JotCast | Ben Clemens FanGraphs Chat

Ben Clemens FanGraphs Chat - 1/30/23

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Ben Clemens

2:13

There are arguments over what 'penalizing' means and whether WAR should be a player that explains how different players contribute or something to compare one player to another

A Boy Named Yu

2:13

Obviously you'd prefer a 2-way catcher, but if you had to only pick plus offense or plus defense, which way you going?

Ben Clemens

2:13

Defense

2:15

I don't really know if this is backed by evidence but I just feel like that is more stable

Dan'l

2:15

Do the Cards actually have an offensive logjam between incumbants & Burleson/Yepez/Gorman/Walker? Or are there enough AB's & (likely inevitable) performance gap btwn players that it'll be clear who should be starting?

Ben Clemens

2:15

I think it'll work out thanks to injury and ineffectiveness

Guest

2:16

Do you buy Boston's Bello's September ERA of 1.65? Is he a legitimate #3 starter?

Ben Clemens

2:16

I mean.... do I think he's a true talent 1.65 ERA guy? definitely no

2:17

Legit 3 starter? I think that's definitely in range

2:18

He feels to me like he'll always be one of those stuff over command guys, and I think he's in a bind where he throws too many fastballs because he can't consistently land the bendy stuff, but the overall package still works because he misses bats

bosoxforlife

2:18

My comment about Harris and Strider is asked because in today's environment would Dwight Gooden have been allowed to even be in the majors during his 19 and 20 year old seasons and his 20 year old season is in the top 10 of all-time.

Ben Clemens

2:19

Yeah, I take your point. It's hard to know how well they would have performed in the minors, of course. But if Strider put up the equivalent of his ML numbers in Triple-A while hitting 100 consistently, he'd be the top prospect for sure

Tacoby Bellsbury

2:19

Do you anticipate any competitive (dis)advantages this season from the Sinclair RSN economic meltdown?

Ben Clemens

2:19

Mmmmmm... No, but with risk to yes, like I don't think it's a 100% everything's fine situation

2:20

The teams who would be affected are the ones who are operating on a shoestring budget and really never splurge beyond what they take in

2:22

So that's basically the Brewers and then maybe some other teams a tier below them

ryan

2:22

I know Run Value of individual pitches isn't the end-all-be-all, but it is insane to see Patrick Corbin's slider grade out as the 3rd worse pitch by total run value considering what his slider was in 2018/9

Ben Clemens

2:22

It's actually a great reminder of how much context matters for pitches

2:23

Your slider doesn't exist in a vacuum, it exists in harmony with your other pitches

Corbin got SOOOOO much of his value from drawing chases on that slider

If he can't throw a fastball by anyone, and batters can just wait out the sliders, things go downhill quickly

2:24

Batters used to swing at 55% of his sliders; they now swing at 45%

Given that he's locating it in the zone about a third of the time only, that's a good way to turn strikes into balls, and there goes the run value

Chip

2:24

Domingo German for Max Kepler. Who says no?

Ben Clemens

2:24

The Twins by a mile

Oaktown Blues

2:25

I've seen some A's fans argue that it makes sense for the A's trades to look unbalanced, because, as a team with fewer resources, the A's could not succeed if they valued players similarly to all other teams. Does this argument hold water for you?

Ben Clemens

2:25

I think it's necessary but not sufficient

What if the A's were just trading these players for literal bags of baseballs?

2:26

Would you say, well most teams value getting players instead of equipment, so the A's have to do something different, therefore these trades are genius?

Of course not

Sure, maybe the A's have to try a different process to succeed. I don't really believe in the process they're trying, though

A Boy Named Yu

2:26

What would you name an expansion team in Vegas? Or Nashville?

Ben Clemens

2:26

Las Vegas Aces is so good, it's a shame that it's taken

2:27

I'd love them to be the Las Vegas Sharps, though I think that's probably not an option either. How about the Las Vegas High Rollers and the Nashville Sounds, just taking the minor league team name there b/c I think it's great

ryan

2:28

Nashville is going to be Stars to honor the old Negro League team and because the group lobbying MLB for a team there has made it clear that's what they want the name to be

Ben Clemens

2:28

That is also fine with me

2:29

Team names with historical connection always work

Oaktown Blues

2:30

Right, it's not sufficient to say "they use different valuations so therefore the trades are good." but generally speaking, do you think it is necessary for a resource-lacking team to "zig where others zag" in order to succeed?

Ben Clemens

2:31

I think you need to do that in one way or another. It could be favoring a specific type of player, it could be focusing on a different avenue of player acquisition, it could be like the Rays where you have 5 different things that you think other teams are undervaluing and you do all of them

Heck, it could just be a Braves strategy of going for super early extensions

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