Baseball Prospectus - Chat with Nicolas Stellini

Chat: Nicolas Stellini

Welcome to Baseball Prospectus' Monday August 08, 2016 2:00 PM ET chat session with Nicolas Stellini.

Nick is very happy that the Yankees have sold. You can ask him about baseball things.

Nicolas Stellini: Hello, everyone! Let's begin.

JoshuaGB (Chicago): Who has a better 2017: Bundy, Skaggs or Cole?

Nicolas Stellini: I'm always going to bet on Gerrit Cole (I'm assuming this is the Cole you're referring to), but I think Tyler Skaggs is going to have a much better campaign than people might expect. He is Good.

Eric (NYC): What do you know about Seth Beer? What's his potential?

Nicolas Stellini: Seth is a bit too hoppy for my tastes. Don't know why everyone's trying to load up their beers with hops so much these days, it just doesn't taste good to me.
Seriously though, folks... I know he's talented, but I'm not an expert on him at all. Sorry. The potential for humor was too much.

Kingpin (Grinnell, IA): What's wrong with Bryce Harper?

Nicolas Stellini: Harper seems to be over-swinging and opening himself up too much, at least to my (relatively) untrained eye. It's likely a symptom of pitchers simply not giving him anything too juicy to hit, so he's overcompensating by trying to smash anything that comes remotely close.
His strikeout rate is also *down* this year, so there's that. I wouldn't get too worried. There's way too much talent here for this to persist into next season. He'll make the adjustments.

Ben (DC): What kind of fantasy potential does Mickey Moniak have?

Nicolas Stellini: Let's say everything breaks even. You're probably looking at a solid to first division outfielder who's going to hit for average, have some speed, and hit the ball over the fence every now and then. Should be a good contributor in most aspects of the game. He's good.

Homer (Natti): Am I the only one who thinks the Reds got fleeced? In all reality, Herrera will never be as good as Bruce is now, plus Bruce comes with 1.5 years of team control and a (probable?) QO. Feel like the reds should've gotten more--what are your thoughts about this

Nicolas Stellini: Bruce's defense drags his overall value down a bit, but all in all, eh, yeah, I kinda thought that the Reds would get more for him. It's possible that they like Dilson Herrera more than most, and that weighed into their evaluation. I don't necessarily think Herrera is going to be *bad*, but I don't know if he's gonna be all that great either. We'll see. Bruce also has that injury history, and he really cratered for a while.

not hannah (sf bay area): Theoretically, if you're rooting for a sell, than you want the team to do as bad as possible. But it's super, super hard to root for the team to lose ~in your heart~ even if you say on twitter "i want my team to lose." are you a heartless baseball monster who wants the yankees to lose? do you just say that because you know it's best?

Nicolas Stellini: The reason I wanted the Yankees to sell was because it was in there long-term interest. I didn't trust Hal Steinbrenner and his band of merry men to order that course of action unless the team was clearly in dire straits. It's one thing to pine for an Astros-style multi-year tank and another to want to cash in valuable assets for a potential quick turnaround. The 2016 Yankees were never going anywhere anyways. They could have either been silly and fallen just short of the playoffs, or they could have flipped their trade chips and wound up with a very appealing farm, with lots of assets near the top. The latter is clearly the better option, and they're now in position to potentially be genuinely good in a year or two's time.

Chesty (New Bern,Nc): Is Judge the next in line for the Yankees to replace A-Rod?

Nicolas Stellini: It's certainly possible, yes. I think Judge may be about as ready as he'll ever be, at least for his first foray into the league (we'll see how he deals with the strikeout bugaboo that's clearly waiting for him around the corner). A-Rod being shipped out to sea opens up the necessary 40-man spot, too.

Sunny (Richmond, VA): Have you had any baseball press experience? If so, who's your favorite media person to be around?

Nicolas Stellini: I haven't been in a big league press box just yet, hopefully that's coming relatively soon if all goes well. I will however tell you that Gianella is a right rapscallion and not to be trusted around sharp objects (he's cool).

