JotCast | Ben Clemens FanGraphs Chat

Ben Clemens FanGraphs Chat - 4/21/25

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Ben Clemens

2:24

I'm planning on seeing the Padres, Dodgers, and DBacks in SF this year, and I bet the atmosphere will be great at all of these

2:25

and re: the Giants in particular, I think they have a good shot of being real contenders this year. It's not like they were that far off in the first place and they've had a few meaningful improvements to the team imo, particularly JHL mashing

Jim

2:25

But what about Bleday, who may be the worst defensive CFer in MLB?

Ben Clemens

2:26

well... I don't actually think he's the worst, just very bad

2:27

but I don't see a lot of options here. There are no plausible CF's on the horizon unless you think Clarke is ready for the bigs, and I don't really

GA Blood

2:27

Whatever happened to the planned revisiting of positional adjustments in the WAR calculation?

Ben Clemens

2:27

not canceled, just delayed

we still have a working group, just everyone's get ready for the seasons activities took longer than we all expected

Guest

2:28

Do you predict C Walker will get out of his funk and stay at his "average" at some point. He even screwed up 3 picks last night.

Ben Clemens

2:28

I yelped at the first one and my wife was like 'that looks like a normal play?'

but it's Christian Walker!

2:29

uh, I'm worried. Very worried. Little bit of a Bayesian kind of deal - I was worried in the preseason b/c I felt Walker's game had less room to decline than your average 1B free agent signing

so this start is confirming my priors, rather than challenging them

MilwaukeeBeerJays

2:29

I saw a game in SF last year. 23 bucks for a beer! This timeline are ouch.

Ben Clemens

2:29

Wait really? My wife's from Milwaukee so we go to a ton of Brewers games and we have always marveled at the fact that beers are cheaper in SF than MIL

2:30

but maybe the Giants have jacked up prices and I missed it?

I definitely remember the sticker shock when I got a beer at a local bar before the game in Wauwatosa ($6) and then a local microbrew at the game ($19)

Sad O's fan

2:30

How many times can Elias and co. be humiliated by their pitching and general roster building decisions before they decide to try something, anything differently. The Red Sox and Blue Jays are signing young stars to extensions, trading and or signing high impact talent, and meanwhile Elias is saying they "didnt plan for" Grayson and Eflin to be hurt?

Ben Clemens

2:30

Look, someone needs to hold them accountable or it seems clear that they won't change

2:31

I truly do not understand why they persist in their ways, but they do

Bosoxforlife

2:32

It is becoming more and more apparent that Casas isn't going to get the job done. There are still plenty of OF options so is it time to put a 1st baseman's glove on Anthony's hand even though that would make him a dreaded right-right 1st baseman like Paul Goldschmidt or Pete Alonso.

Ben Clemens

2:32

Honestly, I think I'd be more interested in DH'ing him with Devers at first if they want to phase Casas out

because long term, I don't want Roman Anthony's athleticism at first base. And long-term, I do want Devers there if Casas isn't in the picture

AthleticsFan2195

2:32

Andujar's wRC+ is at 115 and Brown is at 90, unless I am missing something which I usually am. Just flagging because while Andujar is a bad defender he is kinda hitting. Not enough to outweigh the glove though.

Ben Clemens

2:33

Oof yeah! I added up PA's on roster resource instead of wRC+

doesn't change my opinion of why they are playing them but, whoops

Oaktown Blues

2:33

How worried should I be that Jacob Wilson has yet to take a walk?

Ben Clemens

2:33

I mean, I'm worried

2:34

Wilson would be a "less-heralded hitter I like" if he weren't heralded

my minor league hitting models absolutely drool about him

but yeah, you have to take some walks if you don't hit for ANY power

I'd be very worried. I am very worried

GA Blood

2:34

Two things I liked from over the weekend: 1) Watching my first Angels game of the year to see some Mike Trout and having him reward me by hitting two absolute missiles into the seats. 2) Javier Sanoja hitting his first career homer on a letter-high fastball from Kerkering, because if you took away the result the swing looked like he was hitting an oppo ground ball. Baseball is beautiful.

2:34

So, Mike Trout hits bombs and whiffs and almost nothing else, now. Is this just, pardon the pun, getting back in the swing of things?

Ben Clemens

2:35

I keep a notes doc with ideas for Five Things and the Trout two homer game is on there

he's fun to watch, and yeah, I also love that that game was 3-2 and he almost hit another solo homer to tie it

MagicOriole

2:35

What pitchers are the Orioles supposed to be singing and trading for? Garrett Crochet is fair, but who else is really out there availible and good?

Ben Clemens

2:36

Crochet, Dylan Cease, Sandy Alcantara, retain Burnes, sign Fried, Sonny Gray, hell, trade for Erick Fedde at the deadline last year or trade for him now

call the Twins and make them an offer they can't refuse

2:37

other teams in baseball manage to add pitching every year

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