JotCast | Ben Clemens FanGraphs Chat

Ben Clemens FanGraphs Chat - 8/9/21

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Ben Clemens

1:59

Hey everyone, let's start the chat a minute early, because the questions are already piling up.

2:00

First, some Mariners content

Marco

2:00

Right now the Mariners have multiple prospective OF for next year: Haniger, Kelenic, JRod, Lewis, Fraley, and Trammell. Do you see them trading one or more of them for pitching or lineup help?

Ben Clemens

2:00

I don't think this works as well as it sounds on paper

2:01

Maybe Haniger can be traded for solid value, but the team isn't trading Kelenic of JRod, and the other three aren't going to return huge value

2:02

But it's not like any of the outfield spots are locks for next year, and I think the team might like to have too many options and figure out who the best ones are

2:03

It's not like some team is going to ship out tremendous pitching value for Jake Fraley, good as his season has been so far

2:04

If they are, cool! But I just think the Mariners would rather keep these guys and figure out what they have

baseballenjoyer

2:04

Astros bench looking mighty thin. Did Click sell off too many ML players for rental relievers?

Ben Clemens

2:04

They sure could use Abraham Toro right about now

2:05

Graveman has been great in his four outings, but when your starting 1b and 3b are out, it's not great that you traded a 1b/3b bat

Triston

2:05

Which Mariners outfielder do you see being the best overall player long-term: Lewis, Kelenic, Or Julio Rodriguez?

Ben Clemens

2:06

Gimme Julio, he looks to have the best tools of the bunch and I'll bet on that when the numbers are also excellent

Weston

2:06

We've seen lots of prospects play and have success in the Olympics this year (Casas, JRod, etc.). Do you think playing in these games was more beneficial for their development vs playing more games in the minors?

Ben Clemens

2:06

Speaking of which!

2:07

Yes, I think that the Olympic games have been really helpful for development. I'm not sure it's great for skills development, but it's a great way to get a taste of high-stakes baseball, face a wider array of competition, and do it without either being put way over their head or feeling that the competition isn' real

2:08

You can't convince me that the pressure and prestige of the Olympics isn't making these guys want to try harder

Long-term, even

2:08

Why can't the Cardinals throw strikes with bases loaded?

Ben Clemens

2:08

I was at Thursday's game!

2:09

It was such a downer seeing ball after blal

I thought Shildt's decision to bring in Gallegos was really bad, but Reyes didn't have it that night either, so it hardly mattered

Buzz

2:10

The Giants performed the rare Septuple-switch against the Diamondbacks in the bottom of the 9th on Thursday after a slew of pinch-runners and hitters helped them score 4 to tie. Surprisingly they improved defensively at nearly every position but 1b while doing so.

What type of value do teams assign to positional flexibility like we're seeing from the Giants lately and do you think most front offices have systems in place to help quantify that value in today's game?

Ben Clemens

2:10

Teams definitely have systems in place to put a number on that value, but I'm not sure how precise the quantification is

2:11

It's really difficult to put one number on it because it depends on the manager, depends on the situations the team finds itself in, and you have to consider what they would have done in the absence of flexibility

The Angels just put Adam Eaton at first base yesterday with no issue whatsoever, for example

Guest

2:11

Do park adjusted stats account for the Jays 3 homes this year or does it just assume they were always in Canada?

Ben Clemens

2:12

My understanding is that it doesn' think about the park at all -- it looks at home production and away production (then away production for the teams who played there vs their home production)

so it's thinking of it as some kind of crazy Dunedin/Buffalo/Toronto hybrid

Is that a reasonable way to do it? I dunno

2:13

But it definitely doesn't just use some number we have in the system for Toronto and stick with that

Oleksandr

2:13

What are the criteria for a sport to be represented at the Olympics? Is there any reason why baseball is an Olympic sport some years and not others?

Ben Clemens

2:14

I don't know the exact criteria, but baseball is not an Olympic sport anymore. The IOC just brought back baseball and softball at Japan's request for these Olympics only

BringBackDeSpanielHair

2:14

Ben! What's up? H2H points league, W/QS both score points. Do you start Sale (BAL) over Carrasco(Was, LAD) or Giolito (@MIN, NYY)?

Reason I ask is Carrasco isn't stretched out, and I just don't trust Giolito's changeup heavy approach against the Yankees wait it out lineup style. But Sale is a lefty, and BAL = Death to lefty's

Ben Clemens

2:15

I think I'd just start Giolito, tbh

Two starts is hard to turn down, and he can throw the change for strikes

Those are two tough offenses to face, no doubt

But I agree with you on Carrasco, rather wait a week and see what his pitch counts look like

Vincent

2:16

Abraham Toro has been great since being traded to Seattle. Do you think he can be a long term part of their infield, whether at second or third base?

Ben Clemens

2:16

I do!