Expected Value

Trevor May is an ESPN Statcast analyst, podcaster, and former MLB pitcher for the Twins, Mets, and Athletics. He pitched professionally from 2008-2023, originally being drafted by the Phillies. Since retiring, he has done various podcasts, founded an Esports Lab applying sabermetric principles to gaming, and continued to grow his online presence through various media. In this episode he discusses…...

Zach Stovall is the Director of Analytics for the University of Tennessee baseball team who just won their first College World Series. He studied at UT while also working for the baseball team as a student manager. After three seasons with the Texas Rangers at their various minor league affiliates, he returned to the Volunteers for the 2024 season. In this episode, he discusses… * Balancing school...

Lance Brozdowski is a Player Development Analyst at Marquee Sports Network, the regional sports network for the Chicago Cubs. He brings an analytical insight and makes it more digestible for baseball fans. In this episode, he discusses… * Methods he utilizes to evaluate and breakdown MLB players and prospects * What a player development analyst does for a regional sports network * Thoughts about t...

Tom Bliss is a Senior Manager of Football Operations Data Scientist for the NFL. He and his team work to improve the game for fans, players, and organizations through data analysis. They are constantly researching new ways to make the game more entertaining and safer. In this interview he discusses… * NFL rule changes including the expectations around the new kickoff rule * The schedule release an...

Dr. Curtis Goss is a Performance Support Specialist for USA Swimming where he is currently prepping for the Olympic trials and the 2024 Summer Olympics. He was a collegiate swimmer at Indiana University where he also completed his PhD in Human Performance. In this interview he discusses… * The current landscape of data and tech within the sport of swimming * U.S. Trials and the anticipation for po...

Tim Gibbons is TruMedia’s baseball professional services lead, dealing with players, agencies and facilities. He previously worked as a minor-league hitting coach in the Orioles system. In this episode, Tim talks about… - His career path to becoming a hitting coach - What a minor-league hitting coach does - Data available to minor-league teams - How a minor-league team’s approach is influenced by...

Allison Loucks is the Director of Business Development and Innovation at ESPN, where she oversees ESPN’s Analytics group. Her team has created ESPN metrics including their Total QBR, Basketball Power Index and pass rush win rate. In this conversation, Allison talks about… - What she does as a director of the analytics group and what a typical day looks like - How ESPN creates proprietary metrics -...

Matt Chang and his team won the 2024 NFL Big Data Bowl, an analytics competition with a $25,000 first prize. In this episode, Matt will discuss… - His team’s submission, entitled Uncovering Missed Tackle Opportunities - What the Big Data Bowl is and how he and his team became interested - The data and question provided by the NFL - Attacking that question through trial and error - Creating a metri...

Ben Zauzmer is an assistant general manager with the New York Mets, and he’s better known publicly for his book Oscarmetrics and his Twitter account @BensOscarMath, where he uses data to project winners of the Academy Awards. With this year’s Oscars ceremony coming on March 10, Ben joins Expected Value to talk about… - How he got into the Oscars predictions business - Creating an Oscars model from...

Bobby Bandelow is the coordinator of advance scouting for the world champion Texas Rangers. During his decade-long career, he’s worked with the Astros, the then-Indians and the Rangers, in roles ranging from video intern to major-league analyst. In this conversation, Bobby talks about… - Winning the 2023 World Series - What an advance scout does for an MLB team - How he presents data to Bruce Boch...

Wes Johnson was named Head Baseball Coach for the University of Georgia on June 5th. Prior to taking the job in Athens, Wes served as the Pitching Coach for LSU, where he won a national championship earlier this year. He also has MLB experience, having served as the Pitching Coach for the Minnesota Twins from 2019-2022. His previous stops at Mississippi State and Arkansas add on to his SEC experie...

Brandon Ally is the Co-Founder of S2 Cognition, a performance evaluation company that is revolutionizing the way professional teams asses prospective players. He is also S2 Cognition’s Chief Business Development Officer and Director of Football. His educational background stands up again the brightest minds in sports. He has a Bachelor’s in Psychology from the University of Tennessee, a PhD in Neu...

Alison Lukan is an On-Air Analyst & Writer for the Seattle Kraken. In her role, she provides analysis for the Seattle Kraken’s local broadcasts on Root Sports Northwest, with her team winning a Regional Sports Emmy for their coverage this season. She holds a degree in Leadership Studies from the University of Richmond and has previously worked as a consultant in Washington D.C. and has a backg...

