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Dave Cameron
12:25
Doesn't help that the Brewers lost Jimmy Nelson for the year, so they are down one of the main reasons they got this far.
Josh
12:26
If the Brewers and Twins each reach the postseason, which do you think will have been more impressive based on preseason expectations?
Dave Cameron
12:27
The Brewers, probably. MIN is mostly in WC position because all the other supposed AL contenders fell apart.
Dougy
12:27
Which playoff team has the best playoff starting rotation?
Dave Cameron
12:27
LA
Eric
12:27
Dave - Please tell me the Giants are not going to blow their budget by "upgrading" 1B from Brandon Belt to Eric Hosmer.  Is it truly a case of RBIs still rule the day?  Belt when healthy is much better imo.
Dave Cameron
12:28
Much more likely they sign Moustakas
Tim
12:29
Hi Dave, what do you make of Lucas Giolito?  Eno doesn't think much of him (straight fastball) and his velo has been down.  In general, I'm wondering if he's dialing back on the velo to have better command and pitching to contact (he seems similar to Phillies Roy Halladay in that respect).  What's his outlook for next year?  Thanks again.
Dave Cameron
12:31
Current success is based on a .186 BABIP. Fact that he's throwing strikes now is nice, but still doesn't miss bats, isn't especially grounder-heavy, and isn't inducing weak contact. It's hard to see the ace potential that he was hyped as having right now. But pitchers are weird; he could easily come to camp next year with some new pitch and start striking out the world.
Trixie
12:31
Phillies have a shot at .500 next year?
Dave Cameron
12:32
Depends on how aggressively they upgrade their rotation. Need several new arms behind Nola. I think the offense could be decent, though.
Tim
12:32
What do you think the Nats will do with Robles next year?
Dave Cameron
12:32
Start the year in the minors, come up mid-summer and displace Taylor/Goodwin if he's playing well at AAA and they aren't having good years.
Jay
12:33
Obviously the playoffs can be so random, but if the Yankees end up hosting the Twins in the Wild Card game, wouldnt they be better served not using Severino so he's ready for Game 1 of an ALDS matchup because the Yankees bullpen is better than any 1 pitcher on the Twins?
Dave Cameron
12:33
I'd definitely think about it, especially if I knew I could get 3 innings from Chad Green.
Dipoto Interiors
12:34
Vogelbach is not a major league player.  Is that approximately correct?
Dave Cameron
12:34
He might have a career as a low-end platoon DH.
Mel
12:34
Why does spin rate matter?
Dave Cameron
12:35
It determines whether your pitch will miss bats (high spin) or get grounders (low spin)
Dave P
12:35
How is Matt Kemp still a starting OF in MLB?
Dave Cameron
12:35
He's not.
Dirty Sanchez
12:35
Re your Matt Olson guess, 260/330/500 is pretty close to what  Jay Bruce is putting up this year. 120 wRC+. Does that sound like a decent comp to you?
Dave Cameron
12:35
Sure, but obviously with less defensive value.
Sean
12:35
Would Hoskins and Buxton figure prominently on the trade value list at this point?
Dave Cameron
12:36
They'd both be in the top 50.
I don't know that they'd be in the top 25, though.
Julio Pepper
12:36
Do you think anybody wants a game without starting pitchers, even while it's the best strategy to win? At that point do you think we're looking at some kind of rule change, or is the continuation of this trend not a fundamental change to baseball?
Dave Cameron
12:37
I do think MLB will have to do something to push back against the rising velocity/strikeout trend at some point. Lowering the mound seems like the most reasonable option, given that it's been done before. But I don't know that there's any real way to stop teams from changing pitchers regularly, given that it works.
And you can't really write rules about number of pitching changes into the game when limiting pitching changes directly risks pitcher health.
Kevin
12:38
What do you think of the Jays' re-signing of Estrada?  Are they seriously hoping to compete next year, or are they just trying to amass talent that they can deal at the deadline? Is this a smart risk for them to take?
Dave Cameron
12:38
They definitely are going to try to win again next year.
And they'll sell mid-season if it doesn't work.
Fake Comments
12:38
Given that the Yankees Red Sox look to be good for a while and the rays and blue jays are going to try and compete what reasoning is there to not trade Machado? It'll suck when he's a red Sox or Yankee but it'll suck much worse if the O's only get back a pick...
Dave Cameron
12:38
The only case for not trading him is if you believe you can re-sign him. If you can't, you have to move him.
PTBNL
12:39
Between now and 2020 it seems like the three best-positioned teams for sustained excellence are Houston, LAD, and Cleveland. Which teams constitute tier 2 of the power rankings over the next few years?
Dave Cameron
12:40
The Cubs aren't exactly bad or old yet. NYY and BOS are in that conversation too.
Endless Backlash
12:41
Do you see the Cubs re-signing Arrieta?  He's a Boras client and it's very clear that he's going for max money and won't take any sort of discount from Chicago.  Top FA starters are going to command that Lester-type contract, so if the Cubs are going to spend that, would he be worth the risk from age 32-37 (or so) or would another FA (or multiple FAs) be a better fit for them?
Dave Cameron
12:42
I could see if if he takes a short-term deal to try and have a better season next year. Maybe a 2 or 3 year deal with an opt out.
I don't think Theo gives him 5+
Babe Lincoln
12:42
FWIW, I see pre-roll ads in the embedded videos on the site even though I'm logged in with my membership.  Not sure if that's something FG is aware of or can do anything about, but I'm much less likely to watch the videos now.
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