the La Brea Pine Tar Pits. ;-p

Comment From Sean
Bill Barnwell proposed that MLB should adopt a loaner system similar to a lot of soccer leagues. Every team can send and receive one loaner (each) and the deals must be completed before the same trade deadline. He also proposed:

Dan Szymborski: I think it’s more fun speculation than actually practical.

Comment From Ehh
Ben Zobrist to the Red Sox. He fuses with Brock Holt to become Brock Zobrist. Ultimate utility man. You never have to hear the question IS BROCK HOLT THE NEW BEN ZOBRIST? ever again.

Comment From Glen
Would you rather have McCullers as a 23rd round pick next year or Stroman as a 16th round pick – 10 team AL only W S Ks BBs WHIP ERA

Dan Szymborski: Probably McCullers given the round difference.

Comment From hscer
Greinke could be as few as two starts away from breaking the Hershiser record. 17 IP to go.

Dan Szymborski: AND NOW YOU’VE BLOWN IT FOR HIM

Comment From owensurett35
Should the Mets keep Jon Niese considering the way he’s been pitching in the last month?

Dan Szymborski: No. In fact, if anything it makes it better since it’ll likely revive interest in him

Comment From alex
Speaking of Zunino, he ever become useful beyond his defense?

Dan Szymborski: I’m bearish. He’s actually getting worse rather than better

Comment From Marcus Banks
How would you help revive baseball in inner cities?

Dan Szymborski: Not sure there really is a good way – baseball needs a lot of equipment and space really

Comment From Matt
Do you think Schwarber catching experiment is foolhardy or can he be passable back there? Some argue that they should just get it over and move him to LF.

Dan Szymborski: It may not succeed, but it’s in the team’s — and Schwarber’s — interests to give it as much a go as possible

Comment From Josh G
Is Doug Fister a good comp for Aaron Nola?

Dan Szymborski: Wouldn’t really pick him

Dan Szymborski: Nola’s changeup is much improved, but it’s still not Fister category

Dan Szymborski: And the way his slider runs isn’t like stuff Fister throws

Comment From Guest
How many HRs does Pujols hit in the rest of his career?

Dan Szymborski: 130?

Comment From projection question
A projection question Dr. Zym: should we downgrade the projected steals of a man like Rajai Davis since, by platooning mostly vs lefties, he faces pitchers who are harder to run against?

Dan Szymborski: That’s actually a rather interesting question that I’d have to think about.

Dan Szymborski: My gut tells me it would be a bigger deal for a slower player, but that’s gut, not something I can back up

Dan Szymborski: Looking at his career numbers now (I pulled them up as itt’s not a question I can look at without the data), he does have a fairly neutral SB/CS platoon split

Dan Szymborski: I’d say that his improved performance against lefties makes up for the reduced success rate.

Comment From Billy
I saw an article recently in SI saying Zach Wheeler is the fifth best of the Mets’ young arms… I thought he was super hyped coming up?

Dan Szymborski: I’d put him higher than fifth best, but it’s a pretty sweet looking group if they get everyone together

Comment From Billy
Most fun unique fantasy formats you have ever done?

Dan Szymborski: I always enjoyed hacking mass. And I’ve played in a multiple sports fantasy league.

Comment From Marcus Banks
If Greinke breaks the record it will need to be recorded with an asterisk. He gave up a run in the ASG.

Dan Szymborski: Meh

Comment From Marcus Banks
I disagree about Niese. Andy Martino reported that GMs aren’t buying into Niese’s recent performance. They may be better off keeping him b/c they’re gonna need innings.

Comment From Joss
Jon Gray ever being called up?

Dan Szymborski: He had a lousy start in the minors but he’ll be up eventually this year

Comment From Marcus Banks
Commence Lightning Round

Dan Szymborski: You can’t start that at 12:40!

Comment From Guest
Cards-Mets 18 inning, 5 hr 56 min. Mets were 1 for 26 w/RISP and won. Lagares was 2 for 10.

Comment From Gary
Are you in a fantasy league? If so what’s the format?

