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Jeff Sullivan FanGraphs Chat -- 3/11/16
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Jeff Sullivan
9:06
Hello friends
Welcome to live Friday baseball chat
9:07
Brought to you this time from a friend's house where I'm observing someone while he recovers from surgery. Hopefully he doesn't clot while I'm talking about Pedro Alvarez or something
9:08
If I disappear for a little while it's probably because of a medical emergency!
Tony G.
9:08
Hey Jeff. Hope all is well. Who do you expect to be the Astros' Opening Day 1B?
Jeff Sullivan
9:08
Singleton, still. I don't expect that to last more than a month or two
Bork
9:08
If Jered Weaver threw a fastball at you, what type of sandwich would you make yourself and enjoy while you waited for it?
Jeff Sullivan
9:08
Meatball. I'd start by making the meatballs
Turd Ferguson
9:08
I have 1st pick in my minor league draft (5x5 standard AL-only). Who do I take? AJ Reed or Max Kepler?
Jeff Sullivan
9:09
I pretty much never answer these questions but, Reed. Reed is super
Josh
9:10
How much time and when do you think we will see of Max Kepler on the Twins this year?
Jeff Sullivan
9:11
Given that he still has just a year of experience at Double-A he's still some months off, and the Twins are going to give every opportunity to Buxton and Sano. But I wouldn't be surprised at all if Kepler were the starter in left field in the second half. He doesn't have a lot in front of him
9:13
I mean, the Twins do have a number of options to sift through, and they aren't terrible. But there's no one currently outstanding slotted to play left, and there's also no guarantee Buxton will hold his own, which could open another door. I think the Twins will be close enough that they'll make heavy use of Kepler if they think he can push them toward the playoffs
EK65
9:13
How on earth did you wind up as an Ottawa Senators fan?
Jeff Sullivan
9:14
In 1992 or whenever, I woke up one morning and decided I like sports. I chose Seattle teams to like because I had and have an uncle there. Seattle doesn't have a hockey team, so I looked at the bottom of the NHL standings and saw Ottawa and I felt bad for them
I continue to feel bad for them, but now I also feel bad for me
George is Curious
9:15
Any American League pitchers you like that are currently flying under the radar?
Jeff Sullivan
9:15
I don't have a master list or anything, but one name right off the top of my head is Jesse Hahn, who I just wrote about
9:16
I've been encouraged by James Paxton's weight loss and focus on higher fastballs. Could finally be his breakthrough season
Erik Johnson isn't great but I think people forgot about him, and he had a huge bounceback in 2015
9:17
And god only knows what to make of Rich Hill but he's fascinating
The Average Sports Fan
9:18
What do you think will be the biggest issue in the next CBA?
Jeff Sullivan
9:18
I'm not a CBA expert but I have to think free-agent compensation
Cargo-5
9:18
lot of young SP with potential. Choose the best 3 for 2016: Ventura, Walker, Rodon, C.Martinez and Iglesias
Jeff Sullivan
9:18
Martinez, Walker, Rodon
Raindog
9:20
Trumbo at 1B / Davis in RF almost certainly a better defensive alignment than vice versa, right? Too much risk for Davis? You only have to do it against righties, since Alvarez will sit vs lefties...
Jeff Sullivan
9:21
I think the Orioles are deferring here because of Trumbo's experience. It's just easier to tell Trumbo to go to the outfield while Davis stays where he's familiar. Davis is the big investment so he'll be jerked around less. Trumbo will bounce between slots and sit every so often
9:22
Optimally maybe Davis is the better outfielder, but any difference there is probably slim.
PS
9:22
The Red Sox rotation is overrated.
Jeff Sullivan
9:22
Not by this guy
daneyko
9:22
Joe Ross and Steven Matz could be very close to the top 25 at the end of the season ?
Jeff Sullivan
9:23
I'm particularly intrigued by Ross working on a splitter. The changeup hasn't worked for him and I love this as a potential third option
Not enough attention on Joe Ross. Joe Ross!
PS
9:25
What are your expectations for Luis Severino this year?
Jeff Sullivan
9:26
Kind of the usual. Decent amount of strikes, he'll be good against righties, I think he'll be less good against lefties, and he won't throw 200 innings
9:27
I'm still a little unconvinced by his changeup -- it might have too much two-seam movement for a four-seam-fastball pitcher
PS
9:28
Would it make sense for the Cardinals to try and acquire Didi Gregorius? What would they have to give up?
Jeff Sullivan
9:28
Yankees aren't going to do that, and the Cardinals don't need to do that
9:29
I'm on board with a few months of Aledmys Diaz
j6takish
9:32
Jeff, help me find a MLB equivalent to myself. In high school, I easily hit above 300 every year and had a good eye with a good line drive stroke but I had absolutely no power. I don't think I ever hit a ball higher than shoulder height. I also had absolutely no defensive instincts, I seriously had no idea where the ball was going when hit in my direction and I was slow as shit, it was borderline amazing in hindsight. It seems like an odd skillset
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