Meg Rowley FanGraphs Chat – 6/4/19

Meg Rowley: Hey pals. We’ll get started in just a minute.

Meg Rowley: Ok

Meg Rowley: Hello!

Meg Rowley: Welcome the chat. Appreciate everyone’s patience.

Meg Rowley: Before I take questions, I’ll just highlight our Draft Week coverage generally, and today’s recap of yesterday’s draft action specifically: https://blogs.fangraphs.com/day-1-draft-review/

Meg Rowley: Also, follow the FG Prospects account, where Eric and Kiley are reacting to Day 2 https://twitter.com/FG_Prospects

Lunar verLander: Are there any plans to add an “errors +” stat to the +stat leaderboard, and if so, would they consider naming it “OOPS+”?

Meg Rowley: lol ok, that was funny

Syndergaardengnomes: Mets just took Matthew Allan in the 3rd round…  They wouldn’t do this unless they had some indication they could sign him right?  I just don’t see where the $ is coming from…

Meg Rowley: It’s def a little weird as he’s a tough sign, but also, Eric noted:

Meg Rowley: I think one of the best parts of my job is being able to rely on Eric and Kiley’s insight on these sorts of things.

Chuck: Meg, the Mariners have by some measures the worst defense in Major League Baseball. Does Jerry DiPoto know that defense is part of baseball?

Meg Rowley: I would imagine Dipoto does know that but also, they aren’t trying to win this year, so I doubt he cares a ton. I also don’t think they thought it would be this bad, but…

Voldemort: Does Nelson Cruz hit 30 homers this year?

Meg Rowley: Sure

Meg Rowley: Assuming he doesn’t have another long injury spell, and the wrist is ok, yup.

Chris: You think there’s any hope for even a limited, J2 style market replacing the draft within the next decade?

Meg Rowley: Not really — if anything, the game seems to be gearing up for more drafts not fewer.

Alex Anthopolous : Hey Meg! Any idea why I’m throwing away my entire draft? Thanks!

Meg Rowley: I think drafts operate in the opposite direction of climate change, in that humans observing them are ill-equipped to operate on the timeline over which the effects are felt.

Voldemort: Who finishes the season with a better record: Cincinnati or St. Louis?

Meg Rowley: St. Louis.

Derek: As a co-host of Ben’s, did you get a chance to read the MVP Machine early? I just read the THT piece on it and it sounds like it is just as informative and thought-provoking as expected. I’m looking forward to cracking it open tonight!

Meg Rowley: I did, but have not yet read it. I spent Memorial Day weekend reading non-baseball stuff as a break, and lent my copy to Brendan so he could review it for us at THT.

Meg Rowley: Seemed like a pretty clear conflict of interest for me to review my co-host’s book, although I am confident the book is excellent.

Cedar: Ugh, Brewers fans are going to boo Shaw tonight aren’t they? As a Brewers fan, what even is the right response for that?

Meg Rowley: Are they? That seems strange… it isn’t his fault the team sent Hiura down.

Bret Boone’s Frosted Tips: Hi Meg! Long time listener, first time caller. Can you give me optimism for my Mariners during this newest Dark Age?

Meg Rowley: Kelenic is very fun. Julio, too.

Meg Rowley: Also, the world might end in 2050, so ultimately, none of this will really matter.

Derek: Just wanted to say that I love FanGraphs’ draft coverage. The MLB Draft always feels like a weird thing to follow – we won’t even begin to understand the full impact a given class will have until 5 years down the road – but I still find it interesting to follow and I think Eric and Kiley do an awesome job.

Meg Rowley: They are hilariously good at this. If you’ll allow me an immodest moment, the combo of their own scouting expertise, industry connections, and having a tool like The BOARD is, I believe, very excellent, and produces very excellent coverage.

Reid: Hello Meg, thanks for the chat. Did you have a draft class you particularly liked? One you thought was interesting?

Meg Rowley: This isn’t a controversial take, but the D’backs had a very nice Day 1 imo

Khaki Segura: For the 12th time in his career, Mike Trout led the AL in FanGraphs WAR for a calendar month *AND* didn’t win AL Player of the Month.  So … Mike Trout is underrated, right?

Meg Rowley: I guess there will always exist a circle in which his greatness is not properly appreciated, but I don’t know that that particular award is a great way to gauge it.

Davy: As a reader, I will never, ever get tired of stories about the greatness of Mike Trout. Thanks for today’s!

Meg Rowley: Ben has been quite good since he started, and that Trout piece was no exception.

Meg Rowley: It’s here if anyone missed it: https://blogs.fangraphs.com/pitchers-plan-and-mike-trout-laughs/

Ryan: True or False: By your chat next week, at least one of Keuchel and Kimbrel will be signed.

Meg Rowley: True.

Dusty (CO): It’s been a minute Meg. Wander Javier have returned to action. Have you formulated your thoughts on his upside?

Meg Rowley: I don’t see any reason to diverge from the grades Eric and Kiley put on him on the Twins list. I continue to just super not get this bit, at all, even a little.

Other Derek: But if you truly believe the world ends in 2050, aren’t things like baseball the things that matter most right now?

Meg Rowley: I’d imagine trying to stop the end of the world takes top billing. As for its impact on baseball, I think it probably lets you appreciate more things.

