Craig Edwards FanGraphs Chat – 1/14/2021
January 14, 2021
Dan Szymborski FanGraphs Chat – 1/14/21
January 14, 2021
| 12:01 |
 Dan Szymborski: ANd we go!
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| 12:02 |
Dan Szymborski: Welcome to the chat!
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| 12:02 |
Dan Szymborski: Uh oh
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| 12:02 |
: This doesnt show up on the homepage. Chat is only accessible thru tweeted link
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| 12:03 |
Dan Szymborski: I am asking!
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| 12:03 |
Dan Szymborski: I will have to answer slowly! lol
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Hang it in the Louvre
Last week, the Mariners Player Development twitter account posted a graphic of Julio Rodriguez.
Hang it in the Louvre. ? pic.twitter.com/uIhzPuWppz
— Mariners Player Development (@MsPlayerDev) January 8, 2021
Adorned in a full uniform and sunglasses, Rodriguez’s bat is cocked just beyond his head as he begins his stride toward the mound; the #SeaUsRise hashtag in the lower left corner suggests a metaphor is at work. “Hang it in the Louvre,” the Mariners tweeted approvingly.
Compliments to artist Trevor Milless aside, this tweet stuck with me, mostly because it’s kind of odd. There aren’t many teams that retweet artwork posted on the club’s player development account, in part because most franchises don’t even have a player development account.
This is part of a pattern in Seattle. The Mariners have been rebuilding for a couple seasons and they’re not shy about promoting their good work. The major league broadcasts feature regular updates on the farm system, and the club’s TV network has aired a few minor league games. Jerry Dipoto even joined one of the broadcasts. All teams are proud of their minor leaguers, of course, but as far as I know, the Mariners are the only team to give one of them a YouTube show.
In a vacuum, there’s nothing wrong with this. Vibin’ With JRod isn’t for me, but hey, he’s a good prospect and I’m no marketer. Read the rest of this entry »
Clarke Schmidt Talks Pitching
Clarke Schmidt is more than a talented, 24-year-old right-hander who made his major league debut with the New York Yankees in 2020. He’s also a bona fide pitching nerd. Selected 18th overall in the 2017 draft out of the University of South Carolina, Schmidt leans heavily on analytics as he strives to further develop an already formidable four-pitch arsenal.
His top two offerings — per Eric Longenhagen, “a power-sweeping, mid-80s breaking ball” and a two-seamer with “nasty tailing action” — have each been honed with the help of data. A third pitch, his four-seamer, is currently on that same path, while his changeup has likewise been undergoing nuanced tweaks. Big-league hitters have barely gotten a glimpse of Schmidt’s smart weaponry — last year’s cup of coffee comprised just six-and-a-third innings — but they can expect to see a lot more of him in the future. Clarke heads into the 2021 season as a strong candidate to capture a spot in New York’s starting rotation.
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David Laurila: You have a plus breaking ball. What is the story behind it?
Clarke Schmidt: “In college, I was a slider and curveball guy — mainly a slider guy — and my sophomore year, I think I led the SEC in strikeouts. I had [129] strikeouts, and if I had to guess, I got 90 of them on sliders. That was like my go-to pitch. It wasn’t very hard, but it was hard for hitters to see the spin. It was an interesting-spinning slider, and it had a good movement profile, but it wasn’t a sharp-breaking slider.”
Laurila: What made the spin interesting?
Schmidt: “It was very depth-y. Normally, when you see sliders from guys who throw mid-90s [fastballs], it’s like a Gerrit Cole slider, or more of a sharpness with it staying on the plate longer. Mine was more of a sweepy slider, kind of like Chris Sale has. It was a low-80s slider. Read the rest of this entry »
Job Posting: Boston Red Sox Advance Information Coordinator
Position: Advance Information Coordinator
Location: Boston, MA; Travel is required with the Major League team
Description:
The Boston Red Sox are seeking an Assistant to support the Major League coaching staff while working closely with the Major League Hitting Coach and baserunning coach, Analyst in Baseball Analytics, and their Advance Information department.
This is an opportunity to work in a fast-paced, intellectually curious environment and to potentially impact player performance and on-field strategy.
Responsibilities:
- Effectively present analyses through the use of written reports and data visualization to disseminate insights to members of the Major League coaching staff.
- Travel with the Major League team throughout the season, including to Boston’s spring training facility. During the offseason this position will be based in Boston working with Baseball Analytics.