Chesty (New Bern,N.C): One year H2H league.Waiver wire has Bregman,Soler,A.Russel thinking of dropping M.Saunders,Holt,Cozart.Could you rank the top row,First year in league

Nicolas Stellini: Holt as in Brock Holt? Dude. Drop Holt and grab Bregman right now. Go. Do it. Why are you still here? Begone. Now. Skiddadle.

a.j. (las vegas): you would you sort through or rank the 4th OF types the Yankees have now (M. Williams, Gamel, Fowler, Cave, McKinney)

Nicolas Stellini: Fowler, McKinney, Gamel, Cave, Williams. Fowler is probably a big league regular, and McKinney is too if his knee heals up properly.

Chris (Maryland): How would you rank the SS prospects in the NL East. I feel like Swanson has the 1-1 bias and Crawford has the repetition bias, and that Rosario could actually be the best prospect of the three. Thoughts?

Nicolas Stellini: I'd go Crawford, Swanson, Rosario. But it's all very close. Crawford is the only one I've seen in person but he absolutely blew me the hell away. Rosario's development with the bat has been very nice this year, though.

holmesp2001 (St. Louis): What are your thoughts on Alex Dickerson? Only an 11% K rate and 7 homeruns in about 100 PA. I don't believe the power is sustainable, but he has always hit for average in the minors. What do you believe this guy's potential is? Is the hit tool real?

Nicolas Stellini: It's 100 PA so let's pump the breaks a little bit. There are plenty of guys who've hit at every level but haven't fared well once they hit the big leagues. The pitchers are going to adjust to him, and it's all a matter of how he adjusts back.

Jim Marek (Johnston): How good can Meadows and Newman be for the Pirates?

Nicolas Stellini: Meadows can be one of the better outfielders in all of baseball if the prospect gods are kind. Newman should be a solid infielder.

Bobby (Albany): Does A-Rod make the HOF?

Nicolas Stellini: This is a tough one. I'm going to say that yes, at some point, he gets in. Depending on where the leanings of voters are in ten years (a lot of the grumpy older voters won't have ballots by then), he could coast in, or he may need the veteran's committee. I personally think he belongs there. Dude's one of the best hitters ever, and had all that natural talent even before he juiced. As for the juicing, cheating has been part of sports since the dawn of time. Is it great? No. But it's not a dealbreaker for me when guys who did greenies are in, and, I mean, Gaylord Perry and his spitballs are enshrined.

Jonathan (Pittsburgh): Edwin Diaz the future closer in Seattle or do they convert him back to a starter? Is he worth keeping in a dynasty league

Nicolas Stellini: I think they'll keep him in the bullpen. He's clearly very dominant there. Of course, if Scott Servais keeps running him out there nearly every day, the answer could be a rather sad "none of the above."

Chuck (Trenton): #1 prospects in 2017, 18 and 19?

Nicolas Stellini: Yoan Moncada, Victor Robles, and err.... Anderson Espinoza, maybe? There's probably a guy or two who haven't been drafted yet who may wedge their way in there. That is all my pure, barely-educated guessing.

Ben (DC): Anderson Espinoza - the #1 pitching prospect in 2017?

Nicolas Stellini: It's certainly possible.

Jonathan (Pittsburgh): How would you rank the June draftees and international signees for a dynasty league ? Say top 15 or so

Nicolas Stellini: Oof. Err, I probably should have remembered to include my usual "I'm not a prospects expert" disclaimer earlier on. Go with the more established and low-risk profiles for now, I'd say. This is probably a better question for Craig or Mike.

Lily (San Diego): Why do we have to suffer through Mike Trout being trapped on the Angels?

Nicolas Stellini: Because the baseball gods are cruel and like to watch us suffer for their perverse amusement. Also because Trout's contract is a bargain for someone of his talent and you would need about a literal boatload of young players to acquire him.
Sorry, Angels fans. We love you too.

Nicolas Stellini: That's about all the time I have today, folks. Hope you found this enlightening, and if not, you can pick up a torch and pitchfork on the way out. You can follow my inane thoughts on Twitter at @StelliniTweets, and find my work here at BP, at BP Bronx, and at SB Nation at Beyond the Box Score. Have a good day!