Baseball Prospectus - Chat with Kate Morrison

Chat: Kate Morrison

Welcome to Baseball Prospectus' Tuesday October 13, 2015 7:00 PM ET chat session with Kate Morrison.

Kate Morrison: I've got Cards @ Cubs on TV and answers for most of your questions so let's get this chat started!

A Met Fan (Flushing): Is it crazy to think that the Mets have the advantage tonight given Kershaw is on three days rest after being pushed probably 15-20 pitches too far in Game 1?

Kate Morrison: It's not insane, no. Kershaw's had his share of troubles in the playoffs, and while he's a special talent who could turn things around any day, he's basically starting on the back foot. Pitchers on short rest can be fine, but I wouldn't count on it.

Niel (Dallas): Is Rougned a better name for my first born or second born?

Kate Morrison: Why not both? It worked for the Odors.

Daniel (San Fran): Your ideal World Series matchup? Paint us an exciting picture

Kate Morrison: The funny thing is that if the Cubs win and the Mets win, it's hard to lose. On the American League side, any of the Astros, the Royals, the Jays, or the Rangers would be exciting teams to watch with their own narrative potential. The Jays have the big bats, the Astros have Correa and Altuve, the Royals are fast as hell and fun, too, and the Rangers...well, let's just call that one a win for luck.

On the National League side, either the Mets or the Cubs would lead to many a thinkpiece, and the distinct possibility that the world as we know it was ending. Additionally, if they get to the WS and lose to the AL team? That's just hilarious. (Sorry, Cubs and Mets fans.)

STEVE (Philly ): Do you think Yohander Mendez ever adds enough wait to get his durability up and project even more as a starter? Organizational Top 10 guy?

Kate Morrison: I don't know if Mendez is quite top 10, yet, though he's talented enough to be in the conversation. He is rather skinny, and since he's only 20, he could potentially add that weight, but he'll need to do it soon. If he isn't durable, he'll add to the stable of lightning relievers the Rangers seem to be building.

GPT (San Jose, CA): How much of Tyler Beede's struggles and loss of stuff in AA were due to refining of mechanics and ordered usage of certain pitches? He was 93-97 at Vanderbilt, but has been at 89-91 as a pro.

Kate Morrison: I'm not sure, as I didn't see him. It's not unusual for pitchers to lose some velocity out of college, but that far of a drop is concerning. If he were hurt, you'd assume the Giants would know it, y'know? That's something to keep an eye on for the beginning of next season.

tlowell5 (Dickinson, TX): What do you think about the idea of a women's professional baseball league? Could it be successful, and what would be the obstacles?

Kate Morrison: I would absolutely love to see a women's professional baseball league in the United States. One already exists in Japan, and there's a semi-professional league in Australia, so I see no reason why there couldn't be a profitable and high-quality WMLB in the United States some day soon.

I can definitely tell you that I would be thrilled if I got the chance to cover US-based women's pro ball for somewhere like Baseball Prospectus. That would be huge.

Teddy (Granville): Hey, thanks for the chat. Any advice on getting a minor league video coordinator job out of college? Thanks

Kate Morrison: While I don't have any experience with this, I asked a friend of mine who does - any broadcast-side experience/previous camera experience you have is a definite plus, along with baseball knowledge. A more-than-rudimentary knowledge of Spanish will help you, too.
I assume, from this question, you're looking for a job - best of luck!

david (louisville): Is mazara going to be an everyday or an all star?

Kate Morrison: Well, there's no guarantee that anyone *is* going to be anything, but Mazara has a higher chance at being an All-Star than most.

Robert (Long Beach, CA): I watched the Astros/Royals game 4, how did the Astros blow a nearly 95% win expectancy like that?

Kate Morrison: Sam Miller covered that really well (http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=27673) but my short answer is: The Royals are good at hitting, Carlos Correa had to pay at some point for being so good, and, well, they might have been cursed.

jill (maryland): Admire your work! What is on tap for 2016? Which prospect will become the next big one?

Kate Morrison: This isn't a super under-the-radar pick at all, but Alex Reyes is extremely exciting.

Cal Guy (Cal): Hi Kate, Rougie Odor had some good SB seasons in the minors but has not impressed so far in the majors. Do you see him improving in this area, especially if he slots into another place in the batting order?

Kate Morrison: He's at the point right now where even if that doesn't develop at a major league level, it's not a real hit to his value. However, he absolutely could decide to be a better base-stealer and make it happen.

justarobert (Santa Clara): Could you walk us through an evening of PitchInfo duties?

Kate Morrison: Not really, sadly, except to say that it involves gchatting with Harry Pavlidis and sometimes breaking down either still images or video to pull grips/catcher signs.

It's fascinating work, but it can be incredibly frustrating at times.

Robert (Lakewood, CA): Watching Heyward, Cespedes and Gordon in the playoffs has made me longing for one of them in Anaheim next year, any chance the Angels make a move?

Kate Morrison: I think the Angels have to make some kind of move, but it's hard to say what exact kind of move it will be, what with their new management. Do they have the budget to pay Cespedes what he's likely to command? Maybe.

Or Moyal (Dallas): You've seen both of these dudes - who would you prefer for the next ten years? Lewis Brinson or Nick Williams?

