The Astros have yet again acquired pitcher Justin Verlander and cash on deadline day, this time from the Mets for outfield prospects Drew Gilbert and Ryan Clifford. Verlander, signed to a two-year, $86.667 million contract before the season, put up a 3.15 ERA and a 3.81 FIP in 16 starts for the Mets. The exact amount of cash being sent along with Verlander is not yet known.

Verlander pitching for a team that wasn’t the Astros just felt kind of odd. While he certainly didn’t spend the bulk of his career in Houston, it’s where he had his personal pitching renaissance, where he clinched his future Hall of Fame membership, and where he got his championship rings. Verlander in blue-and-orange felt like that episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation in which Jean-Luc Picard is kind of a sad-sack 60-year-old ensign because he didn’t get in a bar fight as a youngster. Or maybe it’s like when you’re trying to buy a Coke at some rural gas station, but they’re out, and you end up with some bizarre generic cola that may have been sitting there since the Reagan years. Verlander’s opinion may vary, but from at least this fan, it feels like something that went wrong has been set right by Scott Bakula.

The Astros aren’t just trying to satisfy nostalgia; they needed a starting pitcher, so why not one they have a longstanding relationship with? A rash of injuries has left the rotation thinner than they would like heading into the homestretch, and they have a real dogfight this year with the Rangers, who’ve already added Max Scherzer and Jordan Montgomery; there’s no lapping the division by 15 games. Verlander has shown some clear signs of aging this year, as hitters are less prone to whiffing and are hitting the ball harder, and his control isn’t quite as precise as in the past. But these are normal things for a 40-year-old pitcher, and nearly every pitcher who is still in the league at 40 is going to fall out of it during the ensuing few seasons. Houston isn’t asking Verlander to carry the team, but to be a dependable, healthy arm who keeps the team in games. That he’ll do.

The money has not yet been disclosed — check my colleague Jay Jaffe’s upcoming piece for this and more — but my initial guess is “a bunch.” Verlander’s contract is a hefty one, and both Gilbert and Clifford are legitimate prospects; I can’t imagine the Astros would have parted with them if they were also paying full or near-full freight on Verlander. Our prospect team has already shifted in Gilbert as the new No. 1 prospect on the Mets, and while his stats at Double-A Corpus Christi are far from eye-popping, you have to remember that this is his first full professional season. ZiPS sees him peaking as a near two-win outfielder in the .260/.330/.400 range, though the error bars are quite wide when you’re talking someone with so little professional experience. ZiPS is highly interested in Clifford’s power upside (as is the scouting community), but there are a lot of questions about his plate discipline and defensive value to be answered.

MLB will have to approve any deal where more than $2 million changes hands, as will be the case with Verlander and Houston. That has not happened yet, so the deal will not be official for a little while .

— Andy Martino (@martinonyc) August 1, 2023

Stay tuned for more on the trade!

Members of the 2023 draft class are now on the pro side of The Board. You can see where freshly drafted and signed players stack up in their new organization’s farm system here. Graduates have also been pulled from The Board; their evaluations are now preserved on the 2023 Graduates tab. Players who exceed rookie playing time requirements between now and the end of the season will be moved from the 2023 Updated section of The Board to the Graduates section in real time, and those who graduate get a scouting update on their player page contrasting their evaluation with their performance at time of graduation. Note that the farm system rankings from prior to the graduates removal still exist here; live farm system rankings (for which the grads no longer count) exist here. These will shift and change as prospects move between now and the trade deadline.

Because the Top 100 grew and changed throughout the Prospect List cycle, readers should consider it live and up to date. I made some updates to Reds prospects (more on that in a second) and slid Diamondbacks outfielder Druw Jones, who succumbed to yet another injury between when the D-backs list published and now, but otherwise just pulled off the grads. There are only 89 players in the minors with a 50 FV grade or better right now because of the graduates being pulled off of the list. This is not unusual for this time of year; similar to the way the 50 FV cross section moved from 107 players to about 130 players during the last cycle, prospects who improve and advance will climb into that group.

