Morning Mound Visit: sabermetrics news - 8/3/19

FanGraphs | Craig Edwards: There was a lot of talk that the second wild card team would weaken the game in that it wouldn’t provide enough of an incentive for teams to win with the one-game play-in. Yet teams were mighty active at the deadline this year, and a record number of teams (sans the Yankees, Dodgers, and Astros) that are battling for a spot with decent odds.

The Athletic | Eno Sarris ($): Were the Marlins smart in flipping Zac Gallen? He has a fastball like Shane Beiber and a slider like Vince Velasquez, and his changeup has comps among the better pitchers in the league. Maybe he has a flaw, but it seems like Miami gave up a prospect with top tier pitches.

Baseball Prospectus | Jarrett Seidler ($): So far the consensus is that the Mariners won the Robinson Cano deal, picking up two top prospects in the process. Yet someone like Jarred Kelenic, like with Michael Conforto or Kyle Schwarber, don’t have a straightforward path, and the trajectory pretty much changed every six months, form red-hot to ice cold to injured in one swoop. We may think we know winners and losers, but it takes the long haul before that plays out.