- Other projects and related duties as directed by the Major League Hitting Coach, Analyst in Baseball Analytics, and other members of Baseball Operations leadership.
Job Posting: Pittsburgh Pirates Player Valuation Analyst
Position: Player Valuation Analyst
Reports To: Assistant Director, Professional Player Valuation
Department: Professional Player Valuation
The Pittsburgh Pirates are currently seeking a full-time Analyst to join their Professional Player Valuation team. The Professional Player Valuation team is responsible for producing internal valuations of players and for communicating the insights from their research to others within Baseball Operations. This role will provide candidates with opportunities for growth and the ability to learn from others throughout the organization. In this role, you will have the ability to influence roster construction and to see the impact of your work on the field. Read the rest of this entry »
Effectively Wild Episode 1642: Supply and Pent-Up Demand
January 14, 2021
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the Blue Jays missing out on several free-agent or trade targets, then answer listener emails about whether fans feel pride in their division/league, the history (and future) of fundamental changes to baseball technique, how many championships one would win if transported back to 2000 and appointed as GM of the Mariners, and how well pitchers would hit with metal bats, plus a Stat Blast about the public’s “pent-up demand” for post-pandemic baseball.
Audio intro: Roy Orbison, "Almost"
Audio outro: Gillian Welch, "Wayside/Back in Time"
Link to Blue Jays Nation on the Jays missing out
Link to Andrew Stoeten on the Jays missing out
Link to story about free agents and Toronto
Link to story about Toronto’s new turf
Link to Bobby Wallace SABR bio
Link to Jeff on the decline of the windup
Link to Jeff on good players who weren’t top prospects
Link to Jeff on stars who weren’t top prospects
Link to NPR on pent-up demand
Link to MLB attendance averages
Link to Hannah Keyser on lapsed fans
Link to longest pitcher home runs
Link to info on semantic satiation
Link to story on Miller Park Way
Link to story on milk bags
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Email Us: podcast@fangraphs.com
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FanGraphs Audio: Jesse Agler Previews the Padres
Episode 904
FanGraphs Audio is back for 2021, and the crew is kicking things off by talking about the most exciting team in baseball before digging deeper into some recent research.
- To lead off the program, David Laurila is joined by Jesse Agler, broadcaster for the very active San Diego Padres. David and Jesse discuss “the most anticipated season in Padres history,” as well as things like being fans of Everton FC and playing games with fellow broadcaster Don Orsillo. [1:50]
- After that, Eric Longenhagen and Ben Clemens go over Ben’s recent piece, Do Successful Steals Apply Measurable Pressure? The results of this research serve as a jumping-off point as the pair start to ask more questions about how stolen bases can impact all the players on the field in many different ways. [29:07]
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Meg Rowley FanGraphs Chat – 1/13/2020
| 4:01 |
: Hey pals, will get started here in a moment – just wrapping up a call!
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| 4:08 |
: Hurry up, Meg
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| 4:08 |
: Meg, hello
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| 4:08 |
: Hello am here!
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| 4:09 |
: Sorry about that, everyone. Had to chat with Appelman. Let us chat!
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| 4:09 |
: If you’re the Giants would you rather have as little money committed to 2022 as possible or would you spend a little now so your lineup isn’t full of holes in a year?
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The White Sox Bullpen Could Be Special
by Tony Wolfe
January 13, 2021
The White Sox don’t need an elite bullpen to compete. They had the most valuable position player group in baseball in 2020, and that was without two stars, Yoán Moncada and Luis Robert, playing to their full potential. They also have a rotation that boasts two aces and a fair amount of rotation depth. Give them last year’s Phillies bullpen, and they’d still likely be able to fight for a playoff spot, especially in their division. Fit them with an average ‘pen, and their postseason expectations begin to look like more of a certainty.
Much to the chagrin of the other AL Central teams, Chicago’s bullpen doesn’t look like it’s going to be average, and it definitely doesn’t look like it will be awful. That much was made clear when the White Sox signed Liam Hendriks — the best reliever in this year’s free-agent class and at worst a top-three-or-four reliever in baseball — on Monday. Since the start of 2019, he has been nearly two wins more valuable than any other relief arm in baseball, posting a 1.79 ERA and 1.70 FIP in 110.1 innings. Our Depth Charts have Hendriks forecast for 1.6 WAR in 2021, tying him with Aroldis Chapman and Edwin Diaz for the highest relief WAR projection in baseball. With that considerable boost, the White Sox’ bullpen now projects to be the second-best in the majors, albeit with loads of free-agent talent still unsigned.