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Jeff Sullivan FanGraphs Chat -- 2/21/18
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Jason
9:48
Does Drury's signing put a road block in place for either Andujar, G. Torres or both?  If so, is one more impacted by the signing than the other?
Jeff Sullivan
9:48
It is a clear road block in that now Andujar doesn't profile as the opening-day third baseman. But Andujar and Torres are highly valued by the team and they'll play regularly as soon as they deserve it. Drury won't be an insurmountable obstacle
HappyFunBall
9:49
So the hot stove is actually decently warm now. Yu Darvish was the cheese after all!
Jeff Sullivan
9:49
Gotta say, this has been way more fun than having to think about the early stages of spring training
Riley
9:49
What can we expect this year from Miles Mikolas? Is he worth using the top waiver claim in a dynasty league?
Jeff Sullivan
9:49
I like him. I don't know anything about your dynasty league, but I wouldn't be surprised at all if Mikolas is a legitimate No. 3
John
9:50
People have assumed LoMo was the backup plan for the Royals if they lost Hosmer, but does he really make much sense for a rebuilding team? They wanted Hosmer back because they felt he’s young enough and would be under contract long enough that he could be part of the next good Royals team, in addition to all the stuff about how he’s beloved in Kansas City, could be a leader for the young players, etc. I don’t know what good signing Logan Morrison to like a two or three-year contract does for them right now though. Just makes the bad teams they’re going to have over the next couple years slightly less bad? Why not just let Dozier run with it and see what he can do? On the other hand, if the Royals aren’t going to sign LoMo, then who is?
Jeff Sullivan
9:51
It's all about the price and the market, right? It's not worth it for the Royals to give Morrison like $18 million a year for four years. But just because they'll be bad doesn't mean there's no value in making a bad team slightly better. Veterans have a place on rebuilding ballclubs. Palatability is important
9:53
Right now the Royals profile to start both Hunter Dozier and Cheslor Cuthbert. This is unnecessary
Jake
9:53
How angry were you that the Rays traded Souza immediately after you published that article about them not getting worse?
Jeff Sullivan
9:53
It wasn't great
9:54
Souza is an actual blow to the roster. But I do believe they'll offset it by adding now. This is not a tank job
There's too much high-level talent in the organization to justify a tank
Zach
9:55
Chris Sale threw 71 innings in 2011. Chris Sale threw 192 innings in 2012. While he did throw 136 in his draft year including college, this spike is unbelievable, and yet he's been as durable as they come (so far). While there are always exceptions to every rule, do you think we can point at this and say we really just don't know all that much about innings increases compared to health?
Jeff Sullivan
9:55
Yep
Of course, generally speaking, pitching more is going to be worse for a pitcher's health. But every single pitcher's body is different
A Baseball Person
9:55
So, um, did the Rays just wait 'til late February to decide, "no, actually, we're rebuilding"?
Jeff Sullivan
9:56
Not rebuilding! Just being very Rays. The Rays don't really rebuild. They constantly aim for about 81 wins
Justin Turner’s Hair
9:56
Jeff, please don’t leave us as the others did!
Jeff Sullivan
9:56
No plan to do so
9:57
Paul, Eno, Chris -- they weren't full-time employees. Dave is the only full-time employee who has left, and that's because the Padres simply bowled him over with a job offer unlike anything he could've imagined
Those jobs...they aren't everywhere
Schmoo
9:57
Baseball players: on a scale of volcanoes to not volcanoes, how do they compare to volcanoes?
Jeff Sullivan
9:58
They spend a lot more time being active than the average volcano
They are strombolian
Upton Funk
9:59
Would love your takes on Godley + Sonny Gray . . . lots of different opinions throughout the industry it seems.  Gray seems like he is what he is (a solid #3) . . . Godley seems to have the potential to pull a DeGrom-type late stage jump into ace/strong #2-hood, between what he showed all of last year, coupled with the #humidor2018
Jeff Sullivan
10:01
I like Godley a little more. His curveball is legitimately special. Gray's used to be, but he's somewhat abandoned it. I don't trust either pitcher totally because neither one throws quite enough strikes for my liking, but missed bats + grounders is a good way to go through life as a pitcher
Brandon
10:01
Is the Cubs rotation the best in baseball?
Jeff Sullivan
10:01
Probably not, but I bet it's second or third
10:02
The Astros are really good
Scott
10:02
If you were putting together trade value rankings, how much would Whitley's suspension hurt him?
Jeff Sullivan
10:02
Not very much at all
E
10:02
I don’t understand the player push back on the limit if mound visits. Baseball is the only major sport that essential had unlimited timeouts. You don’t think coaches and players would like to talk about every play in the final 2 minutes of an NBA or NFL game? I feel like being able to execute as a team without having a huddle is part of the game, it’s why you practice.
Jeff Sullivan
10:03
There's player pushback because limiting mound meetings is a concession, and those meetings have always had a purpose. But they will find a way to adjust around these limitations, because they will find that few of the meetings were actually necessary
toki
10:03
Do the Cubs work the DL to get Montgomery his starts and keep the innings off of Chatwood?
Jeff Sullivan
10:04
Chatwood might very well keep the innings off himself on his own
Guest
10:04
Do Fangraphs' projected standings factor in strength of schedule?
Jeff Sullivan
10:04
Not yet! But they will when we launch the Playoff Odds page, which will be soon
Motown
10:07
So not a lot to think about this season in Detroit, but what do you think Fulmer needs, other than health of course, to take the next step? His GB numbers are so strong but his k/9 is weaker than you'd expect for a guy with his stuff. Word is Bosio is working on his slider, could that be the key to unlocking frontline potential?
Jeff Sullivan
10:08
For getting more swings and misses, I think the slider could stand to have greater depth. But Fulmer also has a good high fastball he should try to use more often in two-strike counts
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