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August Fagerstrom FanGraphs Chat -- 7/19/16
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Austin Hedges
12:26
He has been tearing it up at AAA. Has he made genuine strides with the bat or is most of a product of the PCL environment? What can we expect offensively when called up?
august fagerstrom
12:27
just scouting the stat line, it seems like almost all of his offensive improvement is in the power department (jesus christ, .369 ISO) which definitely has some PCL fog covering it. that being said, his wRC+ even adjusting for league is still 196, and the nice thing about Hedges is that the bat doesn't even have to be great at the ML level for him to be valuable. just needs to be playable.
you'd have to ask Longenhagen for a more scouty-type assessment
Jack C.
12:28
Hey August, I had a question about catchers and defensive WAR. I was checking out catcher framing stats today and saw that Salvador Perez ranked 4th to last - just in front of Realmuto, Navarro, and Vogt (yuck). However, when you look at defensive WAR for catchers (or DEF), he is way ahead of the pack in first. My question is - does defensive WAR or DEF take into account pitch framing? How important is pitch framing compared to something like DRS? Thank you!
august fagerstrom
12:29
Not at FanGraphs, no. BaseballProspectus' WAR has catcher framing included, so that's where you'd want to look. He's at 2.3 WAR here, 1.8 WAR at BP with framing included
And pitch framing is very, very important. Far moreso than DRS, or any single part of a catcher's defensive contributions
Eric
12:30
Shouldn't Marcus Stroman be much better or was he just a bit overhyped?
august fagerstrom
12:31
For one, I think he's pitched better than his results indicate both this year (17.9 HR/FB%) and for his career (68 LOB%)
I think also it's worth questioning whether his approach is allowing him to maximize his stuff
The stuff is legit
I wonder what happened if he expanded the zone a bit more and pitched less to contact
Eric
12:32
Do you buy this new Jake Lamb based on the extensive swing change?
august fagerstrom
12:32
Yep. I was the one who wrote about it, after all!
Eric
12:33
Why doesn't Hunter Renfroe get more love? Former first round pick with great raw power who has shown real improvements this year.
august fagerstrom
12:33
Because he's in the Padres organization, probably
Sammy Meatballs is a loon
12:33
Over/under on Hamilton SB this year at 50?
august fagerstrom
12:34
Under
Get on base, Billy!
Erik
12:35
Some in the Philly media seem convinced that Cameron Rupp is a decent trade chip. Would he bring enough back that it would be worth losing him and Ruiz within a few months of each other? He does rank somewhat surprisingly as the 9th-best catcher by WAR.
august fagerstrom
12:36
Yeah, he's been surprisingly solid, and with him being 28 next year and Knapp and Alfaro on the way, it could make some sense for a move to be made if the demand is there
After Lucroy the catching market thins out pretty quick to guys like Suzuki and Navarro. Rupp could be interesting
Pessimistic White Sox Fan
12:37
There is a hole my my heart and I blame Adam Lind. I also blame David Robertson - what kind of trade value does he have? It's not like he has been terrible, but he doesn't have much of a use for a team that isn't contending.
august fagerstrom
12:37
The White Sox still fancy themselves contenders, if not this year than in 2017/18, and Robertson's still under a reasonable contract
I'd guess they hang on to him
Bork
12:38
Borkfamily is all good. Bork jr is about the size of a lego piece right now. Borkwife is beginning cravings and just made an entire batch of cupcakes for herself.
august fagerstrom
12:38
BORKGRATS!
TanGraphs
12:38
In what month were you born?
august fagerstrom
12:38
August
wow.
what?!
I was born in June.
Did I just do that
jesus
Josh
12:39
Do you think there's a legitimate chance Danny Valencia gets DFA'd by Oakland? There is reportedly not much of a market for his services.
august fagerstrom
12:39
Someone will give them something.
Coastal Carolina
12:39
What's your best guess on where Chapman and Miller go?
august fagerstrom
12:39
One to Chicago the other to Cleveland
Bundy on what's that
12:39
Despite the meh line, Bundy's fastball was electric. Late life and HEAVY. Assuming the arm holds, is he still an ace or more of a solid #2?
august fagerstrom
12:40
I don't think you've given me enough options
nowhammies
12:40
Could D-Backs try to convert Shelby Miller into a closer ?
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