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Jeff Sullivan FanGraphs Chat -- 9/30/16
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CarrotJuice
10:00
Do you think Raisel Iglesias will be a starter or relief pitcher in 2017? How about long term?
Jeff Sullivan
10:01
At this point I think it's 70/30 he stays in the bullpen. He's been so good there, and everyone else has been so terrible
Jake Arrieta
10:01
Are you worried about me?
Jeff Sullivan
10:01
I wouldn't say "worried." That implies some kind of emotional investment. But I do believe you're mechanically not right
10:02
I think Arrieta knows it, too. They've been working on it for weeks. But it's the toughest thing in the game to fold in mechanical adjustments on the fly
Jim
10:02
Who is more likely to end up in prison one day: AJ Preller, or Theo Epstein?
Jeff Sullivan
10:03
Epstein is more likely to end up in a prison of his own consciousness. Preller is more likely to end up in a prison of iron and concrete
David
10:03
Do you ever think about a 2001 Mariners team with Randy and A-Rod?
Jeff Sullivan
10:04
I don't think about trying to make that team better, no. It was already the best team
Catoblepas
10:04
Do you like the playoffs? Not "do you like the way they're currently formatted" or whatever, but just as a thing or an experience?
Jeff Sullivan
10:04
Very much. I don't even know how to explain it. I just get caught up in it. Like, watching the Blue Jays last October was phenomenal
10:05
I have a problem of overthinking, but when I can put that aside, the playoffs are the best
Mike
10:05
What is your Mount Rushmore of Volcanoes?
Jeff Sullivan
10:05
Well I could easily snark this on account of how Mount Rushmore sucks
10:07
But in terms of volcanoes that hold a special place in my heart, I'll go with Hood, Vesuvius, Laki, and Erebus
Philip
10:08
What kind of prospect package could Brian Dozier command this off-season?
Jeff Sullivan
10:09
A little less than you might think -- he's going to be a 30-year-old middle infielder and I bet the market is going to hold off on investing too deeply into this weird home-run surge
10:10
But Dozier is locked up another two years for a combined $15 million. As a free agent he could probably get $45 - 50 million over the same seasons. So you'd be talking about two mid-level prospects, or maybe a young major leaguer
Moltar
10:11
So seems like the Mets are gonna let thor pitch the las game of the season? I understand if they need to win it to make the playoffs, but other than that don't they really really need him for the WC game? I love Bartolo and all but come on
Jeff Sullivan
10:12
I have to believe that if it gets to the point where the Sunday game is effectively irrelevant, they'll push Syndergaard back. It wouldn't make sense to do anything else
Joe
10:12
Which five non-playoff teams have the best chance of making the playoffs next year?
Jeff Sullivan
10:13
Well, that's a lot of teams, but in some order: Rockies, Yankees, Cardinals, Astros, Rays
J
10:13
Can we just take a second to appreciate Britton's FB% and LD%? Is that LD% even sustainable?
Jeff Sullivan
10:14
For the record: 9% and 12%
Britton has now done this three years in a row. Same shit over and over. He really is this good at avoiding the barrel
Wakawaka
10:15
Do MLB pitchers do things to increase their spin rates on pitches the way they might do things to increase their velocity? Could pitchers even improve their spin rates if they tried? On a related note, things like height and arm speed make pitchers "projectable" for velocity. Does anything make them projectable for spin rates? Long fingers maybe?
Jeff Sullivan
10:16
I'm not really equipped to answer this -- you're going to need to talk to a scientist, someone who's getting readings on players in more of a laboratory environment. I don't know how easy it is to change your own spin, relative to how easy it is to improve velocity. But I can guarantee you that a bunch of teams are investigating this very thing, trying to boost spin on four-seamers within the minor-league system
Bork
10:16
Hello, friend!
Jeff Sullivan
10:16
Hello friend
For
10:16
Will statcast ever be turned into something that can show a players value?
Jeff Sullivan
10:17
At the very least, it'll far better inform our own ideas of player value. Like, we already understand a lot about what makes players good, but if Statcast improves our understanding of player defense and pitcher batted-ball suppression, that is stuff that could conceivably change the public-facing WAR
Buck Saltwater
10:18
Did the Orioles just make the playoffs based on dingers and an elite bullpen?
Jeff Sullivan
10:18
Pretty much
Very Royalsy, and also very non-Royalsy
J
10:19
I can't figure out why DRA loves Pineda so much. Is it like xFIP that considers more?
Jeff Sullivan
10:19
That's not a bad way to think of it. Pineda has an xFIP- of 76. That's really fantastic. He's obviously given up a bunch more runs than that, but in ways that we know aren't very reliable
Jack C.
10:20
How does one break into the sports agency world?
Jeff Sullivan
10:21
Sell yourself to an agent, work with that agent for a little while, and then either murder said agent or branch out on your own once you feel sufficiently comfortable with your connections
Help Wanted
10:22
Schedule wise, would you rather be BAL (@NYY) or TOR (@BOS) this weekend?
Jeff Sullivan
10:23
Baltimore. Neither opponent has a ton to play for and the Red Sox are better
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