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Meg Rowley FanGraphs Chat - 9/4/18
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Meg Rowley
2:00
Happy first day back at work after the long weekend!
I hope this chat eases everyone back in to their ho-hum day time responsibilities.
Morbo
2:00
Good afternoon!
Meg Rowley
2:01
It's still technically morning here.
Shaun A.
2:01
Hey Meg, do you think Ohtani will still be pitching 2 years down the road?
Meg Rowley
2:01
I'm trying to decide how to deal with "still" in this question.
Do I believe the Angels will likely still want him to be pitching, and do I think he will be similarly inclined? Yes.
2:02
The start vs the Astros obviously saw his velocity decline as the innings went on, but he can, when healthy, do a rather remarkable thing.
2:03
But, and I say this without any inside info, it seems as if he will have to lay off pitching at some point for an extended stretch, either to have Tommy John, or to continue with non-surgical rehab.
So yes, but with stretches when he can't.
Rachel A.
2:04
Need your take to settle an argument I'm having with my boyfriend. Who is your AL MVP?
Meg Rowley
2:05
I think the odds are high we have another year like last year where the time Trout has missed makes for enough of a statistical gap that he doesn't get it. So my money would be on Mookie, if I bet on such things.
I would note that this is a different question than: who is the best player in baseball? Different questions!
Jake
2:06
What two teams claim NL Wild Cards at the end of the month?
Meg Rowley
2:06
Can we first take a moment to appreciate how tense and interesting and delightful some of these races have been? And when we thought the year would be boring and decided.
2:07
I think the Dodgers will squeeze by with a division win, though I don't feel super confident about it.
And so, I think it'll be Brewers and D-backs in the Wild Card.
Quincy
2:07
Do you think the Josh Donaldson deal for the Indians happens if Leonys Martin was not unfortunately sidelined with a bacterial infection?
Meg Rowley
2:08
Probably, given what they gave up (not a ton).
yojiveself
2:08
I know you don't do fantasy baseball, so my question is why not?  personally speaking, my enjoyment of the game has increased due to it.
Meg Rowley
2:09
To be clear, I do play fantasy, though badly and inattentively. I expect to be kicked out of my league. I will definitely deserve it. I am just not an expert, like our actual experts, and so shy away from giving advice about it.
2:10
It does not thrill me much though. That isn't a knock on those it does thrill. I am so pleased for you that you are thrilled. But personally, and perhaps because baseball is my job, I'd rather just watch baseball.
Morbo
2:10
Meg, I'm not sure if you're aware but last week during Dan Szymborski's chat it was decided that we would introduce a rating mechanism for these chats called CHAR, chat host above replacement.
Meg Rowley
2:10
Can't imagine any ways in which this will go wrong or make people feel bad unnecessarily.
James
2:11
I enjoyed Jay's piece today on Buxton and others in reference to service time. Someone in the comments suggested a system where players simply become free agents at age 29 or somewhere around there. On the surface, I somewhat like this idea. It would make service time manipulation way more  insignificant, and it could also help alleviate some issues in recent years of players hitting free agency post-30 and losing out on some big time dollars. What are your thoughts on a system like this? What drawbacks am I missing
Meg Rowley
2:12
I think the general shape of the idea is useful, though the age strikes me as too late. But then again (and before anyone gets worked up, I am aware this won't happen), I'm generally of the mind that if you are going to tear down the system, let's tear it down, and rebalance it so that it is much more player friendly than it is now. Just a little thought of mine, from one worker to many others.
Rick
2:12
Hi Meg. Wanted to get your take on Kingery.  Normal growing pain struggles or not as good as once thought?
Meg Rowley
2:16
That deal looks so interesting in hindsight, doesn't it? I think a lot of it is normal growing pain. Do I think he is a sure fire All-Star? Nah. Do I think he's a true 62 wRC+ hitter? Nope, not that either. The thing is, he was never much of a walker. That is always going to make me nervous, and he's certainly got to adjust. I imagine next year will be better. I imagine he's really glad he's a guaranteed millionaire.
stever20
2:16
Do you think the Dodgers will use Jansen this weekend in Colorado?
Meg Rowley
2:16
They might have to, whether they want to or not. Not a time to be goofing around with wins.
Bryon
2:16
Simple question: Why is Ohtani pitching again this season?
Meg Rowley
2:17
I think they are genuinely trying to suss out how viable a non-surgical approach is.
2:18
We don't have a ton of case studies on guys in his position. Delaying surgery to this off season, if that is what ends up being necessary, doesn't adjust his timeline all that much in terms of seasons missed vs. him getting it when the injury was announced.
Chase
2:18
Based off of their Pythagorean Record, some prospects coming up, and, hopefully, better luck next season, I'm actually bullish on the Angels. They'll probably end this year somewhere around .500 and that's pretty miraculous for a team that was decimated by injuries.
Meg Rowley
2:19
Sure, although looking ahead to 2019 based on those injuries, you have to be nervous, especially when you consider the rotation. They are going to have work to do this offseason,
Archimedes
2:19
With rebuilding being such a long and transparent process in baseball, doesn't it make sense for MLB to invest in improving the coverage we get on the prospects who are part of a rebuild? Like I have no desire to watch many Tigers games currently, but I would be very interested to see regular video on how their top prospects are performing.
Meg Rowley
2:20
There is an MiLB equivalent to MLB.tv (though you'd have to ask Eric or Kiley about the details) and I know there is Fall League video coverage. I think there is probably more available to you than you realize, though obviously, the minors are wrapping their seasons.
2:21
I would note that our prospect coverage is really aces, just top, top notch, if you're content with the written word as a substitute for those games you can't find broadcast.
Gerald
2:21
Do you like prospects? Baseball prospects to be clear.
Meg Rowley
2:22
So much so that I wish we could watch more of them in September!
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