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Jeff Sullivan FanGraphs Chat -- 5/4/18
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Jeff Sullivan
9:29
As a rule of thumb, you don't see all that much meaningful trade activity until after the draft. It's not just up to the Dodgers -- the Orioles, say, would want to drum up as big a market as possible
9:31
So I don't think the Dodgers have to make any decisions for the rest of the season, but for now, they're going to stay internal. And you can see how that might work out, especially if Toles is almost all better. And if Verdugo has moved forward in his personal development. A few weeks from now, it'll be time to reevaluate
If Taylor isn't cutting it, Hechavarria would be very easy
brood550
9:32
Is Kyle Tucker up immediately after the All-Star break if things keep going the way they are going?
Jeff Sullivan
9:32
Tucker isn't exactly killing it in Triple-A, but if things keep up like this in the majors I doubt it takes even that long
9:33
Fisher hasn't been good. Marisnick hasn't been good. Gonzalez hasn't been good. Tucker could be good
John Oleruds Helmet
9:33
Hello Mr. Jeff! Am I crazy for thinking Mookie Betts is the 2nd best player in baseball right now behind Trout??
Jeff Sullivan
9:34
Updated rest-of-season projections:
Trout: 6.8 WAR
Kluber: 5.2
Betts: 5.1
If the projections basically agree with you, then, no, you're not crazy
And just on a skillset level, Betts does some of everything. He is fantastically good
Guest
9:35
Did the Rays miss an opportunity to deal Colome?  Is this lesson trade a reliever whenever you can?
Jeff Sullivan
9:35
Over the last few weeks, Colome has actually been quite good, recovering from a godawful start
9:36
And in the offseason, the Rays were trying to negotiate trades involving a reliever who'd just lost 11 points off of his strikeout rate
9:37
I suspect that the winter market didn't value Colome very highly. So the Rays figured he might gain value in 2018. Didn't look that way at first, but perhaps now he's figured something out
Luke
9:37
Hey Jeff are you tired of us obnoxious Braves fans yet?
Jeff Sullivan
9:37
No
9:38
Nobody I interact with in real life is a Braves fan, and I get to personally curate my internet experience
Ya Boi
9:38
Are you worried about Clayton Kershaw? His 3.76 FIP is way higher than usual and it seems he's giving up a lot more homers than usual (19.4% FB/HR compared to 15.9% FB/HR last year)
Jeff Sullivan
9:39
I'm not worried that Clayton Kershaw is bad now, but I am aware of the likely fact that Kershaw is a pitcher in decline
His velocity is down a tick and a half, his contact rate is up, and he's not getting as many chases
9:40
To me, the probability is that Kershaw's body just isn't letting him throw at 100% as often as it used to. Peak Kershaw is still there in some extended glimpses, but there are two, three, four pitches per start he's not executing, that he used to execute
Tim
9:41
The Rays are 12-5 without Kevin Kiermaier in the lineup this season and 1-11 with him. I don’t know what to do with this information, so here, you have it
Jeff Sullivan
9:42
Last year the Rays were 47-48 in Kiermaier starts and 33-34 without him in the lineup
Weird!
Vegan Man!
9:44
Price hasn't looked good since the short Yankees start. You concerned? Thanks!
Jeff Sullivan
9:44
He's not right
9:46
Maybe I'm stubborn because I've been thinking this for months but I've been skeptical about Price since he was injured last season
I just don't think his arm is held together the way it used to be
Kiermaier's Piercing Green Eyes
9:47
Has Jose Alvarado shown enough control to be a legitimate late inning guy?
Jeff Sullivan
9:47
By leverage stats, he's certainly been used that way
And his big-league FIP- is 56
9:48
He's not exactly the most polished sort, but he's more good than not good
Brood550
9:49
Is Dozier toast or has he just become a second half guy?
Jeff Sullivan
9:49
I don't see anything too alarming here
9:50
Almost everything looks normal. He's just missing a handful of hard hits. He'll find them
Teddy Perkins
9:50
Mookie Betts has a .325 BABIP. This isn't a question.
Jeff Sullivan
9:51
Kyle Freeland has a 9% walk rate
Are we just saying normal-looking statistics?
John
9:51
What’s the concern level for Alex Colome?
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