JotCast | Ben Clemens FanGraphs Chat - 4/14/25

Ben Clemens FanGraphs Chat - 4/14/25

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Ben Clemens

3:12

him being good is going to be a huge marketing boom

MoonBeamMcSwine

3:12

Gabriel Arias has been that talented guy who couldn't put it all together.. had hamate injured hands... needed to hustle more, etc.. Is he finally turning the corner/breaking out as his talent is unassailable?

Ben Clemens

3:13

As a long time Arias fan who wrote this:

https://blogs.fangraphs.com/lets-dream-on-gabriel-arias/

Yeah, let's do it

Jim

3:13

Why have the A's rushed Max Muncy 2.0 to the majors? Especially when the long-term plan was for him to shift to 3B, where he hasn't really played in the minors.

Ben Clemens

3:14

I mean, it feels a little fast, but not crazy, he played all of 2024 at Triple-A and looked good enough. My guess is that they just really don't like the rest of their options at second

3:15

Now, when Gelof returns, maybe they'll send him back down and have him work on his third base defense

but I think this is a 'we must win more games this year and we have no better options at second' decision

Guest

3:16

Do you think taco shops see a noticeable increase in business on a Tuesday?

Ben Clemens

3:16

yes

Steve O

3:16

Are the Yankees somewhat an underrated player development org? They’ve produced Volpe, Rice, Wells, Dominguez over the last couple of years with no high draft picks, and they’ve got pitchers littered throughout other organizations. They’ve also made a bunch of trades to acquire talent over the past few years.

Ben Clemens

3:16

I would say no, but then I rate their player development group highly

particularly on the pitching side

Chip

3:16

Drop one with Strider coming back: Wesneski, Roupp, Soriano, G. Williams.

Ben Clemens

3:16

Oof, probably Roupp even though I do like him

3:17

He and Williams both have a lack of competition working in their favor

the hot talk in the Bay is replacing Verlander in the rotation, not 'does Roupp have a spot'

Eh, so I think I've talked myself into Williams then

Roupp's curveball is delightful

and he has the huge tailwind of playing a lot of games in SF with great catching

Sad Sox Fan

3:17

Is there any hope for Andrew Vaughn at this point? Dude came out of college a great pure hitter and now he looks absolutely lost at the plate.

Ben Clemens

3:17

Nah, I'm over it

3:18

I picked him for AL RoY way back int he day

and then I've been sadly watching his progress ever since

He's not as bad as he's looked this year - but I think he's as bad as he looked last year, which is kinda bad

MoonBeamMcSwine

3:18

Emmanuel Clase, while retaining his velo and cutter movement... has become pedestrian.. Any reason to panic at this early stage of the season??

Ben Clemens

3:18

I don't think there's a reason to panic

3:19

I just don't see how people are gonna keep BABIP'ing .481 against him

also, maybe pay more attention if he starts giving up a string of homers, but he's given up 1

that makes his stats look worse than normal because he gives up about two a year

seriously, he debuted in 2019 and he's allowed 14 homers in his career

Tim

3:20

Any hope for Miguel Vargas?

Ben Clemens

3:20

Sure! But not because of how he's done this year

3:21

I'm just a sucker for Vargas. I'll be wrong on this over and over again if he doesn't turn it around

Chris

3:21

Has Nick Allen supplanted Arcia as the Braves regular SS, or is even that bar too high for April stats?

Ben Clemens

3:21

Nope, that one I'll give you

He's another one of my long-term player crushes, so again take this with a grain of salt

3:22

but let me put it this way: if I give you the choice bewteen two guys who can't hit

you'd take the one with better defense, right?

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