Reds Update

Between now and the deadline, I’ll be reviewing the farm systems of a few key clubs likely to buy, something I’ve already done for the tippy top of the Reds system.

Lyon Richardson’s pitch grades have been altered to reflect that his changeup has become his best pitch. His innings count has been kept pretty conservative, and I’d really like to see him hold the 95–97 mph fastball he’s currently showing deeper into games before moving him into the 50 FV tier, but he looks really good. His command isn’t precise, but he has a mid-rotation starter’s mix and has been throwing hard since his return from TJ, just not while working a true starter’s innings load.

Cam Collier is struggling statistically, but the pro scouting reports from source clubs are still generally positive, and he is still very young for a full-season hitter. His swing is still pretty weird, but there’s just too much lefty power here to slide him so soon.

Noelvi Marte is not playing good defense right now. He’s hitting well enough that he’ll probably still be a quality big leaguer even if he has to move off of third base, but now that he is on the 40-man, he only has so long to find a position before he’s out of option years. Lurking on the horizon here is a scenario where he ends up with one or no options left and basically no position. It’s not his likeliest outcome, but because he’s looked pretty bad on defense for the last sixth months or so, this is now a conceivable outcome. I still think he will be a good big leaguer over time (he remains a 50 FV prospect on The Board), but were I a GM, I’d be apprehensive about making him the centerpiece of a trade return.

Christian Encarnacion-Strand moves up into the 45 FV tier as a power-hitting role player who’ll be a dangerous (but likely flawed) piece of this ascending Reds team. His Triple-A contact rate (72%) would be near the bottom of the MLB 1B position group (70%), and his chase rates (an eyebrow-raising 39%) were about 20% worse than big league average (32%) at the time he was called up. League-wide adjustment to his tendency to chase will make him streaky, but ultimately Encarnacion-Strand’s power is going to play in a big way because he’s incredibly strong, and his swing is geared to do big damage. There are warning signs here similar to what Elehuris Montero exhibited in the minors, even amid his awesome surface-level statistical performance, but CES is at a different level, physically.

Edwin Arroyo also slides from the 50 FV tier to the 45 FV tier. Again, he still projects to be a good big leaguer, just not a true everyday, omni-situational player in my eyes. He continues to have throwing issues that will likely funnel him to second base, which I suppose was already likely given the Elly/McLain combo ahead of him. He’s going to get to his power by virtue of his swing’s lift, but his bat-to-ball performance has regressed enough to reevaluate him in light of the new defensive projection and consider him more of a just-shy-of-average second baseman. Look at the kind of hit tool it takes to profile as an everyday second baseman. Arroyo’s performance has been fine, but not quite on that level.

You can see how punishing the De La Cruz, McLain, etc. graduations are to the Reds’ farm system ranking, but even if you consider that group to be untouchable, they have a ton of depth (nearly 50 ranked prospects) to leverage in trade discussions.

Génesis Cabrera changed feathers on Friday, as he was traded from St. Louis to Toronto for teenage catching prospect Sammy Hernandez a few days after Cabrera was designated for assignment. The hard-throwing 26-year-old southpaw had spent parts of five volatile seasons with the Cardinals. While he has enjoyed a significant bat-missing rebound in 2023 compared to last season (he’s back into the 26% K% area, up from 16.5% in 2022), Cabrera was in the midst of yet another rocky, homer-prone year before he was DFA’d. He introduced an upper-80s slider/cutter to his repertoire this year and has been using it a ton (36%), while his fastball velocity has slipped a bit. All of Cabrera’s non-fastball pitches generate above-average swinging strike rates, while his mid-90s heater tends to get shelled even though he and the Cardinals made changes to it this year. Perhaps a change of scenery and new outside intervention will lead to another tweak in this area:

Read the rest of this entry »

Sabermetrics, Scouting, and the Science of Baseball is a charity conference that blends science, insider knowledge, and groundbreaking sabermetrics research. Attendees will hear over 20 research presentations about the science and statistics behind the game. Learn from MLB insiders like Chicago White Sox Pitching Coach Ethan Katz, Cubs Assistant GM Eshan Bokhari, and Brewers VP of Research and Innovation Dan Turkenkopf. The conference will be held August 12-13 at the Hermann Hall Conference Center at Illinois Tech in Chicago.

