You are viewing the chat in desktop mode. Click here to switch to mobile view.
X
Chat With MLBTR's Steve Adams: 5/28/19
powered byJotCast
Prev Page View Full Chat
???
4:12
When do the Angels cut bait with Harvey/Cahill? Once JC Ramirez and Suarez are ready for big league innings?
Steve Adams
4:14
We're getting to the point of the season where it has to start becoming a possibility, but yeah the injuries elsewhere on the roster make it trickier, as you alluded to.

Man -- I have to say I loved that Cahill deal at the time, but he has taken huge step backs in basically every important category.
Hat
4:15
If (and when) the Mets fall out of contention, Is Zach Wheeler on the trading block?
Steve Adams
4:16
He should be, yeah. That'd be a real tough move for their GM, Brodie Van Wagenen, to make after his "Come get us" and "We consider ourselves the division favorites" comments this winter
Say it ain't Jose
4:16
is Jose Ramirez done?  Is it a year long slump he will bust out of or was the Jose of a couple years past a mirage?
Steve Adams
4:18
He has a .219 BABIP despite a solid hard-hit rate, and he's not striking out THAT much more than in 2018 (15.7% on the season). He has one of the largest differentials in MLB in terms of the gap between his actual weighted on-base average (wOBA) and expected weighted on-base average (xwOBA).

I don't think he's remotely close to "done," and I think he'll be fine in a couple months' time
4:19
2017-18 may go down as his peak years, he should still be a very, very good player
Tyler
4:20
Josh Bell the early season NL MVP? His numbers are incredible
Steve Adams
4:21
Bell's numbers are amazing, but Cody Bellinger is objectively better in almost any meaningful category. He'd be the runaway winner if the season ended today, although things can change quickly. We're only about 1/3 through the season still.
But, if the season ended today, Bell would appear on plenty of ballots and get some votes. He deserves recognition for how good he's been, for sure.
bored giants fan
4:22
when do we start unloading everyone and who?
Steve Adams
4:24
They should be willing to right now, but there are a lot of fringe buyers who want more time to evaluate their rosters and a lot of clear contenders who may want to exhaust internal options before making a move.

Bumgarner, Will Smith, Sam Dyson, Tony Watson, Nick Vincent, Pablo Sandoval, Joe Panik -- any from that bunch could easily go. I think the pitchers I listed are pretty much locks to be traded.
Kris Bryant
4:25
Will I ever fulfill my potential or am I over hyped?
Steve Adams
4:25
The perception that Bryant is even remotely a letdown is one of the more inexplicable but common beliefs I see
4:26
Bryant is 27 years old and in his fifth full season. He has a Rookie of the Year Award and an MVP Award under his belt already. He's been worth six-plus wins in three of his four full years and is on pace for his fourth such season. He's hitting .283/.405/.567 -- which is good for about 50 percent better than a league-average hitter. He's a superstar who has already lived up to the billing and probably exceeded it.
Adam Stevens
4:26
Will Trevor Rosenthal ever be an effective MLB pitcher again?
Steve Adams
4:27
Man I hope so. I feel awful for anyone who struggles like he has this season.
Rafeal Devers
4:28
Why don't I get any love. I'm younger than FIFTY-THREE of MLB.com's Top 100 Prospects.
Steve Adams
4:30
Devers is subject to this weird expectation that people harbor of... "If you're not Mike Trout levels of elite, permanently, like two months into your career you are a bust."

There's probably a large section of fans who'd be more open to trading Devers now than when he was a prospect even though, as you said, he's 22 years old. He's started hitting more over the past month so some of that perception has died down, but it's still amazing the manner in which prospects are immediately devalued if they don't have an Acuna-esque first year on the scene.

The Goldschmidt and Gerrit Cole trades are good recent examples. People reacted as though the D-backs and Pirates got nothing because instead of getting minor leaguers ranked in the top 50-100 prospects, they got MLB guys who were one year removed from such designations and already had some experience.
I'll step off the soap box now, ha.
JP
4:31
More realistic Braves target - Keuchel or Bumgarner?
Steve Adams
4:32
I'd say Keuchel just because he's a free agent with a pretty finite cap on what he can reasonably be expected to earn. There'll be more suitors and more competition for Bumgarner most likely.
Frustrated Angel fan
4:33
2020 Heaney, Skaggs, Canning, Ohtani, Barria and JC Ramirez a start for rotation in 2020?
Steve Adams
4:34
Hard to assume good health for all of those guys, but yeah it's a more promising mix than they carried into 2019 -- and all those guys should indeed be a part of it. Tropeano, Pena, too. And some inevitable free-agent/trade/waiver additions.
Christian Mingle
4:34
Yellich would like a word about that MVP consideration too
Steve Adams
4:35
Yeah, Yelich is obviously in the mix as well and will be come season's end, but Bellinger still gets my "May 28 MVP" vote. Luckily for Yeli and others, there are like 4 months of games left to change that.
Brian
4:35
How much trade value, if any, does Samardzija have?
Steve Adams
4:37
Hugely homer prone despite his home park... K/BB numbers are down, fastball velo is way down, salary is huge, etc.

Beyond his ERA, there's nothing very exciting about him. Fielding-independent metrics peg him as more of a 5.00 ERA guy than his current level. I don't think many teams are going to care about his ERA; he doesn't have any value
4:38
Ok. I've got to wrap this up for the week. You can send me more questions on Twitter @Adams_Steve.

Jeff will chat Thursday, Mark on Sunday, Tim next Monday. We may add a Wednesday chat back to the mix at some point as well, perhaps with Connor Byrne, so keep an eye out for that! Enjoy the rest of your week everyone.
Connecting…