Dan Szymborski: In in mostly standard redraft leagues

Comment From KilleBrews
Do the Marlins move AJ Ramos?

Dan Szymborski: No

Comment From Tango Pete
Dynasty league question, normal categories… I was recently offered Kris Bryant and Byron Buxton for my Bryce Harper and a mid-tier prospect. I was surprised by how close this seemed to me… should I pull the trigger?

Dan Szymborski: I’m not sure I do it with the mid-tier prospect throw-in.

Comment From Marcus Banks
I’ve seen your gut. It does look rather difficult to back up.

Comment From Billy
I think if anything it affects CS numbers more.. Guys sometime will go first move, sometimes have good reads.. It is more about read… But maybe they go first move and get picked more

Comment From Sean
Why is it okay for the Cubs to “try out” Scwarber at catcher but the Dbacks get blasted for trying Tomas at 3B and O’Brien at C? Narrative much?

Dan Szymborski: I didn’t blast them for it. The question was asked of me.

Comment From Ol Sea capn
IYO… does McHugh have a higher ceiling?

Dan Szymborski: Than who or what? I think we already saw McHugh’s ceiling in 2014.

Comment From Billy
Does Rafael Montero end up changing teams or moving to the pen?

Dan Szymborski: I suspect pen.

Comment From hscer
Do you think some players hit worse in more important lineup spots? Or is there so much noise that even if they did we wouldn’t really know it. I ask because of Espinosa hitting like a pitcher in 64 PA batting 2nd so far.

Dan Szymborski: There’s a ton of noise there

Comment From CB
Hi Dan. For the ZiPS projections, is it possible to either sort by SP/RP or set an innings minimum? If I’m looking at the ROS projections for a rate stat like ERA or WHIP, it would be awesome to sort this way so the leaderboard isn’t dominated by RP. Been wondering this for a while…thanks!

Dan Szymborski: FG does not seem to have set it up that way

Comment From Billy
Hacking mass?

Dan Szymborski: You had to pick the worst players. Sorta run by BP for a number of years, don’t know if it still exists.

Dan Szymborski: It does.

Dan Szymborski: http://www.baseballprospect…

Comment From Mike
Does Kevin Pillar have a couple Brett Gardiner-lite seasons in him? 3-4 wins for 3-4 years?

Dan Szymborski: It’s possibly, though he could very easily fall short. He’s made some sweet defensive plays this year, but remember that defensive performance is volatile

Comment From Marcus Banks
Could you beat Rex Ryan in a foot race?

Dan Szymborski: Absolutely. I still jog.

Comment From Sean
Sorry, I didn’t mind to “blast” you for it. I was asking about Scwarber/Tomas/O’Brien in general.

Dan Szymborski: I think that it always makes sense to push the limits of what a player can do before giving up on them.

Dan Szymborski: Take O’Brien, he’s an .805 OPS hitter at AAA this year. That’s only really interesting if he can play catcher. If he’s a 1B, that PCL line is in the “maybe he’ll be a pinch-hitter for a year or two in his prime)

Dan Szymborski: If he fails to come along at catcher, the downside ist hat Reno allows to many runs. By the upside is a player that could be a real plus for Airzona.

Dan Szymborski: Arizona.

Comment From Optimism
Do the Jays next 7 games make or break the season? They’ve got some extremely tough pitching to go up against.

Dan Szymborski: I think it can.

Comment From Josh G
How do you explain Drew Hutchison pitching masterfully at home in a hitter’s paradise but dreadfully on the road?

Dan Szymborski: Even over a full season home and away, these are *very* noisy numbers.

Comment From JLC21
You think the Astros make a move, big or small? What would you do in Luhnow’s shoes?

Dan Szymborski: I think they make a big move. An extra starter is tres importante

Comment From Keeper? I hardly know her
Zips has Correa only hitting three more HRs this year, bullish or bearish ont hat?

