Eno Sarris Baseball Chat — 4/28/16

Eno Sarris: The game has gone

Erik: The Phillies are over .500! That must mean they suck at everything, even tanking, right? Are they being decent in any way that’s actually sustainable?

Eno Sarris: Hey I love their staff, loved it from the beginning. Eickhoff, Nola, Velasquez, Franco… Franco… and eventually JP Crawford! They have some decent pieces and will have some money to spend. Their rebuild won’t take forever.

George is Curious: Has your opinion of Rich Hill changed any since last week? I sat him for his past two starts and boy did he make me pay for that. And now I see he’s atop the leaderboard for most-improved pitcher projections?

Eno Sarris: Yeah but, watching it, I don’t get it. He relies on throwing a curveball half the time, and in the zone more than anyone, so to some extent he’s relying on non-swings. Has no fastball command, so there will be games with five or six walks. He’s super risky to me. And I haven’t even gotten into the injury risk.

Howard: So after spending time with the padres what did you learn about them? Other than the fact that they are going to be terrible this year.

Eno Sarris: oh holy heck. I almost didn’t go into the park. Scanning that team, they are not only bad, they are boring. What’s the story? BJ Upton is okay again! Wil Myers is the best thing about that team.

Reginald Denton III: Early season fun fact: Ricky Nolasco’s K-BB% is better than Chris Sale’s!

Eno Sarris: And K-BB is the best in-season predictor! And Nolasco has actually made a fundamental change! I still don’t believe.

RotoLando: What do I do with Rusney Castillo and Hector Olivera in a dynasty league?

Eno Sarris: I’m so close to cutting the two shares of the former I have left, and I never had a share of the latter. Still waiting for a trade for Rusney.

Johnny Bench: Who’s the better bet ROS, Matt Wieters or Russell Martin? Are you worried about either?

Eno Sarris: A little more worried about Wieters because he’s not playing back to back games, I don’t think.

Neil: Jose Altuve HR total over/under: 22

Eno Sarris: Projections have him at like 17, I have him for over 20, but 22 is a bit aggressive.

Aledmys Diaz’s Mom: What does my son have to do to get a FG piece addressing his world-peace inspiring start? What do I have to do? 😉

Eno Sarris: If one hasn’t published yet, it will soon, and two authors actually claimed that piece, so your son is in good hands.

Saves Vulture: Should anyone other than Jepsen and May be owned in the Twins bullpen? Seems like both have struggled since Perkins went down.

Eno Sarris: I trust May’s stuff a bit more, but Jepsen owns the role for now. Fien is only okay.

Sid: Thoughts on Tropeano so far? Think he’ll stick in the Angels’ rotation all season?

Eno Sarris: I do, and Shoemaker is making it easier to cut him when other guys get healthy.

Mike: You’ve touched on all 3 of these guys but haven’t heard a definitive rankings yet…Gausman, Berrios, Manaea – rank em in a redraft league please?

Eno Sarris: You’ve got it. Berrios didn’t have a great start and I actually see what they were talking about a little with command, but Berrios’ curve is nicety, and that team needs him. I think the A’s will monkey around. I could be wrong! But those young arms are both interesting.

David: Tell me something good about the A’s so far

David: please Eno

Eno Sarris: Their bullpen is better! Semien looks like he’s got his power stroke! Crisp isn’t burnt to a crisp like I thought he was! Graveman is legit! They’ve got better play left in them and they aren’t stinking it up… every night!

Bork: Tyler Collins has been sent down. In related news, I had no idea Tyler Collins existed before this week.

Eno Sarris: And then he flipped you off!

Jordan: 28 years old. 68.1% F-Strike. 14.1% Swinging Strikes. 2.62 SIERA. His name is Jhoulys Chacin. Will you help fuel my excitement for him?

Eno Sarris: He can use his curve again! He told me had to put that away in Coors. I think that’s a big thing for his swinging strikes. I’m buying in deeper leagues for sure.

ragingtwig: When it comes to FG and Pitchf/x zone% in evaluating potentially injured pitchers, which one do you look to more? JZimm pointed out that Hamels (who I’m looking to acquire) looks injured in his PAIN values, but FG zone% looks consistent for the past three years around 44%, while Pitchf/x shows a big drop from 47% in 2015 to 41.5% this year. Whaddya think?

Eno Sarris: I like PFx zone% because it’s regimented. Try the Pitcher Injury Facotrs on Baseballheatmaps.com

brant brown dropped the ball: eno! in a 16-teamer, h2h, 6×6, am i holding odorizzi and chen? are they streamers? drop for berrios? still haven’t figured out the right pitching strategy in this league—i have an arrieta/thor/rondon core.

Eno Sarris: Hold them.

Andrew: In the White Sox post from a few days ago, I was amazed to see that the Mets pitching staff has been underperforming their FIP by quite a bit, even with Harvey struggling. This season is going to be a lot of fun.

Eno Sarris: One thing: the Mets defense… is not good.

Thom: How long you think Street is out for with the oblique?

Eno Sarris: He usually manages 50 innings or so, so I think he’ll be out what the doctors say. I know Joe Smith is next there, but he’s not a full-year closer. Just a fill-in.

Tom: Giles worth a pickup in my league? Categories include saves, K/9, era, whip

Eno Sarris: Yes, as long as you not dropping a closer or a good starter.

Jonathan: What grades would you give Thor’s current arsenal of pitches & control on the 80 scale? Thanks

Eno Sarris: 80 fastball, 75 slider, 70 change, 70 command. I could adjust command and change down, maybe, but I feel pretty good about that.