John Taormina is TruMedia’s Director of Football Strategy, overseeing TruMedia’s football related business. Prior to joining us at TruMedia, John spent time with the Atlanta Falcons. He started as a Football Analyst before becoming Manager of Football Analytics. His final role with the Falcons was Director of Football Data & Analytics. He holds a BA in Broadcast Journalism from Penn State, alo...

Amelia Probst is a Data Scientist & Writer for Pro Football Focus (PFF). Despite being just 22 years old, the Cornell graduate has already worked in football, baseball, and lacrosse, including internships with the New York Mets and the Premier Lacrosse League (PLL). In this conversation, Amelia talks about… How she became interested in sports analytics. How she applies what she learned at Corn...

Paul Hembekides, aka Hembo, is a Content Producer for ESPN and got his start in the Stats & Information department, working with Expected Value host Paul Carr in the ESPN research room. Currently, Hembo works on Get Up and #Greeny, Mike Greenberg’s daily ESPN Radio show. He also partnered with Greenberg to co-author “Got Your Number”, a New York Times Bestseller that explores sports history th...

Cory Jez is the Founder of Tour IQ, a golf analytics platform dedicated to providing PGA Tour players an the resources they need for the first time in golf history. He also has a unique resume, having worked for FanDuel, the Utah Jazz, Austin FC, and an an on-air analyst for the Portland Trailblazers. In this conversation, Cory talks about… His time as an Analytics Manager with FanDuel. His role a...

Tegan Ashby is the Assistant Director of Software Engineering for the Philadelphia Phillies. Before that, she worked in the NBA as a Senior Developer of Basketball Systems for the Brooklyn Nets, and as a Developer of Research & Development for the Philadelphia 76ers.. She holds a BA in Linguistics from Penn, and took classes at Cal Berkeley’s Ancient Neat Eastern and Biblical Languages, Litera...

Carlos Muñoz is a former bullpen catcher who spent nine years with the Houston Astros (2009-2017) and, most recently, served as a bullpen catcher and coach for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic. He has also spent time as a scout and instructor throughout his career. In this conversation, Carlos talks about… His Team USA & World Baseball Classic experience. His path from Venezuela to where...

Hassan Inayatali is a rising senior at the University of Toronto and part of the 2023 Big Data Bowl winning team, along with his partners Aaron White and Daniel Hocevar. Their project, “Between the Lines: How Do We Measure Pressure?” bested over 300 submissions to win the competition. In this conversation, Hassan talks about… What data they had access to. How they attacked their topic, where the d...

Matt Doyle is a Senior Writer for MLSsoccer.com and has been covering the league for over a decade. His ‘Armchair Analyst’ column is considered required reading for MLS fans around the globe. He also appears on ‘Extratime’, an MLSsoccer.com podcast that covers the league in depth twice a week. In this conversation, Matt talks about… The 2023 MLS season MLS’s new Apple TV deal and what his role wil...

Rodrick David is the founder of Right Step Advising, a company dedicated to helping agents, athletes and schools figure out the next right step for them and their football careers. Before that, he was a scout for the Atlanta Falcons. In this conversation, Rodrik talks about… His reaction to Super Bowl LVII & how he watched the game through a scout’s lens His career path from college to being a...

Kalyn Kahler is a senior NFL writer for The Athletic, covering the league from a national perspective. She has a traditional journalism background and also likes to use numbers in her stories. She is a graduate of Northwestern’s Medill School of Journalism and has previously worked for Sports Illustrated, Bleacher Report, and Defector Media. Her work has also appeared in The New York Times, The Wa...

Joe Hultzen recently joined TruMedia as our MLB Team Lead. His decade-long experience in MLB allows him to provide clients with the services they need to maximize TruMedia’s product. He has held roles in the Baseball Operations, Advance Video Scouting, and Player Valuation departments. In this conversation, Joe talks about… The best thing about working for a MLB team The challenges of working for...

This week, we’re doing things a bit differently on Expected Value. Producer Sergio De La Espriella has taken over Expected Value and conducted an interview in Spanish, as a way of expanding accessibility to data and analytics information to the Spanish-speaking public. Our Spanish-speaking guest is Cristian Perez. Cristian is coming off a four year stint with the Cincinnati Reds where he served as...