Dan Szymborski: Oh, he’ll beat that

Dan Szymborski: ZiPS in-season up on FanGraphs doesn’t have minor league since FG doesn’t yet have a system up

Comment From Jake
Are we underestimating the return for Cueto? Most people talk about a 50th prospect return, at most. Cueto projects for just under 2 wins ROS, ~2.5 RA9. If teams pay double the market price for wins at the deadline, we’re talking about 4-5 wins of surplus value to be had.

Dan Szymborski: I don’t think we’re underestimating the return.

Dan Szymborski: Most teams are aware that the playoff structure rewards quantity of playoff appearances, not quality of team in playoff appearances.

Comment From J
Since pitcher’s are seemingly seeing a decrease in innings pitched, is it simply easier to base numbers like fip, xfip, and even era on 9 innings instead of a closer proximation, say, 6 or 7? It just seems the numbers could be more accurate by dialing down the innings and if they do pitch a complete game that would simply serve as the outlier to the number.

Dan Szymborski: I’m not sure what the point is – it’s just a different scale.

Dan Szymborski: Nobody thinks FIP is runs per start.

Comment From rustydude
Love the term jog. Everyone wants to be a “runner”, but I run slow. There’s no better word than “jog” for what I do.

Comment From dom
Are batter v pitcher splits totally useless? Even if a guy has homered several times against a pitcher in small number of at bats?

Dan Szymborski: Not totally, but I think they’re of limited use. You could probably get more from scouting than very small sample stats in this case.

Comment From CB
Also what are your thoughts on Travis d’Arnaud ROS for fantasy? I liked him as a breakout but the Mets offense is so bad…

Dan Szymborski: I like him, but there is a gamble there

Comment From Josh G
Who would be a more desirable trade target, an over performing Niese or an underperforming Lohse?

Dan Szymborski: I’d rather have Niese than Lohse

Comment From Brett
Who do the A’s get for Scott Kazmir?

Dan Szymborski: They’ll get a solid B+ prospect at least.

Comment From MSW
I saw an article a few weeks back saying the Mets should trade Wheeler. Kinda crazy, but maybe not that crazy? Should still have value but Sandy doesn’t have to trade from his active roster

Dan Szymborski: Meh.

Dan Szymborski: Do not like the idea at all.

Comment From Aaron
Can’t figure out for the life of me why orgs put their young pitchers on an inning limit instead of a pitch limit. They are smarter than me though… what’s the reason?

Dan Szymborski: I’m not a fan of strict limits, but just a general policy of care.

Dan Szymborski: You can save a guy innings/pitches if you’re not leaving him in with a 7 run lead. Teams sometimes do these weird things

Comment From Oboy
Does Zobrist + Kazmir to the Jays make too much sense?

Dan Szymborski: I think you could see something like that — especially Kazmir — if they get cold feet about a bigger move

Comment From IS
Any chance the Brewers trade Lucroy?

Dan Szymborski: Probably not.

Comment From Guest
“playoff structure rewards quantity of playoff appearances, not quality” ?? Both, especially with 2 WC playin format?

Dan Szymborski: Remember, those are *extra* playoff spots.

Dan Szymborski: Whiel quality is rewarded, it’s still not like it was in the pre-WC era.

Comment From Bill
Will you ever see a pitcher as good as Pedro in your lifetime?

Dan Szymborski: Yes. I saw Pedro in my lifetime and he was exactly as good as he was.

Comment From alex
Final question about zunino, I just offered him for Juan Laugares in that same OPS league. Does that get laughed down? I need a CF pretty badly Dan, scraping the bottom of the barrell.

Dan Szymborski: Zunino has value in an OPS league if you have 75 teams.

Comment From Houzer
Thoughts on the Tigers making a move for Profar?

Dan Szymborski: Wait, what?

Dan Szymborski: Wasn’t this a rumor a few years ago?

Dan Szymborski: OK, 1:00. Time for the Lightning Round.

Dan Szymborski: First off, congrats to racist ol’ Andrew Jackson for beating up Garfield.

Dan Szymborski: Lightning Round Rules: I have to answer every question that comes in, so long as it’s not in the forbidden categories (work-related reasons, explicit)

Comment From Guest
What video games are you playing this week?

