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Jeff Sullivan FanGraphs Chat -- 6/8/18
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Jeff Sullivan
9:58
Remember though, those things aren't for us. They're for them. Group dynamics are always a little weird-looking when you yourself are not a part of the clique
Dodgerbleu
9:59
Happy Friday Jeff!  Looking for your take on Jose Martinez and his lack of pop (HR yesterday aside).  Is this who he is?  Projections are more bearish..
Jeff Sullivan
9:59
Compared to last year, Martinez is making more contact but hitting more grounders. His wRC+ has gone from 135 to 135
10:00
I don't doubt his ability to hit for power. But I think he can only play to one strength at a time
Matt
10:00
I'm convinced that the best option for the Yankees is Tyson Ross. I don't think Cashman has the appetite to give up more than one top-tier prospect, and think he would need to to get someone like deGrom. I also think he is (or should be) comfortable with a playoff rotation of Sev/Tanaka/Gray which means the acquisition would only need to help get him there. What kinda package are we looking at? I'm thinking similar to, but a bit more valuable than what we gave for Garcia last year - 2 interesting SP candidates in AA/AAA?
Jeff Sullivan
10:01
Pretty good chance Ross ends up the best starting pitcher available at the deadline. You could argue for Hamels or Happ, but Ross is compelling, and I remain unconvinced the Mets will *actually* sell on one of their aces
10:02
Ross will bring back more than Garcia, because Ross is someone you might actually want to start a few times in the playoffs. But we're still talking about a non-premium package. Better than the Garcia return, but not by a whole lot
Mike
10:02
Jeff - Ross Stripling mentioned that he focuses on throwing the ball where batters don't pull the ball over 100 MPH. In today's game where singles matter less and less, is there something to his idea or is it just simple scouting?
Jeff Sullivan
10:03
Just a different way of saying he's pitching to cold zones instead of hot zones
I would worry about the sample sizes he's dealing with, but I trust the Dodgers to provide him with worthwhile information
10:04
What's notable about this is that many times, pitchers say they just pitch to their own strengths. Stripling seems to be saying he's pitching to opponent weaknesses. Not sure how much better that actually makes him, but he's open-minded, and not obnoxiously stubborn
Very very smart player
Justin Turner Understeer
10:05
Two parter short term/long term on Strasburg.  Any cause for concern with the forearm (even non-throwing)?  And have we seen his peak or does he ever find another gear and hit the Scherzer/Kershaw/Kluber/Sale tier?
Jeff Sullivan
10:06
I'm not worried about what's happening in Strasburg's non-throwing arm. As long as it's attached, he's okay
10:08
Meanwhile, since the start of last season, Strasburg is 9th among starters in WAR, 8th in FIP-, and 8th in xFIP-. 6th in ERA-. 7th in K-BB%
I know it's possible he could be better than this, but this *is* peak Strasburg. He is extremely good at pitching
bighen
10:09
What are the Mets doing with Reyes, AGON etc.  shouldn't they at least see what they have with Cecchini, Dom Smith?   It's infuriating.
Jeff Sullivan
10:10
Smith and Cecchini have been basically average hitters in Triple-A. It's not exactly as if they're beating down the door
Cecchini also wouldn't have a regular position, for now, and the Mets believe that things are complicated with Reyes because of his history with the franchise
10:11
Given that Reyes is terrible, I, personally, wouldn't overthink this. But let's re-visit their situation in a month. Lots of season left
Slurve
10:11
Do you find reasons for players rising or declining more interesting to research and write about?
Jeff Sullivan
10:12
The former. I feel kind of bad about the latter
Granted, that is a bias that I have
Sharp
10:13
Its time for the Nats to start preparing for a Murphy-less second half, yeah?
Jeff Sullivan
10:15
Absolutely, they should have such an emergency plan. This doesn't sound very good
Funkhouser
10:18
Hi Jeff! Is Sean Manaea this bad? What has changed that made him so terrible after April, or is it just a bad month's run?
Jeff Sullivan
10:19
So, sorry for the delay, but I was digging into this
10:20
Manaea, indeed, has seen his performance drop off dramatically since April
The stuff, though, seems basically the same. Nothing has really changed about his movement or release point
The secondary stuff just flat-out hasn't worked. And it's probably related to the fact that since the start of May, Manaea's average slider has been three inches higher than before, and his average changeup has been four inches higher
10:21
Something has happened that's prevented him from so effectively burying his soft stuff. When those pitches are up, they're hittable
He'll straighten it out, but this is why Manaea is more talented than great
Kevin
10:22
Eugenio Suarez is the player with the most trade value that will be traded this summer. True or False.
Jeff Sullivan
10:22
Why would the Reds trade a player they literally just locked up?
Now I know that's sort of what the Padres are looking to do with Brad Hand, but this is different. Suarez is staying put. No sense getting involved in that third-base market anyway
connor
10:23
Steve Duggar is starting to hit in AAA.  Do you think Giants promote him soon?
Jeff Sullivan
10:23
Gorkys Hernandez, by some miracle, has actually hit pretty well, so this situation isn't desperate, but I do think we'll see Duggar sooner rather than later
Broseph
10:24
If #CatcherGifs was still a thing Salvador Perez's reaction to Olson's bomb yesterday would make a fine entry
Jeff Sullivan
10:24
PitcherGifs and CatcherGifs were always so much fun. Maybe in time I'll get to do them again if MLB is going to chill out about twitter clips
Doug
10:25
Yankees fans seem shocked to discover that other teams aren't going to hand over their best pitcher for a collection of third tier prospects. What's more likely: They give up significant assets (think Andujar, not Frazier) for a frontline starter or settle for, say, Tyson Ross, and hope for the best?
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