JotCast | Ben Clemens FanGraphs Chat - 1/23/23

Ben Clemens FanGraphs Chat - 1/23/23

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Ben Clemens

2:00

Hey everyone, welcome to the new FanGraphs-colored chat

2:01

I'm Green Ben Clemens, replacing Blue Ben Clemens, your old chat host

Let's answer some baseball questions, starting with one about board games

Sharps

2:01

How fancy is too fancy for drinks and food during a game night?

Ben Clemens

2:01

This is a question I have a lot of personal experience with. I'd say that there are two possible answers. No amount is too fancy if you're going to eat before playing

2:02

If it's an eat-and-play situation, the main thing to stay away from is liquid-y sauces and anything that would give you greasy fingers. There's nothing less pleasant than grease on a game piece or card

Pizza is an exception because you can just eat it like a reasonable person and not get greasy

But generally speaking, no limitations if you're going to eat beforehand, and keep it simple if you're going to eat during

Jeff in Jersey

2:03

I won't hold you to it, but the biggest bats available at the deadline this year are.....

Ben Clemens

2:03

Interesting ones: Joc Pederson, Michael Conforto, and Rhys Hoskins if the Phillies are unexpectedly out of it

2:04

Plus, you know, Bryan Reynolds, Ohtani, the guys who have been rumored to be on the block and we already know can bop

Insert Witty Name Here

2:04

Good Q: Are you a smoothie guy, and if so, what’s your go to?

Ben Clemens

2:04

I'm not, but my wife is so I get to live vicariously. I'm a big fan of spinach, peanut butter, and banana

N. Hornblower

2:04

Do/should the Astros use a 6 man rotation again with Hunter Brown as a starter?

Ben Clemens

2:04

I'd start the season this way, yes

Cal

2:04

Given the options (assuming Reynolds stays) what should NYY do in LF? Profar, Cabrera, Hicks, Kepler, none of the above?

Ben Clemens

2:04

I like starting with Cabrera

With the option to pivot via trae

Matt

2:04

Do you think the Phillies sign Nola to an extension? What about Hoskins?

Ben Clemens

2:05

Speaking of Hoskins! I don't think he's in line for an extension, but I think the Phillies will pursue a Nola extension heavily

Appa Yip Yip

2:05

I think in all the excitement over the December signing spree we forgot how interminable January would become I am dying a little inside every day and have become deeply invested in the free agency outcome of Robbie friggin Grossman. Is there a starting job out there for him or is he just going to have to bite the bullet and take the Jays money to he their 4th OF?

Ben Clemens

2:05

This is maybe a silly thing for a writer from a baseball website to say, but: I like that there's no baseball news in January

2:06

I'm reading more books. I have been practicing cooking with the wok I got for Christmas. I did four loads of laundry between yesterday and today and went skiing for a week

It's kind of nice that I am just doing a bunch of stuff and when I come back, teams are mostly the same as they were before

Sharps

2:06

What style of ball player do you wish would make a resurgence in MLB?

Ben Clemens

2:06

either a)knuckleballers or b)left-handed catchers

Jon

2:07

Is NYY SS really that dire? Don't think its hard to see 3+ wins from IKF, Volpe/Peraza

Ben Clemens

2:07

I mean, dire is in the eye of the beholder

2:08

I think that IKF is not a first-division starter, and I don't think the error bars are that large there

We've had a lot of data points at this stage in his career; he doesn't have enough contact quality to be an average hitter

2:09

So the question is basically whether one of the two prospects will click

2:10

I mean, maybe! But it would hardly be a surprise for them to struggle out of the gates and shortstop to look bad as a result

Peraza hit .259/.329/.448 in Triple-A last year, it's not like he's a can't-miss bat

Hello there

2:10

Are you the prospects guy or the HOF guy? Thanks..

trophy

3

Ben Clemens

2:11

Sadly neither

RTJ

2:11

I liked your analysis of the Marlins trade last week. Maybe I've become too brainwashed by the obsession with baseball's three true outcomes, but it really did seem like an odd trade to me when it went through. If you were the Marlins, is there another move you think would help turn this trade into something productive?

Ben Clemens

2:12

That's a tricky one... I don't really see how they can pivot with this one, because it's not as though they got a bunch of pieces to flip. I think the best thing they can do at this point is just see how the reconstituted team shakes out. Arraez's skills are best paired with either some high-OBP guys for him to advance with his metric ton of singles, or great hitters behind him to get to bat in high leverage situations

2:13

So my suggestion, I suppose, is that the Marlins should go acquire more very good hitters

Dalton Wilcox

2:13

I appreciate Lopez’s combo of health and durability, but otherwise isn’t Arreza’s skillset currently harder to find?

Ben Clemens

2:14

Sure, there are fewer players like Arraez, but scarcity doesn't necessarily equal value

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