Dan Szymborski: Final Fantasy XIV, probably some Hearthstone

Dan Szymborski: FFXIV had an expansion so I’m getting caught up (Good King Moggle Mog, Leviathan, Shiva done so far)

Comment From Guest
Lightning round goodness: What is your opinion about Planned Parenthood selling hearts, livers, etc. (otherwise known as baby parts)?

Dan Szymborski: I only support this with the parent’s permission.

Comment From Thomas
How would you rank the Harry Potter books? Assuming you have read them. If you haven’t I suppose this question doesn’t need to be answered. Not that it absolutely vital that you answer if you have read them.

Dan Szymborski: Hard to rank all fo them quickly, but I’d put Hallows and Half-Blood Prince at the top and Prisoner of Azkaban at the bottom

Comment From MSW
Who would have thought Gawker and Reddit would implode at the same time and it would be completely unrelated to each other?

Dan Szymborski: Well, Geithner is at Conde Nast

Comment From Larry+Bernandez
Cats or dogs? What breed?

Dan Szymborski: I like scottish terriers, though I don’t own one because I have cats.

Dan Szymborski: Cats are no particular breed, just mutts, though Galileo’s father was a Chartreux.

Comment From Guest
Do you like like lightning or thunder better?

Dan Szymborski: Thunder. The sound doesn’t make my power and internet go away.

Comment From Guest
What is your middle name?

Dan Szymborski: John.

Comment From Haastile
Can Speith win his 3rd major in a row?

Dan Szymborski: He could, but I’m not an expert here. My golf knowledge is limited to knowing where to aim to get my predictably horrible slice somewhere near the fairway

Comment From Josh G
Starbucks beverage of choice?

Dan Szymborski: I don’t.

Comment From Johnny5Alive
sanders v trump, you can start crying now

Dan Szymborski: Not even funny.

Comment From Josh G
Should every new ballpark have a retractable roof?

Dan Szymborski: Not necessarily.

Comment From alex
How do you remember the difference between bullish and bearish?

Dan Szymborski: I just know it.

Dan Szymborski: I don’t have any mnemonic devices

Dan Szymborski: like dessert/desert (you want to get through a desert so it has one s but you want to linger over desert so it has two)

Comment From Ajay
Which Street Fighter II character would make the best baseball player?

Dan Szymborski: Dhalsim would have serious UZR.

Comment From Ehhh
Pic of cats plz

Dan Szymborski: Don’t have any uploaded.

Dan Szymborski: To the CIL media library. There are some pictures in my timeline, though it’s mostly Galileo since he’s the one that hangs out with me the most in my office

Comment From Josh G
Pro or anti Scott Walker?

Dan Szymborski: Neither camp really. Not really my cup of tea on a lot of things, though I can see voting for him in a lesser of two evils election

Comment From Derek in Little Rock
Do you use your knowledge of professional baseball to wager on outcomes?

Dan Szymborski: Of course

Comment From Marcus Banks
Can Batman beat Spiderman?

Dan Szymborski: Yes

Comment From Josh G
Have you watched Bloodline? It’s teriffic.

Dan Szymborski: I haven’t yet – iut’s on my list

Comment From Julio Pepper
Prisoner of Azkaban at the bottom??!! Harry Potter: 3, 4, 2, 5, 1, 6, 7

Dan Szymborski: Hey, I was asked.

Comment From Marcus Banks
Why do the Tour de France riders shave their legs?

Dan Szymborski: Wind resistance? I dunno

Comment From Marcus Banks
Is Kristaps Porzingis a future superstar?

Dan Szymborski: I’m not knowledgable enough to give a satisfactory answer, but he does seem to be a very sweet shooter for a big guy

Comment From Josh G
Do you have an innie or an outie?

Dan Szymborski: innie

Comment From Mike
when will the angels next home rainout be?

Dan Szymborski: 2026.

Comment From Sean
Ever try Elder Scrolls Online? I’m falling in love, quickly. That PvP is amazing.

Dan Szymborski: I did in beta. Felt a little vanilla at the time

Comment From 804NatsFan
re: bullish vs bearish=bulls have horns

Comment From Johnny5Alive
seen any good movies recently?

