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Kevin Goldstein FanGraphs Chat - 2/7/2022
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Kevin Goldstein
12:01
Happy Monday everyone. It was my anniversary yesterday, and I'm still recovering from a very large dinner, and the first time my wife and I sat down in a restaurant together since the early fall before omicron. Let's have some fun for 90 minutes or so.
D back fan
12:01
Daulton Varsho or Pavin Smith breakout?
Kevin Goldstein
12:01
Well, can I say I don't like the question because it seems to assume that one of them will? Most likely is that neither will break out, but with that said, I like Varsho as a player far more than Smith.
Sharp
12:02
How do players feel about signing baseball cards for Topps? Think it's cool? Indifferent/just a part of the job? or do not like it?
Kevin Goldstein
12:02
Players are very different from person to person. Some collected as a kid and get a real joy from seeing their own cards and have a blast with it, and others see it as a chore. Like most things, very player to player.
Keith
12:02
Who was your favorite team/players when you were growing up?
Kevin Goldstein
12:03
I grew up a Mets fan, and those mid-80s teams still have a special place in my heart.
Keith
12:03
Did you spend a lot of time in Houston when you worked for the Astros, or were you primarily working out of your house, or out and about scouting players?
Kevin Goldstein
12:05
I don't know, it depends on how you define a lot of time. I usually went about once a month for three-to-five days, and usually around something important happening. So I'd show up in May for draft meetings, June for the draft itself (later held in West Palm), July for the trade deadline, September/October for some end-of-year type of stuff and then spend time with the group in Florida for spring training, in November for the GM Meetings and December for the Winter Meetings. Then there was all the travel to see players...
Berkman's Twinkie
12:05
Lewis Brinson is in limbo right now since being DFA'd just prior to the lockout and the Astros wont have Meyers at the beginning of the season. Do you see them taking a flyer on him even with Siri and McCormick?
Kevin Goldstein
12:05
I think it's hard to attached a minor league FA to any team. Brinson has the tools that are certainly going to get him a lot of chances.
Scrapper
12:05
Some say that the prospect world is an echo chamber, with the top prospect sites saying the same thing.  Is that a fair criticism?
Kevin Goldstein
12:06
At times, yes. Once of the things I heard about the Giants list that I worked on with Tess that made me really happy was someone who covers that system saying that we definitely did not show any herd mentality.
Keith
12:07
How would you compare/contrast Frankie Lindor and Brayan Rocchio when they were at the same age?
Kevin Goldstein
12:07
I wouldn't. Rocchio is a good prospect, but Lindor was clearly special.
Miss Ya Hire
12:08
Do you think the Mets have what it takes to acquire a pitcher such as Luis Castillo, Frankie Montas, or Tyler Mahle without giving up Alvarez or Baty? I think acquiring another high quality pitcher to slot in behind deGrom and Scherzer is necessary and Mets think so too since they were trying to sign Gausman in addition to Scherzer. I saw someone float a Mauricio and McNeil package for Castillo, enough for Reds to consider?
Kevin Goldstein
12:08
Probably not. If you want to acquire a really good player, it's going to come with some pain.
Guest
12:08
It feels like we’re headed towards another CBA that doesn’t really change anything & players get jobbed again. Maybe they’ll get some small moral victory at the onset, but in the long run it’ll be the same as we already had. Do you agree? What’s different this time?
Kevin Goldstein
12:10
I think you'll see a few decent sized changes, but yeah, nothing profound. I think if anyone went into this expecting some sort of dramatic alterations that alter the very economic structures of the game, that was a foolish stance to begin with.
That's not to say those changes aren't needed and just, but expecting them? Nah.
Datt Mamon
12:11
Are you buying into Schwarber being able to repeat the season he had last year?
Kevin Goldstein
12:11
I think he'll be good, but I don't think he'll be 900+ OPS good again....
Bill
12:11
When you were with the Astros were any trades completed on MiLB players soley off of video and data without getting an in-person look?
Kevin Goldstein
12:11
Absolutely.
JWR
12:12
If you were a bookmaker, what over/under date would you set for when the lockout ends?
Kevin Goldstein
12:12
March 8th.
Keith
12:12
When a new front office regime is introduced how much thought/planning goes into "winning the press conference?" Are there specific meetings between ownership/front office regarding how they want their org's direction presented to the media/public, or is the front office just free to present that as they see most fit?
Kevin Goldstein
12:12
Yes, the PR team is pretty involved there.
Whether or not the GM takes their advice is team to team.
RH
12:13
Hi KG, why wasn't Austin Wates able to make it?
Kevin Goldstein
12:13
Didn't hit balls hard enough.
jack perconte
12:14
how good was Francis Martes?
Kevin Goldstein
12:14
Really good! High-leverage relief potential.
20longyears
12:15
Which would you take: a prospect with a lot of swing and miss but 80 grade tools to dream on (e.g. Oneil Cruz) or a prospect with a more even, less volatile profile?
Kevin Goldstein
12:15
Can't answer that in a vacuum. Where is the big league club? What position? What else does the team have at that position?
Captain Moonlight
12:16
Congrats, you've been chosen to select MLB's 4 man bobsled team for the Olympics. Who ya got
Kevin Goldstein
12:16
I have no idea! What make a good bobsled person? Does anyone not intimately involved in bobsled really know?
Martin
12:16
Are there many front office staff that are full time remote like you were, or is that the exception? Did you find it more challenging to work remotely, or was it largely a non-issue?
Kevin Goldstein
12:18
I found it largely a non-issue. It's been interesting to see (not just in baseball) how companies have worked through the pandemic. I think the smart ones have realized that good people will work and that zoom/etc are perfectly good tools and that having everyone in an office when they just work on their computers anyway is a bit of antiquated thinking. I know plenty of people pretty high up in the pecking order who do not live in the city that bears their employer's name.
Mike
12:18
What do you take of Lindor's 2021? Awful first 2 months but a line of .252/.340/.482 after that. If anything, it looked like he was missing singles. Still bullish on him going forward?
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