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Jeff Sullivan FanGraphs Chat -- 3/17/17
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Jeff Sullivan
9:04
Hello friends
Welcome to Friday baseball chat
Bork
9:04
Hello, friend!
Jeff Sullivan
9:04
Hello friend
9:05
Your rare absences only serve to make me appreciate your presence all the more
Bork
9:05
Now that Mike Trout has been proven to be bad, will the Angels be trading him?
Jeff Sullivan
9:05
Never!
9:06
Although he's due to hit free agency again going into his age-29 season, which is nuts
5 Run Homer
9:06
Next player to lead the AL in WAR not named Mike Trout and when?
Jeff Sullivan
9:06
I don't know if Manny Machado will still be in the AL in three years, but there's a guess. Same goes for Carlos Correa
When I look at those two players I see massive, massive, somewhat-untouched upside
Big Tuna
9:07
If you could only keep one at equal value: Salazar, Stroman, Fulmer? Thanks
Jeff Sullivan
9:07
This is a fantasy question but in real-life pitching I would say Stroman
Babe Lincoln
9:07
What percentage of chat questions about Team X come from Team X's fans?
Jeff Sullivan
9:08
Well of course that's impossible to know but probably 80-90%. Which is what you'd expect! And it's helpful to gather all fans in this one place because sometimes fans of other teams want to learn about the rest of the baseball landscape but they don't know what to ask about
Consider this an educational service, made possible by you asking a question about your own favorite team
Big Tuna
9:09
How much will Desmond's injury affect his power?
Jeff Sullivan
9:11
This is speculative, but Desmond sustained a fracture to his index finger, basically. As far as his swing goes, that seems a lot better than an injury to, say, the wrist or forearm. I imagine he'll be a little tentative about his grip at first, but it should all be short-term
Nick
9:12
Hi Jeff. Is Francisco Lindor now the best defensive shortstop in baseball, or does Andrelton Simmons still hold the top spot?
Jeff Sullivan
9:13
I'd say it's still Simmons by a hair, but at some point soon their lines will intersect. Maybe this very season
Monsignor Martinez
9:13
Given the generally good state of the Mets rotation, would it be a good idea to use Matt Harvey is sort of a rhp version of Andrew Miller? Maybe save his arm and he can throw harder?
Jeff Sullivan
9:14
It's way too soon to abandon Harvey as a starter, and he'd put up a hell of a fight given that he's due for free agency in a couple of years. Can't justify making that kind of call with someone fresh off surgery and pitching a little below previous levels in the middle of March
Give Harvey half a season and then re-evaluate based on what you've seen
python-r
9:15
Can we please start the season already?
Jeff Sullivan
9:15
Watch the WBC
or hockey. Watch hockey!
mtsw
9:15
Should the Red Sox try and resolve their Catcher logjam or just leave Swihart at AAA all year unless someone gets hurt?
Jeff Sullivan
9:16
Doesn't have to be all year. You can begin with Swihart at Triple-A and then watch closely to see if Sandy Leon can actually hit
Don't think there are many people out there whose opinions were dramatically swayed by what Leon just did in the second half
Big Tuna
9:18
Is this a sign of Bryce from two years ago? The HR projection piece on Fangraphs suggested he's more of a high 20s HR guy.
Jeff Sullivan
9:19
So, okay. On the one hand, this is clearly something very encouraging. Harper already has six ST home runs. He never before hit more than three. The power is present and you can't not feel good
9:20
But then on the other hand, last year's home-run leader in ST was Maikel Franco, with nine. He eventually slugged .427. Yan Gomes had a big spring training and a terrible year.
Relative to where we were a month ago, I'd say one's expectations for Harper should be higher now by a bit. But he remains a fascinating mystery
mtsw
9:21
Worse fielder: Hanley in LF or Trumbo in RF?
Jeff Sullivan
9:21
Hanley, but Hanley was the kind of bad the Red Sox recognized as clearly unsustainable. Or, put another way, unplayable. He was *too* bad to keep in the outfield
9:22
Trumbo is a dangerous kind of bad, because he's probably still going to play outfield again. He doesn't look so visually embarrassing, which makes it easier to keep running him out there, at the team's own detriment
Big Tuna
9:22
Who are you rooting for in the NCAA tournament?
Jeff Sullivan
9:22
the Ottawa Senators!
python-r
9:22
What's the word on Michael Brantley? Think Cleveland should look for a new LF - somebody along the lines of a Seth Smith?
Jeff Sullivan
9:23
The Indians don't have a reason right now to add to their outfield picture, but Brantley is a huge question mark. Maybe similar to Matt Harvey in a way. You have to clear a path for the player to contribute, because the player has been so very damn good before, but you also have to be prepared to use a fallback option in case Brantley's shoulder doesn't let him swing like he used to
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