ZiPS looks at our infielders

[Frobby]

49 minutes ago, Jim'sKid26 said:

@FrobbyDo you think ZIPS has factored in the new rule changes? 

I don’t know, but when Szymborski wrote his introductory piece about ZiPS this year, he described some new features without mentioning the new rules.  

[emmett16]

Frazier must really turn the double play well.  

[Jim'sKid26]

2 minutes ago, Frobby said:

I don’t know, but when Szymborski wrote his introductory piece about ZiPS this year, he described some new features without mentioning the new rules.  

I doubt he has factored in the impact in any meaningful way due to the fact that almost everyone is minimizing the impact of banning the shift, enlarging the bases and limiting the pitcher's ability to impact the running game. There is limited data from the minor leagues and independent baseball but no real sense for how that translates to MLB. 

Having said that, some of the choices that Elias is making cause me to wonder whether he and Sig might have a different opinion of the rule changes's impact. For example, Frazier has a reputation as a plus defender, a contact hitter who doesn't hit the ball hard or in the air much, and is LH. Do the rule changes impact his value in a positive way? It would seem so. How much? Perhaps more than the average OH message board stalwart might think. Conversely, Vavra is not thought of as a plus defender. The O's now have a slew of data on Vavra and he might not profile as an impact bat moving forward. 

This could be even more impactful to Mateo. In fact one might imagine that Mateo could benefit from the rule changes more than any other infielder on the team. I have no idea if any of the projection models could come up with a reliable assessment of the impact of the rule changes. But I think someone like Sig might be able to.