The Best of FanGraphs: June 12-16, 2017
Each week, we publish north of 100 posts on our various blogs. With this post, we hope to highlight 10 to 15 of them. You can read more on it here. The links below are color coded — green for FanGraphs, brown for RotoGraphs, dark red for The Hardball Times and blue for Community Research.
ALL WEEK
There was a well-rounded effort this week to put forth some great MLB Draft content. It was led by Eric Longenhagen, and Chris Mitchell rode shotgun, but others contributed as well. Here’s a roundup of all the Draft-related pieces we ran this week. Special props to Eric and Chris for their live stream of Day 1 of the Draft.
- FanGraphs’ 2017 Mock Draft, Final Edition, by Eric Longenhagen
- The Siren Call of the Two-Way Star, by Dave Cameron
- The Workloads of 2017’s Top Draft Prospects, by Gerald Schifman
- A Greater New York 2017 Draft Pref List, by Chris Mitchell
- 2017 Live Draft Coverage with Eric Longenhagen and Chris Mitchell, by Eric Longenhagen
- The Prospect Stock Watch: Revisiting the 2016 Draft, by Marc Hulet
- Day 1 Draft Recap, National League, by Eric Longenhagen
- Day 1 Draft Recap, American League, by Eric Longenhagen
- Eric Longenhagen Prospects Chat, MLB Draft Day 2, by Eric Longenhagen
- Projecting the College Players Taken on Day One of the Draft, by Chris Mitchell
- The Draft Could Use a New Date, by Travis Sawchick
- Day 2 Draft Standouts, National League, by Eric Longenhagen
- Day 2 Draft Standouts, American League, by Eric Longenhagen
- Projecting the College Players Taken on Day Two of the Draft, by Chris Mitchell
- Projecting the College Players Taken on Day Three of the Draft, by Chris Mitchell
- KATOH’s Top Undrafted College Players, by Chris Mitchell
- If KATOH Had a Team in the Draft, by Chris Mitchell
MONDAY
In Game Velocity Changes – When Fatigue Attacks, by Mike Sonne
Some very detailed research here from Mike.
Wade Boggs, Rickey Henderson and the Fly Ball that Disappeared, by Tim Hagerty
This is such an incredible story that a Double-A town is still talking about it, 39 years later. Great THT debut from Tim.
TUESDAY
Aaron Hicks Looks More Legit by the Day, by Jeff Sullivan
Meanwhile, John Ryan Murphy is spending his season in Rochester.
Number Thirteen, by Jan Moffett
All three THT debuts this week were great (with Dan Blewett being the third), but Jan’s story really stood out. I was on the edge of my seat reading it, and you will be too.
WEDNESDAY
Brad Ausmus on Analytics, Closer Mentality, and Pitch-Framing, by David Laurila
I think a piece of wood might also hit as well as the Red Sox catchers have lately. Definitely check out this interview.
The Most Patient Hitter in Baseball, by Eno Sarris
No, it’s not Joey Votto.
THURSDAY
Sonny Gray Is a Mystery, by Eno Sarris
Eno lands his white whale. Or, one of them, anyway.
Underthrown Pitches And The Pitchers Who Underthrow Them: Vol. 2 Cutters and Curves, by Rylan Edwards
A Blue Jays pitcher and a Reds pitcher top, er, bottom, these lists. Awesome stuff once again from Rylan. Be sure to read the first piece as well.
The Value of Hitting the Ball Hard by Matthew Ludwig
Interesting information on Hard% that I certainly wouldn’t have guessed.
FRIDAY
Jake McGee Knows His Spin Rates, by Travis Sawchick
Really great stuff from Travis with the Rockies set-up man. Travis also had a good piece with one of Colorado’s catchers, Tony Wolters, on Thursday.
Paul Swydan used to be the managing editor of The Hardball Times, a writer and editor for FanGraphs and a writer for Boston.com and The Boston Globe. Now, he owns The Silver Unicorn Bookstore, an independent bookstore in Acton, Mass. Follow him on Twitter @Swydan. Follow the store @SilUnicornActon.