Mark Simon and Ben Clemens On The Biggest Surprises in Baseball In 2025

This year for our annual "Biggest Surprises in Baseball" episode, Mark Simon brought in Ben Clemens of FanGraphs to come up with a comprehensive list.Mark and Ben talked about surprise hitters, pitchers, fielders, teams, and things. Among those discussed: Cristopher Sánchez, Trevor Rogers, Cam Smith, the Brewers, Orioles, Braves, and many more. This is our final episode of the MLB regular season. Our next episode will be in October to announce the winners of The Fielding Bible Awards. Stay tuned for that.Thanks as always for listening. Please check out the new-and-improved FieldingBible.com website, follow us on Bluesky at @sportsinfosolutions.com, and read our work at SportsInfoSolutions.com. You can e-mail us at [email protected].

On this week's episode, Mark Simon is joined by Angels center fielder Bryce Teodosio, one of the top defensive players in baseball since his recall from the minors about 6 weeks ago.Bryce talked about his aggressive approach and how he makes plays like a home run robbery against Andy Pages. He also explained the way pre-game prep helps him get ready for making improbable catches.At episode's end, Mark takes a look at the top contenders for this year's Fielding Bible Awards.Thanks as always for listening. Please check out the new-and-improved FieldingBible.com website, follow us on Bluesky at @sportsinfosolutions.com, and read our work at SportsInfoSolutions.com. You can e-mail us at [email protected].

On this episode, Mark Simon is joined by the No. 1 prospect in minor league baseball, Pirates shortstop and center fielder Konnor Griffin, who at age 19, is playing solid MLB-caliber defense right now.Konnor talked about why he plays the positions so aggressively, what it's been like learning from older players, the hard parts of playing defense, and more.Mark was also joined by his SIS colleague, VP of analytics Alex Vigderman, who described  a project he presented with Joe Rosales at Saberseminar on our pitch-framing metric, Strike Zone Runs Saved. He elaborated on the catchers, pitchers, batters, and umpires who got or called more strikes than expected over the last 10 years.Konnor's great play vs the Yankeeshttps://www.youtube.com/shorts/NRRdSkSdKCUKonnor's minor league highlight reelhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrGS85eqR2EThanks as always for listening. Please check out the new-and-improved FieldingBible.com website, follow us on Bluesky at @sportsinfosolutions.com, and read our work at SportsInfoSolutions.com. You can e-mail us at [email protected].

On this episode Mark Simon talked with Marlins shortstop Otto López, one of our Defensive Player of the Month selections about his midseason position switch, the challenges of playing shortstop, and why playing badminton as a kid was helpful to him.If you would like to read a written transcript of Otto's interview, head here.Then Mark is joined by his SIS colleague Bailey Knight for a discussion of how they watch baseball and what they think about when they watch baseball at different levels.Thanks as always for listening. Please check out the new-and-improved FieldingBible.com website, follow us on Bluesky at @sportsinfosolutions.com, and read our work at SportsInfoSolutions.com. You can e-mail us at [email protected].

On this episode, Mark Simon talks with Rockies minor league prospect Kyle Karros of the Albuquerque Isotopes about the intricacies of third base defense and SIS prospects expert Brandon Tew about the top pitchers selected in the MLB Draft.Kyle talked about his 6-foot-5 frame comes into play as a third baseman, why he loves watching Nolan Arenado play third base, and what suggestions he has for any aspiring third basemen (learn to make all the throws!)Watch a highlight of Kyle here:https://www.milb.com/video/kyle-karros-makes-a-tough-catch?t=milb-default-vtpBrandon analyzed five pitchers and broke down which had the best chance of MLB success: Kade Anderson, Liam Doyle, Jamie Arnold, Kyson Witherspoon, and Gage Wood.You can find Brandon's articles herehttps://www.sportsinfosolutions.com/category/2025-mlb-draft/Thanks as always for listening. Please check out the new-and-improved FieldingBible.com website, follow us on Bluesky at @sportsinfosolutions.com, and read our work at SportsInfoSolutions.com. You can e-mail us at [email protected].

