Eno Sarris Baseball Chat — 5/4/17

1:36
Eno Sarris: I’m going to play this because I like it, creepy sound at the beginning or no.

12:01
The Average Sports Fan: Will Altherr continue to get full time PT?

12:02
Eno Sarris: Long term I think he’s still a fourth outfielder. Strikes out a lot, doesn’t walk a ton, overreached on small sample power imo, and platoon splits worrisome.

12:02
greg: Is Aaron Judge’s 54% HR/FB sustainable?

12:03
Eno Sarris: LOL

12:03
chris: How long do the Indians roll the dice with Chisenhall in center before calling up Zimmer?

12:04
Eno Sarris: Might magically happen shortly after June 1! Because Zimmer is playing well, would be the best defensive CF on their major league roster, and has to be able to out-hit Almonte at the very least.

12:04
botchatheny: kozma > profar. who knew?

12:04
Eno Sarris: I wonder how much the shoulder injury has changed Profar. I thought he had some power, but he hasn’t shown it at all.

12:04
yojiveself: each time I pick up a pitcher, there’s an article the very next day on fangraphs about how good that pitcher has become! Dare I pick up samardzija??

12:05
Eno Sarris: The slider is much better than the cutter, I like him, have been saying it was just a few bad starts in bad parks.

12:05
yojiveself: In a typical 6 game week, how many games do you see Mark Reynolds playing now that Desmond is back? worth holding if your answer is “4”?

12:05
Eno Sarris: Might be four for now, but when Dahl is back…

12:06
DB: Eno! Aaron Sanchez and Aaron Nola both dropped in my NFBC 12 teamer last week. I need a couple arms, what do you think is a reasonable FAAB% for either of them?

12:06
Eno Sarris: HIgher for healthier Sanchez. Might go v high, like 21-26%.

12:07
Rebuild mode: Better back-end of the rotation keeper to speculate on- Adam Conley or Mike Clevinger?

12:07
Eno Sarris: Conley.

12:07
Boss Man: Folty building on preseason hype. Don’t get too excited?

12:07
Eno Sarris: A few more sliders in place of curves is all I see. Not sure there’s been huge growth.

12:07
Steve: Would you recommend Rodenbach Grand Cru as an economical sour that comes in 4 packs?

12:07
Eno Sarris: Yes!

12:08
Tyler: Love the song selection there. Insane that I’m asking this, but can Aaron Judge be a 40 HR 100 RBI guy this season with the start he’s off to?

12:08
Eno Sarris: Already has 13 one month in…. so he could regress to half of what he’s doing and get to 100…

12:08
Sam Holbrook : I’m putting this chat on high alert. I will eject you so super hard if these ludes aren’t under control.

12:09
Evil Goatee Eno: When is the last time you thought of Ken Hill and the space between his teeth?

12:09
Not Freddie Pigs: Boink me in the Oinkie

12:09
hscer: guess i’m just gonna hang up and listen today

12:09
Eno Sarris: Ejectable offense?

12:09
Eric: Do you think Khris Davis has improved this year, or will basically end up the same as last year (.250, 35 – 40 HR)?

12:10
Eno Sarris: That plus better OBP this year!

12:10
Boo Jays: If the Jay’s do a fire sale, moving Osuna is the smart move right? Starts arbitration next year and has all those pretty saves

12:10
Eno Sarris: Him and Donaldson get the best return, probably.

12:10
Eric: What do you think about Duffy? He hasn’t looked so great this year, but his SwStr% is still in line with last year

12:11
Eno Sarris: I think some of his old habits are coming back (command), the velocity is down, and moving to the sinker and getting more ground balls was not the point of the sinker, getting strikes was the point. I might actually explore selling.

12:11
Seven Costanza: Votto recently said “I don’t try to hit home runs…unless I try to hit home runs.” That sly devil. With 5ish weeks of data, do you think Votto is actually trying to hit homers now? I know he always has a month that he tinkers, but do you think this might be a larger change? His EV on grounders is way way down, which might indicate a swing path change.

12:12
Eno Sarris: Fly balls up, but within the range of his career (1.03 gb/fb vs 1.26, had a .99 and 1.17 HR/FB in 1009 and 2011)… He definitely fs with people.

12:13
Erik: Would you rather own Archie Bradley or a random next in line for saves guy in a standard 12-team league where you’re not particularly hurting for saves? Or throw off my ratio of hitters/pitchers and just get some extra bench bat?

12:13
Eno Sarris: Bradley as closer has good trade value.

12:14
Bob: What do you expect for Sonny Gray ROS?

12:14
Eno Sarris: Eh. Never really found a third pitch. High threes ERA, some great starts at home, usable overall.

12:15
Alfonso: Aaron Judge hits an awful lot of grounders

12:15
Eno Sarris: He does. Should be good for his BABIP but not great for his overall production long term? I bet he hits more fly balls over time.

12:16
Reginald Denton III: It hasn’t been a terribly encouraging start by Giancarlo Stanton, but look at his numbers, his O-Swing% is down, his Z-Swing% is up, and his overall contact % is running at a career high. Do you see reasons to be optimistic about him going forward?

12:16
Eno Sarris: Yes! He’s healthy and doing what he normally does and those things you mention offer the possibility he hits .265+ this year.

