JotCast | Ben Clemens FanGraphs Chat

Ben Clemens FanGraphs Chat - 5/1/23

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Juxtaposition

3:09

José Abreu has only one home run in his last 84 games. His strikeout rate is at a career high and his walk rate a career low. Are we seeing the beginning of the end? Or an aging hitter that just needs to change his approach at the plate?

Ben Clemens

3:10

I think it's both, but mainly the second

Alright, I'm gonna call it a day after the next 5 questions. It's been a jam-packed chat today, thanks to all of you for some really excellent questions

RTJ

3:10

Matthew Liberatore comes up in May, yes or no?

Ben Clemens

3:11

Yes. I think they're basically waiting for one injury. I'm not sure I agree with that decision but I do think that's how they're doing it

B'ryce Szymbobski

3:11

Is Matt Chapman just this good now?

Ben Clemens

3:11

I mean, no? He's on a hot streak. But I do think he's made sustsainable changes to his approach, and he's also healthier than he has been for a while

If he's a 130 wRC+ hitter, he's an awesome player

Karl Marx

3:11

Should all players have the right to refuse any trade?

Ben Clemens

3:12

Oh, fun one. I don't think that's reasonble, I think that players are afforded some perks (like a high salary and chance at making generational wealth) and that accepting trades is just part of the whole bargain

You could make a kind of baseball that was like that, but I do think that the transactional nature of it fuels the popularity

3:13

which fuels the money, and so on

Dr. Love

3:13

Is Shane McClanahan a top three pitcher in baseball by the end of the year?

Ben Clemens

3:13

No, but I think he's top 10

Guest

3:13

How worried are you about rendon? His eye is still elite, average exit velo and hard hit % are in line with his career averages, but has only barreled 2 balls and has run a low babip for 3 years now

Ben Clemens

3:14

Alright, last one. I'm very worried. He was never a super loud contact guy, I remember noting that he would actually be the player in baseball most hurt by a deadening of the ball because he makes so much medium aerial contact

this was in 2019, the peak year of the rabbit ball

I think you can make a similar observation about the consequences of losing a little pop; it hurts more for him than for your average player, because he hits a lot of marginal ones as it is

3:15

Much as it saddens me, I'm ready to say that he's just not gonna get back to that 25-30 hr level. I think he's much better than his stats so far this year (xwOBA agrees, etc), but I think he's more of a league average type than a star now

On that note, have a great day everyone, and I'll talk to you next week.

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