JotCast | Dan Szymborski FanGraphs Chat

Dan Szymborski FanGraphs Chat - 4/28/22

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Dan Szymborski

12:54

If Santana continues to hit .100, he can't block anyone!

Steve O

12:54

Wait, so you think Judge gets less than what the Yankees offered him?

Dan Szymborski

12:54

Honestly? Yes. If I had been his agent, I would have advised taking the deal.

12:56

Healthy Judge is awesome, but teams take a gimlet eyed gaze at 31-year-old corner outfielders with an injury history

Josh R

12:56

I hate to be that guy, but I feel like the Trevor Bauer situation has gotten a bit ridiculous. With charges being dropped and seeing that he has already missed 4 months, what else has to happen? I think the guy is completely unpleasant and maybe much worse and I don't care if he is released and never sees MLB again, but I do think it is time to make the decision on his case.

Dan Szymborski

12:57

It's hard to tell because we dont' know all the discussions between Bauer's representatives and MLB

D in Lanc

12:57

Does FG take into account park factors in minor league parks when adjusting wrc+?

Dan Szymborski

12:57

Dunno, I don't manage that part.

Phil

12:59

If I were an umpire, and had been trained to call balls and strikes had been doing it well for years (in other words, not A. Hernandez), I would not be happy about calling them based on a computer voice in my ear--I would want that task assigned to somebody who knew that's what he/she/they were hired to do, or, indeed, just have big screens visible to everyone on the field. But, now that I think about it, maybe I would feel differently if I were the head of the umpire's union. I guess this isn't a question.

Dan Szymborski

12:59

Many tasks are replaced more effectively than technology.

There's still a TON o fthings for an umpire to do

Steve O

1:00

Sweet deal for Bauer though (outside of the allegations, obviously). He gets to not play AND still earn a paycheck. Saving mileage on his arm. I'm not sure a team will be interested in him though. We've seen domestic abusers get multiple opportunities but we haven't seen a domestic abuser AND a complete nut case.

Cynthia

1:00

Have you run projections on NPB players who aren't likely to go to the US? I'd be interested in how guys like Yuki Yanagita (.363/.469/.632 as a 26 year-old CFer) projected in their prime.

Dan Szymborski

1:00

I do, but not part as the standard data set, but when I need it for something like curiosity or an article

Trey

1:00

In the MCU, Brooklyn Dodgers fan Steve Rogers lived from 1918-1945, then was frozen, and returned from 2011-2023. Is Steve Rogers a Mets fan?

Dan Szymborski

1:01

No, I think to be a Mets fan, the team has to break your heart a bunch as a kid

Zach

1:01

Does the rate at which players (pitchers particularly) are overhauling their approach make predictions/projections more difficult or volatile? Maybe we just hear about it more now, but it does feel like with all the tech and teaching some guys can go from fringe MLB guy to star without the usual track record

Dan Szymborski

1:02

In practice, there hasn't been an increase in the error bars

Well, until 2020, which is hard to separate out

Brad NJ

1:02

Dan, Cole is back to being Cole, Cortes seems to be legit, Sevy ditched the slider and looks like he may be able to stay healthy because of it, Monty is solid, Taillon ERA and XFIP are 3.00 and 3.01. Is it me or do the Yankees suddenly look like Starting Pitching is a strength, not to mention King seems like he is emerging as well. Seems like the big problem will be managing innings. Thoughts?

Dan Szymborski

1:03

I don't understand why this is all a surprise!

Trout

1:04

Trout was amazing last year and then he got hurt. I mean, I don't want that to happen, but I feel like him being super for a few weeks hardly precludes a not-superstar-value season.

Dan Szymborski

1:04

"He wouldn’t be a traditional bust, but given his status as quite possibly the best player most of us will ever see, him becoming just a normal superstar will feel almost devastating as a baseball fan."

1:05

If he's the MVP, I guarantee you that there will be people that will have moved my "maybe just a normal superstar" prediction to "SZYMBORSKI SAID HE WOULD SUCK LIKE PUJOLS DID"

Grant

1:05

Dan, why do you hate Mike Trout?

Dan Szymborski

1:05

OK, let's do a lightning round and see if y'all are still interested in that randomness.

Haven't done this since the regular season last year.

1:06

LIGHTNING ROUND TIME! The question MUST be answered, as long as it's not about baseball, with the usual exceptions (things said in confidence, excessively personal).

Cynthia

1:06

Thoughts on the novel Siddhartha by Herman Hesse?

Dan Szymborski

1:06

Embarrassingly, though I'm generally well-read, I've never read it.

Jeb

1:07

You need a Reds COO Hearthstone card

Dan Szymborski

1:07

I made a krall