12:17
Josh DC: Very timely on on your Robbie Ray piece… Went to the Nats game last night, Ray was pretty awesome, too bad his def and off let him down… my seats were right by the visitor bullpen… did you know Robbie Ray grunts when he pitches? like Monica Seles level grunts… not sure I remember hearing that from other guys warming up… is that common? Stadium was pretty quit last night, might that distract the hitter?

12:17
Eno Sarris: Rich Hill grunts and cusses. There are a few of them out there.

12:17
Shawn: Trevor Cahill – Ks sustainable?

12:17
Eno Sarris: Tons of curves! Decent package, considering he never really had a good breaking ball before.

12:18
Big Tuna: What do you make of Morton’s start last night?

12:19
Eno Sarris: Guess it is good news that lefties aren’t smashing him. He’s probably a pickup in all leagues? At least low 70s/high 60s rank.

12:19
blurg: Dylan Bundy’s k% isn’t great but the past two years he is running insane iffb% of 19%. I can’t imagine this is sustainable, but can his iffb% keep him effective while his k% is so low?

12:19
Eno Sarris: Worked for Chen. Velo was up to normal levels for the year last game, but not compared to last year. Still an injury risk.

12:19
Boo Jays: Think Tommy Kahnle could be the real deal for the White Sox or will the league figure him out?

12:20
Eno Sarris: I had his changeup as a top fifteen pitch by movement and velocity last year.

12:21
Eno Sarris: It’s always been about command for him, so that could go, but otherwise I believe in him and with the Jones news, Kahnle is a decent saves spec pickup.

12:21
Colinbaseball: How much control does a pitcher have over his LOB%? Are some pitchers better at getting out of jams than others?

12:22
Eno Sarris: Not traditionally thought of as a skill, but the Giants have had some success using a philosophy of “a walk is better than a home run so I won’t give in with runners on.”

12:22
Big Tuna: Zobrist is worrying me. Should I be worried?

12:23
Eno Sarris: Dude about to turn 36. I think he’ll finish the year with a .250 average and 11-12 homers. OBP leagues, still an asset.

12:24
Bob: Do you think Maddon will stick with the Contreras/Montero platoon all season?

12:25
Eno Sarris: It’s possible Contreras is hurt. His rolling exit velo is almost down to a nadir: https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/player?player_id=575929&pos=2&player_ty…

12:26
Smell the Glover: What to make of Berrios maybe (but probably not) coming up in the near future? He’s obvious not as bad as his major league numbers late last year, but seen anything to suggest he’s made the appropriate change(s)?

12:26
Eno Sarris: I’ve seen some mechanical changes. I think it’s possible he unlocks it this year, and in some leagues, he’s the best upside pickup on the wire. And Gibson about to pitch his way out of the rotation.

12:27
Tom: Thoughts on Aaron Nola? Would you trade Gio Gonzalez right now to get an injured Nola? 12 tm h2h pts.

12:27
Eno Sarris: Man I wish you could know the results of this newest MRI, it’s not good news that he’s getting one.

12:28
Dave: Are you expecting Bellinger to start all season now?

12:28
Eno Sarris: Joc still has to come back, but it is interesting that Gonzo is dealing with a herniated disc. He could go on the DL and give Bellinger more time. I said Bellinger would play this year, and play a lot, but I doubt he gets 500 PA.

12:28
Bad Spot: Any update on C. Rodon? Looking like June, at the earliest. Also, need saves badly (Dyson did not work out). My Mazara + Rodon + A. Reed for His Holland + Reddick. 14tm 5×5. Thoughts?

12:29
Eno Sarris: I’d rather pick up Rosenthal or Kahnle and try to find a closer.

12:29
Big Tuna: What are your thoughts on starting pitchers who are throwing against each other in roto leagues?

12:29
Eno Sarris: I’ll throw em both if they’re really good!

12:29
Russell: RIP to Carlos Martinez’s silver dreads extensions.

12:30
Big Tuna: I picked up Justin Wilson for spec saves in a 12tm but the guy who has K-Rod never responds to trade requests from anybody. Is Wilson worth holding onto for spec saves?

12:30
Eno Sarris: Yeah he’s probably best or second best spec.

12:30
So Taguchi: Carlos Rodon’s “mild” bicep issue went from 0-100 real quick. What’s the deal? He’s now out until June? Is he still a good stash?

12:30
Eno Sarris: He’s throwing so it’s not 100 now, they’ve just been slow-playing him.

12:31
Eno Sarris: No reason to push anything for this version of the team.

12:31
Dude: Thanks to you my pitching is in good shape. Bottom of rotation in an 11-teamer, are Severino and E. Rodriguez viable?

12:31
Eno Sarris: Yes v much. If they were both out there, I’d consider trading a pitcher for a hitter or doing a two for two where you get a droppable pitcher back.

12:32
Moltar: Fan Grapes: your home for advanced wine statistics

12:32
Moltar: Fang Rap HS: The High School for Hip-Hop Vampires

12:32
PTBNL: Is this thing on?

12:33
Gest : Do you have any reports on Taillon’s changeup?

12:33
Eno Sarris: Still looks exactly like his sinker, with a below average velo gap. Been hit for a home run twice as much as any other pitch. Huge line drive rate. Tiny whiff rate.

12:34
yojiveself: do you buy the claim that MLB is making when they say if they start paying minor leaguers the minimum wage, a lot of teams will have to fold? It feels like the whole arbitration process manages to keep salaries for stars in check enough to allow everyone to eat, no?