Jake : Anything to Alex Gordon’s contact rate being 14% below it’s usual average even with his swing % down?

Eno Sarris: It’s worrisome. People get older.

Guest: Who are you highest on long term? Manaea, Snell, Velasquez

Eno Sarris: Each has velocity and a really good second pitch. Whose third pitch is the best? Hard to say. I might go VV.

Schiraldi: Has your level of Chris Bassitt optimism modified any — early outings not dreadful, but outcomes pretty mediocre.

Eno Sarris: I had him as 15-team league option and I’ll keep him as a bench pitcher in those types of leagues. Still startable at home.

Eno Sarris: He has better command than this.

Dave: Given what you said on the pod I presume your rankings ROS of these new callups would go Berrios, Manaea, Blair. Is Blair worth a roster spot in 15 team mixers? What is a realistic expectation for his K%?

Eno Sarris: Eh. Good sinker, okay change, don’t believe the short-sample K% in MiLB.

Star Macking: I assume your goal is to work for an mlb team as opposed to working in media covering the game?

Eno Sarris: I never thought there was a role for me in the game until this year. I still doubt I’ll work for a team, but my doubt is not as strong. I love writing and interacting with people.

B: Eno, shortly before last night’s start I traded away Moore (and Jepsen) for AJ Ramos. Am I going to regret getting rid of Moore? The move was needs based, but man has he been good!

Eno Sarris: I regret not getting more shares of Moore, particularly in AL-LABR. Should’ve. His command makes him risky from start to start, but the rest of the package is great.

Schiraldi: Moustakas power for real or early season mirage?

Eno Sarris: He always was supposed to have more power and he’s top-ten in added exit velocity. This level is a bit over the top, but he’ll have a career best power year I bet.

mtsw: What’d you think of Berrios last night?

Eno Sarris: Have him on right now. The curve is really nice. Good velocity. Command issues minor, not major. Change looked okay too. Four-seam a little straight, but should let him command it better. I think he’s still mixed-league worthy.

dbet: Justin Upton is killing me in my points league. Did him and his brother switch teams as a joke?

Eno Sarris: THEY’LL NEVER FIGURE IT OUT! The strikeout rate is his worst monthly strikeout rate of his career, not good. Career low batting average coming this year, but I wouldn’t count him out of power.

Oliver : My pitching is loaded (Scherz, Price Kluber Tanaka Maeda Pineda Berrios Ross) so I traded Nola for D. Santana. I know I “lost” but needed the potential power. Tell me I didn’t lose too bad

Eno Sarris: Exit velo and swing percentages (small sample meaningful stats) say Domingo is about to break out.

ACC : You buying fulmer ? Law says slider is filthy !

Eno Sarris: I want to wait and see but if you’re looking for pitching, wait and see with him on your roster.

gimpy: Is catcher performance more volatile than other offensive positions? And if so, how should we account for that in a pricing model?

Eno Sarris: I know that their aging curves look a little different at the beginning and their debut age is later, and that they have a lot to think about other than batting. But I haven’t seen a ton on volatility. Maybe it’s the strikeouts. Strikeouts were a big part of Petti’s Volatility stat.

Brett: Has your thoughts on Yelich, specifically his power, changed since you wrote about him in The Change? The O-Swing% improvement is really encouraging, but the GB/FB is up to an even higher level than last year.

Eno Sarris: Jeebus. He’d actually changed his GB/FB until a string of grounders. I like the head on his shoulders — we had a reasonable argument about BABIP and skills — and we agreed that he could hit 15 homers a season eventually. Also, his approach is going to lead to plus plus BABIPs, and he’s got good exit velocity. He pointed out how young he debuted, and that’s still something to remember, even as we take power upside away from him.

Erik: If you were searching for the next Arrieta, would you look for a failed former top-100 prospect? Or did we “learn” that he sucked by the end of his time in Baltimore, meaning that any former prospect status was irrelevant by the time he broke out?

Eno Sarris: Look for a guy with velocity and a good pitch that’s changing teams and might talk to someone with a new approach. I thought we had it with Shelby Miller, for example. Gausman might manage it without changing teams. Trevor Bauer on a new team might have different outcomes.

Bork: So here’s a fun drinking game for any Jays fan! When the bullpen is called, open your drink. After the first pitch, drink. Now you might ask, how is this fun? I never said stop drinking. Bonus it makes the guaranteed loss a lot more tolerable or you might be passed out before they blow it anyways!

My name is too long to fit in th: I like swimming with bow legged women. I swim between their legs.

Joe Dadi: Ted Williams – The Science of Hitting. Did not know this existed on youtube. So cool. Maybe Justin Upton should watch…

Eno Sarris: Not the most upbeat interlude.

Smoo: How does the Indians OF situation shake out? My league has Byrd, Rajai and Chiz all on waivers

Eno Sarris: Rajai/Chiz platoon I think still. They might be able to platoon Naquin/Byrd in the other field too.

Marcus Semien: All the metrics suggest I am selling out for power. Is this a viable approach for me if I want to breakout into a Top-5 hitting SS?

Eno Sarris: I have no problems with what he’s doing.

Eno Sarris: Here’s the link from the Ted Williams video

OnSight: Has Taijuan finally found his ideal pitch mix? What kind of line do you see from him this year- 25% K, 5% bb, 3.5FIP possible?

Eno Sarris: I think he was going to throw these pitches if he could get ahead more, so I think the count is the most important thing for him. I’m not sure we can’t believe that 5% BB rate.

