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Kevin Goldstein FanGraphs Chat - 11/22/2021
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Kevin Goldstein
12:00
Hi everyone. Hope everyone is planning for an enjoyable and safe holiday. Eating good food is good. Let's chat.
Vince L.
12:00
KG, what are we to make of offseason rumors? Are they started by agents? Players' families/friends? Frauds trying to make a name for themselves? Fans? Writers? How does some stuff get out, and then the stuff that actually happens sneaks up on us?
Kevin Goldstein
12:01
All of the above? Teams leak, players and agents leak a bit more, and you always have to be careful and fake and not fake but fraudlent twitter accounts making stuff up. Some teams are much better and keeping things quiet than others....
A big dumb idiot
12:01
Allow me to be the oaf who asks if i'll like SMTV is the social stuff is a big part of my Persona enjoyment
Kevin Goldstein
12:02
You might not? SMT as a series is far more about the battle system, which is very Personal-like but a bit more . . . intense and punishing might be the right words? There is a story, and it's solid, but it's in the background. Best way to put it is that I'm about five hours into the game, and while it head a very good setup, there has been very little story and a whole lot of fighting and learning systems for the last four of those hours....
Steve
12:02
When will Fangraphs start rolling out its top prospect lists?
Kevin Goldstein
12:02
VERY SOON.
Josh
12:02
Where does Seiya Suzuki slot in on the International Board?
Kevin Goldstein
12:03
More importantly . . . should he? I've never been a fan of putting established NPB free agents on lists with prospects because it's very apples and oranges.
Sabey Sabes
12:03
If you're advising Franco on the extension offer (assuming its 9 figures), do you grab the bag now?
Kevin Goldstein
12:03
I don't know all the details, but more importantly, I don't know what's important to Wander, and that's the real key here.
Oklahomabrave
12:04
As a Braves fan I’m excited to see us connected to Seiya Suzuki. We haven’t been in this market for like ten years, believe any fire to this smoke?
Kevin Goldstein
12:04
I do. I think he'll generate considerable interest as a pretty good outfield piece.
Ben
12:04
I know Rule 5 guys rarely amount to much, but anyone left unprotected jump out? Those of us clinging to tanking teams need something to keep us interested.
Kevin Goldstein
12:05
Yeah, find prospects to be excited about. Ever since they moved the Rule 5 stuff back a year, it's been very hard to find impactful players, but a guy like Whitlock will always fall through the cracks here and there. Plus, we are very much ramping towards a world where the Rule 5 doesn't happen due to labor strife.
Asinwreck
12:05
In your podcast this week, you said Steve Cohen would either be great or terrible to work for, with nothing in between. How likely is it that he'd do a Ted Turner, initially being a nightmare to work for (even managing the Braves for a game), then experiencing a learning curve and putting in place remarkable stability and a clear leadership vision with Schuerlholz, Cox, and Snyder?  Is Cohen the kind of wacky billionaire capable of mercurial swings from colorizing film classics and then starting TCM?
Kevin Goldstein
12:06
It's certainly a possibility. I'm a believer than people can adapt and change.
Nick D.
12:06
Does Nelson Velasquez's AFL performance significantly improve his outlook in any way?
Kevin Goldstein
12:07
Not in any kind of big way. AFL history is littered with big performances from players who did not move on to great careers. Velasquez is solid, but not some big prospects, and the AFL didn't change anything. For the most part, AFL pitching is not great, and that was especially the case this season.
Mike
12:07
Hey Kevin - do you and Eric have a plan to release prospect lists in December (particularly interested in the international prospects)? Looking forward to some Fangraphs #content even during the lockout.
Kevin Goldstein
12:07
VERY SOON.
J Nappa
12:07
The Rays definitely found a gem in last year's draft in Manzardo? Is it me or does he just remind you of Lance Berkman? His hitting profile already has him as one of the best of his draft class.
Kevin Goldstein
12:08
Pump the brakes there. He's a good bat, one of the better ones in the draft, but that's WAY too aggressive a comp at this time. He had an excellent couple of weeks in the complex league, but a for a player coming from a major college conference, that's really just holding serve.
Bart
12:08
Do MLB players receive any income or health benefits from the union or team during a players lockout?
Kevin Goldstein
12:08
Absolutely. The union has a war chest for just such an occasion as we're about to see.
Ben
12:10
Do you know why Andrew Heaney doesn't show up on the Dodgers' depth charts yet?
Kevin Goldstein
12:10
Um, he's there . . . ?
Amir
12:11
What Marlins pitchers could the Jays acquire for Vlad Guerrero
Kevin Goldstein
12:11
I'm very confused by this question.
CY
12:11
I know it sounds like a pipe dream, but given what the Rangers are saying publicly, is something like Kershaw, Story, Suzuki, and Gray within their new expanded budget? That would seem to be about $80-90M AAV.
Kevin Goldstein
12:12
I mean, technically yes? There are 30 teams interested in free agents and trade targets, so assuming any team is going to land a specific list of four is a dangerous thought. They might go far all four and be super happy to get one.
Matt
12:12
It seems like more teams (Rays, Dodgers etc..) seem to be targeting and teaching horizontally breaking sliders. What new insights in data have they found, and is this a move away from the more typical high fastball curveball combo that the Astros targeted?
Kevin Goldstein
12:13
Rising four-seamers are still the hotness in terms of fastballs, but more and more teams are getting into these sweeping sliders in terms of breakers.
Liam McPoyle
12:14
Isn't Syndergaard's contract on the high end?  I mean, if he has a great year, he will have earned his money.  However, I would give the o/u on IP as 85.  That's not worth the money.
Kevin Goldstein
12:14
Yeah, I was surprised by this in that there's no second year or option here. The Angels trying to plant a flag in terms of being big players for FAs might have entered into it.
Christian
12:15
Does Nick Senzel still profile as a utility hitter? Is there a path for him to become a starter?
Kevin Goldstein
12:15
It's tough, right? He's gotten 600+ big league PAs and there's really no indications anywhere of him being good enough for an every day role...
Guest
12:16
Do you think the Marlins are a serious contender if they go out and sign some bats? As a hypothetical, let’s say they sign Nick Castellanos then trade for Mitch Garver and Byron Buxton (giving up Meyer+). Do you think they become a genuine threat with those moves?
Kevin Goldstein
12:16
I think with some smart moves and a few breaks, they could be playing important games in September...
Vic
12:16
Do you see a team taking a chance on Monte Harrison at this point?
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