JotCast | Ben Clemens FanGraphs Chat - 7/1/24

Ben Clemens FanGraphs Chat - 7/1/24

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Ben Clemens

2:37

I really like those dorsal spines, and I like that (as of when I cared more about dinosaurs, at least) we didn't really know what they were for

love a little mystery

War2D2

2:37

Rickey already know what Rickey's sprint speed was. FAST. Rickey already know he fast.

Oddball Herrera

2:37

So here's the thing with Ramos from your article, and I think it brings up an interesting general question. Whenever I see a guy who has done an approach change, I worry that he's merely "ambushing" pitchers, and those pitchers will eventually adjust (see Ramos' last two weeks). On the spectrum of "breakout/sustainability indicators" there are a bunch of stats I'd be more comfortable with than a "I'm going to start swinging at first pitches" type change, which seems like it'd prone to turning into a game of whack-a-mole

Ben Clemens

2:38

Yeah.... I mean I think that is always worth thinking about

I'd flip it on you, htough

to me, what was going on is that pitchers were ambushing Ramos

flip in a curveball and get ahead to exploit his swing and miss tendencies without having to challenge him in the zone to get ahead

b/c they just assumed he wouldn't swing

2:39

now he's forcing them to pitch him straight up, without the little cheat code soft curve

now, he got lots of these cheapie hits off of those, don't get me wrong

I don't think that part is sustainable, they're not gonna keep lobbing them in there

2:40

but I think he's a pretty good hitter when he's getting pitched straight up. His style of hitter does a lot better ahead in the count than behind, and teams had been preying on that early in his career

it's not like he's just blindly hacking at first pitches

he's just going up there thinking that if he sees something soft and high, he's gonna take a big rip

2:41

honestly I think that more hitters should do something about the in-zone soft breaking ball for strike one trend

Half Street

2:41

Thoughts on James Wood?

Strange Angel

2:41

I'm sure it's been asked, but what's your floor/ceiling expectation for James Wood this season and long-term?

Ben Clemens

2:42

Oh man, lots of James Wood questions today, as there should be

I'm very hyped

I'm extremely Team Wood, I got ridiculed for having him as my top prospect next year

2:43

last year*

and maybe ridiculed is strong, but lots of derisive comments

I'm not a big floor ceiling guy

but how about latter-day Joey Gallo floor, Tyler O'Neill median, Aaron Judge ceiling

2:44

I'm really into it, and I think that guys like Wood are the kinds of prospects who turn into generational players

not always, obviously

sonny

2:44

The problem with turning Volpe into Bregman is that he tried that, it didn't work. People underestimate how hard it is to be a RH pull hitter in Yankee Stadium. Look at the ghost of Josh Donaldson for what it looks like when you sell out for pull power and you're not Stanton/Judge strong.

Ben Clemens

2:45

I disagree with that

Yankee Stadium consistently has high HR park factors for righty hitters

2:46

and that's not some fluke of Judge playing there and on the road, it holds true when he's not playing, etc.

2:47

like... Donaldson left and went to Milwaukee and was still bad

the thing that happened to him is that he got old

MilwakeeBeerjays

2:47

RE: Dinosaurs

Scales or feathers?

Ben Clemens

2:47

You know, scales in my head. Even though I know they're more likely to be feathers

2:48

you can't erase my childhood view of things

metsetradio

2:48

With two positions conceivably up for grabs next year for the Mets (2nd and 3rd) What do you do with all of these infield prospects if you're David Stearns (Mauricio, Baty, Vientos, Jett, Acuna, etc)? Who are you looking to keep and who are you trading for pitching?

Ben Clemens

2:48

what I would do is keep them all until at least one establishes himself in the majors

possibly two

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