Brett: The Pod and Sporer painted two different pictures when writing about Pineda recently. The K%-BB% is very impressive, but are you buying his BABIP is based on bad luck or being easy to hit in the zone? I am leaning towards the latter.

Eno Sarris: When he misses, he misses bad. And though his velocity is good, it’s not otherworldly and he’s in the AL in a hitter’s park. I believe Zips more than Steamer.

iHateKennyWilliams: Apparently the White Sox have had the least generous strike zone (worst pitch framing) yet they still are pitching incredible…Explanation?

Eno Sarris: Good pitching!

Yello: How would you rank Conley, Rich Hill, Severino and Wei Yin Chen? You da bess.

Eno Sarris: Conley Chen Hill Severino

Eno Sarris: Not in a dynasty. That would be Severino Conley Chen Hill.

Eno Sarris: A friend tells me that this is Hunter Dozier’s walkup song, which means that Hunter Dozier is probably pretty chill.

Scott: Game recognize game and you lookin’ mighty unfamiliar

Turk_Diggler: Once again Hallo Eno!

Ryan : N.W. eNo. 4. Lyfe.

Raekwon the Sous-Chef: Who is more likely to turn it around fastest: Howie Kendrick, Freddie Freeman?

Eno Sarris: Freddie.

Ryan : Gimme all you got on Cody Reed.

Eno Sarris: Votto thinks he’s awesome, the slider is legit, the velocity is good. Need more views to see if he’s got full package.

John Braca: Sean Manaea’s hair > Bryce Harper’s hair

Eno Sarris: He’s coming for the crown.

Eno Sarris: Humberto Quintero once yelled to the whole clubhouse “THAT’S SOME BIG LEAGUE HAIR YO”

Buff: Arquimedes Caminero and Jumbo Diaz were among your favorite pre-season sleeper saves candidates. Partially based on your recommendations, I bought both. Very deep 12 team NL only league (12 pitchers, 5 man reserve). Still worth stashing on reserve or cut bait?

Eno Sarris: Cut Diaz. Caminero? Command is missing right now. I still have some love for him.

Craig in Chi: What up, Eno? 🙂

Eno Sarris: See you in July!

Josh: Have you seen anything with Iwakuma that would be cause for a concern?

Eno Sarris: He’s a walking injury.

Stenzy: Do you believe in Derek Law over Hunter “bombs away” Strickland yet?

Eno Sarris: Law came into the game as the first pitcher after Samardzija in his last game and Bochy said they’d use him in the ‘seventh, eighth, sixth, whatever, he’s one of our guys.’ I like Law, but I don’t think he’s ahead… yet.

Craig in Chi: “Quintana” translates to “unhittable letter high fastball”: T /F?

Eno Sarris: He’s got good command of it! And a good curve. Interested to see how long this lasts.

Eno Sarris: (not in terms of this season, I mean more in terms of a career)

Justin: Aledmys Diaz doth not care for your “BABIP” nonsense

Eno Sarris: That’s pretty much what Yelich was saying to me.

Steve D: So… how does this work? Do I talk first?

Eno Sarris: You’re doing fine. It’s me that just got to the questions submitted at noon.

Brett: Listening to the show yesterday, you indicated last nights start was important for Kazmir with the velocity and the curve. Did you see what you were looking for?

Eno Sarris: eh. Looks like he’s a 90 mph guy now. At least he’s a lefty. That’s only slightly below average velocity. I say he’s a half-time pitcher in 12-teamers.

Dave: Any thoughts on Tropeano? Swinging strike rate up so far.

Eno Sarris: Throwing the fastball less, which is why the walk rate is up, too. I think he’ll settle in around 8+k/9, 3bb/9, 1 hr/9. That should be good for a high-threes ERA and usefulness in most leagues deeper than 12 teams.

Eno Sarris: Speaking of p chill

nook: What kind of line does DevTravis post when he comes back? Worried about the shoulder

Eno Sarris: Yeah you have to think that’ll hurt his power, which was already (possibly) overachieving.

I Sack Newton: A few weeks ago, I sold high on Joey Rickard (got Betances back), but wait—DID I sell high? Or is he for realsy?

Eno Sarris: Hasn’t yet had a week with even average exit velocity, has a long history of no power before last year, so I think that will go away and leave him with an empty mediocre batting average.

Argo: Who will finish the year with more ABs in Chicago, Soler or Javier Baez?

Eno Sarris: Been talking about this with all my Chicago friends. Some insist Soler is the starter in LF, but I’ve seen Bryant out there too much to be comfortable. Brain says Baez, gut still loves my mans Soler and his drippy tools.

Make WAR not Love: Under the radar KBS tasting next week in NJ, jealous much? You guys going to do a meetup in NYC that weekend you’re coming to the Staten Island event? Missed out on the VIP tix.

Eno Sarris: Yah we will have a meetup. Probably that Saturday afternoon/evening. Thinking Rattle N Hum maybe.

Argo: Wild guess on how many HRs Yasmany Tomas will hit this year?

Eno Sarris: 23.7

Guest: Was cashner actually mad at you, or just joking around

Eno Sarris: Hard to tell. He seemed surprised, like it had never occurred to him. He loves his fastball, he tinkers with the breaking ball. So it surprised him, and he didn’t really like it. But that fastball is less than it should be, IMO.

Albert: Carlos Martinez fair return for Charlie Blackmon?

Eno Sarris: Sure.

old man: expectations for guys like Homer Bailey and McCarthy returning this year? assuming not much, hoping one can be a fantasy asset by August after a rough month back.

