JotCast | Ben Clemens FanGraphs Chat

Ben Clemens FanGraphs Chat - 2/6/23

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Ben Clemens

2:11

The thing is, I think he's actually fairly high floor because of his defensive value and pop

2:12

Like, it's hard to imagine him being worse than an average player just thanks to running into some bombs and playing center

Even if he puts up an 85 wRC+ or something

Matt

2:12

Hey Ben, with the Cubs teardown (hopefully) starting to turn a corner, when do envision them returning to the playoffs?

Ben Clemens

2:14

A lot is gonna depend on the shape of the roadmap from here. Like, their current roster is not a legit compete for the playoffs roster, they have Eric Hosmer starting and don't have Tatis/Machado types to offset that. Likewise, their rotation is really light on impact guys -- I like Stroman and Taillon, but not as 1/2

The farm system is great, our updated 2022 report has them as the 5th-best system overall and they've got plenty of depth, though no truly can't-miss types

2:15

But the question is what they do to transform this blah major league roster and good farm into a contender. How PCA and Brennen Davis develop this year is gonna have more impact on their future trajectory than you'd like for a team you're expecting to contend soon

Manfred's Fatuous Ass

2:16

Can you share any insight into the editorial schedule coming up? When is "prospects week"? What are the features coming up (position previews somewhat soon I'd think)?

Ben Clemens

2:16

Last week of Feb, and then power rankings will start in the middle of March

Dan

2:16

Having just read your article on exit velocity (and now wondering how much I believe Oneil Cruz makes real contact improvements), who do you prefer as a fantasy SS in a dynasty format - Wander Franco or Oneil Cruz?

Ben Clemens

2:17

I still prefer Franco, because even though top-end power is very important, it's not the only important thing, and Franco is MUCH better at the other skills

Bill me later

2:17

Why would Toronto sign Chad Green now and player from 40 man roster, could they not sign and dl Green during spring training and not lose a player

Ben Clemens

2:17

Because someone else might sign him in the interim and despite the endless gnashing of teeth and rending of garments that some in the baseball community just love to do for every transaction, that 40th man being DFA'ed doesn't come back to bite you very often

Oaktown Blues

2:17

Thanks for chatting Ben! Is someone at FG planning to writeup the Cole Irvin trade?

Ben Clemens

2:18

Probably! Maybe me if not, I'm trying to come up with an article for tomorrow as we speak

Josh Bell

2:18

Big resurgence coming in Cleveland after my slump in San Diego? I called myself a power hitter, but the baseball savant predicted home runs by park for last year didn't look any better in Cleveland. But with new shift rules, new home park, and Kwan/Gimenez/Ramirez hitting ahead of me, can I have a big year? 20/100 with a .280/.360/.480 triple slash seem reasonable for back of a napkin prognostication?

Ben Clemens

2:18

That's a pretty aggressive projection

I'm down on Bell, and it showed in my free agent rankings. I hope he does really well, I'm just skeptical basically

Theo Epstein Truther

2:18

How overrated are the Cardinals for the coming season? As a biased cubs fan I just don't see many bright spots on the roster outside of Arenado

Ben Clemens

2:19

Haha look, I'm a Cardinals fan, but I think I'm also a fairly unbiased analyst

The Cardinals are probably going to win 88-95 games and win the Central comfortably, and probably 6-8 of their players will be as good as the Cubs' best player

2:20

I'd take Lars Nootbaar over any Cub and I doubt you think he's a top 5 player on the team, for example

For what it's worth, ZiPS and Steamer pretty much agree. It's easy to look at a team of people you don't like because of the pajamas they wear and assume they're all bad, but like... the Cardinals are pretty good at winning a lot of games every year

They'll probably be good at it again this year

Mark

2:20

Not a question, just wanted to say that you're my favorite baseball writer

Ben Clemens

2:21

Oh I'm definitely publishing this

Thank you!

Guest

2:21

Why don't the Rockies just push the stadium down to sea level

Ben Clemens

2:21

They could call it "The Pit"

Kiermaier's Piercing Green Eyes

2:21

So I actually just picked up a wok, chuan, and some cooking chopsticks. Recs for good first recipes? (This will inevitably end in a plug for Kenji's book.)

Ben Clemens

2:21

Haha it sure will

Kenji's book is amazing

2:22

But if you want something extremely simple, like simpler than anything in that book, I've derived a recipe for making veggies when I am cooking for myself

2:23

you need some doubonjiang (broad bean paste), and basically you get the wok hot, put in oil, then cook minced ginger and garlic for about 10 seconds. Then you toss in the doubonjiang and let it go for about 30 seconds, the mixture should turn very red

Then you toss in your veggies (I like matchsticked carrots and pre-microwave-steamed broccoli but you can use whatever) and stir fry it for a little bit, then serve it over rice

No fake, it's Dan McGrew

2:24

Montas for Kepler - could there be a trade centered around those 2?

Ben Clemens

2:24

In a word, no

Montas is gonna miss the first month of the season, and he's hardly guaranteed to be healthy after that, he was hurt basically the entire time he was on the Yankees last year. Kepler has a club option beyond this year

2:25

I know the Twins are shopping Kepler, but not like htat

John

2:25

Kind of feels like Gerrit Cole is starting to be underrated? Mostly from contract/NY and maybe a bit of the HR bug but seems like the industry is a bit too low on him now

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