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Jeff Sullivan FanGraphs Chat -- 6/24/16
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Jeff Sullivan
10:21
No one *wants* to have to use the depth starters, but there are better ones and worse ones
Guest
10:21
Do you play any video games?
Jeff Sullivan
10:22
no
The Average Sports Fan
10:22
Would you be a proponent of a DL stay for McCutchen?
Jeff Sullivan
10:22
I don't know enough about the specifics of his injury, but from my outside perspective I lean more yes than no
10:23
At issue is that players hate the DL and don't want to go onto it unless they really have to. But if McCutchen's hand is as bad as the numbers make it look, I'd need to be strongly convinced it can heal while he continues to swing
Lawyer
10:23
Jeff - If you were ever asked to be an expert witness in a trial, what would your area of expertise be?
Jeff Sullivan
10:23
James Paxton
Guest
10:23
What's your favorite movie? Tv show?
Jeff Sullivan
10:23
180 Degrees South, and I don't know but quite possibly Silicon Valley
Nate
10:24
If Justin Upton turns it around the second half, do the Tigers still have a decent chance at the Central? Even with their bullpen?
Jeff Sullivan
10:25
Upton has started to hit and the Tigers are right there. In the bullpen, Wilson and Rodriguez are good, and it looks like Greene and Rondon could be useful as well
10:26
No reason to rule the Tigers out. I still prefer the Indians, but the Tigers are playing good baseball
InSpades
10:27
If the Orioles make the postseason are they going to be able to make a run in the postseason. with essentially one reliable starting pitcher in Tillman? The Giants essential did in 2014 with MadBum. The Orioles do have a good bullpen which is usually a part of postseason success lately.
Jeff Sullivan
10:28
I think they need to add a starter and I think they know that. I also wonder about their hitting approach against postseason power arms. But I think we all understand by now that the prevailing factor in the playoffs is randomness, so
Dae-Ho Lee
10:28
Should we be worried about Justin Upton?
Jeff Sullivan
10:28
137 wRC+ in the month. He's got his strikeouts under control. He's back
Karen
10:29
is matt harvey suddenly a bad fastball guy
Jeff Sullivan
10:29
I don't think so
10:31
I think that Harvey is most of the way back. It's not complete, he's not right where he wants to be, but he's found his groove
Nate
10:32
I hardly ever find myself on bleacher report, but yesterday I was and came across an article on how the Angels only option for the future is looking to deal Trout for as many "core caliber" players available. Do you agree with this or do you have another outlook on which direction they could go?
Jeff Sullivan
10:33
I don't think it's realistically possible to trade Trout for enough to justify trading Trout. I think the Angels just accept that this was a disaster year, performance- and health-wise, and then they move forward. Their great advantage *is* Trout. They're not the Padres. They can succeed in the short-term future
Carl
10:33
What do you consider the chances are of Bregman being called up before September? How does he compare to the recent crop of shortstop studs?
Jeff Sullivan
10:34
Sure feels like he's the third baseman by the end of the year. Worth getting excited about. I'm hesitant to include any unproven young player with the crop of young big-league shortstops but if anyone has the ability to enter the tier, it's him
even as a non-shortstop down the line, I suppose
Jack
10:35
What happened to Rusney Castillo? Seemed like such a safe bet to be an average player.
Jeff Sullivan
10:35
And maybe that's just the thing -- when you have someone who looks like he could be around a league-average player, it only takes one thing going wrong to render him virtually worthless
10:37
I still think he's salvageable, and it would help his own confidence to be somewhere where he can play, but it's been kind of a tough year for Cuban players in general
Dae-Ho Lee
10:37
Do I get the nod at first base going forward? Or do the M's try to get some sign of life out of Lind for a deadline trade?
Jeff Sullivan
10:37
Lind's power has showed up. Platoon4life
Carl
10:38
Over/under Votto finishes with a 300 avg?
Jeff Sullivan
10:39
We have him projected for another 289 at-bats. At that rate, he'd need to bat .346 from here on out to finish at .300. Don't count on it
Josh
10:39
Are you as confident as Dave that Danny Valencia will be a New York Met?
Jeff Sullivan
10:40
Historically, the most obvious moves generally end up being non-moves. The most predictable transactions ever have failed to come true more often than not. So, no, I'm not assuming anything, but the match there is undeniable
Carl Everett
10:40
Are you surprised that more switch-hitters don't bat from the opposite (same?) side against pitchers with reverse splits like I used to against Jamie Moyer?
Jeff Sullivan
10:40
Not really -- reverse platoon splits usually aren't huge, and you have to remember that the hitters have their own platoon splits, too
10:42
When you switch-hit, you never see, say, sliders breaking down and away. Bat from the same side as a pitcher and all of a sudden that's something you'd see a lot of.
Plop
10:42
Mike Zunino showing a ton of improvement by cutting k rate and almost doubling his walk rate, think he can make it transfer to the big leagues or is he a AAAA player?
Jeff Sullivan
10:43
I'm not a big believer in AAAA players, but with Zunino, April was the big month and he's been mediocre since
I haven't given up but my expectations aren't high. 31% strikeouts in June
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