One of the things I’ve always appreciated about your writing is that you look at the possibilities, not just the probabilities. It’s a lot more fun to dream of what some of our players (Paxton, Haniger, et al) could be than to look at 3 year discounted flows based on regression. Not that I mind the counterpoint of more pessimistic voices on this blog. Salt, yeast and heat make for great baking.
You mentioned Zunino’s stats after he got called up. I had almost forgotten those in the Ohtani saga, but they really are remarkable. I looked at Fangraphs, and for the whole year, Zunino is in 4th place by WAR (and correct me if I’m wrong, that does not really take into account pitch framing and other catching skills?). If you just look at the second half, he’s first among catchers with 2.5 WAR - in 185 plate appearances!