12:35
Eno Sarris: I thought I saw something saying it would cost $4 million per team. IF it’s that, then MLB could help the teams that would need help. Then again, the players got screwed out of MLBAM and that’s worth three billion so maybe just maybe the owners have some money for this.

12:36
Hooha: As a met fan, how pissed are you at their leadership? Seems like the window might be closing on this group if some changes aren’t made

12:36
Eno Sarris: Ownership, the manager, and their work wrt communication or injury prevention seem to be all sub standard or worse.

12:37
Flores: How worried are you about Jon Lester?

12:37
Eno Sarris: Not worried. Not sure he’s an ace, but 3.5/1.2+ seems totally doable.

12:38
Eno Sarris: another thing I just like. Two year old kept asking what the name of the song was yesterday.

12:38
Mike: When you’re attending a MLB game as a fan, where’s your favorite place in the park to sit?

12:39
Eno Sarris: If I’m not paying, behind home plate. If I’m paying, usually find a place along the first base line that gives me good bang for buck and is in the lower bowl.

12:39
ThirstyThursday: Three articles this week plus 2 beer articles in April? Why do you write like you’re running out of time?

12:40
Eno Sarris: I’m signed on for four articles a week, a chat, a podcast, a beer article about three times a month, will have a podcast regularly on October, and then I have to manage edit October. Believe me, I’m crazy busy.

12:41
FlippingTheBird: DNorris getting hit hard and bottom 25 of Barrel FIP. Any hope?

12:42
Eno Sarris: Anyone with pitches with that much movement and good velo has hope. Good lord the movement on his pitches. I’m assuming that’s what’s making it hard for him to command the stuff.

12:43
toki: This one time I went to a local brewery and they had a small batch of a beer that they had used Oak spirals in. I think they went a little to far with the oak because it was like drinking a tree….

12:43
Eno Sarris: Had a spruce gose from Grimm that gave me the same feeling.

12:43
just a guy: bregman = rendon?

12:43
Eno Sarris: ooooh kinda sums up the up and downside pretty well even if they don’t swing the same or anything.

12:43
Kiermaier’s Piercing Green Eyes: Will we ever come up with a metric for bullpen management?

12:44
Eno Sarris: I put together a decent group of metrics based on the work of Lindbergh and others for my ALMOY vote last year, i think we aren’t far there.

12:45
Broseph: Grant Dayton is soooo terrible. Why is this?

12:47
Eno Sarris: Wow! I hadn’t checked in with him for a while. Velo down, curve morphing into slider, spin rate down. Hurt?

12:47
Cool guy: So, Nick Martinez was interesting with the new pitch but then yesterday happened. Thoughts?

12:48
Eno Sarris: No out pitch. Cutter surprised people for a while and looked like an out pitch, but that pitch is rarely an out pitch.

12:48
weezy: Is Kershaw showing some signs of weakness? Significantly lower whiff rate, dingers, think he’ll continue being the best pitcher in the world?

12:48
Eno Sarris: I wonder if this new-ish harder slider is not as good as the old slider with more depth.

12:48
Zangief: Is Adrian Gonzalez’s 0% HR/FB sustainable?

12:48
BravesFan: Settle an argument for me – Dansby Swanson’s development will be best suited with his next 300 PAs taking place in the Major Leagues or AAA?

12:49
Eno Sarris: Major Leagues unless his confidence is shot.

12:50
Eno Sarris: Pitchers are better here, he needs to figure out better pitchers. Going back down can help people that need a boost of confidence or are changing something mechanically. I think he just needs to figure out sequencing, which is better done up here imo .

12:50
Moltar: Fang Sharps: Tooth sharpening service

12:50
Andrew: I can’t stop recommending Boulevard Brewing’s new Show-Me Sour beer

12:51
PD: What’s up with Julio Urias’s command?

12:51
Eno Sarris: Throwing a ton of curveballs? I doubt he’s suddenly lost it all.

12:51
david: Do you prefer Morton or Corbin going forward?

12:51
Eno Sarris: Morton

12:51
Scott of Linconshire: You know when in Big Trouble in Little China, after they get done drinking the magic from Egg Shen and they’re all riding the elevator saying “feel pretty good. I’m not, uh, I’m not scared at all. I just feel kind of… feel kind of invincible.”? What do you think was actually in Egg’s solution? I need some, now.

12:51
Sith Princess: deep league – 14 team
adding SP – Musgrove, Shoemaker, Eovaldi or say “nah”

12:52
Eno Sarris: Shoe

12:53
YKnotDisco?!: Granderson has a wOBA of .189 – wRC+ is @ 16. Tebow is projected for a wOBA of .185 – wRC+ of 11. Should he be called up for his younger legs?

12:53
Eno Sarris: no

12:53
just a guy: How long can Big Erv keep this up?

12:54
Eno Sarris: I like this version of Erv wit the changeup. I think he can do what he did last year going forward.

12:54
Moltar: Fulmer has been fine. Not great, just fine. Does he have another level he can reach this season? Or is he just a reliable fantasy 3/4 and I should be happy about that?

12:55
Eno Sarris: Been thinking about him. I thought he would bring the slider in more and get more whiffs this year. Command isn’t great, but he has top shelf stuff. He may have some bumps in the road, but I think he’ll end up a fine fantasy 2/3.

