JotCast | Ben Clemens FanGraphs Chat - 8/11/25

Ben Clemens FanGraphs Chat - 8/11/25

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Ben Clemens

2:09

not that it has anything to do with Hernaiz, I just like pointing it out b/c he was one of my original prospect crushes

the man can pick it

Greg

2:09

As a Reds fan I've grown really frustrated with the organizational emphasis on drafting/developing athletic middle infield types over getting guys that can hit. I understand that versatility and athleticism has come back more and more into the game with recent rule changes, etc. But the Reds play half their games at GABP and haven't had anyone hit more than 25 HRs since 2021. To me, that's unacceptable. If any franchise should be emphasizing power in their drafting/development process it's Cincinnati. Am I wrong?

Ben Clemens

2:10

I agree, but I also think that their two middle infielders might be the most powerful people on the team

like I get what you're talking about in general, and yet I look at their lineup and I'm like "oh okay these guy sshould hit homers"

I assume that 25 HR stat will stop being true this year, Elly's already at 19

Reed

2:10

Does any player make more errors (not Errors) than Willson Contreras? Botched cutoffs, TOOTBLAN, etc.

Ben Clemens

2:11

The throw from first to third that he ripped through three defenders for a run-scoring throwing error was absolutely amazing

That was almost a 5 things

He's having a pretty rough one at first base this year

at least in terms of shocking errors that when I watch I go 'oooooohh'

Bubba

2:11

Absolutely brutal stretch by the Mets. Do they make the playoffs? The Reds are only 1.5 behind and are getting Hunter Greene back soon.

Ben Clemens

2:11

They do

but yeah, this has been rough

2:12

they're just completely falling apart

Pepsi

2:12

Are the Cardinals right to move Herrera to 1B/OF/DH, or was his bat only going to play at catcher?

Ben Clemens

2:12

mmmmm..... I think they kind of have to do it, they just really don't believe in him at catcher

and I do think he hits well enough to play a corner position

it's really a bummer that he's not gonna stick at C though

Guest

2:12

if it turns out 2 straight mackenzie gore seasons have just come down to "figure out what's wrong sooner" does that say more about him or the nats

Ben Clemens

2:12

lol

both?

man I was doing the over/under performing pitchers thing

2:13

I saw Gore's wOBA allowed, was like, wtf

then I looked at his four starts since I put out the trade value series, and oh my GOD he's been bad

it was even worse b/c I was looking before yesterday's gem against the Giants

so WITH that 6 IP, 10k, 0ER masterpiece, he has a 9.55 ERA and 6.66 FIP in his past five starts

2:14

I just truly don't know what to think of it

Anon21

2:14

Michael Harris snapping out of it? Running a 143 wRC+ since the beginning of July with a lot of power.

Ben Clemens

2:14

my fantasy team thanks him

I, on the other hand, really don't know if I'm buying it

how is he still only walking 2% of the time?

i just don't think he can keep hitting for enough power to make it work if he doesn't walk more

Birdbath

2:14

Every Orioles hitter that comes up struggles tremendously at first with ML pitching. Has anyone studied what early career struggles typically look like and whether certain teams avoid them better?

Ben Clemens

2:15

I haven't seen anything about it

but I don't get the sense that it's meaningfully more severe for the O's than other teams

there's just a lot of variance when you go from the minors to the majors

Guest

2:15

Does Cal Raleigh have a realistic shot at winning AL MVP? Right now he has 6.5 fWAR compared to Judge's 7.0. Also somewhat related, has the margin of error for WAR shrunk over the past decade, with the increased accuracy of defensive data through Statcast?

Ben Clemens

2:15

ehhhh.... I don't really think the margin for error has shrunk that much

the defensive data is better, but like, perfect defensive data would still be really noisy

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