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Kevin Goldstein FanGraphs Chat - 3/29/2021
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Bort
12:22
Are we all sort of sleeping on Luis Garcia (the pitcher)'s upside?
Kevin Goldstein
12:22
As long as that upside is a nice back-of-the-rotation piece, no.
Morbo
12:22
Hello Kevin this is my first time in your chat
Kevin Goldstein
12:22
Hello Morbo this is my first time typing Morbo in my chat.
BringBackDeSpanielHair
12:22
Joc Pederson has my attention in spring training. 8 home runs so far! At what point do we have to consider this a potential skill increase?
Kevin Goldstein
12:23
When he does it when games count.
Patrick
12:23
Burl Carraway recently posted a video on twitter of a very nasty breaker and I may be in love. Any chance we see him in Chicago this year? After they trade Kimbrel?
Kevin Goldstein
12:23
If he comes out throwing strikes, his time in the minors will be a very short one.
SJ
12:23
I recall you saying a few weeks ago that you leaned Kumar over Leiter but there was plenty of time for that to change. Have Leiter's performances the past two weekends moved that needle for you?
Kevin Goldstein
12:24
Probably, but we still have three months to go, so draft rankings at this date aren't very important.
Joe
12:25
With the season just days away and you being a JRPG fan, how does your video game time change in season with baseball back? Will you chip away at a 60+ hour game or play some small stuff between all the baseball. Thanks!
Kevin Goldstein
12:26
Fun question. I'm currently in between games. I started Final Fantasy 7 remake and I'm having trouble getting into it. Tried Subnautica and not for me. Kinda in a holding pattern playing some small, short indie stuff (primarily Murder By Numbers on the Switch) until I see what PS Plus and PS Now have in store for April. And yes, I tend to save the giant JRPGs for the off-season.
asnbrv
12:27
Were you guys able to quantify game calling ability for a catcher to somewhat acceptable range in your time in Houston? or was it still a black box and you relied on what scouts and pitchers thought about them.
Kevin Goldstein
12:27
I think things like game calling, and game management in general are INCREDIBLY important and something that it's hard to just put some kind of number on in terms of war. It's why I was always such a massive fan of Martin Maldanado.
kcbg
12:29
What is your favorite baseball movie? Does it provide as much joy as watching a playoff-deciding baseball game?
Kevin Goldstein
12:30
Is there a great narrative baseball movie? I think Bull Durham is very good, but more of a 60 than elite. I don't really watch a lot of fictionalized sports entertainment, but I started Ted Lasso on a whim and I'm really liking it.
Chris
12:30
Speaking of contract extensions... I know the Astros and Carlos Correa are way off the mark (according to Carlos himself) at 6 years/$120M. What's a range where you see a deal being made?
Kevin Goldstein
12:30
I would predict that Carlos' next deal is of the free agent variety.
Benny
12:30
Should MLB teams be allowed to trade draft picks?  If allowed, how big of a component would that become in future trades?
Kevin Goldstein
12:31
I think teams should be allowed to trade Day1 and Day 2 picks (first ten rounds), and yes, it would become a huge component of trade talks.
kyle
12:31
what do you make of Andre Scrubb? The eye test and his 5+ xFIP don't scream "high leverage reliever" but his performance last year was surprisingly solid.
Kevin Goldstein
12:32
It's really good stuff and VERY scattered command. That combination screams inconsistency. He might whiff the side, and he might quickly have the bases loaded with one out.
JC
12:32
What should we take away from spring training stats? Is K% predictive?
Kevin Goldstein
12:32
The underlying data and video is mostly available. Lean on that.
Lazarus
12:33
Can you explain teams' decision-making about when to add a player to the IL in preseason? For instance Schmidt is on the IL, while Voit, or Framber, is not. Is it a matter of not wanting to commit to it until absolutely necessary when games start?
Kevin Goldstein
12:34
Yeah, it's usually some kind of domino effect where to do this, you gotta do that. All will be clear by Thursday.
Gus
12:34
What's your take on Drew Waters? Do you share concerns that his approach will someday catch up with him?
Kevin Goldstein
12:34
I do. I have concerns about any players with approach issues unless he's a 65+ bat.
Kate
12:34
India's ST performance doing anything for you?  Do you expect a bit of a power uptick with him getting further away from some of these injuries from 2019?
Kevin Goldstein
12:35
I loved him out of college, but the performances so far as a pro disappointed until this spring. Kind of a jury is still out situation, but I hope he's figured something out and can turn into the .275 w/ 18 HR guy he looked like at Florida.
Little Dom Smith
12:35
Do orgs rank catchers differently than is public?
Kevin Goldstein
12:36
Absolutely.
szakyl
12:36
How many years away are we from discussing whether fWAR should include Statcast metrics?
Kevin Goldstein
12:37
WAR is measure what happened on the field in terms of results, so I don't think it's a big deal. The more pertinent question is how to accurately use those kind of metrics in projection models.
asnbrv
12:37
What is your favorite pitch as a fan of the game? For example, mine is a big loopy curve that buckles the hitters knees.
Kevin Goldstein
12:37
Knuckleball. I like weird. They're rare, so in terms of more common pieces, I love power breakers, like 85+ mph breakers.
Guest
12:38
What did you learn from doing Positional Power Rankings for the first time? Thoughts on that format vs. more standard season-preview content?
Kevin Goldstein
12:39
I learned that 9,000 words is a lot. I learned that I don't envy Meg's job that week (or ever, really). I learned a lot about those players, and I learned a lot about how to use publicly available tools and data, which are actually quite excellent!
Theyardgoat
12:40
What’s stopping a team (hello Mets) from blowing thru their draft pool by 10x and re-load their system in one shot, other than forfeiting two firsts?
Kevin Goldstein
12:41
Nothing, and teams have talked about such a strategy. It's a real challenge to get that many big players after the third or so.
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