You are viewing the chat in desktop mode. Click here to switch to mobile view.
X
Craig Edwards FanGraphs Chat--8/29/2019
powered byJotCast
Prev Page View Full Chat
J
2:50
I would guess that, should they end up in the WC, the Cubs would start Lester based on the last few seasons. Obviously he's not their best pitcher right now. Who would you start?
Craig Edwards
2:51
I'm not sure how things line up for them right now, but they are probably going to play important games through the final game of the season and if there's only a day off before the All-Star game, you probably just go with whoever has a full day of rest. I don't think there's that much differentiating the starters that there's a right move, other than pitching someone on short rest.
Josh
2:52
How much better will projection systems be in 15-25 years once we have way more granular, high-quality data (e.g. statcast) to train the models with?
Craig Edwards
2:54
A little bit better, probably. No matter how much data we get, the numbers only play out over the course of 600 PA or 200 innings and a lot can happen within there that's still going to be random, plus injuries affecting play and players getting better or worse. They should be better, but getting that much better is going to be really hard.
Michael Scott
2:55
Just assuming for the sake of argument that the Braves let Teheran, ($12 Mil), O'Day ($9 Mil), and Donaldson ($23 Mil) walk, that frees up around $45 Million.  What do you see the Braves doing with that excess of $$$??
Craig Edwards
2:56
Buying back stock, most likely, but they'll probably get another starting pitcher or two.
mesh chair rider
2:57
who, not currently in a playoff spot, earns one by the end of september?
Craig Edwards
2:57
Playoff odds say Rays, and that seems like a pretty good call given their proximity to a spot and their talent level.
Billy Beane
2:58
Craig, I think divisions and unbalanced play are kinda dumb. The Twins and Cleveland get to beat up on teams who aren't trying to win while the Rays and A's get 19 games apiece against the Yankees and Astros. I think that baseball should go East/West like the NBA and just top 5 make it.
Craig Edwards
3:00
That isn't likely to happen because then you are reducing the number of games between Red Sox-Yankees, Cardinals-Cubs, Giants-Dodgers and while it doesn't favor those teams on the field, it does in the stands and for fans. These things go mostly in cycles, anyway. The NL Central was weak for a decade and now it is incredibly competitive.
I wouldn't mind going back to four divisions, though.
Guest
3:02
Has Miguel Sano got lost in the shuffle between early season Gallo-hype and the late season return of Judge? He has been fantastic.
Craig Edwards
3:03
I don't know about getting lost in the shuffle given he's like the sixth-best player on the Twins this season and he's only played two-thirds of the year. He's hitting really well, but if he's not getting enough attention, blame the rest of the Twins.
Jonesing for Andruw
3:04
Is there really a market for Odor at this point?  Even with tempering expectations of getting anything of note in return, do the Rangers just need to cut and eat the money?  And does Mazara serve as a straight platoon guy next year?
Craig Edwards
3:06
He's signed for three more seasons and he's been below replacement in two of the last three years. It's either try and let him rebuild his value a little or just eat it all. As for Mazara, that depends on what the Rangers do this winter. A platoon makes sense if they don't think he'll develop anymore, but he's still young, and it might not be a great idea to give up on him as an everyday guy yet.
Guest
3:06
Hey ! I was just observing how good Marco Gonzales has been without a lot of notice
Craig Edwards
Judge and Sanchez
3:07
Both have 101 career HR. One is a catcher, one is older (and a giant human), both have been injured. Who ends up with more career HR?
Craig Edwards
3:08
I'll say Judge. It's really hard to see how both players are going to be in their 30s, but Judge could still have a couple seasons where he doubles up on Sanchez and that could be hard to catch up to.
Guest
3:09
How do the Red Sox fix their rotation in the offseason? Not much available payroll room, not a very deep farm system to promote from within or trade from, and not many pitchers that will be available for tade
Craig Edwards
3:10
I would imagine it is going to be built on hope that guys come back healthy. They might benefit from an innings-eater though I could see a few gambles on guys likely to produce nothing with a higher ceiling.
John
3:10
Why do teams send non-prospects to Arizona Fall league?
Craig Edwards
3:12
Sometimes they need to protect arms. Some guys they hope to trade so they don't have to take up a spot on the 40-man. Other times, they just want to experiment with a new pitch and see how it goes. Some of it is just filling out a roster for all of the teams.
Matt
3:13
I’ve see a lot made of the Angels needing to fix their rotation. But isn’t Ohtani,Heaney,Canning a good start? Isn’t their infield a bigger issue? I mean it is Simmons and uh....yeah(Unless you buy La Stella and Fletcher’s defense)
Craig Edwards
3:14
No. That isn't a good enough start. Make those guys 3-4-5 and you have the makings of a good rotation. Trout and Simmons can paper over some deficiencies on the position player side, but the team needs quality innings if they are going to get to the playoffs.
Benny and the Betts
3:15
How good is Andrew Benintendi really? Is he who he is or is their still a chance of a breakout.
Craig Edwards
3:16
Right now, he's 3-4 win player which is pretty good, but he just turned 25 and there's power in his bat we haven't seen so, yes, a breakout is still possible.
Mario
3:16
What do you think about Mookie Betts to the Braves in the offseason? How much excess value does he have and would the Braves have to part with multiple pieces of Anderson/Pache/Waters?
Craig Edwards
3:16
Yes they would, but I don't expect the Red Sox to do that.
and with that, I think we will close things down. See everyone next week. Thanks for all the questions.
Connecting…