Dan Szymborski: Actually haven’t watched many lately

Comment From Marcus Banks
Dessert – Two S – Strawberry Shortcake.

Comment From Marcus Banks
If you saw Caitlyn Jenner without knowing who it was, would you?

Dan Szymborski: Not really my type

Comment From 804NatsFan
Tour de France & shaved legs: Road rash cleaner w no hair in it

Dan Szymborski: Really? I’d have thought the hair would provide a modicum of additional protection

Comment From hscer
did anyone ever come up with the new mnemonic for the now-8 planets?

Dan Szymborski: No idea, I’m sure someone has

Comment From Neal
Will the Raptors make it past the first round?

Dan Szymborski: At some point they will I’m sure

Comment From 804NatsFan
TdF & hair: bandages easier to change too

Comment From Sean
The game of ESO is actually rather deep. The combat mechanics are very simple but once you get past that, it’s really a solid game. Open action-RPG PvP with full war tactics is so fun. It’s all about you and your team, not individual ganking.

Comment From Canadoo
Will the NDP win this year or will the votes be split between liberal/ndp leading to a conservative win?

Dan Szymborski: I really have little specific Canadian electoral knowledge

Dan Szymborski: But I have the impression that NDP’s been soaring in the polls

Comment From hscer
I wouldn’t have thought you were a lesser of two evils voter, btw

Dan Szymborski: I’m a libertarian, I never really like anybody running for office.

Comment From hscer
Complete the sentence: “_____ left to a long lasting standing ovation, which will be by far the biggest ovation of the weekend, and much congratulatory praise.” Is it A) “Mr. Trump” or B) “Our Supreme Leader”?

Dan Szymborski: Wiat, what?

Comment From The Cincinnati Kid
The 5-year ZIPS for players are used throughout the site, is there somewhere we can punch info in for certain players? (J.D. Martinez, Gregory Polanco, & Alex Guerrero)

Dan Szymborski: No.

Comment From MSW
Gonna visit Cuba anytime soon?

Dan Szymborski: Haven’t given it much thought

Comment From The Moops
Dan, are you like me and like to

Comment From The Moops
did anyone ever come up with the new mnemonic for the now-8 planets? ROY BIV

Dan Szymborski: Again, I doon’t think so. DOnt’ even know what the first question is

Comment From Daniel
Did you want any of EVO last night?

Dan Szymborski: Assuming watch, did not.

Comment From hscer
I knew your leanings, but they usually lead to not voting for the lesser of two evils but instead a third party or write-in

Dan Szymborski: I’m pragmatic. I used to vote third parties as a protest, but came to the impression that I didn’t think it was really all that useful

Comment From The Big Dipper
The leg shaving has little to do with road rash. They do it to show off their legs. Cycling is a very elitist culture.

Dan Szymborski: My presidential voting record: Clinton, Browne, Nader, nobody, Romney. Make sense of *that* combo

Comment From hscer
Different version of earlier question: who’s office noted that they left an event to “much congratulatory praise,” Donald Trump or Kim Jong Un?

Dan Szymborski: I think North Korean dictators are probably more likable than Trump

Comment From Nish
No question. Just thank you for making my work day much, much more enjoyable.

Dan Szymborski: OK, caught up on Lightning Round quesitons.

Dan Szymborski: So I am now allowed to end the chat. Thanks for joining me everybody! As a reminder, you can read my work at ESPN.com, find chats and projections here at FanGraphs, and I am at DSzymborski on Twitter. I am also ZimSmash on twitch, though I have much less time to stream during baseball season.

Comment From tenaciousdeucer
what constitutes “partying” for you nowadays?

Dan Szymborski: Heavy drinking around other writers

Comment From Daniel
Battle.net tag again?

Dan Szymborski: Zim#1236 except for Diablo III which is Zim#1111

Comment From hscer
Voting for Nader in 2004 but not 2000 is probably the weirdest part 😛

Dan Szymborski: I could not vote for Badnarik.

Dan Szymborski: Thank god no Scotus questions