FanGraphs has been a supporter of Saberseminar for over 10 years and several members of our staff will be in attendance. And remember, it’s all for a great cause – 100% of the conference’s ticket proceeds directly support the Alliance to Cure Cavernous Malformation.

For tickets, details, and speaker information, please visit saberseminar.com.

Biomechanical Analyst, Baseball Analytics

Location: Citi Field – Queens, New York
Status: Full Time

Summary:
The New York Mets are seeking a Biomechanical Analyst in Baseball Analytics. The Biomechanical Analyst will work in conjunction with the Sports Science department to answer a variety of questions relating to biomechanics and baseball. The analyst will be the primary bridge between Baseball Analytics and the Performance Technology group and will need a strong statistical background as well as some level of prior experience with biomechanical data. Prior experience in baseball is a plus but is not required.

Essential Duties & Responsibilities:

• Design and implement statistical models to answer a variety of questions relating to biomechanics and baseball
• Work in conjunction with the Sports Science department to integrate biomechanical research into Baseball Analytics models and pipelines
• Interpret data and report conclusions drawn from their analyses to support and improve decisions
• Serve as primary educational resource on biomechanical data within Baseball Analytics as well as a strong statistical modeling presence within Sports Science/Performance Technology
• Effectively communicate statistical concepts and the results of models to both technical and non-technical audiences
• Provide advice on technical requirements for the Data Engineering team, and guidance to the Baseball Systems team on how best to present model results
• Evaluate potential new data sources and technologies to determine their validity and usefulness
• Consistently analyze recent research in analytics and biomechanics that can help improve the modeling work done by the Baseball Analytics department
• Assist with recruiting, hiring, and mentoring new analysts in the Baseball Analytics department

Qualifications:

• At a minimum, BS in statistics or a related field, with post-graduate degrees a plus
• Professional experience in a quantitative position is a plus
• Biomechanics background or experience working with biomechanical data. Sports or baseball-specific experience is a plus
• Prior knowledge of motion capture and other technologies is a strong plus but not required
• Strong background and real-world data applications of a wide variety of statistical techniques. Machine Learning and/or Computer Vision modeling is a plus.
• Strong proficiency in R, Python, or similar, as well as strong proficiency in SQL
• Basic knowledge of data engineering and front-end development is a plus, for the purpose of communicating with those departments
• Strong communication skills
• Ability to work cooperatively with others, and to take control of large-scale projects with little or no daily oversight
• Prior experience in or knowledge of baseball is a plus, but is not required

To Apply:
To apply, please follow this link.

The content in this posting was created and provided solely by the New York Mets.

Senior Quantitative Analyst

Department: Baseball Operations
Status: Full-Time
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Pay Rate: $120,000 – $150,000/year*
Reports to: Director, Quantitative Analysis

*Compensation rates vary based on job-related factors, including experience, job skills, education, and training.

The Los Angeles Dodgers are looking for quantitative baseball researchers to turn data into actionable insights through use of mathematical and statistical models. Senior Analysts are expected to innovate on our core data products, identify future areas of innovation in predictive modeling, identify and implement best practices in developing and deploying code, and provide data-backed opinions to coaches and front office decision-makers on decisions regarding on-field strategy, player development, and player evaluation.

Essential Duties & Responsibilities:

• Own the development and deployment of our most complex and highest impact predictive models
• Identify, research, and implement opportunities for new models, data sources, and areas of baseball research
• Contribute to high level planning and prioritization of projects within the QA group
• Build internal tooling to make you and your peers more efficient
• Understand the needs of users and evaluate the day-to-day impact of analytics products
• Perform ad hoc data analyses to answer urgent questions from front office leadership and other groups within baseball operations
• Advise executives and coaches on player evaluation, player development, and on-field strategy
• Make public appearances to student and professional groups to aid departmental recruiting efforts
• Provide mentorship to junior analysts, interns, and various members of the Dodgers organization not coming from a technical background.

