Ben Lindbergh, Meg Rowley, and FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen banter about how to abbreviate Twins executive Derek Falvey’s new dual role as president of both baseball and business operations, then (5:23) discuss Japanese phenom Roki Sasaki from a scouting perspective, touching on how good he could be, how a team could ease him into MLB, what tweaks he could make to his repertoire, the bonus pool system that could help determine where he signs, and more. After that (50:16), Ben and Meg talk to NPB journalist Jim Allen about Sasaki’s posting from a Japan-based perspective, exploring why Sasaki was posted now, how Japanese fans feel about his departure, and what the implications could be for NPB. Finally (1:21:01), Ben does a bonus Stat Blast about baseball overrepresentation in crossword puzzles.
Audio intro: Alex Glossman and Ali Breneman, “Effectively Wild Theme” Audio interstitial: Liz Panella, “Effectively Wild Theme” Audio outro: Kite Person, “Effectively Wild Theme”
Link to Falvey news Link to Trueblood’s Falvey tweet Link to Eric’s Roki update Link to Eric on Roki in August Link to Ben’s Roki update Link to Ben on Roki in 2022 Link to Kiley on Roki Link to Passan on Roki Link to Coskrey on Roki Link to 2024 bonus pools Link to Cooper on draft picks Link to Ardaya on courting Ohtani Link to Ohtani courtship Link to Jim on Roki’s situation Link to Jim on the Marines Link to Jim on Hirooka Link to Jim on Roki’s future Link to NPB union article Link to Jim’s podcast Link to Hang Up and Listen Link to latest HUaL Link to Raymond’s spreadsheet Link to Rooker EW episode
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