JotCast | Ben Clemens FanGraphs Chat - 1/6/24

Ben Clemens FanGraphs Chat - 1/6/24

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Oaktown Blues

2:15

Brady Basso was not getting shelled in the minors. He was in Vegas and was victim of an unsustainable high HR/FB%. His xFIP was 4.26, which is great for that environment

Ben Clemens

2:15

Fair enough

do you think he has nothing more to prove in the minors?

Oaktown Blues

2:15

No, he has more to prove for sure

Ben Clemens

2:15

Yeah, that's more my point

like, that wasn't a list where I'd be flabbergasted if anyone got sent down

2:16

i'd be more surprised if no one did

Henry Dodger

2:16

Lots of talking heads and fans in NYC are saying that the NYY, as presently constituted, are a better team than last year's squad with Soto. I don't see it. What do you think?

Ben Clemens

2:16

Yeah, I don't really buy it, but I will say, I like their role players' odds of bouncing back

like having a full season of Jazz is nice

2:17

and I think that their pitching will probably be better even ex-Fried

Oaktown Blues

2:17

Appreciate the brief back and forth, that's what makes these chats fun :)

Ben Clemens

2:17

for sure

and like I said, I'm no Basso expert

Idiotic Failson

2:17

Um, what are the Orioles doing? It looks like they might blow their chance to maximize their window because Elias is brutally risk averse when it comes to their SP.

Ben Clemens

2:18

Yeah uh... I write this article every year

I actually wanted to write an article called 'c'mon, orioles, do something' before they signed Sugano, and I found out I'd already written an article with that title

I'm very confused by their methodology

2:19

it's kind of Rays-y in that they seem to be trying to build a very sustainably high-floor organization by focusing heavily on trades that round them out rather than make them higher-ceiling, and hten taking occasional swings

2:20

but that feels like a really strange way to go about maximizing a window built on two stars

Guest

2:20

Mountcastle and Kremer get you close to Castillo? Would Povich be worth more than Kremer?

Ben Clemens

2:20

um, no

I'm not saying it shouldn't

or well, maybe I am, I haven't thought too hard about that yet

but the Mariners are not budging for scraps like that

they've made it very clear that htey think their pitchers are worth their weight in gold

2:21

'here, have a roughly average first baseman and a starter who wouldn't go in your rotation'

AL Central Casting

2:21

Do you think teams/pitchers/catchers sometimes claim PitchCom problems when there aren't any, just to get an extra minute of rest? It could just be me remembering examples during high-leverage situations, but it does seem like they could game the pitch-clock system every so often by saying the PitchCom is not working - very rarely have I seen them replace the device.

Ben Clemens

2:21

'think' is not strong enough

I strongly believe it

I would be shocked, more shocked than I'd be if the White Sox go .500 this year, to learn that it ISN'T happening

drplantwrench

2:21

looking forward to the Orioles becoming the next angels

Idiotic Failson

2:21

Like - I'm a Yankee fan and even I'm like - ORIOLES, PLEASE DO SOMETHING

Ben Clemens

2:22

I don't think they're gonna turn into the next Angels

2:23

I do think they might turn into the next Pirates, in terms of a team that hit it big with some innovative new strategies, developed a phenomenal core as a result of that plus some good draft picks, and then never supplemented the core at all and ended up wasting it

Idiotic Failson

2:23

FWIW - Luis Castillo's weight in gold is around $500k. They're treating him as far more valuable.

Ben Clemens

2:23

oof, touche

worth his weight in GPU's

i dunno, some valuable thing. worth his weight in vanilla?

but like, real vanilla pods, not the extract

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