Eno Sarris: McCarthy’s road back seems less pothole-ridden.

Dan: How should I stream these pitchers for a 12 team roto? Kazmir Samardzja and Velasquez. Everytime I put them in they get blownup.

Eno Sarris: Vv is a starter. The other two I’d basically start at home at night.

fweepah: Holy Justin Smoak’s BABIP, batman! Maybe Dominguez deserves to take over!

Eno Sarris: OOH FREE RODDY ROWDY TELEZ

Shawn: Tried Night Shift Belafonte (saison) for the 1st time last summer and thought it was meh. Your recommendations (as well as others) convinced me to give them a 2nd chance and boy am I glad I did. Everything else I’ve had from them has been fantastic. I’d say only a notch below Treehouse/Trillium (which is not a knock)

Eno Sarris: I liked the Belafonte! But yeah Night Shift is good.

Tim: Yo you think Gerrit Cole has another gear in him? Just watching his last start looks like he’s mixing in his changeup a lot more this year.

Eno Sarris: I’ve always thought he’d be even better if he started throwing his secondary stuff more. But the Pirates are very fastball-centric.

Zorn: What do you make of Patrick Corbin thus far? Reason for concern?

Eno Sarris: He was throwing his crappy changeup too much, but in the last game, he didn’t throw one. I’d like to see what he does with his old pitching mix back.

Stuafoo: Do you guys ever barter/trade topics? Like if Jeff claims a topic one day and you don’t see it, then you independently come up with the same idea the next day and are super excited about it, but then check the topics list and see he’s already claimed it. Are you ever like, “hey, Jeff, how about you write about Y instead of X, and if you do I’ll give you this shiny muffin.”?

I feel like the best topic generators of the bunch could build up a pretty good muffin collection.

Eno Sarris: No muffins have ever changed hands, but we do run into discussions a bit like this.

Phil: You buying Tillman? The velocity uptick looks legit, the curve looks more consistent, and watching him, the eye test just tells me he looks more in command of his stuff.

Eno Sarris: Yeah man, he’s holding this stuff and he’s turning a trick that few turn: he’s got a rising four-seamer and a sinker now. I’ll buy, though cautiously in twelvers.

BJOGC: In real life, is Carson exactly like you would expect him to be based upon his writings?

Eno Sarris: Pretty much. We ooze ourselves through the words we choose.

Cheapskate: Sever severino? I think its time. He needs to get his confidence back.

Eno Sarris: The slider hasn’t been good yet. The change was good, now it’s not as good. It’s good to bet on velocity like that, but he needs to do more with those secondary pitches. We good?

JDogg: Huge Guinness fan here. What can I try that you thin is a step up? Low IBU, creamy, and coffee

Eno Sarris: Speedway Stout from AleSmith.

Johnny5Alive: so i kind of really need hudson to start closing games. think thats something you can make happen?

Eno Sarris: *Usually* velocity and K-rates matter for closing situations, but Ziegler is weird.

John : What do you do with underperforming veterans like Wainwright, Verlander, etc? I’m thinking about dropping, but have to believe there is still some upside there

Eno Sarris: Verlander velocity down even further. Even ‘better’ the last two games is basically just 92. I think he’s probably a 3.8ish guy going forward. At least he’ll get the Ks. Waino probably same but two fewer Ks per nine.

Eddie Brock: FWIW I was in attendance for Manaea’s last AAA start and did some crude scouting. Sat 88-92, 6 whiffs- 4 on FB and 2 on SL, and noticeably slowed his arm motion for some offspeed offerings. But it was easy to see why people are high on him.

Eno Sarris: That’s a bit lower than I thought for him!

Eno Sarris: It’s chill day, apparently.

Draco M: how many ankles do you have and are they all sprained

Eno Sarris: p much

JV: Byung Ho Park looks for real to me. 30 homers???

Eno Sarris: I will go with 30 homers, yes, but also a .240 average, don’t think that’s really budging.

Danny: Why don’t more pitchers try to pull a Rich Hill and throws a ton of offspeed stuff all the time?

Eno Sarris: Injury risk fear. Ability to throw strikes with secondary offerings.

Thor: Is Graveman a better bet than Hill then in your eyes?

Eno Sarris: Way higher floor! Tons of grounders and improved velocity and command that’s leading to more Ks.

Formerly the Smasher: Alford is rehabbing his knee instead of surgery and is now taking at bats again but with a brace on. Any thoughts or have you heard anything about him?

Eno Sarris: I just traded him away. Situation is weird. I do like the swing and power changes he made last year. But this is a bit weird to me.

Luis Gonzalez’s Bubble Gum: Story been read and now must adjust?

Eno Sarris: I’m still playing him at home.

Angel: I read about Houston Rockets, NBA, that the “Sabermetric” model doesn’t work in basketball, better the chemistry and the “Old School”. Do you think Sabermetric philosophy is only good in baseball or you can apply this to other sports?

Eno Sarris: I think basketball is just harder to figure because they are always moving and the game doesn’t stop for analysis. But yeah, put five guys on the field with one ball and no rules about who gets the ball… chemistry might be more important all of a sudden. I can’t imagine working with James Harden, and I was an ardent supporter coming out of college.

Would you rather?: Would you rather get rid of the DH or Coors field?

Eno Sarris: Coors because I love my pitching friends too much to make them suffer.

Matt Wieters: Why am I playing every other day??? At the beginning of the season, when I wasn’t supposed to be healthy, I played every day, now I’m sitting half the time. I don’t have huge splits and there’s no report of injury. What’s the deal?

