JotCast | Ben Clemens FanGraphs Chat

Ben Clemens FanGraphs Chat - 7/15/24

Prev Page View Full Chat Next Page

The Oriole Bird

2:30

Gunnar Henderson sure profiles a lot like Cal Ripken at this point. (Not saying he'll end the same. And big point of deviation is Henderson's speed.) But that's cool from a history-repeating-itself lens, right?

Ben Clemens

2:30

It really is cool

Alern

2:30

Why do your projected standings consistently total 2429 total wins and losses (one short of 30x81)? Was there a rainout that you don't expect to be made up? Thanks!

Ben Clemens

2:30

Yeah it's the suspended game

2:31

there's a suspended game, I forget which one, that needs to be resumed later

so we don't project it as a new game, but the stats aren't final yet

Ben from DC

2:31

Any takeaways from 2 weeks of James Wood in the bigs?

Ben Clemens

2:31

The guy is as talented as the reports

far too soon to tell what will happen with him but the hype was not fakew

Ken

2:31

I'm a huge Excel hound but looking to level up a bit - for the sort of work you do, what's the most valuable tech-side skillset? ie. SQL, Python, etc

Ben Clemens

2:32

probably sql? I do a lot of querying and knowing how to download the right dataset is very helpful

scuffy McGee

2:32

What do you make of Spencer Torkelson's demise?

Ben Clemens

2:32

It's hard to predict baseball (Suzyn)

2:33

more broadly, amateur bats just don't develop in linear ways

Rickety Cricket

2:34

A lot of ink has been spilled over the Phillies potentially trading for one of Rooker, Robert or Chisholm, however I haven’t seen too much on them with regards to Randy Arozarena. While all four of them would benefit from not having to be “that guy” on their respective teams and instead joining one of the deadlier lineups in baseball, I think Randy would be a better fit due to his defense and playoff pedigree. Would the Rays be willing to sell low on him and could the Phillies put together a prospect package that doesn’t include Painter, Miller or Crawford?

Ben Clemens

2:34

I don't see it, to be honest. It's a shallow system and while before the year I would have said Mick Abel, I think the Phillies probably aren't interested in selling low on him

2:35

maybe the Rays are willing to take like three guys they're very interested in, but trying to protect the top names in a thin system makes for an unattractive offer

Generic Name

2:35

Thanks for the chat. If you were given the opportunity to run the Rockies what would be your approach? I was thinking about this and I would want to build a roster with defense and pitching at the core.

Ben Clemens

2:35

I think I'd want to opt for power

I like the idea of Brenton Doyle types for sure

I think that outfield defense, specifically, plays up in Coors b/c there's just so much space to cover

2:36

but I'm also interested in trying to score a ton of runs, b/c let's be real, buliding the rockies around pitching just sounds like a recipe for failure

M. Elias

2:36

Is there a hotline for people who are addicted to toolsy college outfielders?

Ben Clemens

2:36

i mean, so far so good!

scuffy McGee

2:36

what are the current rockies built around? Sadness

Ben Clemens

2:36

the concept of dramatic irony

2:37

the Rockies act as though they don't know things that the rest of us do

Ace

2:37

It's funny what you said about women's tennis. I'm a dude, who grew up watching more women's / Steffi Graf and Monica Seles and Jana Novotna (her crying at Wimbledon was heartbreaking, so glad she won it) ... and yet I can name far more of the men nowbecause it seems more obviously differentiated peaks and stars (the Alcaraz / Sinner's)

Ben Clemens

2:37

yeah, having the stars in the finals really matters

George

2:37

Would you move Abrams off SS? The Nats are in the position to just give him reps there in my opinion, but at some point if you’re going to contend you need a better defender there. Feels complicated by their OF prospect depth.

Ben Clemens

2:38

I would stick it out, I just don't believe he's QUITE as bad as the statcast numbers suggest

2:39

I see a lot to like there, too. His errors are trending the right way, and making errors on plays he gets to is definitely his biggest weakness

it's my opinion that he has the tools to succeed and just needs mroe reps, and I don't think it's an arm issue where he just can't get enough accuracy or power and so they'll always be there

Johnny5Alive

2:39

I hate to say it but Stearns job would have been easier if the mets didnt get hot again recently. I am all for (hopefully) making the playoffs, but there will likely now be pressure to add and im not sure this is the group I want to be trading prospects to upgrade. At least if they were still playing poorly, you got alonso, severino, manaea, bader, etc. to deal. Thoughts?

Ben Clemens

2:40

Eh.... gimme the playoff chase, it's fun

I trust Stearns to keep the ship going in the right direction long-term

and the point of the game is to make the playoffs and win trophies, so like, more bites at the apple seems good

Josh

2:40

Is it cool for you to know that, like, Josh Rojas read your article about him? Or is it scary to think that the subject of any piece you write will be reading and reacting to your thoughts?

Ben Clemens

2:40

Much more cool than scary

It's definitely weird, don't get me wrong

Connecting…