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Kevin Goldstein FanGraphs Chat - 6/7/2021
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Kevin Goldstein
12:31
There will be a DSL, it will just start a month late in early July. Complex leagues on schedule.
Guest
12:32
safe to assume there are no 70 or 80 baseball movies? what's the highest grade you'd give one / which one?
Kevin Goldstein
12:32
Pretty damn safe, in terms of non-documentary films.
Jack
12:33
Hey Kevin, you directed me to listen to the podcast for your opinion on the A's ballpark situation - good compilation of much of the available info but you yourself never took a stance on what you think will happen. Do you think they end up building in Oakland or moving elsewhere?
Kevin Goldstein
12:33
I think they're gone.
Kate
12:33
Do you think Alzolay's lack of a third pitch will eventually stat to give him issues?  Or is the slider and two fastballs enough?
Kevin Goldstein
12:34
It's enough. If you have another pitch, and it's way below the others in terms of quality, why throw it a lot?
billsaints
12:35
Way too early gut feelings on likelihood of a strike next year? Have you talked to any players about it? Someone like Adley R. must be (especially) nervous about it, a year lost to pandemic + strike. He'll be 25 year old rookie that should have been up  at 22/23.
Kevin Goldstein
12:35
Technically, it's going to be a lockout, and I think it's about a 55% chance of happening.
Bryan
12:36
How do you evaluate the value of catchers and catching prospects?  Some of their defensive value is hard to measure, and if a prospect has to move off catcher, their offense bar goes way up.
Kevin Goldstein
12:37
It's hard. You really have to talk to people about the defense, and more importantly, the stuff that's harder to see from the stands like game management. Really lean on scouts and team folks when looking at catchers....
Dodger Fan
12:37
The Dodgers' Rangel Ravelo has a ridiculous .412 BA with a 208 wRC+ in AAA. Any chance he becomes an impact MLB player, given he's already 29 years old?
Kevin Goldstein
12:38
No. More of a up and down bat piece.
Tal
12:38
The Mets have three guys in High-A who have been making a ton of noise recently, at least within the organization. Who has the best outlook of Alvarez, Baty, and Mauricio?
Kevin Goldstein
12:38
I go Alvarez, Mauricio, Baty, but really like all three of them.
Wicho
12:38
The Padres are already talking about Gallo but how does public discussion affect the way team's go about business? Is there a sense of pressure on FO's when names start getting floated publicly?
Kevin Goldstein
12:39
Not really. You can't let that kind of stuff enter your decision process.
feddy
12:39
some players in the minor leagues are playing for team USA right now: how does that work? how’s the selection process, how does the national team get it cleared with the MLB teams, what happens if they get hurt, how does it work contractually, etc. or is there anything else important about this?
Kevin Goldstein
12:39
They do have to get permission from the team, and if the player is not part of your immediate big league future, you usually let him play if he's 100% healthy.
J
12:39
Korey Lee is raking at High A and is about to turn 23. How long do you figure until he gets sent to Corpus?
Kevin Goldstein
12:40
Probably second-half. I'm a big fan. Real pop, good OBP skills, cannon for an arm. Not a big hit tool but lots of secondary skills and he's a really good dude.
Field of Dreams
12:40
Over the weekend I read something about the "sticky stuff" in MLB, with some people estimating 80% of pitchers are cheating. Is that high? Is that 80% of pitchers using stuff like sunscreen, or is that 80% using glue-stuff?
Kevin Goldstein
12:40
I would have guesses two-third to three fourths, and it's just using SOME kind of substance.
ryan
12:41
do you see Jonathan India settling in as a solidly above average player, perhaps akin to Todd Fraizer in terms of overall value?
Kevin Goldstein
12:41
I wouldn't guarantee that, but I don't think it's out of the question.
Becca
12:42
What did you think about Robert Puason? Do you think he ever merited the hype or was the hype mainly due to the fact that his name was attached to the Braves scandal?
Kevin Goldstein
12:42
I saw him when he was 14 and 15 and put very big money on him both times.
Peterman
12:43
Do front offices care (or even believe) that some guys are "streaky"? I'm thinking of someone like Oswald Peraza, who murdered the ball over a 4-5 game stretch in mid-May but has otherwise been close to league average.
Kevin Goldstein
12:43
Some do, some don't. I personally believe some players are more streaky than others, and the challenge is to figure out what they are doing right/wrong when they are hot/cold.
Alec
12:43
When do members of the front office begin to feel the heat when a team is not living up to expectations (i.e. Yankees and Twins FO) is there a state of urgency that builds up?
Kevin Goldstein
12:43
BIG TIME.
Sad, Confused Marlins Fan
12:43
Yanks jump the gun on Gittens or are they just so starved for a spark?
Kevin Goldstein
12:44
I mean, he's not a kid. Might as well see what you have.
Shoshana
12:44
What do you think will happen to service time in the next CBA? I understand why they're doing it, but it's frustrating to see prospects artificially kept in the MiL due to team control issues.
Kevin Goldstein
12:45
I don't know, but I do know that a big issue for the players is creating a system that incentivizes teams to put their best product on the field.
Mitch
12:45
You and Eric do a great job here of organizing players into "FV" tiers which makes it easy for fans and readers like myself to generally understand how highly a prospect is regarded. My question is how do teams talk about tiers of prospects amongst each other? For example how would you explain to another team that you're only willing to give up a 40FV guy for a rental reliever etc. Do teams use this grading scale as well?
Kevin Goldstein
12:45
Some do, some don't. The Astros did not use these kind of role grades, but somewhere around half or a little more do. I'm not a fan of them.
Lee Bum-Ho
12:45
Really cool piece on trade season conversations - Are there any FO execs who come to mind with reputations for being intimidatingly good trade negotiators?
Kevin Goldstein
12:46
Intimidating? No. Tough? Sure. I'll have a couple of followups to that piece this week....
High Cheese
12:46
What does a typical work day look like for a front office employee who is not travelling?
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