12:55
Pops: Victory Brewing beat out Troegs’ for the best craft brewer in Pennsylvania. I demand a recount.

12:55
Eno Sarris: I mean Prima Pils is good but

12:55
ThinkBlech: Any thoughts on Nick Castellanos? His hard hit % is up over 20%, and exit velo Iain that elite 93+ range. Early season noise, or man, that’s a lot of barrels?

12:55
Eno Sarris: I’d buy him.

12:55
Shave3456: Do you have any thoughts on Eric Hosmer? he has been REALLY bad to start the season, but looks to be hitting better this last week. Is there any hope for him to be a great hitter?

12:56
Eno Sarris: Not with that ground ball rate.

12:56
Evil Goatee Eno: What’s the inside joke on the ‘ludes’ comments? Obviously not Quaaludes, right?

12:56
Eno Sarris: They are interludes, moments of insanity or inanity in the middle of baseball.

12:56
Hot Dogs are Sandwiches: Extend Donaldson, Trade him at the deadline, or stand pat and see what happens in the offseason?

12:57
Eno Sarris: Trade? Get biggest return this deadline.

12:57
Eno Sarris: Also that’s a Mark Shapiro team now.

12:57
Bruce: Would you have ever predicted 5 years ago that in 2017, A-rod is way more likeable than Jeter?

12:58
Eno Sarris: That awkward interview was really interesting. Both of them laughed, but Jeter seemed ready to leave the interview while A-Rod played along. I wonder if he’s more used to rolling with punches on live TV post-career.

12:58
amre: Is there a way to get technical support on this site? No one seems to respond when you send a question through the ‘contact us’ link, and no one responds on this chat.

12:59
Eno Sarris: This was posted at 12:10 into the queue of questions i get. I answer probably 10% of questions right now because the q is so full. The chat is working and your questions are being sent into the q.

12:59
Full Tilt Dan: What in the world is going on with Schwarbs? I know the models had him with BAs down at .250 or lower and he’s only had 400 career MLB PAs, but his minor league track record you’d think would suggest more contact right?

1:00
Eno Sarris: Very few people striking out as much as he is right now with a 10.6% whiff rte. I bet he swings a bit more soon, is aggressive, and goes on a nutso streak.

1:00
JK: Any thoughts on AB-InBev acquiring Wicked Weed?

1:00
Eno Sarris: I like their beers. A lot. I’d love to be able to buy some of them in the store.

1:01
Charlie Morton: I like me. Do you like me? *Goodbye Horses plays*

1:01
Eno Sarris:

1:02
ryan: what are the odds that the Giants enter a selling period in the next 2 years and that they trade Posey (assume Posey is still awesome)?

1:02
Eno Sarris: Never. I wish they’d sell Pence and Cueto this year but that won’t happen either.

1:02
Borksadork: I recently read where the Royals may shop Herrera early with Soria out of the gate well. Chances this happens? Would they really firesale in May?

1:03
Eno Sarris: Their playoff odds are down to 1.7%… I think they’d be smart to do this.

1:03
Dancing Dan Mcgraw: I heard that players with blue eyes have a tougher time picking up the ball in day time games. How significant are the splits in those situations?

1:03
Eno Sarris: We looked into this for Hamilton and didn’t find anything.

1:03
Avery: What do you think of Bells Two Hearted? I am sort of new to buying fancy beers, and I don’t care for the super bitter stuff. Any recommendations for good starter beers that have good flavor?

1:04
Eno Sarris: Love Two Hearted. Also: Firestone Walker Easy Jack, Pinkus Ur-Pils, Saison Dupont, any national craft Pils.

1:04
McBain: Do players use equipment (elliptical, bike, treadmill) to stay warm during games? Seems like would help reduce all these muscle pulls – or at least that’s what my youth soccer coach told me.

1:05
Eno Sarris: Bench bats do, and they swing in the cage. Morse told me he figured out Neshek would pitch to him in the third inning so he spent three innings having a coach throw sidearm to him down below before he tied up that NLCS game.

1:05
7 years ago : I was like Trevor Cahill is a sleeper. Nailed it!

1:05
dad: throw me in the ludey bin

1:05
unbreakable: Brandon Guyer drinks smoothies with ground up crickets in them. I’m convinced he has his own exoskeleton. The chiton is what allows all those HBP

1:05
Eno Sarris: slow clap.

1:05
JJP: When should I be excited about a minor leaguer crushing AA pitching? June? or is the SS still S?

1:06
Eno Sarris: We now have swinging strike rate and GB/FB rate, so if there’s a corresponding change in those more meaningful stats, maybe you can get a little tickled.

1:06
Kd: Trying to make sense of Conforto’s batted ball profile. A lefty slugging .700 who’s only pulling the ball 25% of the time. Has there been anyone else like that?

1:06
Eno Sarris: Spray hitter with power? Votto-ish?

1:07
Pops: Swing path changes and multi inning relievers are all the new rage in baseball. What’s next?

1:07
Eno Sarris: High fastballs and starting the game with a LOOGY?

1:07
Sam Holbrook : THAT’S IT

1:07
Eno Sarris: this is no umpshow

1:07
Corntraveler: Do you think Kershaw and Urias will team up to take over the wall? One ball grip at a time?