Basic Requirements/Qualifications:

• Passionate about winning championships
• 5+ years of experience building and evaluating predictive models in industry
• Expertise in model deployment and tools for automating data science workflows
• Experience maintaining a well-organized, well-documented code repository
• Experience mentoring early-career data scientists

Nice to Haves:

• Experience using data to advise decision-making in some domain
• Experience with Bayesian Statistics
• Experience with spatial statistics
• Experience with analysis of time series data
• Experience with machine learning, particularly problems involving computer vision
• Experience maintaining and monitoring machine learning models in production
• Experience with SQL
• Experience doing baseball research

To Apply:
To apply, please follow this link.

Quantitative Analyst

Department: Baseball Operations
Status: Full-Time
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Pay Rate: $90,000 – $110,000/year*
Reports to: Director, Quantitative Analysis

*Compensation rates vary based on job-related factors, including experience, job skills, education, and training.

The Los Angeles Dodgers are looking for quantitative baseball researchers to turn data into actionable insights through use of mathematical and statistical models. Analysts are expected to build and evaluate models, follow best practices in developing and deploying code, and provide data-backed opinions to coaches and front office decision-makers on decisions regarding on-field strategy, player development, and player evaluation.

Essential Duties & Responsibilities:

• Maintain and make improvements to our core predictive models
• Contribute features to internal tooling
• Understand the needs of users and evaluate the day-to-day impact of analytics products
• Perform ad hoc data analyses to answer urgent questions from front office leadership and other groups within baseball operations
• Advise executives and coaches on player evaluation, player development, and on-field strategy
• Make public appearances to student and professional groups to aid departmental recruiting efforts
• Provide mentorship to junior analysts, interns, and various members of the Dodgers organization not coming from a technical background.

Basic Requirements/Qualifications:

• Passionate about winning championships
• 2+ years of experience building and evaluating predictive models in industry or equivalent experience in academia
• Experience maintaining a well-organized, well-documented code repository

Nice to Haves:

• Experience using data to advise decision-making in some domain
• Experience with model deployment and tools for automating data science workflows
• Experience mentoring early-career data scientists
• Experience with Bayesian Statistics
• Experience with spatial statistics
• Experience with analysis of time series data
• Experience with machine learning, particularly problems involving computer vision
• Experience maintaining and monitoring machine learning models in production
• Experience with SQL
• Experience doing baseball research

To Apply:
To apply, please follow this link.

Junior Quantitative Analyst

Department: Baseball Operations
Status: Full-Time
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Pay Rate: $75,000 – $85,000/year*
Reports to: Director, Quantitative Analysis

*Compensation rates vary based on job-related factors, including experience, job skills, education, and training.

The Los Angeles Dodgers are looking for quantitative baseball researchers to turn data into actionable insights through use of mathematical and statistical models. Analysts are expected to build and evaluate models, follow best practices in developing and deploying code, and provide data-backed opinions to coaches and front office decision-makers on decisions regarding on-field strategy, player development, and player evaluation.

Essential Duties & Responsibilities:

• Assist more senior analysts in building, evaluating, deploying, and maintaining statistical and machine learning models of baseball data
• Understand the needs of users and evaluate the day-to-day impact of analytics products
• Perform ad hoc data analyses to answer urgent questions from front office leadership and other groups within baseball operations
• Advise executives and coaches on player evaluation, player development, and on-field strategy
• Continue to build your own data science skills and those of your colleagues

Basic Requirements/Qualifications:

• Passionate about winning championships
• Demonstrated experience building and evaluating predictive models. Candidates providing evidence such as a personal GitHub page will be given highest consideration.

Nice to Haves:

• Experience using data to advise decision-making in some domain
• Experience with model deployment and tools for automating data science workflows
• Experience maintaining a well-organized, well-documented code repository
• Experience with Bayesian statistics
• Experience with spatial statistics
• Experience with analysis of time series data
• Experience with machine learning, particularly problems involving computer vision
• Experience maintaining and monitoring machine learning models in production
• Experience with SQL
• Experience doing baseball research

To Apply:
To apply, please follow this link.

