JotCast | Travis Sawchik FanGraphs Chat

Travis Sawchik FanGraphs Chat

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Mr. Nor'easter

12:28

Could you please rank ROS: Maeda, Ray, Shoemaker. Each has a fair share of warts, yet each has a lot of upside.

Travis Sawchik

12:28

I was a big Shoemaker guy pre-season but I'd rank: Ray, Maeda then Shoemaker. I like Ray's strikeouts and his 13 swinging strike rate

Big Joe Mufferaw

12:28

Is what Gallo is doing now what you expected from Judge this year?

Travis Sawchik

12:29

I actually thought Judge would trim his strikeout rate a bit, but I think if you asked the Yankees if they would take Gallo's 118 wRC+ for Judge in March they would sign up

Matt

12:30

David Freese is a nice little vet for a club to sign when you need steady, good production on the corners. You think next free agent cycle someone offers him a contract only if he changes his stance to be more fly ball heavy and gives incentives to that kind of thing or is that a bit to cute for a player who's been a steady above average player for his career

Travis Sawchik

12:32

A player is more willing to experiment with assurances and a MLB contract. That would be the most creative contract I'm aware of but I like it! Freese is definitely a player who would really benefit. He has well above average exit velo but is a worm-killer

Angry Mets Fan

12:32

I don't know if you saw, but Terry Collins said that once Cespedes comes back, Conforto will be getting more days off. He also said getting Grandy going is important for the team. As a Mets fan who sees us going nowhere this year, should I be worried that Collins will once again hurt Conforto's progression by not playing him everyday? Or am I just overreacting because I hate Terry Collins so very much?

Travis Sawchik

12:34

Conforto and Cespedes should be near every day players. Conforto should definitely play over Granderson, imo ... I mean Conforto has a 177 wRC+ and a .322/.416/.658 slash line

Terry Collins

12:34

At the end of the year, will everyone be talking about how I lead this team so well and my guys never quit, or will the chatter be about my flamout caused by bad bullpen management?

Travis Sawchik

12:34

I will have a more favorable opinion if Conforto is playing every day

Jose

12:35

If this is who Gallo is, is he a fine fulltime player? If he decreases his k-rate to, say 32%, is he an all-star?

Travis Sawchik

12:35

If this is who Gallo is it's still a useful player and it's reasonable to suspect he can trim his K rate by a few points and become even more valuable. He's Russell Branyan II but that's not a bad thing

Phlegm56

12:36

Who do you think gets bumped out of the rotation for the Pirates when Taillon returns? Glasnow has not been good to say the least, Kuhl has been even worse lately, and Williams has been serviceable after his first start against the Dodgers.

Travis Sawchik

12:37

It would be between Kuhl and Williams for me. I want to see more of Glasnow. Kuhl was supposed to be a ground-ball guy but only has a 37 GB%. That's concerning.

If I'm the Pirates I want to learn more about what I have in Glasnow

bosoxforlife

12:38

Brian Johnson, Tyler Danish and Christian Bergman all won games this weekend in which they did not give a run. The only time they will see 91 is on the speedometer. Is it possible that the hitters are so geared up for velo that the soft tosser throws them off? I mentioned these 3 only bcause none are established. The noted soft tosser, and pain in the behind of the number crunchers, Marco Estrada also shined.

Travis Sawchik

12:38

I'd still rather have the velocity but more than anything I want quality spin in today's game

Stevil

12:39

Jacob Faria has been missing a lot of bats in the International League and his outpitches are looking better and better. Could (or should) Tampa use him as a chip to address another need, or do you see them taking a hard look at him first?

Travis Sawchik

12:40

I'd rather get a look at him first

If the Rays were one piece away then maybe I'd look at it from a different perspective

Pie

12:40

At this point it's hard to predict accurately, but when do you think Gleyber gets promoted? Do you think he's worth a speculative pickup in a 12 team keep 5?

Travis Sawchik

12:40

I would add, yes

12:41

I always like upside plays

Marcus

12:41

Should the Pirates continue to give Cutch game time lower down the order to salvage some trade value or has the prospect of a trade already evaporated?

Travis Sawchik

12:42

I can't imagine McCutchen has much trade value, which is kind of amazing ... What will be really interesting is to see what the Pirates do with his club option after the season assuming he's still around

Out of all the options regarding McCutchen's future, when considering it a couple yearse ago, I never thought it would involve declining a club option.

cagney and lacy

12:43

What is your analysis of Matt Harvey's start yesterday and his projection for the rest of the season?

Travis Sawchik

12:44

I saw the first three innings. He was missing up a lot with has fastball but posted a solid final line. I do think he's going to be a solid mid-rotation option going forward.

Trainman

12:45

Travis, one guy who I think has been criminally under appreciated is Whit Merrifield in fantasy circles. Unexpected power, he's always had speed. When will Yost get Escobar and his barely .200 OBP out of the leadoff spot?

Travis Sawchik

12:47

Merrifield is a nice MLB player but I'm not sure he's a fantasy asset unless you are in a deep league, but he'd be an upgrade over Escobar for the Royals. It's indefensible to have Escobar batting lead-off

Rick

12:47

Altuve is really the only player stealing bases for the Astros, Correa has zero attempts and Spring has 2 attempts/ out both times. Do you think this is a conscious decision by the Astros?

Travis Sawchik

12:47

Seems to be a team-wide philosophy

Hannah Hochevar

12:48

Eno seems to think Matt Boyd has potential (thanks in part to a new arm slot), but he's looked pretty rough. Do you have a take?

Travis Sawchik

12:48

I'm not super excited about him

Trainman

12:49

Hey Travis hope your well. Mets fan here. This year may be rapidly approaching a lost year for them (yes I know it's only June, but very far back), but am I crazy to think this isn't the worst thing in the world? They have guys who could net them returns in Bruce, Duda, Walker, asdrubal Cabrera, Addison Reed, and to a lesser extent Reyes and granderson if any. They can fill some of the spots with Dom Smith and Rosario. Conforto would play everyday. You still have cespedes. Then next year when syndergaard and maybe familia are 100% hopefully for the whole year (not counting on familia right now at all with the blood clots. Get that fixed, life over baseball), they can get a natural center fielder, second baseman.. don't think they would be that far off. Sorry for long winded question. Thoughts?

Travis Sawchik

12:50

That's the glass-is-half-full outlook, very nice! There is something to be said of knowing whether you're a clear buyer or seller at the deadline.Bruce , Walker and Reed should all be able to return something of value

cheese steak

12:50

Are you buying what Nick Williams has been serving in AAA for the Phillies recently? Is he finally reaching his potential?

Travis Sawchik

12:51

I'm still pretty concerned about the approach, BB% and K%

Ryan

12:51

Who is the one buy-low guy you are buying shares of right now?

Travis Sawchik

12:51

My sense is Schwarber owners are getting close to bailing ... I'd buy low