1:08
Eno Sarris: Urias has a sneaky meh change, so he could learn a lot from Kershaw about throwing two breaking balls for success from the left side.

1:08
Jake : Concerned about lackey? He can’t throw his cutter all the time can he

1:08
Eno Sarris: I think it’s a slider, and he has been doing it forever… until he can’t I guess.

1:08
Ralph: what do you think about a pitcher who manipulates/adds/subtracts from one breaking ball vs. a pitcher who throws 2 truly distinct breaking pitches? how can we make sense of this with statcast/trackman data? does it create noise for ranking breaking balls when a player purposely manipulates break size and speed

1:09
Eno Sarris: Just wrote about this with respect to Ray. I think distinct pitches is preferable. Sonny Gray, Jake Arrieta and others have had success manipulating multiple breaking pitches, but I believe what Greinke said: eventually it all morphs together.

1:10
Eno Sarris: And think about being a hitter facing two very separate pitches (oops whiff) vs something that’s just an inch or two further away than you thought (contact, maybe soft).

1:10
Jeff: Both off to hot starts this season, but who do you expect to keep up the offensive production more this season: Chris Owings or Cesar Hernandez?

1:10
Eno Sarris: Owings had more power before he got hurt, I believe in him.

1:11
Alex: Is now a good time to try and buy on Alex Bregman? I want to but some worrying signs this may be who he is.

1:11
Eno Sarris: Not amazing exit velo, and his gb/fb went back the wrong way. I don’t get it.

1:11
HappyFunBall: On a scale of 0 (Chris Carter), 5 (Trumbo) to 10 (Stanton) …. where will Judge settle in?

1:11
Eno Sarris: 8 or so. Too many ground balls to be Stanton RIGHT NOW.

1:12
Rhaegar: Who is the most fun team in baseball right now? You’re right it is the Yankees.

1:12
Nolan: Saw a bit of the Dodgers game last night at a bar. Has Julio Urias always been kind of…uh…thick?

1:12
Eno Sarris: I prefer fire hydrant.

1:12
Herpes – The gift that keeps giv: URGENT:

1:13
Eno Sarris: Given the handle, I beleive you.

1:13
FlanGraphs: I need some mellow beach reggae, Eno. Somethign along the lines of Sugar Minott.

1:13
Eno Sarris:

1:14
Sam: Trevor Story- HELP!

1:15
Eno Sarris: He’s still swinging and reaching less than usual, I think he’s just slow to respond to different books on him.

1:15
PD: Graveman throws a 94 mph sinker. Yet his GB rate is only 40%. Should he take a little off of it to try to induce more sink or go the Porcello way and go four seam up in the zone?

1:16
Eno Sarris: He throws it for called strikes (front door) and inside and low for swinging strikes. It’s possible he has two sinkers, too, and that he’s manipulating those to mix things up.

1:16
Tim Tebow’s Thunder Thighs: I’m going to make a hamburger casserole – layers of bun, ground beef, onions, pickles, ketchup, mustard, cheese, and more bun – all baked in the oven. Like a hot sandwich edible with fork and knife.

1:16
Eno Sarris: disgustinteresting.

1:16
Jobu: Is E. Suarez at 3B passable in a 12 team H2H (keeper) with Moncada stashed? I have De Grom, Darvish, Paxton, Salazar, Quintana & Ray, so could try and trade one for an upgrade.

1:16
Eno Sarris: He’s cromulent.

1:16
Quadrangular: Harvey is completely cooked. someone take that man out of the oven.

1:17
Eno Sarris: Weird that his velocity is okay, and he’s throwing the same pitches, but Ks are gone. I think there’s still some upside there.

1:18
HankLloydWright: Christian Yelich is available. Should I drop Margot and pick him up?

1:18
Eno Sarris: yes

1:18
dominikk85: Isn’t what the nats did the last 5 years a little underrated? Not the strongest division and terrible playoff record but they had 5 straight winning seasons and averaged 91.6 wins over that span. Rizzo doesn’t have the best reputation but not many teams had such a streak the last decade. If the harper, strasburg era is over they will likely fall but by then they likely had 7 straight winning seasons averaging 92+ wins. Would be bad if it wasn’t crowned by a good postseason performance but it is a long and strong competitive window.

1:19
Eno Sarris: Yes and he’s done deals like the Souza deal to keep it going. I like his style.

1:19
Oscar Gamble: Why an injury risk on Bundy? His velo went up last game. He’s started three times against the Red Sox who are notoriously difficult to K, had great numbers when he faced Toronto

1:19
Eno Sarris: velo went up to this year’s levels, which are down significantly from last year’s levels. And he’s a walking injury risk. Because history. Nothing predicts injury like injury in the past.

1:20
keyboard crusader: Will Vince Velasquez find any consistency?

1:20
Eno Sarris: Needs to do the Carrasco and just throw hot fire towards the middle of the zone and let movement take it to edges.

1:20
Moltar: Delayed taking Desmond out of IR so I wouldn’t have to cut somebody, but with thursday waivers coming up I need to decide today. Drop Mazara? Drop my most superfluous starter or reliever (Vargas and BNorris, respectively)?

1:20
Eno Sarris: Vargas.

1:20
Gub Gub: I need to see Bartolo Colon use his throwing momentum to execute a perfect cartwheel. I need it, Eno.

