Here's Friday's edition of Saber-Links:
Grant Brisbee of Baseball Nation looks at possible landing spots for Zack Greinke: Sizing Up The Suitors For Zack Greinke - Baseball Nation
He's definitely going to test the market, and the Brewers are definitely going to trade him. Now it's time to be vultures and see who might trade for him. It looks like there are four different suitors, and here they are from unlikeliest to likeliest.
Baseball Prospectus published two articles today that used visuals to discuss pitching mechanics. R.J. Anderson discussed why Johnny Cueto is so good, as well as fun to watch: Baseball Prospectus | Painting the Black: The Guy With Baseball's Best ERA+ Since 2011. Also, Doug Thornburn shows us what "violent mechanics" look like: Baseball Prospectus | Raising Aces: Violent Trends.
Jesse Sakstrup of The Hardball Times reveals why Jesus Montero has struggled in his first season with Seattle: Jesus Montero can’t hit righties.
Nearly four months into the season, however, the deal has been a virtual wash in terms of on the field production; Pineda hasn't thrown a pitch, but that's still better than Montero's -0.1 WAR to this point. The Mariners would still prefer Montero, I am sure, but he has yet to display the skills at the plate that had baseball fans excited at the end of last year.
Bill Petti of FanGraphs writes about when a velocity decline begins trending towards a full season decline: At What Point Should We Worry About Velocity Loss? | FanGraphs Baseball
I wondered at what point in the season we can say with greater certainty that a pitcher is throwing as hard as he is going to throw. Is there a particular month where a velocity decline is more likely to translate to or predict a full season velocity decline?
Matt Swartz, also of FG, evaluates the value of a win at this point in the season compared to a win in April, and how that affects the trade market: Valuing Midseason Trade Targets | FanGraphs Baseball
Buyers pay a premium for talent at the trade deadline when compared to the regular season. The production of a difference-maker in the playoffs — or just in a pennant chase in the regular season — is extra valuable right now, and it’s not just that talent is scarce. The wins themselves matter more. Today, I’ll show that the value of wins is actually about 44% higher now than it was at the beginning of the season.
I hope everyone enjoys this weekend's slate of baseball. Saber-Links will return on Monday.