You can find a transcript of the episode hereOn this episode, our Mark Simon talks to Astros rookie right fielder Cam Smith, who ranks among the leaders in Defensive Runs Saved despite never having played the position before this season.Cam talked about his welcome to the big leagues' moments and explained how teammate Jake Meyers and the Astros outfield coaches have helped in his acclimation to a new position.Then, we switched topics. Mark went to the SABR convention and shared some of the things he learned, and brought on Sports-Reference's executive director of design Adam Darowski to share his research about players with 4,000 hits in pro baseball.Lastly, Mark and his colleague Ben Schneider talked about what SIS measures regarding home plate umpire performance and looked at some tendencies among MLB umpires the last couple of seasons.Three good interviews/discussions in roughly 20 minutes!Thanks as always for listening. Please check out the new-and-improved FieldingBible.com website, follow us on Bluesky at @sportsinfosolutions.com, and read our work at SportsInfoSolutions.com. You can e-mail us at [email protected].

On this episode, Mark Simon is joined by Giants vice-president of player development Randy Winn, Mariners communications manager Alex Mayer, and his SIS colleague Greg Halperin.Randy explained his new role under new Giants president Buster Posey, shared why teaching players how to hit the cutoff man is a priority to him, described how he and the organization use data, and told stories of new Hall-of-Famer Ichiro and how he played defense.Alex talked about his enjoyment of finding statistical minutiae, and the recent success of Cal Raleigh and Rodríguez. Greg, a recent selection as Data Scout of the Month at SIS, used Ben Rice as an example of looking at a player's expected stats vs his actual stats and shared what it's like to regularly watch NPB and KBO games.Thanks as always for listening. Please check out the new-and-improved FieldingBible.com website, follow us on Bluesky at @sportsinfosolutions.com, and read our work at SportsInfoSolutions.com. You can e-mail us at [email protected].

On this episode, Mark Simon was joined by both a current major leaguer and a former major leaguer.Diamondbacks shortstop Geraldo Perdomo stopped by to talk shop with regards to why he's a shortstop and how he plays his position. He shared with us his approach in the field and how he uses his instincts.Former MLB and NPB relief pitcher Jay Jackson also joined us to share lessons learned from his MLB career that he's turned into a self-published book about positivity. He also spoke to us about the coaches that influenced him, as he's about to become a coach in the MLB Draft Summer League.And Mark's colleague, SIS senior product manager Noah Gatsik, discussed why he's optimistic about the Rays and pessimistic about the Phillies. Spoiler alert: It had to do with their defense.Thanks as always for listening. Please check out the new-and-improved FieldingBible.com website, follow us on Bluesky at @sportsinfosolutions.com, and read our work at SportsInfoSolutions.com. You can e-mail us at [email protected].

On this episode, Mark Simon welcomes 2024 Rays Minor League Defensive Player of the Year Tanner Murray, who plays two infield positions and is now learning the outfield. Tanner talked about his transition to new positions and the other players on the well-loaded Durham Bulls that could be great defensive major leaguers in the future, like Carson Williams and Tre' Morgan.Mark also spanned the globe talking with baseball writer Daniel Álvarez-Montes of El Extra Base about the current generation of Venezuelan baseball players. They talked about the defensive excellence of Wilyer Abreu and Ezequiel Tovar, the hitting prowess of Wilmer Flores, and the early-season struggle for Anthony Santander.Lastly, Mark closed the show with his SIS colleague, associate director of baseball operations Evan Butler. They talked about MLB stadiums and their various quirks and traits and how that related to enjoying a game in person.Thanks as always for listening. Please check out the new-and-improved FieldingBible.com website, follow us on Bluesky at @sportsinfosolutions.com, and read our work at SportsInfoSolutions.com. You can e-mail us at [email protected].

On this episode, we cover how playing volleyball helped a future minor league Gold Glover, got an explanation on how defensive positioning models are developed and talked about what stats belong on a baseball scoreboard.Joining Mark Simon, our first guest was Marlins prospect Joe Mack, who won a Gold Glove as a catcher last season. Joe talked about how he developed at the position and what he's working on now.Then Katie Krall, baseball analyst for Marquee Sports Network and former research analyst for the Reds and minor league coach with the Red Sox, shared her insights on defensive positioning, defensive stats, and why she wants to be thought of as the 'card on the wall at an art museum' of baseball analysts.Lastly, Mark's colleague, Nick Rabasco came on to talk about a Bluesky thread from Sports-Reference president Sean Forman about scoreboards at MLB ballparks.Examples of Katie's segmentsPositioning cardshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1H61fpueO3M&pp=0gcJCYUJAYcqIYzvUmpire accuracy on close pitcheshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ek1gHUblh-sThanks as always for listening. Please check out the new-and-improved FieldingBible.com website, follow us on Bluesky at @sportsinfosolutions.com, and read our work at SportsInfoSolutions.com. You can e-mail us at [email protected].