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Jeff Sullivan FanGraphs Chat -- 4/13/18
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Jeff Sullivan
10:55
"The latest drama began at the winter meetings in Orlando, Fla., when the Cubs included a contract clause that provided Chatwood with an automatic $2 million salary boost in 2019 if he received one vote for the NL Cy Young in 2018, and a $4 million raise in 2020 if he received one in both ’18 and ’19."
10:57
Arrieta has a Cy Young-related incentive. So does Yu Darvish, with the same Cubs
10:58
I'm going to guess it's a matter of the specific language. With the Chatwood contract, initially, there was money to be gained based on a single vote. With the more familiar Cy Young incentives, it's based on where the pitcher finishes in the overall voting, which requires more participation than one writer
10:59
This is speculation on my part. Maybe I should know more, since I'm in the BBWAA and everything
Last year eight pitchers in the AL got Cy Young support, and nine pitchers got support in the NL. So it takes multiple voters to get up to even fifth place
Kyle
10:59
Is there reason to worry about Stanton's start to the season(the K's)?
Jeff Sullivan
10:59
No
Mike W
11:01
Is the Astros increased strikeout numbers a cause for concern or just a product of small sample size?
Jeff Sullivan
11:01
Part of it comes from a bunch of playing time going to Marisnick, Fisher, Stassi, Davis, etc. Guys with histories of striking out, who didn't play so much in 2017
11:02
Springer's rate is up a lot, which is something to watch, but I won't worry about that for at least another month or so
v2micca
11:02
Loved your Freddie Freeman article.  I know it is a really small sample size and I could end up looking silly by making this declaration.  But it feels like he has added patience to his approach at the plate this year.
Jeff Sullivan
11:03
A few commenters noted that he had Lasik over the offseason. Historically, that hasn't really mattered, but it's a fun coincidence!
Jay
11:03
Ummmm is it time to give up on Bryan Mitchell after only 3 starts
Jeff Sullivan
11:03
With any other starting rotation, it would be
Jake
11:04
So are we ready to say that Ohtani is a legitimate beast of a hitter yet? Or do we still need to keep our expectations in check? That guy might be kind of talented at baseball
Jeff Sullivan
11:04
I need more than 29 plate appearances, but the way he turned around on that inside fastball last night was fantastic
11:05
I've seen enough to believe that Ohtani won't be a *bad* hitter. I had been somewhat concerned, during the winter
Mac Gwire
11:05
Are the Angels good?
Jeff Sullivan
11:05
Yes
Dave
11:05
xwOBA is up significantly this year and sitting at .334 vs .321 last season. Is this sustainable? Are we going to see another huge increase in run scoring?
Jeff Sullivan
11:06
I don't think we'll see a *huge* increase, but cold early-season weather has probably been causing a bunch of issues. Home runs are down, but walks are also up, because pitchers are having problems throwing strikes, and fly balls are having problems getting over the fence
All right, I need to get rolling
So thank you everybody for hanging out, and I'm sorry for what I didn't or couldn't address. We'll do it again next week at the same time, and until then, be well and have great days
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