Eno Sarris: I mean it’s got to be unreported soreness, right? Or do they prefer another bat?

Craig in Chi: My kingdom, for a LHDH!

Eno Sarris: Avi for Jay Bruce.

Mallex: Grandal on the wire but I have Cervelli. Worth swapping?

Eno Sarris: If OBP… heck even if OBP, I prefer Grandal.

Larry David: Listened to the pod, was already trying to get Santiago and now I’m REALLY trying to get him. I need the help. Is Gregerson for Santiago a fair deal in a 14 teamer pts league if I own Britton/Betances? Putting a bid in on Smith tonight too.

Eno Sarris: I like that move.

Danny: How excited are you about Snell’s riseball?

Eno Sarris: Maybe I’m crazy, but I thought I could spot the curve coming. I want another look at Snell, would be nice to see live. Everything else was nice, real nice, real 69.

Art Vandelay: Berrios curve is a *little bit* like Fernandez 2 years ago, right? It certainly seems as tight as his was.

Eno Sarris: Hung a couple, but otherwise yeah.

Cash $: Can I have your thoughts on Andrew Cashner? In your preason write-up, you mentioned his slider that “can look plus at times” and said that he could have success if he finds a slider that works. But he instead appears to have abandoned his slider. Based on the early season, he has only thrown his slider 3.3% of the time (down from 19.8% in 2015) and instead is throwing more curves (12.1% up from 3.1%) and fastballs (74.8% up froom 67.3%). If Cashner abandons his slider, is it time to abandon Cashner?

Eno Sarris: He started throwing his knuckle curve again, which threatens to give him a good breaker. But the shares I have are on the bench for now.

The Man with the Plan: ANDREW BENINTENDI FIRST DONG LAST NIGHT!

Guest: Halloween costume idea: Emo Eno

boo: just dropped Corbin to pick up Manaea. no question, just feeling excited.

Dan: Giolito still the best stash over Glasnow? 11k’s and a 91mph change last time out for Glasnow, pretty sexy. NL East for Giolito tasty too though.

Eno Sarris: Yo make that change. Pirates could use a boost.

Ben: Hey Eno!! Come to Northern Colorado. Microbreweries on every corner(not even talking New Belgium or Odell’s). Have to drop Mesoraco or W. Ramos this weekend. Which one am I keeping?

Eno Sarris: Holding Mes(s) for a bit longer.

C. Colabello: Ppl seem to confuse/conflate the cutter and slider, right? Isn’t the latter like a frisbee, on a downward plane, while the cutter is more (though obviously not entirely) horizontal in its movement, coming in or away from the batter?

Eno Sarris: What’s making things harder on people is the slutter or the Warthen Slider. There are now hard, mostly horizontal ‘sliders’ with more drop than traditional cutters.

PhanGraphs: What grades would you give Kershaw’s current arsenal of pitches and control on the 80 grade scale? (Want to put Thor in context). Thanks!

Eno Sarris: 70 fastball, 70 curve, 80 slider, 80 control.

Joe: How long do you think until Neris takes over as closer?

Eno Sarris: Gomez slider is better but he’s still below average in velocity and Ks without a great GB rate. He’s really boring and a few balls in play could sink him. I’ll give Gomez a month maybe.

Mike: Hi Eno. Is putting grapefruit juice in your beer a good excuse for a Sunday AM refreshment or simply poisoning an otherwise perfect beverage? I’d like to know your opinion please.

Eno Sarris: Some of them are okay, and shandys happen in Germany, too, but there are so many crazy fruit flavors you can get from hops that I’d rather experience those than fruit juice in my IPA.

Justin: We often hear of young pitchers who have a good fastball and see if better secondary stuff can develop. How often does it go the other way, or does pitching just not work like that. i.e., Does it make sense to call secondary stuff “good” if there’s not at least an average fastball to go along with it?

Eno Sarris: yeah everything gets defined off the fastball in my PFx work, so you’re right.. but this is also how good pitchers fall between the cracks, like Corey Kluber.

Steve: What can be done to help Iglesias and his velocity issues? It’s not just a drop in velocity during a start, but he also is showing drops in velocity between start to start.

Eno Sarris: He thinks it’s a fitness thing, but fitness is hard to change during the season. It’s a bit worrisome.

Snarfle: How long do i hold Alex Wood in my 14 teamer?

Eno Sarris: not too much longer. That new arm slot is dropping again.

carl: Nolan Arenado has cut his K rate to almost nothing. Can he put up insane, Larry Walker-like stats? like, .330 with 45 HR?

Eno Sarris: Yes.

Shin-soo Choo Express: Justin upton has a .319 BABIP? I was thinking about targeting him as a buy low guy, but man, that is ugly

Eno Sarris: Pressing, probably. It won’t be this bad all year, but the swinging strike rate is not good.

Snarfle: Tomorrow is National Hug a Swamp Monster day! Show some unexpected love for the muck monsters and bog buddies in your life!

Bork: Eno help my snack pack wont open.

Byung and the Restless: Did you ever think about adding a -‘y’ and pronouncing “Eno” like “Roy” in Patrick Roy? En-wa would be pretty sweet.

Snarfle: Canyon draft! With the first pick, I take the Grand Canyon. You have the next two picks.

Eastern NC: How worried are you about Dallas Keuchel?

Eno Sarris: Decently worried. I had him pegged as a dropper out of the top twenty, but I didn’t see this velocity loss coming. Gotta ask him if this cutter is real.