1:20
Jimbo: Hello. Can you help me think about the differences between curve, spike curve, and knuckle curve? Is it just a comfort thing with the grip or are there actual differences in the movement profiles?

1:21
Eno Sarris: I lump em together, I don’t think there’s that much difference. Knuckles might be a little harder because you can throw them like a fastball and let the grip eat but it’s not a huge effect.

1:21
Scott: Better ROS: Danny Duffy or Danny Salazar?

1:21
Eno Sarris: Salazar.

1:22
YKnotDisco?!: I asked this question in a comment section: What warrants a longer suspension, Head Hunting or PEDS? Do you have any thoughts you wouldn’t mind sharing?

1:22
Eno Sarris: PEDs for sure because I think we ascribe intent to high and tight pitches that get away from the pitcher too often.

1:22
Spec: Who are the best spec saves guy (not on teams with Committees)? J. Wilson, JJ Hoover.

1:24
Eno Sarris: Wilson, Bradley, Rosenthal, Capps, Kahnle, Hoover, Treinen.

1:25
Eno Sarris: Five year old got into this over the weekend, listened to it on repeat and loved the story, re-told the story to me a few times.

1:26
BK: Any beer recommendations in Dallas, Austin or San Antonio?

1:27
Eno Sarris: Jester King in Austin is a must, Deep Ellum and Peticolas in Dallas… Freetail in SA?

1:27
Evil Goatee Eno: When you get questions about specific players, do you do a quick scan of his Fangraphs page to come up with an answer? Or did you already recognize that Contreras’ rolling exit velocity was down the drain?

1:27
Eno Sarris: I do a few key searches. Sometimes I just emote.

1:28
E: Does Joey Votto just get bored playing for the Reds so he just like, tries different things?

1:28
Eno Sarris: Or he likes setting up the second half of the season by acting a certain way. Like he can see what advance scouts are telling their pitchers on the other team.

1:29
awy: Clint Frazier’s recent hot streak, any substantial changes?

1:29
Eno Sarris: Interesting! Best swinging strike rate of his career so far. I bet he’ll be like Addison Russell, where he has to get a couple tries at the league before he breaks out.

1:29
ChicagoCardinal: How much lude would a Ludacris if Luda could lude ludes?

1:30
Cistulli’s Moustache: I’m a climber in Denver and appreciated your piece today on recovery living at altitude. You mention the importance of sleep and nutrition. Do you know if the Rockies use supplementary oxygen to combat hypobaric hypoxia? Thanks.

1:30
Eno Sarris: None of the players mentioned that, all I got was that trainer saying he had breathing exercises. I even asked them about sleeping in chambers haha.

1:31
A cat: Pomeranz seems to have problems third time through the lineup, maybe fatigue. Would it be better to transition him to multi-inning relief ace or do the RS need to justify trading Espinosa for him at least through this year?

1:31
Eno Sarris: Not till the playoffs.

1:31
E: I’ve been eating healthy for approximately 48 hours now, I feel terrible.

1:31
Eno Sarris: inoright I had a salad two straight nights and I want to house a burger with a pizza stuffed inside it.

1:32
The J: What’s your opinion on Finnegan long term? Think the changes he made last year in the 2nd half and early this year are for real?

1:32
Eno Sarris: I do but what’s this injury about.

1:32
Joe: Who do you think hits more home runs this year, Sano or Judge?

1:33
Eno Sarris: Going forward, maybe Sano, hits way more fly balls. But Judge has five on him.

1:33
ChicagoCardinal: Poke > Indian food?

1:33
Eno Sarris: Poke >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

1:33
Hooha: how many people show up to these things?

1:33
Eno Sarris: dunno, but this guy did

1:33
Dungeon Master: DUNGEON. MASTER.

1:33
Eno Sunshine When She’s Gone: Thoughts on LeMahieu’s slow start?

1:34
Eno Sarris: Tried to get him to open up but he wouldn’t. Was pulling fly balls and maybe that’s not his game, but said he wasn’t on team elevate.

1:34
Hooha: describe a replacement level, 2.0 war 6.0 war and 10 war sandwiches please

1:36
Eno Sarris: salame between two pieces of wheat bread; salame and cappicola with avocado and salt and pepper on poppy roll; salame, cappicola, avocado, salt, pepper, deep fried onion on soft roll; salame, cappicola, sir-racha honey mustard, avocado, provolone, tempura skinny cut red onion on fluffy white roll.

1:36
Alex: What is more indicative of better “stuff”? A looking K or a swinging K?

1:36
Eno Sarris: I think swinging K. They were trying to hit it!

1:37
Jonathan: Even though Amed Rosario is tearing up the AAA, I feel like for his development he shouldn’t be called up at least until September. Besides the Met’s having obvious needs, if you were Sandy what signs would signal he’s ready to contribute and doesn’t have anything left to prove at AAA?

1:38
Eno Sarris: Personally maybe a few more walks and fly balls, but maybe he’s not that type of hitter. I saw someone say “I like my fast guys to take walks and my powerful guys to hit the ball” and that’s just not how baseball works. You get walks often because they’re scared of your power, those two things tightly correlated. So there’s a ton of guys that are fast and make a lot of contact and don’t have great walk rates. That might be Rosario. Numbers wise, looks ready. could be up in June, would make that team a lot better to have a standout defensive SS with a bat over at short and have Asdrubal at third.

