JotCast | Ben Clemens FanGraphs Chat - 9/26/22

Ben Clemens FanGraphs Chat - 9/26/22

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Ben Clemens

2:42

This is kind of who he is; he had a 135 wRC+ from 206-2021 (basically his breakout years) and a 136 wRC+ this year

I'm willing to believe he's a little better than that, but his seasonal line is not far off from what you'd expect from him going into the year. He just got there in fits and starts

Mark Kotsay

2:42

Is it possible to biomechanically improve sprint speed, Driveline-style? Has any team tried something like this?

Ben Clemens

2:42

Without having read anything about this in particular, it definitely is, and there's a whole industry around making sprinters run faster

2:43

I'm not sure whether it makes more sense than trying to improve baseball-specific skills, but there is definitely a training method that can make you a faster sprinter

M's

2:43

Should Servais get some love for Manager of the year given the potential breaking of a 21 year playoff drought?

Ben Clemens

2:43

He should, and I bet he will

2:44

The reason I didn't include him is b/c I'd vote DiPoto for Executive of the Year and it seems weird to double up

TMB

2:44

Hi Ben! Torkelson or Pratto in 2023?

Ben Clemens

2:44

Tork for me in fantasy, I'm a sucker for pedigree

CookiePuss

2:44

Who is the NL MVP right now? I feel like even after Goldschmidt has cooled off, he is still miles ahead of every other NL hitter offensively...do Arenado and Machado provide enough defensive value to offset it and overtake him for the award?

Ben Clemens

2:44

I think Goldschmidt is the most likely winner, for the offensive reason you've mentioned

Dan

2:44

A (mostly) fantasy question - do you think Wander becomes one of those players who accumulates more value as a real baseball player than a fantasy contributor? Are we going to be valuing Oneil Cruz about him as a fantasy SS soon?

Ben Clemens

2:45

Yeah, I do think he'll be that kind of guy. The hit-tool-first guys with on base skills and plus defense and baserunning are the exact types who often play down in fantasy

He's a really good version of that archetype

Thomas

2:46

Re: AL Manager of the Year, I suspect it will be Brandon Hyde. MotY feels like the "best overperforming team" award. I guess Cleveland fits that too though

Ben Clemens

2:46

I kinda think it goes to a playoff team this year

Could be wrong, and Hyde would also be deserving. Plenty of good managerial jobs to compliment this year

Holden

2:46

Is Bryan Reynolds a true CF? He was good last year, not so good this year.

Ben Clemens

2:47

I do not think he is. He seems to me like a guy who can fake it out there, but who is best cast as an above-average corner defender

That doesn't mean I wouldn't plya him in center if it was that or nothing

He's definitely worth playing there for the bat. I just think his natural role would be as a plus corner guy

Bob

2:47

Not to get meta, but I marvel at how you guys handle these chats. Half these questions would take me 5-10 minutes just to figure out what I actually think the answer is!

Ben Clemens

2:48

Answer first, ask questions later

My first few (read: 30) were rough, haha

Justin

2:48

As a Mets fan, my concern level for Buck Showalter playoff managing is high. Do you think this is justified?

Ben Clemens

2:48

Nah, I think he'll be mostly fine. His usage of Diaz this year makes me optimistic

Maddoning

2:48

Should the White Sox let fan favorite Abreu walk in FA? They really need to improve the defense, and moving Vaughn out of the OF would help a ton......

Ben Clemens

2:49

I think they'll keep Abreu. He's not just a fan favorite; he's also a clubhouse favorite

And he's really good!

They could just move Vaughn to DH, or trade Vaughn even

Cristian Javier

2:49

What about my delivery gets guys to swing through, like, 93mph 4-seamers down the middle?

Ben Clemens

2:49

Some of it is your delivery, no dout

2:50

A ton of it is just how much ride is on the pitch, though

2:51

Sorry to lapse into third person, Cristian, but as teams just keep hammering into us recently, four-seamers with ride play up. Javier's drops 12.3 inches counting gravity on its path home, which is just silly at his velocity

2:52

Here's one way to think of it: he throws 3 mph slower than Ohtani does, but his fastball falls 1.5 less inches than Ohtani's despite the extra time for gravity to work

2:53

He just gets ALL KINDS of backspin on the pitch, it levitates over bats

Scout

2:53

Why conform to the 20-80 scale? It's so goofy that it doesn't have a 25 or 75.

Ben Clemens

2:53

I dunno. I'm not a big 20-80 fan. I reference ours b/c it's the scale that everyone uses, but I would definitely not make such a strange scale if I were starting out

RTJ

2:54

Speaking of the calm before the playoff storm with respect to lulls in chats: What questions do you have for us?

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