JotCast | Ben Clemens FanGraphs Chat

Ben Clemens FanGraphs Chat - 4/28/25

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Ben Clemens

3:07

but that is probably worth it at this point

DJ Tofu

3:07

Hicks' velo yesterday fluctuated a bit. But in his last inning he was averaging 95-96.

Ben Clemens

3:07

look, here's his daily sinker average velo this year:

https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/statcast_search?hfPT=SI%7C&hfAB=&hfGT=R...

2 mph slower than his next-slowest game

3:08

he was popping a TON of 92's and 93's and hit the 'oh my god i'm getting shelled just get me through this inning' button late

but it was definitely a very concerning start for me

Batso Rizzo

3:08

Aaron Judge's OPS is 1200+ with a 700+ SLG and he should probably have 2 or 3 more home runs. Just fun to think about.

Ben Clemens

3:08

he is just truly crazy

Bosoxforlife

3:08

Are you as stunned as I am that the Orioles are headed to the basement before their touted prospects ever really got their act together. To see that the top three fWAR players are Mullins, O'Hearn and Urias is shocking and the young guys are no where to be found.

Ben Clemens

3:08

absolutely shocking to me

3:09

Gunnar being hurt and then starting slow makes this stat marginally misleading, but yeah

3:10

look I've been saying that the O's haven't been making good use of their window for years

you're going to have a year like this sometimes

and Adley's clock is ticking

truly shocking

Krusty

3:10

What are the chances that we will see a context inclusive version of WAR any time soon? I'm hoping for one based on re24?

Ben Clemens

3:11

mmmmmm, I don't think it's towards the top of our priority list currently, we're working on positional adjustments first

but I'll do a little bit of talking about it in the background next time we do priorities

might be easier than I think to just fold it into what we already do, we'll see

Farhandrew Zaidman

3:11

Are you surprised that Pages now somehow looks like the Dodgers' best hitter after looking lost for the 3 weeks before that?

Ben Clemens

3:12

a little, only because I thought he'd look good but not like the best hitter b/c they have so many great ones

O’s

3:12

Do you think this season is the start of the downfall for the O’s?

Ben Clemens

3:12

I do not

I think they'll be better in '26 than '25

Kelvin Cato

3:12

Orioles front office has mismanaged their pitching situation without a doubt, but they are a pretty clear "it's still only April" candidate. Plenty of bad batted ball luck on a few of their more talented position players

Ben Clemens

3:12

agreed with this as well

these things happen

you will have down years of production, even from your good players

Carl

3:12

Over the last 8 or so years, baseball writers have never felt good about the Brewers. Hasn't stopped the Brewers from being good. Offense isn't looking amazing, but pitching has been perfectly fine after a rough opening weekend. Expected the Reds to be closer to last than 1st, and I don't think some unsustainable small-sample performances on offense so far really changes my mind.

Ben Clemens

3:12

we'll see!

I would argue that I've frequently been very high on the Brewers

3:13

but, our models have certainly underrated them

not that I frequently peruse season over/undres, but I've had a lot more of Brewers over than Brewers under in my life

MF Luder

3:13

What are your feelings on Quinn Priester?

Ben Clemens

3:13

there was a really cool article on BP about how Quinn Priester might, in an ideal world where pitchers can change their arsenal to best suit their natural talents, Priester could be a hidden find by the Brewers

3:14

I mean.... potentially true, but he has definitely not been able to do it yet

he's walking as many as he strikes out and can't miss a bat to save his life. if it weren't for the fact that they're so racked by injury, he'd be in the minors working on his fastball shapes

Jason

3:15

What do you think is the cause for a AAAA player? Is it just the dramatic increase in quality of pitching in the majors or is it something different?

Ben Clemens

3:15

I think it's largely that, but I think it's also that many players have skills that are at their best against lower-level opposition

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