You are viewing the chat in desktop mode. Click here to switch to mobile view.
X
August Fagerstrom FanGraphs Chat -- 3/8/16
powered byJotCast
august fagerstrom
12:20
hey y'all! apologies for my tardiness, lost track of time cleaning my apartment. get those questions in and we'll start shortly!
12:23
I would link to Kendrick Lamar's "untitled 07" as today's song/album chat soundtrack, but nothing is up on YouTube yet, so let's go with the other record I listened to on yesterday's bike ride, Ty Segall - Melted
But seriously, listen to that Kendrick. Dude is making the most powerful music out right now
The Dude of NY
12:25
august fagerstrom
12:25
seems like a good place to start
The Dude of NY
12:25
WHY CARTER CAPPS? WHY?
august fagerstrom
12:25
:'(
the worst part of Spring Training
and why Capps!
12:26
he was probably in the top 10 most interesting players to watch this year. maybe higher
and so many topic possibilities out the window!
I guess that's like the baseball writer version of worrying about your fantasy team when someone gets hurt
Proswagonist
12:26
Do you have an email address that readers can send article ideas to?
august fagerstrom
12:27
yes, it's listed at the bottom of all my articles. august.fagerstrom@fangraphs.com
Cory S.
12:27
Which fan base should just watch their AA/AAA teams instead of there MLB club?
august fagerstrom
12:27
the Phillies have a fun system and a bad team, so them, but they'd still want to tune in every 5th day for Nola
I'd say the same about the Braves/Teheran, but they already know what Teheran looks like, so they could just stick to AA/AAA until the AA/AAA guys start coming up
Bork
12:27
So the Orioles outfield consists of a relatively unknown (Kim) in LF, Jones in CF, and Trumbo in RF, with a pitching staff that isn't exactly known for groundballs. ARE YOU EXCITED FOR ORIOLES BASEBALL??
august fagerstrom
12:28
on the other hand, their offense is going to be a ton of fun to watch and so is their infield defense
they're not a bad team. it's just, they don't appear to be a particularly great team either, and the Alvarez signing changes very little I think, and makes the outfield tougher to watch
/sp/
12:28
Xander Bogaerts has put of good numbers so far, but his batted-ball profile is underwhelming. Any worries?
august fagerstrom
12:28
I'm not sure "worries" is the right word
But I kind of put him and Francisco Lindor in the same boat
12:29
Both are absolutely top-five real life shortstops in my opinion. But both I think had an offensive outlier last year that propped up their 2015 value a bit. Bogaerts isn't repeating a .372 BABIP. Lindor isn't repeating a .169 ISO or 128 wRC+.
12:30
With Bogaerts, you'd expect the BABIP drop to be traded for some more power, because he's hit for less power than expected, but the big spike in GB% probably cuts into power potential a bit
Both are probably 4+ WAR shortstops. Both are probably not the hitter they were last year, for one reason or another
Nelson
12:31
Does Albert Belle (currently) get any recognition by the Indians organization or is he persona non-grata around those parts. Like has he made any official appearances since leaving the org?
august fagerstrom
12:31
No official appearances to my knowledge, at least not lately. And it's not because the organization isn't reaching out to him
He had no interest in doing the '95 reunion stuff last year from what I understand
Nelson
12:31
Is TJ House healthy this year? Will he be a starter in the minors to start the year?
august fagerstrom
12:31
As far as we can tell, to the former. And yes, to the latter
12:32
I wouldn't have super high hopes for him, though. He'd be firmly behind Mike Clevinger and Cody Anderson on my "who has the most 2016 upside" list
andy
12:33
is there any concern that the addition of Dexter Fowler may hurt Kyle Schwarber's development this year, as he may be used primarily as a platoon player in left field?
august fagerstrom
12:35
These are always tricky scenarios, because there's a few things to consider. a) how much do the Cubs believe Schwarber will be able to improve against lefties? They might not see much potential growth there, for whatever reason. b) how much will his newer, limited role actually stunt development in that one specific area? and probably the most important, c) does Schwarber being able to be deployed more optimally, thus making the Cubs a better team in 2016 as they're contending for their first World Series in more than a century, outweigh the *potential* for stunted development in that one specific area?
12:36
Can't answer any of those with any certainty, but as for the latter, I'd just be happy with Schwarber and Soler almost always having the platoon advantage and combining for an offensive powerhouse in LF and not worry about Schwarber's ability vs. lefties
Bruce
12:36
I know Kendrick is good, everyone says he is, but I dont find his songs enjoyable. Its more like work. Give me something to bump in my jeep, Kendrick Lamars not that.
august fagerstrom
12:36
Section.80 and GKMC are that, imo
few tracks on the new record are that too. Check out untitled 07. Straight banger
12:37
As for TPAB, I understand it's a bit more challenging of a record, but I honestly think it's the most important hip-hop album ever made from a social standpoint and in terms of progressing the genre. He's truly making waves right now
Bruce
12:38
Can you say that 100% of pitchers who do the jump throw get tommy John?
Load More Messages
Connecting…