JotCast | Ben Clemens FanGraphs Chat

Ben Clemens FanGraphs Chat - 5/1/23

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Ben Clemens

2:32

I've been poking through Soto's stats looking for some way to write this

2:33

I think that it's reasonable to say that his bat-to-ball consistency is messed up

Basically he's pulling too much stuff and it's messing with him

but I dunno, is that an article?

I think he's mostly still fine, tbh

Teddy

2:33

At what point would you look for another 1B option over J. Abreu if you were the Astros? They have some lower-level guys that look promising (Loperfido, Clifford). Also Michael Brantley is reportedly taking reps at 1B!

Ben Clemens

2:33

Brantley fine. Lower level guys, no

2:34

C'mon, Jose Abreu is probably still good

Armie

2:34

Lance Lynn is a victim of the pitch clock, age, or bad luck?

Ben Clemens

2:34

Yes

HOnestly I think it's a bit of all three

12 to 6

2:34

just a note that the chatter about the dodgers depth disappearing remains laughable; they've started three rookies this year, two of whom should be roy candidates, and have just begun (stone on wednesday) to dip into their oncoming torrent of starting pitching, all while dealing with lineup turnover (and possibly the most fertile clubhouse in baseball). 16-13, first place, and the pieces are coming together.

Ben Clemens

2:34

I agree

2:35

Did you know that I was one of only 3 writers (out of 27) to predict the Dodgers winning the NL west this year at FanGraphs?

that's wild to me!

I will say that they set themselves up to RELY on their depth more this year

which always spooks me, b/c when you plan on relying on depth, that makes it awkward if you need more depth than expected

But yeah, c'mon, they're the Dodgers

Stop doubting them so much

Chip

2:35

Speaking of both Yoshida and the Yankees - given that the Yankees had a glaring hole in LF and the Yoshida contract is pretty reasonable, it's fair to say they sort of missed the boat on him, yes?

Ben Clemens

2:35

For sure

Didace

2:35

Corbin is doing exactly what the Nats need him to do - pitch 5-6 innings every fifth day. Sure, he sucks, but neither he nor any current potential replacement is going to be around when the Nats are good again. Nats fans need to ease up a bit about him. Without Patrick 2019 doesn't happen. Flags fly forever.

Ben Clemens

2:36

To be clear, I think the Nats would sign Corbin all over again if he guaranteed him that ring

And if he were more of a part of the fabric of the franchise, Strasburg or Harper equivalent level, I think they'd just let him play out the string and retire a Nat

I think there's real value in doing that, I love going to the park to see old heroes

2:37

Brandon Crawford is a god in SF, for example

But that's not really who Corbin is, and I do think the Nats would be well served by trying to see how he fares as a closer. He could be a really good closer! His slider is still nasty

Matsuiiii

2:37

How much do you buy into Senga's struggles being related to a different baseball and also different environment? Or did the Mets pay for a very expensive SP3-4

Ben Clemens

2:38

I'm pretty worried about the command, I'll say that

2:39

Aside from that, I dunno, he still looks okay to me, the home run luck is probably not gonna stay this way

2:40

But yeah, he isn't throwing enough strikes right now. Given that it seems to be a new thing, I'm willing to give him a little bit more ball-construction-related grace period, but that's a big problem

I'd be more worried if the stuff didn't play, because that seems less fixable, but make no mistake: his command needs fixing

Bob

2:40

Why is it that you only published one article all weekend during the middle of baseball season?

Ben Clemens

2:40

Because we're a weekday kind of website

We always publish one article per weekend

Todd

2:41

What type of starter can you imagine Santander, Hays, or Mountcastle bringing back?

Ben Clemens

2:41

Not a playable one, because teams trading playable starters don't want current blah major leaguers

Marshall

2:41

Is "rest of season" (ROS) on a player's page including their performance to date, or is it just their projected performance going forward?

Ben Clemens

2:41

projected performance going forward

Justin

2:41

Do you think mlb juices the ball for showcase games? I remember the first field of dreams game having a ton of homers also, along with the Mexico City series

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