What about Fulmer?: Lots of questions about Manaea, Snell, and Berrios, but Fulmer is also coming up this week. How would you compare him to the others, esp for fantasy purposes?

Eno Sarris: Snell and Berrios have him beat in velocity, if barely (Fulmer did average 93+ in the minors last year), but I might take Fulmer’s slider over them. And Fulmer’s change might be the best third pitch of the group… but he’s also got the most injury/innings concerns?

Socrates: What’s one big changes in your philosophy towards baseball since you started following the game (and sabermetrics on a whole)?

Eno Sarris: I think it’s possible to distinguish meaningful adjustments from meaningless ones now. I think the players are constantly making adjustments, though, so there’s a lot to choose from. But the analytical value of the player’s knowledge is something I underrated before.

Eno Sarris: This literally means “I understand.”

RotoLando: If you had to stand 60 feet from any MLB pitcher while he throws one pitch at you, who do you choose?

Eno Sarris: R.A. Dickey.

hscer: If I told you Espinosa had 0 HR on 18 fly balls, how many IFFB would you suppose he has

Eno Sarris: All of them?

Snarfle: I think the lesson of Chris Davis is that MLB should distribute adderrall, and…man those would be some intense pregame interviews.

Eno Sarris: Not saying Brett Lawrie but Brett Lawrie.

Craig in Chi: Come on, Man. Give some early season love, to my surprising Sox?

Eno Sarris: I picked them to win that division dude.

The Only Nola: Is Mychal Givens spike in K rate sustainable? 15+ K/9!

Eno Sarris: Yes. Well, he’s funky. So deception could give way to familiarity at some point, but I love him. He’s a unicorn!

Young Jeezy: What’s your outlook for Wil Myers? I have him as my 1st in a 12 team H2H points league. He good enough to stay as my 1st? Or should I look for someone else?

Eno Sarris: hes fine.

Igloo: Of the players with more than 500 plate appearances against the shift, Kyle Seager has the second highest wOBA (about 15 players). Currently this year, he has not been pulling the ball to his standards. He’s making less contact. He’s been shifted more often this year. Could part of his struggles be due to changing approach due to shifts?

Eno Sarris: Interesting. That would explain the sapped power but similar plate discipline numbers. I’d have to look into this more, but it’s certainly possible.

Eno Sarris: Good god. I haven’t even made it to 12:30…

Bork: NEED MORE LUDES ENO

Eno Sarris: IKNOW

Johnny5Alive: if you were to work for a team, would you prefer an already super saber-oriented front office, or one where your skillset might give you more influence for a less oriented team? Or how about you just work for the mets!

Eno Sarris: I dunno. I think my best role is as go-between. Translate for the front office, make the players familiar with me, bring the ivory tower closer to the ground.

Shin-soo Choo Express: Oh has a 21% sw-str%, as does Neris. Can either of these guys finish the season close to this mark?

Eno Sarris: Money on Neris and his splitty.

Eno Sarris:

Kion: How’s Ballast Point’s Sculpins?

Eno Sarris: Mostly good. I hate the habanero though.

Reginald Denton III: You liking Brandon Belt’s adjustments so far this season?

Eno Sarris: Going the other way more, should be good for contact. Might be tough on power, but he’s always trading one for hte other.

mtsw: Given that players’ peaks end at 28-29, isn’t there a good argument for NEVER bringing up position players until they’re 23 or 24, regardless of how good they are? Why lose their best seasons?

Eno Sarris: I think athleticism peaks closer to 23/24, so 23 seems about right. Gives them a year of upward development and peak athleticism, and then four or five more with the team before goodbye.

Sam: Would you drop one of Velasquez and Rodon for Manaea?

Eno Sarris: no.

Garlic bread: A few days ago Strandberg recommended selling low on Rendon. Do you agree?

Eno Sarris: Swinging strike rate the same, exit velocity still above average, just a few too many grounders. I’d hold.

Eric: Chance Soler ever figures it out?

Eno Sarris: I’d trade for him in real life.

Bork: If you had to dumpster dive into a teams failed prospect pool looking for the next Arietta, which team would you choose?

Eno Sarris: Haha Baltimore again. I feel like they have a prescriptive approach to mechanics which isn’t helpful. Every body is a snowflake. Not saying there aren’t good ideas and bad ideas, but banning a pitch seems over the top.

Matt: Have you ever though about suing the city of Reno, NV for clearly just taking your name, and adding an “r” to the front?

Eno Sarris: I’m coming for you Reno.

ScoKo: Piscotty projection? He seems to be living up to the batted ball profile.

Eno Sarris: Doing what I thought he would, really.

Oliver: I know itll never happen, but Bauer to the Pirates really excites me

Eno Sarris: Yeah that’s a good one, but the Indians do a good job with pitchers usually.

Maxamuz:

Maxamuz:

Maxamuz:

Eno Sarris: One man visual lude.

LeTigre: What do you make of the “fine piece of machinery” that is Joey Votto at the plate? Concerned at all? BB% down 9.5% from last year; K% +3.9%. When will we see the Ferrari?

Eno Sarris: He did say it takes till April and sometimes May but I don’t get it. I think he’s struggling to deal with that inside pitch still.

klof: Is there something mechanical about why RHPs have more power than LHPs? Some filtering along the way in the minors?

Eno Sarris: I think it’s a question of sample size. more righties!

Bork: I want to see a home run derby that rewards based on distance, not the total amount of dingers. Park vs Stanton would be glorious.

