JotCast | Klawchat 10/19/23

Klawchat 10/19/23

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James

1:18

Will Twitter still exist in 2 years?

Keith Law

1:18

Yes, but it'll be like Gab or any of those other highly siloed right-wing sites.

Mike

1:18

Is Luis matos just a manny margot offensively? I want to think he has more pop but was curious on your thoughts

Keith Law

1:19

More raw power, yes. I thought Margot would hit for more average than he has - .274 is his season high - given his contact skills. Matos is similar in a few ways but he's got more now power.

Jake

1:19

Michael Fulmer is going to miss 2024 with a UCL and is out of contract. If he filed for workers compensation to put some money in his pocket, do you think teams would retaliate against him over it?

Keith Law

1:20

I saw that news this morning and took him off my rough cut at a top 50 free agents - he was on the bubble - but I thought maybe someone signs him for two years.

Brian

1:20

Do you think the Phillies will resign Nola or will he leave?

Keith Law

1:20

I can not imagine they let him walk, especially if they get to the World Series again. They have to be so flush with cash, he's their one FA of note (everyone loves Hoskins, but they just don't need him), and you've seen the old Nola again the last two months.

Codey

1:20

Almost 1 year later. What would your update be to the DBacks BlueJays trade? Varsho/Moreno/Gurriel

Keith Law

1:21

AZ definitely ahead so far. Surprised Varsho regressed that much.

I had Moreno as a top 6 prospect in baseball before he came up, though, so I could have a little confirmation bias here.

Ryan

1:21

The Dbacks have a gaping hole at third base. The Rays have a ton of depth at third base (Paredes, Diaz, Caminero, Mead, and Aranda). They also have a need at shortstop right now. Does a trade involving Perdomo for Mead make sense for both teams?

Keith Law

1:21

Three months ago I would have said yes. After seeing Mead play defense in the big leagues, I'm less sure. The game sped up on him really quickly.

Brad

1:21

Would you have Schwarber in the leadoff spot if you were managing the Phillies?

Keith Law

1:21

No.

Mike

1:21

Dj herz looks like a weapon, but in what capacity? Not many bullpen arms throw only 92

Keith Law

1:22

Might throw a little harder in the pen. I think he's a reliever, FB/CH only with deception, maybe he becomes a bulk guy who goes once through the order?

Codey

1:22

Why do you think prospects are going through the minors what feels like quicker than ever these days?

Keith Law

1:23

Great question without a single explanation. Some I think is teams realizing players can be ready sooner than the one-level-per-year norm. Some is teams realizing those players are cheaper than veterans - 80% of the production for 5% of the price. Some is the advent of better data that should help teams make better decisions (e.g., Boston promoting Roman Anthony to high A). But I also worry it will encourage MLB to further contract the minors.

Duncan

1:24

Do you think Alek Thomas will ever be a decent or better major league hitter?

Keith Law

1:24

Yes. He's only 23 and boosted his contact quality quite a bit this year.

addoeh

1:24

If there is anything to change with regards to the wild card round, I would get rid of off days. If there has to be double headers, so be it. Thoughts?

Keith Law

1:25

Players hate doubleheaders - they'd oppose that. I sort of agree with you about off days in general ... I think days without baseball are bad for the sport. This is one of our strongest times of year, with NHL/NBA barely starting, the NFL obviously there but in a quieter part of their season, and yet we just give away real estate with days that would never have games.

1:25

Can you pray to the baseball gods we get some close postseason games and/or game 7s? This postseason has lacked much drama to date.

Keith Law

1:26

Some great individual games but I agree that we need a long series or two. TEX/HOU might go that way after last night. Houston's bullpen remains ridiculous.

1:26

Any hope Elly stays at SS? If not, can he stick at 3B or will he follow his fellow Cruz Oneill to RF?

Keith Law

1:26

I give Elly a way better chance than Cruz.

Brad

1:26

Long time fan, love your work. Am I right to be very underwhelmed by the Chris Getz promotion seeing as how he had a major hand in making this roster what it is?

Keith Law

1:27

No, I don't think he had anywhere near as much of a hand in the MLB roster as you seem to think. I'll be very curious to see what he does with far more autonomy. He's definitely a change from Williams/Hahn.

Codey

1:27

would any of next years top 100 ranked hire than this years Corbin Carroll or Gunnar Henderson to start this season?

Keith Law

1:27

I don't know. Holliday is obviously still my #1, and he's in that range too. I might have gone Carroll, Holliday, Henderson? Hard to say because we now have a year of big league data on two of those guys and they were, to use the technical term, fucking awesome./

George

1:27

Questions about two guys you didn't touch on in your AFL article: Hassell and Herz from WSH. Whats your outlook on Hassell now, after almost a year and a half of poor performance following his hamate injury? and is there anything there with the crazy k/9 numbers with Herz?

Keith Law

1:28

Herz I just answered. Hassell has gone backwards, unfortunately. Maybe he just changed his approach too much because he didn't have his hand strength back earlier in the year, but now he's kind of stuck in the wrong gear.

David

1:28

How much do you care that the best baseball team each year is likely not going to win the World Series? Should we celebrate the best regular season teams more? Or should this whole debate just stop and we all just enjoy baseball?

Keith Law

1:29

You know what I'm going to say. Just enjoy the baseball. And by the way, is anyone really going to argue that the Phillies or Rangers or Astros aren't actually the best team? They all look pretty damn good to me. Isn't October as much about who's got their A roster healthy as anything else?

Harry Potter

1:29

When evaluating a prospect, how do you factor in something like Tommy Troy playing most of the year with a broken foot? Or do you factor it in at all?

Keith Law

1:29

I always factor injuries into evaluations.

Codey

1:29

do you still believe in Drew Jones as a top flight prospect potential wise? Or has his struggles/ injuries since draft day scared you off of that?

Keith Law

1:30

I see a lower floor than I did before. I also know we haven't seen him fully healthy since he signed.

Cwsoxfan

1:30

Please come to FPAZ, eventually. 🙏