JotCast | Craig Edwards FanGraphs Chat--5/9/2019

Craig Edwards FanGraphs Chat--5/9/2019

Prev Page View Full Chat

I heart beisbol

2:49

Mike Trout is in a slump right now

Craig Edwards

2:49

I don't believe you.

Matt

2:50

Are you worried about Machado?

Craig Edwards

2:51

Maybe a week or two ago, but not now. His strikeouts have gone down a bit lately and he's got four homers in the last week. His overall numbers don't look great, but he's performing well.

Cashman

2:52

Speaking of pitching help, do I sign late-season Keuchel?

Craig Edwards

2:52

Depends on the cost compared to the cost of trade options. The health of Severino is probably also a factor.

Mega G Fan

2:53

Do you think Danny Duffy will be the fallback for teams who can't land Minor (assuming Duffy is healthy, of course)?

Craig Edwards

2:55

He's certainly a trade candidate, though Bumgarner, Stroman, and Sanchez might all be out there, too. The question on starting pitching is how early are teams going to move given how tight the standings are right now and an extra month or six weeks from a good starter might mean the difference of making the playoffs at the end of the year.

DreamWeaver

2:56

Luke Weaver has one of the lowest SIERA and xFIP in the game right now, do you see him as a potential breakout, and if so why is nobody talking about him? AZ has good run support.

Craig Edwards

2:58

Weaver has had stretches like this before, but hasn't been able to sustain them, resulting partially from likely fatigue as well as not having a good third pitch. If the cutter is real and he can hold up, he'll be a solid number three starter, maybe two, but the bullpen is always a lurking concern given his past.

Del Martin

3:00

It's only been 600 or so innings but Wil Myers' second stint in the outfield has gone much better than his first one between Tampa Bay and San Diego. Given the Padres' COF depth, how realistic do you think it is that Myers could be a decent center fielder?

Craig Edwards

3:01

I'm still not sure it is that realistic, but his sprint speed is higher this season than it has in the past so it is possible he is healthier.

Gila Monster

3:02

Byron Buxton is 24th in exit velocity and 21st in batted ball distance. He is only hitting 25.3% of his batted balls on the ground. Granted his plate discipline is still awful, but could we be seeing some sort of breakout? His launch angle might be too high if anything now.

Craig Edwards

3:03

It's possible and I'm hoping for it, but he's also popping up way too many balls and chasing too many pitches out of the zone. Defense, baserunning and an average bat can make him a very good player, but he's going to have to do a better job commanding the strike zone to be a star.

Yankees' Injured List

3:04

The Brewers and Dodgers are getting sluggers like Mike Moustakas and Max Muncy into the lineup by playing them at second base. Are there metrics that show the prototypical second base body type is no longer necessary?

Craig Edwards

3:05

Some of that is just due to shifting. It's easier to cover up a second baseman who lacks range by shifting a bunch. Some of it is just that third and second aren't that much different in skill level, but people just sent tall guys to third and short guys to second.

Al Gone Quinn

3:06

My favorite player is playing well right now and is obviously in a breakout season. Why aren't you and your colleagues not talking about him more?

Craig Edwards

3:06

Spite.

Mystery Chatter

3:07

Hey man. Have a happy Thursday.

Craig Edwards

3:07

Same to you. And with that, we will stop things for today. Thanks again for all the questions.