Baseball Prospectus - Chat with Craig Goldstein

Chat: Craig Goldstein

Welcome to Baseball Prospectus' Wednesday October 07, 2020 1:00 PM ET chat session with Craig Goldstein.

Craig Goldstein is the editor-in-chief of Baseball Prospectus.

Craig Goldstein: Alright, an hour til another slate of four games kicks off. Queue is a little light so this might be quick.

The Colonel (Pasadena, CA): How would you rank debuters Brady Singer, Dane Dunning, Clarke Schmidt, Garrett Crochet, Kris Bubic & Cristian Javier for the future?

Craig Goldstein: I think Crochet has the highest upside but the medical concerns are legitimate. You're kind of *hoping* this is an elbow related issue and not shoulder (I know, it's a forearm strain), but that's not a great place to be. The stuff is unreal though. Otherwise:

Javier, Dunning, Singer, Schmidt, Bubic.

I kinda like all of them? Could easily flip Schmidt and Singer, imo. I wouldn't feel about about having any of these guys.

ironcityguys (daBurgh): Nick Madrigal hit .340 in 103 AB with severe reverse splits this season (although with a caveat for SSS). Do you feel he has any offensive growth remaining- particularly in reference to potential over-the-fence power?

Craig Goldstein: I don't think it's likely that we're gonna get real power growth from Madrigal. What you hope is that any strength shows itself in doubles/gap power because the homers just aren't going to be there unless they're ball-aided.

mikejunt (Lincoln NE): Not so much a question but an opportunity for you to wax eloquent on whiny Astros

Craig Goldstein: I don't think I have any particularly novel thoughts here, though I'm not someone who is mad at them the way a lot of fans are. They cheated. I think there's a distinction between what they did and what we know the Red Sox and Yankees to do, and it's a tangible one. That said, I'm sure there are unnamed teams who were doing at least what we know Boston/New York to have done, and it's possible we don't know the full extent of what they did.

All that said, you freaking cheated, man. Stop coming out here and complaining about the haters or the fact that people don't want to see you win! Of course they don't! You won, did it nefariously, and then are ... playing the victim when people are rightfully upset? It's a persecution complex. Get over it, play the villain and we can actually just appreciate that you acknowledge what happened and are leaning into it. You can be hated and we can hate and everyone can play their part. Being upset about the vitriol in response to being a bad actor is horseshit.

matelite (Minnesota): Why can’t everyone be David Roth? Thanks, I’ll hang up and listen to my answer off-air.

Craig Goldstein: I mean I wish we could, but that's just not the hand we're dealt.

The larger point here is that we don't need to indulge brand accounts desperate for engagement just because we like to remember some guys. Remember some guys on your own account, not because you were prompted by a brand.

ironcityguys (daBurgh): Last chat you talked about several catchers with high praise for Luis Campusano and Will Smith. If you were to predict, how does Adley Rutschman's future compare to these two adept catchers?

Craig Goldstein: I think I said Campusano was top of the heap as it pertains to prospect catchers, but, uh...I was forgetting Adley. I think Adley has the ability to be the best catcher in baseball.

Quincy (Ames): Does Jeff bridich have naked photos of dick Montfort? Would you be a buyer of rockies prospects thinking at some point things have to change? And if so , who would target?

Craig Goldstein: You'd think that might be the case, but if there were naked photos of a Monfort, they almost certainly would have been included in a reply email to a random fan at some point. The reality of the situation is that Colorado is an impenetrable fortress when it comes to trying to understand what they do and, maybe more pertinently, what they do not do as it pertains to personnel both on and off the field. If chaos is a ladder, the Rockies are a greased well.

I don't know what that means either, but it felt right.

jugdish (Faber): Michael toglia-the 1b of the future for the rockies? You a believer?

Craig Goldstein: I think it's reasonable to call him that right now, but it might be more damning with faint praise. I honestly don't have much of an opinion on Toglia as it stands right now -- we just haven't gotten to see him much -- but it's not exactly a high mountain to climb in terms of positional depth.

Fred whitfield (Cleveland): Ivan herrera someone to tuck away in a dynasty league

Craig Goldstein: Absolutely. I'm a fan (you should also be aware of my bias towards catchers who might be able to hit, though)

mikejunt (Lincoln NE): Wish the Colonel had tossed Tony Gonsolin and/or Dustin May into his pitcher question

Craig Goldstein: I'd put them towards the front of that list.

Mike (Ny): What is Juan Soto’s slash and cumulative numbers in 2021 assuming they play a full 162.

Craig Goldstein: another/record-breaking/season, not, just, for, his, age.

ironcityguys (daBurgh): The Marlins have had a nice story in 2020 and are still alive in the NL playoffs. Who are your 3 top (pleasant) surprises for you from their organization? And, if Sandy Alcantara is not included among those 3 players, could you please evaluate his progress from being a Cardinals' signee?

Craig Goldstein: It basically all has to be on the pitching side, right? I was revisiting that Ozuna deal and they got him and Gallen (and Sierra) out of it. That's not bad at all. Can I include Gallen? I know they flipped him for Chisholm, but he really blossomed in Miami before the deal. If not, it's hard to criticize what they've gotten out of Pablo Lopez and Brian Anderson.

Regarding Alcantara, I think I'm most impressed with the refinement to his control. He's really around the zone a lot, and hasn't always been that way. He's also become a lot more consistent, generally. I saw him a bunch last year and one inning could unravel him. Small sample, but it didn't seem to be the case this year.

ayzzya (undisclosed ): How “real” was Dylan Moore’s season? Is he a legitimate power-speed fantasy option?

Craig Goldstein: I'm intrigued/perplexed by Moore. There's not a simple narrative in terms of being a flyball revolution guy. He lowered his launch angle, hit fewer fly balls, but just hit everything harder. His average and max exit velos jumped. He made harder contact more consistently. That's obviously what you want; he earned those numbers. The question is whether it's sustainable. It's definitely possible he was just living at too high a launch angle before and this puts his swing on plane, hence the harder contact and higher BABIP. It's also a 60-game sample and maybe pitchers figure him out another time around. I earnestly don't know.

Craig Goldstein: Alright everyone, thanks for the chat and I appreciate you throwing some more questions in after we got started. I'll be back next week for another one.