Steve: Adam Jones had the first three walk game of his career this week.

Jim Leyland: ugh Manny Machado

Eno Sarris: player-based lude.

Cash $: If someone is willing to pay for Tyson Ross, are you moving him in a dynasty league? Shoulder injury scares me.

Eno Sarris: yes.

Bom Tudd: is it better to ‘believe’ in an org’s ability to develop hitters or pitchers and trust based on track record? ie – Stl, SF = good. or does the number of coaches and guys in an org make it too random, and they can jump ship to another team any time?

Eno Sarris: I’ve heard enough about minor league development patterns and beliefs by organization that yes I believe that some orgs are steering their guys wrong down there. But some pitchers are so good it doesn’t matter, and some pitchers take matters into their own hands (the best do), so it’s hard to take major league results to figure this out.

Sean Manaea’s Hair: Throwin’ Samoan > Harper’s hair

Oliver : Enos hair > Jasos hair > everyone’s hair.

baltic breeze: That great Tear for Fears video reminds me of a time when people actually went to the library for information all of the time.

WHO DARE CHALLENGES THE HAIR :

Elisa Plumm: Coming to Brooklyn at all during your nyc trip?

Eno Sarris: God I don’t even know where my old friends live anymore, will have to check.

E5: We started believing in the Springer Adjustment for D. Santana on 4/18. Since that time he has struck out 50% of the time! Ugh.

Eno Sarris: I still like the tools and have kept my shares.

Nate: Everything points in the right direction for Rasmus, but track record. Chances he has just adjusted? Got offered him for Justin Upton.

Eno Sarris: I mean, you can do that, but you can’t do it straight up. You’d have to get another piece to make your risk worth it.

Snarfle: 3 x 3 x 3 x 3 x 3…to infinity equals, no not infinity. Infinity is not a number. Infinity is an overused trope by people who climbed up two rungs and thought they saw all of eternity. If you really want to shamanize your mind inside a bear’s consciousness you need to spend untold nights in the cold dreaming hard about moths and salmon. Yes, bears eat moths. A LOT of moths. Oh, by the way, a lot of moths is the answer to the original question. Alright, bye for now, gotta get back to my job. People are paying for me stuff. Yeah.

Eno Sarris: …

chris: Michael Conforto…he hits the ball hard all the time. He leads the league in hard contact. He’s hitting over .330 and it doesn’t look that difficult for him. He draws walks and has 20 plus home run power. In 2 years is he one of the 10 best hitters in baseball?

Eno Sarris: You won’t get me to say a bad word about him.

Darren: Should I still be sticking it out with Strickland and Dyson? I have one closer because my league went $20 nuts on closers this year and the closer I have is Jepsen. I also own O’Day because I just wanted someone that did their job.

Eno Sarris: Strickland closer to cutting because Bochy slow to remove a guy.

ScoKo: Has a place been picked for NYC meetup this summer? If that is still pending, Treadwell Park is pretty ideal. Huge space, pretty central, lots of TVs, free popcorn, pingpong, and of course a great tap list. treadwellpark.com

Eno Sarris: I’ll check it!

Mathenaging ’16:

Reginald Denton III: What kind of line does Kang post when he comes back? Will he be a better option for me at SS than Castro or Crawford?

Eno Sarris: Better than Crawford for sure.

Raspberrios Beret: If you could only drink one light beer for the rest of your life what would it be?

Eno Sarris: Firestone Walker Easy Jack. (eh I know, okay, I guess Coors Light.)

Austin Meadow’s Sweet Sweet Ass: I’M BACK BABY

Eno Sarris: whoo

Maxamuz: Trevor Story hit a 416ft HR last night with 100.6mph exit velocity and a 30.77degree launch angle on a CU low and away. Signs of good things to come.

Craig in Chi: Maddon hates Soler’s glove. Guy is robotic out there, imo.

Eno Sarris: Yeah it’s not great defensively. And the whiffs worrisome. But he’s made some really nice adjustments in the past, I don’t think he’s inflexible.

Miketron: I got a doctor who can fix your drippy tools…

Drew: WTF JORGE POSADA ISN’T LEADING THE SEARCH LIST

Darren: Can Jake Lamb keep close to this up?

Eno Sarris: yup

Raspberrios Beret: Is your hair naturally curly or do you perm it?

Eno Sarris: Hah, I put product in it to keep it from asploding, but that’s it. Not perming this thing. My grandma in law did say that while my bride was walking up to the altar, though. “It’s a perm.”

CAM: Time to play “Buy or Bye” with struggling aces, Eno! King Felix, Harvey, DeGrom, Keuchel, Archer

Eno Sarris: Hold, Buy, Hold, Bye, Buy

FamousMortimer: Adam Conley or Alex Wood ROS?

Reginald Denton III: What did you say to Cashner?

Eno Sarris: Conley

Eno Sarris: Did you ever think of throwing your fastball… less?

Jeff: Eno, I just googled a picture of you. I’m not sure why but I always assumed that you looked like Aziz Ansari.

Eno Sarris: Wish I was funny like him.

Eno Sarris: I’m not going to make it.

Logan: Should i drop t white and use my first waiver priority on f freemann? Small 10 team league

Eno Sarris: yes.

Shawn: #1 beer on your to trade for list right now?

Eno Sarris: Tree House.

Bork: If anyone wants to write about Votto, Eno challenges them to a duel.

PLEASE ANSWER: My sis is in San Fran right now. Any beers I should beg her to bring back for me?!?! Thanks!!!

