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Kevin Goldstein FanGraphs Chat - 6/21/2021
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Kevin Goldstein
12:00
Hi everyone. I'll have a piece going up later today about Sean Manaea's bizarre 2013 spring heading into the draft and how I saw him, and then saw him again but didn't really see him. That sentence will make a lot more sense once you read the piece. Until then, let's get to your questions.
MFG1975
12:01
Nick Sandlin has been absolutely deadly on RHB. Will he be able to keep Lefties at bay enough to be more than a specialist?
Kevin Goldstein
12:02
I think 'at bay' is a good way to put it. He's a fascinating pitcher with some of the more unique pitch shapes around, and I think he'll be a good big league reliever for quite some time.
Jeb
12:02
Are the Pirates zeroing in on Mayer? What are the chances he will be the pick?
Kevin Goldstein
12:02
I don't think they are zeroing in on anyone yet. As I wrote last week. It could come down to draft day as they figure out the talent/bonus continuum by talking to agents.
Kevin
12:03
What would Bryan Reynolds fetch in a trade if the Pirates dealt him? Two top 100 guys?
Kevin Goldstein
12:03
That feels heavy, but they could get something good. That said, why deal him? At some point you have to hold on to your good players.
George
12:03
Are we buying the Nats as contenders after their recent run? Rizzo just doesn’t seem like the type to sell if there’s even a hint of a chance.
Kevin Goldstein
12:04
Not really, but I agree with you on how Washington tends to behave in July.
JD
12:04
What is Gallo’s trade value? He’s a very unique player.
Kevin Goldstein
12:05
He's very unique because of how he does it, but it's not like his production is unmeasurable. He's an above-average bat at the end of the day because of the power and walks, and that's the way teams will value him plus the one more year of control. I don't think it's a slam dunk that he gets dealt.
James
12:05
What was the Astros secret on international pitching signings? Framber, Javier, Urquidy, and Garcia all signed for peanuts, none have overpowering stuff, yet all are quality to borderline ace pitchers.
Kevin Goldstein
12:06
The Astros were among the first to really dig into pitch data on international kids, and it's really paid off.
Jack
12:06
Other than Elijiah Greene next year, who are other guys that could go top 3-5?
Kevin Goldstein
12:06
Georgia Tech C Kevin Parada and Texas Tech INF Jace Jung come to mind . . .
JA
12:07
With no clear cut #1 and with a top tier of 7-8 players, is the top 5 of the draft going to be about cutting under slot deals?
Kevin Goldstein
12:07
It might be a weird draft. Plenty will play it by the book, but we should anticipate one or two deals in the top ten.
YardGoat
12:07
Does a performance like Bednar's over the weekend result in some recency bias and teams moving him up on their boards? Or is it more just a solidifying outing that confirms prior positives?
Kevin Goldstein
12:08
You try not to put too much on one game, but it did feel like Bednar made some money over the weekend.
Italian beef w/ giardiniera
12:08
Scary evening in the Chicago area. Hope you and yours are safe.
Kevin Goldstein
12:08
We are good here. Storm didn't develop tornadoes until after it went through here. Hope everyone else is ok.
Rays
12:09
Is Franco's approach fine? Maybe I'm nitpicking but his walk rate has fallen.
Kevin Goldstein
12:09
He was never a walk machine, a lot of that is because he has so much plate coverage.
David
12:09
For orgs that have regional-based scouting coverage, how many area scouts cover each region? For talent rich areas like Florida/California it seems like several area scouts may be necessary to cover the number of players
Kevin Goldstein
12:10
Sure, teams are smart like that. A Midwest area scout might have five or six states to cover, while some teams have two guys just to cover L.A. and San Diego.
Curious
12:10
what keeps clearly defined buyers/sellers (playoff odds at both extremes) from jumping the market in June/early July? industry tradition/inertia
Kevin Goldstein
12:11
I'm actually writing about this for this week.
Joey
12:11
What do private draft workouts accomplish for the team? Isnt seeing them in game action a much better indicator of the type of player they are?
Kevin Goldstein
12:12
It allows you to maybe get some high speed video of a player's swing, get some TrackMan data on a pitcher, get some defensive reps at a new position, and just as importantly at times, sit down and talk to the kids, look them in the eye and see what they are made of.
Dalton Wilcox
12:12
Everyone loves Harry Ford. Do they *actually* love him enough to lock in the first 20 picks? It’s still a rough demo to draft from, HS catcher (even if the plan is to move him)
Kevin Goldstein
12:12
I think he'll go somewhere in the teens....
Ben
12:12
when you were with the Astros, how closely did you guys scout/keep an eye on the Mexican league during the season?
Kevin Goldstein
12:13
Would take a look at the performances once in a while and see if there was anyone we needed to dig on. Made one trip to Mexico City to see a few guys.
Kurt
12:13
Love your work and the podcast! Wondering your thoughts on the upcoming CBA negotiations? Do you think the recent clash over the midseason crackdown on foreign substances has a tangible impact on the likelihood of a work stoppage/lockout?
Kevin Goldstein
12:14
I mean, I don't know how you can increase the odds of the CBA expiring on 12/1 without an agreement. It was 99% before the sticky stuff fun.
Forgetful
12:14
Hi Kevin. I had a really fun question to ask you. But I've since forgotten what it was. So I'm just going to take this opportunity to say thank you for doing the chats and writing good articles.
Kevin Goldstein
12:15
Plenty of time to remember your fun question, but thanks so much for seeing that. For anybody who creates stuff and puts it out there for others, that kind of thing is really nice to hear.
Aaron Jameson
12:15
With what we now about pitch shapes, how do you evalutae draft prospects who throw sinkers as their primary fastball? Do those guys typically have a lower ceiling than a guy who throws a modern, rising fastball?
Kevin Goldstein
12:15
They generally do. I strongly prefer a 4 to a 2sm.
Dalton Wilcox
12:15
Beginning of the end for the NCAA or will their billions upon billions keep them alive?
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