The content in this posting was created and provided solely by the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Software Engineer, Baseball Systems

Description:
As part of Baseball Systems, the Software Engineer will collaborate with the Player Development team to assist in developing our athletes. This position requires strong software development skills and experience, as well as a demonstrated ability for independent thought and the willingness to work within a team framework.

Core duties for this role include, but are not limited to:

• Deliver highly dependable, easy to use software while being part of a fast-moving team.
• Design and develop new features to deliver key athletic performance measures for the Player Development department while collaborating with Data Engineering, Tech Operations and Research & Development.
• Collaborate with the Pitching, Hitting, and Defense coordinators on tools for evaluating player performance and delivering player feedback.

The ideal candidate will have:

• created web apps using HTML, CSS and Javascript frameworks
• experience developing APIs in C# or other similar languages
• worked with relational databases
• familiarity with Git version control software
• A love of sports
• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, or related field from four-year college or university; and up to 3 years related experience and/or training; or equivalent combination of education and experience. 

Our Team:

• Baseball Systems is the software backbone of Baseball Operations. We provide data and decision-making tools for analysts, coaches, and front office personnel to help win a World Series.
• Our department consists of a team of data engineers and a team of software engineers who work across all different aspects of Baseball Operations providing support and tools relevant to each group.
• We work directly with stakeholders in every department of Baseball Operations to ensure every project we work on drives value to the organization and helps us win more games on the field.
• We help drive technical innovation to find new ways to solve baseball problems

What will you do each day?

• Design and develop new features or maintain existing features in our internal web applications.
• Squash bugs quickly.
• Collaborate with Baseball Operations staff to plan new features and ensure requirements are met.
• Develop walk-throughs for non-technical users to familiarize them with new features.
• Watch baseball.

Our Pitch
You come here to make a difference. We are a purpose-led organization, focused on building an inclusive and engaging culture that fosters excellence, collaboration and ingenuity. We strive to be a model employer and cultivator of talent, empowering our teams to drive innovation through the inclusion of diverse thoughts, ideas and perspectives. We operate at the highest standard of excellence, investing in the development of our staff across all levels and embracing differences through a culture of respect and understanding.

We are proud to offer a highly competitive perks and benefits package including:

• Exceptional health and dental rates, and fully covered vision package
• 401(K) match and an additional annual contribution from the Club
• Unlimited vacation time
• Paid parental leave
• Collaborative recognition program and incentives
• Leadership development programming
• Online educational platform for personal and professional development
• Employee Resource Groups
• Paid time off for volunteering
• Year-round diversity, equity and inclusion training and development
• Brewers Home Game tickets, promotional giveaways and other discounts!

For more information about our Crew, other benefits and insight into our Club culture please visit our Careers Page.

To Apply:
To apply, please follow this link.

The content in this posting was created and provided solely by the Milwaukee Brewers.

Baseball Data Scientist

Job Type: Full Time
Work Location: Remote

Description:
REP 1 is a forward-thinking and innovative baseball agency with an extended track record of player representation success. We are seeking an experienced Baseball Data Scientist to join our expanding analytics department. You will have an opportunity to work alongside a talented team of baseball agents, and operations and finance specialists to increase our output across multiple business functions, specifically recruitment, contract negotiations, and baseball operations.

As the department grows, the responsibilities will evolve, with an initial scope of responsibilities as follows:

• Develop and maintain databases for collecting and organizing various types of baseball data
• Conduct research and perform statistical analysis on large datasets using various tools and techniques
• Create and deliver clear, concise, and insightful reports and presentations that effectively communicate findings to agency executives, agents, and players
• Develop predictive models to assist agents in recruiting and contract negotiations.
• Collaborate with other departments to identify opportunities for data-driven improvements and enhancements
• Stay up-to-date with the latest trends and developments in baseball analytics and incorporate new techniques into the organization’s strategy
• Update and maintain the information and data stored in the agency’s CRM