Eno Sarris: Fieldwork crowler of Pulp Free if she’ll go to Oakland. A Rare Barrel sour while she’s over there. A cellarmaker Dobis growler if she’ll risk that in the bag, they in SF. If she’s just going to a store for you, some Modern Times Booming Rollers cans is a decent worst case scenario.

ctw: gausman was my last pick and I stashed him on DL until now. how excited should I be after that first start?

Eno Sarris: very

Eno Sarris: this is fun and silly

Mike: Is Segura the real deal?

Eno Sarris: I’m thinking way closer to 2013 than those other two years.

Shawn: Did you see on what Brandon McCarthy said about Eovaldi on Twitter? Could be legit #2 by end of year. Agree?

Eno Sarris: Yeah we chatted about that. Some injury risk to throwing the splitter 40% but it’s making people have to think at the plate and that’s bad when he can still throw 97.

Pat: How many Qs do you get per chat?

Eno Sarris: I still haven’t caught up to the queue and I”m answering maybe one in ten today.

Shawn: If i like Goses, will I like sours? I want to try a good sour, but am having a hard time putting down the $20-25 for them, especially when some of the reviews say vomit or bleu-cheese like funk.

Eno Sarris: Try one of the $11 12-ounce bottles. It’s still functionally the same cost but it’s less risk for you. Almanac Apricot de Brettaville is out now, or their Mosaic.

JV: What kind of OBP for Park?

Eno Sarris: .325?

Jeet: Would you trade Stroman + Nola/Eichoff for Thor/Kershaw

Eno Sarris: yes

RotoLando: I want someone’s nickname to be Bilbo Wondernuts.

Dan: Test

PV: I know you’ve mentioned that Stroman changed the movement on his pitches to induce more soft contact, but with an ERA creeping into the mid 4’s, is he going to have to change this approach and start striking guys the hell out?

Eno Sarris: He could at least throw the breakers more for whiffs.

Art Vandelay: The Warriors are a super stat based team too. It’s a mixture, just like it is in baseball, just more heavily weighed toward making the pieces fit, since basketball is such a team game, unlike baseball.

Eno Sarris: Well said.

Dude: Every time I see your twitter avatar I pretend we have a secret that no one else knows and you’re winking at me. What would that secret be?

Eno Sarris: “I didn’t sleep last night.”

New Guy: Nicasio – si o no?

Eno Sarris: non.

Matt: Matt Kemp quietly had a great second half of 2015 and is hitting well again in 2016. Can he get to 30 HR?

Eno Sarris: yes

CecilFielder: is JBJ still an elite defender?

Eno Sarris: yes

JD: Could Wil Myers be the most under the radar potential 30/20 guy out there? I feel like there would be a lot more hype if if he wasn’t stuck in San Diego, where dreams go to die.

Eno Sarris: yes

Cory: Jameson Taillion isn’t walking anybody (literally) and looks like who we thought he was a few years ago. Due to his command (and Glasnow’s lack of), is he more intriguing than Glasnow ROS?

Eno Sarris: no

New Guy: Kiermaier – you buying or selling?

Eno Sarris: buy in batting average, deeper than 12

Derek: Eno, headed from Asheville to Nashville on a road trip in a few. What breweries am I hitting up?

Eno Sarris: Was going to say some Carolina breweries but you’re headed the wrong way for beer.

Padilla Eephus: Yeah Eno have you checked out Mystic Brewery in Chelsea MA? They do a lot of saisons and specialize in replicating older fermentation processes.

Eno Sarris: Oh yeah I’ve had some of their saisons. Pretty good!

MP: Pitchers who get little run support explainable? As I hear broadcasters talk about Bassitt not getting any.

Eno Sarris: no.

Eno Sarris: oh god I just found another page of questions.

Little Donk: Brandon Moss. I was hoping he’d get ahead of Adams and so far he’s done a good job. What do you expect from him the rest of the year?

Eno Sarris: Bout the same. He’s my homeboy.

Eno Sarris: And by that I mean he’s smart and gets the most from his limited package of skills.

Vamos Gigantes: Also, ever tried Oberon?

Eno Sarris: Eh.

2-D: Read the “Invent a New Pitch” article, do you think there’s any correlation between Smyly’s injury history and the way he throws his curve?

Eno Sarris: Huh. I do think extreme over the top is a better way to get that movement than pronating like Braden. So he should be better off, but he has had the shoulder thing.

Mark Trumbo: How long until you realize my RBI/power is believable and worth buying into?

Eno Sarris: Got no problems with Trumbone?

Alien bread: Could you talk to someone & get Pop up% on the fangraphs leader boards?

Eno Sarris: yeah I prefer it to IFFB%, which is there, for a few reasons.

Art Vandelay: I’d take Antelope Canyon any day

Super Hans: How do you feel about banning or limiting shifts?

Eno Sarris: No.

CecilFielder: do you do your own podcast? I want more baseball ones (all I subscribe to are Carson’s)- What are some you would recommend?

Eno Sarris: Me and Sporer do the Sleeper and the Bust and I’m working on another one you might like. Jonah’s is good.

Carlos Rodon: Will I be as good as Sale, when?

Eno Sarris: Never have the same command.

Horn Please ThankYou: At this point it might be safer to get beaned by a J. Weaver slowball than anything R.A. Dickey throws. I mean…we are getting close to seeing Jamie Moyer 2.0

Miggy’s Belt: Glad I convinced my owner to stop running out ground balls. That’s how belts get broken!!!!

Eno Sarris: Man I gotta go. It’s been fun!!