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Morning Mound Visit: sabermetrics news - 11/16/19

Cole Hamel’s changeup; Gabe Kapler’s history of inaction; way-too-early 2020 predictors

MLB: Chicago Cubs at St. Louis Cardinals Joe Puetz-USA TODAY Sports

FanGraphs | Devan Fink: Cole Hamels is on the free agent market, and while not a premier talent anymore, his changeup is finally back to where it used to be. His command with the pitch has improved dramatically, and the exit velocity numbers support the change. If any team pulls the trigger, he could be a value candidate for sure.

Baseball Prospectus | Ginny Searle ($): Gabe Kapler was hired by the Giants to be their manager, and you can’t help thinking about his past experiences failing to respond adequately to instances of sexual assault and violence while players were under his tenure. While we can take his word that he will do better next time; with all the scandals rocking baseball, it’s hard to do just that.

ESPN Insider | Bradford Doolittle & David Schoenfield ($): It’s fair to say that even though it’s still a year away, Mike Trout and even Alex Bregman are favorites to win the AL MVP next year, barring some injury or massive change. In the National League, it’s obviously pretty up in the air, with Cody Bellinger, Christian Yelich, Juan Soto, or Ronald Acuña Jr. as possibilities to win the top prize in 2020.