Sanford: …can Lucas Giolito win the AL Cy Young this year?

Meg Rowley: Seems early to have a firm opinion about this. He hasn’t pitched his way out of the conversation, so that is something I suppose.

housekeeping: Hi Meg, thanks for the chat as always!  Is the chat schedule on the homepage still correct?  It has your day/time right, but it seems like it might need to be updated for most of the other chats.

Meg Rowley: There have been some swaps and such due to travel lately, especially with the guys on the road so much wrapping up draft coverage, but it is right. At least, on the main page side. Not sure about the Roto dudes.

JVL: Who would win in a fight? 100 Ben-sized Jeffs or one Jeff-sized Ben?

Meg Rowley: How tall do you think Jeff is?

the Electrician: Do you think we will see another player spurn their signing bonus for a bigger foreign contract this year?

Meg Rowley: Takes a pretty specific set of circumstances, but maybe.

Srhkthew2: Did the James Holzhouer loss mar the draft for you as much as it did for me?

Meg Rowley: It was very fun to have him on the pod, and I wish him well– seems like a very nice guy! But I’m less invested in dynasties as an aspect of sporting that some, I think.

Oak: Jimmy Nelson pitches Wednesday! I feel like there hasn’t been a ton of comeback player of the year candidates this year – who else out there is possible winner?

Meg Rowley: This is the sort of thing where I am missing a reallllly obvious option. Maybe one of the injured Oakland arms when they come back?

Sam: Meg, how did you in fact injure yourself at Topgolf?

Meg Rowley: I only wounded my pride.

Hunter Pence: I might be an option for comeback player

Meg Rowley: This is a good one, actually. Well, it is always a little weird when the thing a guy is “coming back from” is being not good, but it does happen.

TC Bear: True or False: By your chat next week, both Keuchel and Kimbrel will be signed by the Twins.

Meg Rowley: False

Aaron: So, Mike Trout’s FanGraphs page does not have his contract updated to include the extension he signed this offseason: is there a reason for that?

Meg Rowley: Mostly personnel changes — this is one of the things that will fall under Jason in the nearish future.

mike sixel: Where do you guess Keuchel and Kimbrel end up? And how long do you guess it takes?

Meg Rowley: Sounds like the Yankees rumors have fire to them

Meg Rowley: for Keuchel, I should say

Meg Rowley: I don’t know about Kimbrel. There are just so many bad bullpens. You all paying attention to these bullpens? Woof, many are bad.

Sam: Because it sure looked like you clocked yourself in the nose-piece.

Meg Rowley: Nah, just prone to making weird faces

Ryan: What percent of questions today are Keuchel/Kimbrel related?

Meg Rowley: Not a ton, actually

Srhkthew2: If Bellinger ends up with ~12 WAR for the year and Trout has his typical 9.5ish which one do we call the best player in baseball?

Meg Rowley: Trout. I would call Trout the best player, because there needs to be more of a track record.

Matt: MLB needs to mandate having at least 1 day game a day.

Meg Rowley: It’s just tricky to manage

Meg Rowley: I don’t disagree, but also, it is tricky to manage

Meg Rowley: I used to, in my former life as a consultant/finance type, help to organize massive client conferences, and have to assign clients to breakout sessions, and it was like, the most high stress puzzle, and had far fewer constraints than assembling the MLB schedule.

Harry Craghole: Think we’ll see some historic HR numbers this summer?

Meg Rowley: If the Twins have anything to say about it.

Derek (the first one): Do you have a favorite story line of the 2019 MLB season so far?

Meg Rowley: I think it is just very cool that the other day, the Twins were playing the Rays, and I thought, oh heck yes, let’s watch this here Twins/Rays game.

Elton: I think you’ve convinced me to bump up my competitive timeline form 2027 to 2026, thanks.

Meg Rowley: I still have so. many. questions.

David: I really thought Jay Bruce + most of the cash would have been a team’s 25-30, apparently even that was too much.

Meg Rowley: He’s cooled, it’s a lot of money, and the M’s didn’t have much leverage.

Ryan: Do you have any favorite broadcasters or radio commentators?

Meg Rowley: The M’s booth is good. The White Sox booth with Benetti is good. The Dodgers booth is good. I like the AZ and SD booths, even though they skew a little more old school.

Meg Rowley: Not an exhaustive list, but

Meg Rowley: Oh Brewers radio.

Mariners: Shed Long and Jp Crawford, good middle infield combination for the next 5 years for the mariners?

Meg Rowley: Don’t think Shed can hang there defensively but I like him a lot anyway.

Will: Suppose a family member or close friend is a high school senior projected to be picked during the first two rounds of the draft and has numerous scholarship offers. Would you advise them to go pro or attend college? What factors would you suggest be considered in making the decision?

Meg Rowley: Would depend on the size of the bonus, the quality of the collegiate program, and increasingly, how much development the swing needs.

Meg Rowley: Ok, pals, I’m sorry to bounce a little early today, but I need to do just that.

Meg Rowley: Draft Week will conclude with a pod, and some odds and ends the guys noticed from this year.

Meg Rowley: Thanks for all the questions, and sorry for what I didn’t get to.

Meg Rowley: Have a great rest of your week, and thanks for all your close reading of our draft stuff. We’re really proud of it.