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in statistics, mathematics, computer science, or a related field
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to think creatively
• Previous experience working in baseball and a passion for the game
• Experience working with large datasets using statistical analysis tools such as SQL, R, Python, or SAS
• Ability to effectively communicate complex data and analysis to both technical and non-technical audiences
• Strong project management skills, with an ability to execute on multiple projects simultaneously
• Ability to work collaboratively in a team environment and contribute to a positive work culture
• Detail oriented with excellent organizational skills
• Trustworthy and able to handle sensitive information with discretion

If you’re excited about the prospect of joining a cutting-edge baseball agency and have a passion for using data to drive success, we’d love to hear from you. We offer a competitive salary, excellent benefits, and ample opportunities for growth and development. Apply now to join our team and help shape the future of baseball analytics.

To Apply:
To apply, please follow this link.

The content in this posting was created and provided solely by REP 1.

2023 Cape Cod Baseball League Trackman Operator

Description:
TrackMan leverages industry leading 3D doppler radar + vision tracking technology to capture the most comprehensive and accurate ball tracking data in the game

TrackMan data is used for player evaluation and development by all Major League teams in the US and the majority of teams in Japan and Korea, as well as a majority of top NCAA D1 programs.

TrackMan & Cape Cod League are seeking highly motivated and detail-oriented candidates to operate the TrackMan System at various Cape Cod locations. These individuals will be responsible for running the TrackMan system for all Cape Cod games. The duties require that this role arrive at least one half-hour before first pitch and continue to the final out. This position runs from June 5th – August 12th, with the season opener June 10th. Proper Training will be provided by TrackMan prior to the first game.

Responsibilities:

• Responsible for setting up rosters and tagging information using TrackMan software.
• Log information for the entire game – monitoring the system and making any changes throughout the game (i.e., roster changes, defensive substitutions, etc.).
• Assist in troubleshooting system issues with Trackman support, fixing any errors, and uploading the data to TrackMan at the conclusion of each game.
• Maintain TrackMan equipment required for tagging. 
• Support the TrackMan data operations teams in ad-hoc data requests and evaluations.
• Ensure quality of the data that is captured (Player, play result, pitch call accuracy, etc.)
• Optional side projects throughout the summer (Creating leaderboards, models using Trackman data, etc.)

Qualifications:

• Current college student or recent graduate focused on Sports Management, Statistics / Mathematics, Operations Management, Sports Analytics or similar.
• Strong computer skills with ability to operate the system and/or troubleshoot issues.
• A firm understanding of baseball is required.
• Candidate must be able to make all home games, which will include nights and weekends. (June 10 – August 12)
• Experience in Project Management a plus.
• Basic database and/or analytics experience a plus.
• Experience scoring a baseball game is strongly preferred.
• Previous Trackman experience is a plus.

Please Note:

• This is a seasonal opportunity, and no benefits or re-location will be provided. 
• Accommodations in Cape Cod for the duration of the season is required.

Compensation:
This position is compensated.

To Apply:
To apply, please send a resume to Morty Bouchard at MYB@Trackman.com with the subject line “Cape Cod TrackMan Internship”

MLB Arbitration Research Market Analyst

Location: Newport Beach, CA

Job Description:
Analyze MLB contract markets to determine appropriate values for Arbitration-eligible clients. Create arguments and presentations to support these conclusions. Pinch-hit in other departments as necessary. The ideal candidate would be a college graduate with relevant experience in the baseball industry.

Salary: $65,000-$75,000

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

• Monitor client performance
• Determine appropriate contract values
• Create arguments to support your position
• Communicate with coworkers inside and outside the Arbitration group

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree preferred
• Playing experience at college or professional level preferred
• Work experience with college team, professional team or an agency preferred
• Strong understanding of advanced metrics
• Proficiency in navigating FanGraphs and Baseball Savant
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office or equivalent, particularly Keynote
• Demonstrable passion for MLB

To Apply:
To apply, please follow this link.

The content in this posting was created and provided solely by the Boras Corporation.