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Craig Edwards FanGraphs Chat--5/7/2020
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Craig Edwards
2:04
Going to let the queue get a little more full as I finish lunch and get started shortly.
Did some historical stuff over the past week. Here's me on Mike Trout's offense compared to the greats. https://blogs.fangraphs.com/mike-trout-and-the-greatest-offensive-deca...
2:05
Here's a similar thing on Clayton Kershaw. https://blogs.fangraphs.com/clayton-kershaw-and-the-greatest-decades-i...
I'm still asking for poll answers regarding the start of the season. https://blogs.fangraphs.com/how-optimistic-are-you-that-the-2020-seaso...
2:06
And here's something on the potential of a universal DH this year. https://blogs.fangraphs.com/nl-teams-stand-to-lose-out-if-theres-a-uni...
2:10
Let's get rolling.
TC
2:10
Which KBO team should we be rooting for and why is it the SK Wyverns?
Craig Edwards
2:12
Creating a fandom out of thin air as an adult is a pretty interesting phenomenon. I don't think there are any wrong answers. Having a mascot as a two-legged winged dragon with a barbed tail is a pretty good start.
2:13
Imagine picking the Giants as your favorite team in 2015 or the Tigers a few years ago. Teams go up and down and one of the great parts of fandom is riding those waves up and down.
2:15
Another interesting aspect of KBO fandom is access. Aren't we all more likely to become fans of teams and players we are able to see on tv. Getting a lot of Red Sox-Yankees games on national television is a perpetuating cycle. They are popular so they get good ratings, but then people see them more and are more likely to follow the team and players helping their popularity even more.
daymans
2:15
What's your favorite stadium that is no longer used and why do you like it?
Craig Edwards
2:18
Growing up in the Midwest, I remember old Busch and the Metrodome and even County Stadium. In high school, I saw an Expos game in Montreal and went back a few years ago to see one of the preseason games there which was a lot of fun. Personal bias is just going to make the answer old Busch.
Laura
2:18
Do you have a favorite KBO team yet?
Craig Edwards
2:19
I do not, though I think Jay did a good job summing up the teams to make a somewhat informed decision. https://blogs.fangraphs.com/a-thumbnail-guide-to-the-kbos-2020-season/
Jonathan
2:19
What's your take on Jake Rogers? He was once called the best defensive catching prospect in recent memory but only received a 60 future arm and glove
Craig Edwards
2:24
This is one of those cases where the additions to the Board and filtering by tool is pretty useful and cool, imo. Rogers has a future 60 on both fielding and arm. If I go to the Board and pick catchers, then filter by fielding of at least 60, there are only seven catchers there and only Bart and Rutschman have a higher grade than Rogers. You can filter by arm, too and see only five catchers with Rogers. A future 60 at the catcher position is actually a pretty high grade. https://www.fangraphs.com/prospects/the-board/2020-prospect-list/summa...
JoJo
2:25
Is Michael Chavis anything more than a low average, high K hacker with some pop?
Craig Edwards
2:27
I think some pop sells him a little short as there's a lot of power there, but the average and strikeouts are on point.
Trevor
2:28
When were you guys going to start that analytics classroom thing?
Craig Edwards
2:28
The second installment just went up today: https://blogs.fangraphs.com/fangraphs-prep-wins-runs-and-pythagoras/
Curtis
2:29
If you constructed a lineup and staff consisting of a team of Under 30yo vs. 30yo and over, who wins a 7 game series?
Craig Edwards
2:33
A seven-game series might still be a tossup, but it would be pretty difficult to field a lineup of 30+ players that could come close to the younger group. On the rotation-side the 30+ group is going to have the advantage, but Gerrit Cole, Walker Buehler, and Jack Flaherty are still going to keep the younger team in the game, particularly against that relatively weaker lineup. Just look at the age on the leaderboards last season on the position player side. https://www.fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=all&stats=bat&lg=all&qual=y...
Lernered
2:34
So the Corbin contract looks good, the Scherzer contract was great. Fine. Will the Nats regret the Strasburg contract?
Craig Edwards
2:36
I don't know about regret, but they are unlikely to have as much success over the next half dozen seasons than they had over the past six years or so. I would have paid more for Rendon than I would have for Strasburg so how Rendon plays might also factor in to how the Strasburg deal is viewed. Whether the Strasburg deal ends up looking bad at the end might have a lot more to do with the Nationals needing to beef up their future roster.
WARrules
2:36
I'm attempting to do some research on how the implementation of robo-umps will affect catcher's value. However, I can't find anywhere how to exactly calculate fielding WAR for catchers. I know it is FRM + something, but I don't know what the other values are or where to find them. Thanks a lot!
Craig Edwards
2:38
It's basically just caught stealing and allowed steals and you can find those values in our seasonal constants page. https://www.fangraphs.com/guts.aspx?type=cn
2:39
No matter how many advances we make, catcher defense is still pretty tough to figure out relative to the rest of the positions because of how much is involved in the position.
WARrules
2:41
Does Fangraphs also factor in a rCERA-like stat for catcher fielding WAR?
Craig Edwards
2:43
It is not part of FanGraphs WAR though you can find those values on the player pages and on our leaderboards. Part of the difficulty with catching defense is every run you give to catchers for their performance, you have to take away from the pitcher and game-calling is going to vary greatly between individual pitchers and catchers so quantifying those in a way that makes sense can be difficult.
Timbo
2:44
Do you trust in Snell's elbow?
Craig Edwards
2:46
Do you trust any pitcher's elbow? You hope that the time off gives him more time to get strong, but until you actually see him perform, it's sort of up in the air. I worry for a lot of pitcher's elbows with all this time off combined with a potentially shortened season.
MB
2:46
Why do park factors on the Guts page only run through 2018? Is there a comparison element between seasons involved that puts off the inclusion of 2019 factors until part or all of 2020 has been played?
Craig Edwards
2:49
No, I think it just hasn't been updated for that page. The park factors take into account five years of data so the 2019 park factors aren't totally completed until after the season.
Rocco
2:49
At similar cost, please rank:  Kershaw, Yu, Greinke?   Thanks
Craig Edwards
2:49
I think you got the order correct.
Guest
2:49
How do you anticipate Clase’s service time will be handled in light of his suspension?
Craig Edwards
2:51
That depends on how many games the season lasts and what he looks like right before the season ends. He's only got 59 days of service time so he isn't likely to break one year by the end of this season no matter. If he looks like he can help, I'm sure Cleveland will bring him right back into games.
Curious
2:52
If you could name one team that is hurt the least from no season played, who would it be?
Craig Edwards
2:54
I think that's decent phrasing because every team is hurt. In terms of getting hurt the least, maybe Miami because they were going to be bad, not draw many fans, and have a terrible tv contract. You could argue the Giants because they need to move forward, but they still have a lot of fans and some decent players to watch.
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