Kate Morrison: Oh, that's a difficult question. Both guys are undeniably talented, and they both broke out over the course of the 2015 season. Brinson is a natural CF with true plus defense, a real threat on the bases, an improving hitter, and a guy with some sneaky pop. Williams has more raw power, the world's quickest wrists, and while he's not a plus defender, he's managed to make himself into something resembling a passable CF.

They're both brimming with potential, and this is a nearly impossible question to answer. The more I think about it, the more I want to say Nick Williams, but he's so much a boom-or-bust player that could backfire. Brinson has at least shown some steady improvement, and offers the better defense.

Daniel (San fran): If you could build a team from the entirety of the minor leagues, all top prospects not currently on a 25 man squad, how many current major league teams could that team beat in a 5 game series?

Kate Morrison: I'll go with 7. There's a reason that minor leaguers aren't major leaguers, but there are also some pretty bad major league teams that they'd be major leaguers on.

Roxanne (Laguna Beach): Congrats on your SaberSeminar appearance! Wish I could have said hello while there. My question is whether you could take us a little further into your presentation/ideas. Maybe I missed something, but much of what was presented sounded like ideas already used in pitching. "Out" pitch, "Show Me", and "Waste" are well known while "Drop-In", "Fallback", "Comfort", and "Confidence" can be surmised as either FBs or superfluous terms. Maybe I'm making it too complex. Thanks for any clarification!

Kate Morrison: I'm still working on the research for this, but while they are commonly used terms, they aren't really quantified the way that we've quantified many other parts of pitching. It may be a pipe-dream, but I do think there's more in pitching data to be teased out, whether it be exactly in this format or not.

Sadly, I've been insanely busy, so the research on this has been on pause. I'll be getting back to it, though!

Mike (Ft. Worth): I really want the Rangers to get out from either Andrus' or Choo's deal ... Choo's production has been great and would not be where we are without him, but I can't see him keeping it up for next 5 years (5!!!). Ditto Andrus, although he has come back down to being bad at the plate after an August surge

Kate Morrison: I'm not sure what your question is, but if you're asking which one would be better to get out from under? Choo. Andrus is still good, defensively, and there's always that slim chance he breaks back out. Choo will just continue to age, and Texas has plenty of outfielders in their system.

majortom (earth): Am I right that Delino Deshields is a below average (bad) defensive outfielder? As a fan I'm thrilled he's on the team, and we wouldn't have made the playoffs or have won games 1&2 without him, but it seems like he's a best fit at 2B, and the Rangers would be much better with a Lewis Brinson or other manning CF. Fair perspective?

Kate Morrison: Delino DeShields is a perfectly good defensive CF, and likely would be less valuable at second, as he hasn't played there since the minors. Brinson isn't ready to man a MLB CF yet.

Daniel (San francisco): Super niche question coming up: Compare each World Series contender, or a player on playoff teams, to characters in the EXCELLENT new Hamilton musical by Lin Mauel Miranda

Kate Morrison: You, sir, are a person after my own heart.

I've attempted to both fit each team to a character, and to the current narrative of the season. Now, with two game fives tomorrow, half of what I've written here could just completely fall apart.

Alexander Hamilton: New York Mets - I mean, assuming the Dodgers don't end up winning, they could be Hamilton-who-lives, but you can't deny that they had things against them and made the most of their shot.
Aaron Burr: Los Angeles Dodgers - Unassuming team, one-upped by an upstart, turned into a villain by circumstance and fate.
King George: St. Louis Cardinals - Dynasty, defeated by a ragtag army in need of a shower, bunch of young guns. George Washington: Chicago Cubs - What do you mean Betsy Ross's flag wasn't a W?
Marquis de Lafayette: Toronto Blue Jays - They went home for more funds, and came back with more guns.
Thomas Jefferson: Houston Astros - full of new ideas and thoughts and ideals, but may not succeed just this moment. Success is coming, though.

I know if I worked hard enough, I could find some tortured way to compare the Texas Rangers and the Kansas City Royals to someone in the musical, but the Dodgers/Mets game has started so I'll leave this at that.

Roxanne (Laguna Beach): Thanks! Suppose will wait until the finished product is out! Hopefully not too long Looks like teams picked apart TCU and DBU along with a solid HS crop in last year's draft. What do you see for this year's draft in your area?

Kate Morrison: DBU and TCU are always strong no matter how much of their top talent is drafted, so I completely expect them to be competitive again. OU has an interesting arm or three, but the rest of the Big 12 is a little...well, they'll be interesting to watch. I'm not a huge draft person, though, so I'll probably just watch college ball on background.

Will in Queens (New Jersey): How much wood would Lewis Brinson chuck if Lewis Brinson could chuck wood?

Kate Morrison: A lot. He's wiry, but strong.

mshopoff (Houston): As an Astros fan, what can you tell me to stop me from chugging a fifth of Jack after that game yesterday?

Kate Morrison: You've got Carlos Correa and Jose Altuve and Dallas Keuchel. Y'all'l be fine.

Kate Morrison: Well, it's been great chatting with everyone. Here's to a continued great postseason, and an amusing offseason!