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Jeff Sullivan FanGraphs Chat -- 8/24/18
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Jeff Sullivan
10:37
The team would probably tell you in private that would make it all the more difficult to send Jimenez to the minors to open next year
It sets an expectation that Jimenez would break camp. Sets it for the fans, and sets it for Jimenez
10:39
The Phillies called up J.P. Crawford last September. He opened this year with the club
10:40
Of course, I and the rest of you hate service-time manipulation, and we all want to see the good minor-league players as major-league players
But if teams are intent on keeping that seventh year of club control, I doubt you'd see a move made early
Jimmy Wynn's Toy Cannon
10:41
How for real is Tyler White?
Jeff Sullivan
10:41
He's a good hitter. Improved his approach and contact skills
10:42
Not much of an athlete, but I think he's a better overall hitter than Yulieski Gurriel
BrewCrew
10:42
So... Matt Harvey, makes sense as he has the potential to be at the top of that rotation.  What’s the best case for him, and what do the brewers do with one or two of their 4 other #5 starters?
Jeff Sullivan
10:43
I'm so glad I no longer have to think about answering this question
Matt Harvey with the Reds: 105 ERA-, 108 FIP-, 110 xFIP-
10:44
For someone so interesting, he sure is remarkably dull
Nelson
10:44
Old news but what was so bad about Shawn Kelley throwing his glove? We see stuff like that on a daily basis.
Jeff Sullivan
10:44
It seems as if the Nationals interpreted that as a show of disrespect to the coaching staff
10:45
as opposed to it being directed at the umpires
Now, why that didn't come up before Kelley was actually dropped, I don't know
If I had to guess, Kelley might've already been on thin ice in that clubhouse. But we can't rule out the possibility that the Nationals were just being dumb
Guest
10:47
I was watching the Twins/Pirates series last week, and the Twins did some interesting/bizarre shifting. For most of the players, they overloaded the right side of the infield with Sano, with Polanco on the left field side of second. With Josh Bell (and only Josh Bell) at the plate though, they flipped it; Sano on the left field side, Polanco on the right.
Jeff Sullivan
10:49
I'm trying to think of why this would happen
The initial alignment makes enough sense -- Polanco is a better athlete than Sano, so you'd want him on the side that has to cover more ground, and potentially a bunt
10:50
But maybe they figured Sano is actually more comfortable fielding a bunt, and Bell was perhaps the Pirates' greatest threat in that regard?
10:51
Like everyone, Bell pulls most of his grounders, but he hits a decent amount the other way. I'd have to go to video to try to understand more, but for now I'll go with the bunt idea
John Beasley
10:52
Several Red Sox are having a power resurgence, and several Cubs are having a power outage. There's no fire, but there's smoke, and the smoke smells like Chili.
Jeff Sullivan
10:52
Kris Bryant has a shoulder problem, and Anthony Rizzo has been amazing since recovering from his back problem
Don't think anything is wrong with the Cubs. As for the Red Sox, yeah, I can buy that Davis has helped
Gerald
10:52
Do you like prospects?
Jeff Sullivan
10:52
Some of them
Eppler
10:53
Is David Fletcher an elite defender? 8 DRS in 55 games between 2B/3B. Only 22 games at 2B and he has turned 17 DP and has 4 DRS
Jeff Sullivan
10:54
According to the admittedly imperfect Davenport translations, Fletcher wasn't an elite defender in the minors
10:55
Let's put this in the "something to keep an eye on" category. I doubt Fletcher is an amazing infield defender, but I could have my mind changed if he keeps putting up numbers
v2micca
10:56
Foltynewicz made some strides this year.  What does he need to do in 2019 and beyond to take the next step towards becoming an Ace?
Jeff Sullivan
10:56
I'd like to see more swings out of the zone. He's already quite good, but there's another level, especially when he's up against lefties
10:57
Might never come, but even if it doesn't, Foltynewicz today is an excellent No. 2
Dipoto
10:57
Am I the king of building almost playoff contenders while ravaging a farm system?
Jeff Sullivan
10:58
In fairness, Dipoto inherited a dead farm system. It's gotten neither better nor worse
2-D
10:59
Do you think David Price has pitched well enough and dislikes Boston enough to opt out?
Jeff Sullivan
10:59
Four years, $127 million left. Price is almost 33, with a suspect elbow, and he has the lowest average fastball velocity of his career
11:00
We all saw what the free-agent market looked like. I can't imagine Price would do better than the terms he already has. He'd have to *really* hate Boston to leave
Regal Fill Bin
11:02
Taking the respective contracts they are likely to receive into account, does Harper or Machado make more sense for the Phillies this offseason?
Jeff Sullivan
11:02
Inclined to say Machado
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