1:39
tonyc: Ryon Healy: we’re done here, right? Dude looks totally lost at the plate, and the offense around him is a mess. Drop even in dynasty at this point?

1:39
Eno Sarris: Depends on how deep. He moved off the plate, might have been a bad idea.

1:39
eno noir: i know i’m late but what the hell, i’ll try. my avg is bad. do i trade odor/mccarthy for lemehieu/duffy? or lemehieu/bundy?

1:39
Eno Sarris: no

1:39
David B: Eno, as someone who is a competitive marathon runner and reads a lot on exercise physiology, I just wanted to say I found your article on the Rockies fascinating

1:40
Eno Sarris: Thanks. As soon as chatwood said he had to remember to crush food I was hooked into the topic.

1:40
Arnie Harris: Tell me something good about Nomar Mazara.

1:41
Eno Sarris: Above average power above average contact great home park good team offense. That’s just right now. Eventually I still see the possibility of .300/30/100 in him.

1:41
Blake : Lagunitas sells remaining 50% to Heineken, of course.

1:41
Eno Sarris: Remember when that dude was the loudest TRUE CRAFT yeller?

1:41
eno noir: also – are you a joc believer? will he be a top 40 OF the rest of the way? or is the PT issue going to kill him?

1:42
Eno Sarris: Always going to platoon, and was surprised by how much he had in common with Colby Rasmus.

1:42
Eno Sarris: When Sporer brought it up.

1:42
Wes: Obviously last night wasn’t his best start, but is deGrom the most underrated pitcher in the majors?

1:43
Eno Sarris: I love him. And I think he might age the best if not for random stupid injury that runs into everyone: he has multiple pitches and great command.

1:43
brb: need to run to a meeting, but can’t find the pause button for the chat, plz send help

1:43
Eno Sarris: pause button is in your out of office message, just click that and we’re all set

1:43
Gest : There was an article preseason on Robbie ray’s plan to grunt this year. I think he said he got the idea from Greinke?

1:43
Eno Sarris: Oh yeah Greinke grunts too!

1:44
weezy: Wheeler or Jordan Montgomery in a k/9 league?

1:44
Eno Sarris: Montgomery.

1:45
OC: Thoughts on Addison Russell? Soft contact is down (though so is hard), out of zone swing rate is down, and in zone contact rate is up, but the results just haven’t been there

1:45
Eno Sarris: when you see this, and the only thing missing is power, you buy.

1:45
Gest : This the article that covers ray’s grunting http://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/mlb/diamondbacks/2017/02/21/diam…

1:45
YKnotDisco?!: Have you ever caught a foul ball as a spectator?

1:45
Eno Sarris: NEVER HAVE I EVER

1:46
Eno Sarris: remember this is all I’ll say

1:46
John: Why don’t teams trade guys earlier in the season?

1:46
Eno Sarris: hope, butts in seats?

1:47
Tom: What’s the one beer you haven’t tried that everyone raves about?

1:47
Eno Sarris: Very few left. Some stouts maybe. Hunahpu’s never had that.

1:48
Moltar: The Mets are a franchise without accountability. Hard to instill any when the team prez is a silver-spooner and the owner was given a free pass by MLB for his extreme mismanagement. Problems always start at the top.

1:48
Eno Sarris: I agree.

1:48
Turd Ferguson: All this talk about breakout players this season (there certainly have been) and yet a familiar face remains atop the WAR leaderboard….. Damn you Mike Trout

1:48
Evil Goatee Eno: I like drinks that taste like wood.

1:48
Morris Buttermaker: Watched jared weaver start last night. No real question it’s just odd when I watch a pro sports game and think “I can do that”. As in I can throw 80 and hang sliders that go 800 ft.

1:49
Moelicious: Anything to see with Andrew Triggs? Career 8/2 K/BB with 53% GB% and good HR suppression. But only 85 IP thus far

1:50
Eno Sarris: Sinker cutter slider from a weird arm slot is almost a unicorn. Have to think lefties will eventually hit some homers off him.

1:50
Twitchy Paul: Play some Drake! Get that reggae garbage outta here!

1:50
Eno Sarris: no

1:51
Kang: Odds I hit MLB baseballs again?

1:51
Eno Sarris: You’re going to get better odds from me because I think baseball gives chances out forever. 75%

1:51
Need More Bangers: is Pliny the Elder as good as everyone says, or is it over-hyped?

1:51
Eno Sarris: Classic. OG. Like listening to Pete Rock and CL Smooth and being like OH RIGHT THAT.

1:52
Quadrangular: I’ve been looking for recent hitter comps for Benintendi. came up with K Seager, Rendon, Scott Rolen, Matsui, Ethier. Sound about right? How would you go about this kind of thing?

1:52
Eno Sarris: Not crazy. I’d try with components over results. Like BB, K, GB/FB, Exit Velo, BSR or Spd Score.

1:53
Will Graham : Jharel makes me sad. Tell me he puts it all together.

1:53
Eno Sarris: May not be right away, but that’s an elite pitch and it comes with good velo and the cutter is a fine third pitch. I’m still in long term.

1:53
Don Gale: Ender finishes the year with 15/35… whatcha think?

1:54
Eno Sarris: Under on both but not by much.

1:54
Joseph Tischer: Arrieta for Paxton. Thoughts?

1:54
Eno Sarris: yes.

