JotCast | Ben Clemens FanGraphs Chat

Ben Clemens FanGraphs Chat - 8/7/23

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Ben Clemens

2:01

Hey everybody, welcome to the chat

Let's get started right away

Sammy So-so

2:01

What do you make of Jarred Kelenic's season prior to the unfortunate injury, Ben? Started off scorching, then he was pretty pedestrian. Is he a solid regular going forward or something else? Thanks.

Ben Clemens

2:02

I think solid regular with boom/bust tendencies sounds about right to me

He's kind of miniature Joey Gallo; when he's not striking out that much, the power really plays

2:03

But his swing is just not geared for contact, and he doesn't have a superlative batting eye or anything

So I think he's inevitably going to have these stretches where he strikes out 40% of the time and feels unplayable

Cube Jockey

2:03

Any historical comps that point to Jordan Walker turning into even just a mediocre corner outfielder?

Ben Clemens

2:04

Nothing springs to mind, but he's such a weird case that I'm not at code red just yet. He's 21 and the first time he played outfield was last year in Double-A

2:05

I think the bet here is that his athleticism is going to continue to play while his reads and routes improve

I don't think he's ever going to be great but of course he's awful right now

farhanfan22

2:05

what is LA thinking by playing Austin Barnes over Hunter Feduccia, Feddy is a righty killer who smashes high velocity fastballs. Do you see LA carrying 3 catchers this season?

Ben Clemens

2:06

I mean, I think they are thinking 'Dave Roberts trusts Barnes to call a game'

also, Feduccia's first above average offensive season since short-season A ball is this year

so it's not like he's guaranteed offense in a can

2:07

but yeah, Barnes should not be playing. He's been SO bad this year

2:07

How accurate are league adjustments in the minors? I see some .350 wOBAs with a sub 100 wRC+.

Ben Clemens

2:07

So, the big issue with our minor league adjustments is that we only league adjust, not park adjust

2:08

but overall, they're not going to miss something like you're talking about

the PCL is outrageously high scoring this year, 6.21 runs per game

2:10

It's just really hard to think in wOBA terms given that

like that league's OBP this year is .369

Brandon Pfaadt

2:10

How many guys can be successful while hiding their extremely hittable fastball? What’s his ceiling knowing his fastball isn’t MLB standard? He looked really great in his last start focusing on the sweeper.

Ben Clemens

2:11

I think Pfaadt is gonna be pretty good

'extremely hittable fastball' describes SO MANY pitchers today

Domingo

2:11

Would Fangraphs ever consider showing bWAR for the sake of comparison?

Ben Clemens

2:11

I'm not in management, but I don't think so. Would reference ever consider showing ours? Presumably not

2:12

It just feels like a weird thing to do, to me offhand

Mariner Fan

2:12

How does the Phillies as a team have a 16.6 fWAR over 996.1 IP, while the Mariners have a 15.2 fWAR over 1002.1 IP when comparing their 2023 team pitching stats?All of this is despite the Mariners having literally better metrics across the board. The only stat that favors the Phillies is GB% which they hold a 0.1% advantage 43.7% to 43.6% over the Mariners!

Ben Clemens

2:13

park adjustments

Princess Leia

2:13

Help us Obi-wan Clemon-obi, You're our only hope

Ben Clemens

2:13

Hey, that's a new one

Domingo

2:13

A lefty catcher would be better at fielding bunts than a righty. Why no lefty catchers?