1:54
Mookie: Delino DeShields worth a grab in team for the SB-starved?

1:54
Eno Sarris: yes

1:54
Josiah: At what point do Dodgers stop playing Utley and Gonzalez. This is ridiculous.

1:54
Eno Sarris: My mother in law went to a game and came back said they looked old on the infield.

1:55
Jharel Polyblend: Is this Cotton’s last stand before dropsville? I cant watch anymore.

1:55
Eno Sarris: It’s already drop time in 12/14. I’m holding in deeper and even buying in dynasty.

1:55
Villar Trooper: Do you ever click on a question on accident then make up a BS answer to move past it?

1:55
Eno Sarris: uh,

1:55
LenFuego: Is there something physically wrong with Devon Travis? Thought he was going to take a step forward this year but he has been brutal.

1:55
Eno Sarris: Yeah I mean he was hurt and a lot of times it takes a whole year to get back.

1:56
Sam: Tyler Clippard is looking real hittable. Is he just aging into mediocrity? BTW my wife calls him 500 miles. Guess why.

1:56
Eno Sarris: Cause she wants to fall down at his door!

1:56
E: If current day Albert Pujols played in my Wednesday night softball league, would he be the best defensive shortstop in the league?

1:57
Eno Sarris: Eh I’m not so sure, he doesn’t quite look like a gazelle out there a little closer to a Molina.

1:57
Canseco twitching as he rounds : Seems too many guys are selling out for power. Can you name a couple guys that would be way more valuable if they simply tried to have good at bats and hit line drives?

1:57
Eno Sarris: A little worried that 20 degrees is too much for Alonso.

1:57
Soggy Arm: Would you allow Carlos Martinez to braid your hair?

1:58
Eno Sarris: Man I asked Rich HIll to take a picture of his nasty as blister finger for content, I will debase myself for your pleasure.

1:58
Laroo: Puig — you believe in the breakout? What do his numbers look like at year end?

1:58
Eno Sarris: Yes I thought he could at least do this. Could be some power streaks that make it look even a little better by the end.

1:58
Moltar: So last week I asked for advice about handling my visit to a home brew competition over the weekend. The result? I tried a lot of tasty beers, my friend won an award, I failed to eat enough or drink enough water and was schwasted by 6pm.

1:58
Eno Sarris: happens

1:59
Villar Trooper: I sort this list every morning and it’s telling me to buy low on Salazar. Is that true? http://www.fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=all&stats=pit&lg=all&qual=y&…

1:59
Eno Sarris: I like him.

1:59
botchatheny: what brewery/beer would you lend your likeness to?

1:59
Eno Sarris: Anything from Fieldwork.

1:59
Red Foreman: Teach a man to fish Eno. Lets say I was wanting to evaluate pitchers comparing this season to previous ones to see if they made changes that are sustainable. What stats do you look at?

1:59
Eno Sarris: Velocity and pitch percentages. Easiest way to do it. Cahill’s curve percentage!

2:00
Hannah Hochevar: Manny Machado changed his walk-up music to Kendrick’s HUMBLE. Seems like it’s fueling a breakout.

2:00
Eno Sarris: I didn’t make it to the last page.

2:01
tonyc: Where are you on the Sandwich Alignment Chart?

Having a baked open face western bao for dinner! Love westerner’s food ? so ancient and mysterious.
27 Apr 2017
2:01
Eno Sarris: lol

2:01
tonyc: Where are you on the Sandwich Alignment Chart? https://flowingdata.com/2017/05/02/sandwich-alignment-chart/

2:01
Eno Sarris: almost an anarchist.

2:01
Delino: In most chats people like Mazara more than Conforto. But this is the second straight year that Conforto has gone nuts on the league for at least a month. Obviously he’s shown he can go ice cold as well. Where are you on both?

2:02
Eno Sarris: I love them both so much. In real life, Conforto. Better D, like his spray charts, approach. Might be in fantasy too but Texas a nice park.

2:02
Clowning Not Waving: the whole neigjborhood is outside in the street crazy yelling because guy on our block managed to flush a basketball turd down the toilet.

2:02
Eno Sarris: I did something like this in College.

2:03
Eno Sarris: ok ok ok sorry I have to go! thanks for hanging out!





With a phone full of pictures of pitchers' fingers, strange beers, and his two toddler sons, Eno Sarris can be found at the ballpark or a brewery most days. Read him here, writing about the A's or Giants at The Athletic, or about beer at October. Follow him on Twitter @enosarris if you can handle the sandwiches and inanity.

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Alex Trebek
6 years ago

I asked this too late in the chat to get answered, but didn’t know where else to throw it out there:

Is there any way to get the Auction Calculator to output the raw category totals rather than the m$Values? I find myself drafting “good value” and often losing sight of the categories. With the raw totals, I would more easily target numbers based on historic league values. Would make an already great tool even better.

rynrrckmember
6 years ago
Reply to  Alex Trebek

You can append the raw totals to the table by doing a vlookup (or a match/index) on a worksheet with the projections output. Tanner Bell’s worksheet tutorial was a great starting point when I tried taking the next step in better draft prep. From this link you’ll find some others about creating a projected standings pivot table that can help both in draft and in midseason evaluations for FA or trades. Good luck! http://www.fangraphs.com/fantasy/how-to-create-a-position-cheat-sheet-in-excel/