You are viewing the chat in desktop mode. Click here to switch to mobile view.
X
Klawchat 10/4/18
powered byJotCast
Prev Page View Full Chat Next Page
Keith Law
1:25
Really solid player, and everyone seems to love him in the clubhouse, but I am not drawing that kind of conclusion off a two-month sample.
andy
1:25
Looks like Gray won't start Game 1 for the Rockies. He might not start at all. Something's clearly not working there. Do you think he needs a change of scenery? Do you see anything specifically wrong with him?
Keith Law
1:26
Pitching in Coors is hard, man. You can be totally fine and still struggle there because your fastball doesn't move quite as much, or contact is just a little harder than it would be elsewhere. All the more credit to Kyle Freeland for the year he had. If the Rockies want to shop Gray, they shouldn't sell him for less than 90 cents on that dollar, because there's a good chance he becomes an above-average starter somewhere else, and there's still some chance he does it in Denver.
Josh
1:26
Chances Cedric Mullins sticks as an average to above average everyday player?
Keith Law
1:27
I think average is his ceiling.
Bob
1:27
Other than Settlers, what non-traditional (so excluding Monopoly, Risk) board games are good to introduce new people to gaming?
Keith Law
1:27
Ticket to Ride, Carcassonne, Dominion but that is better if you have one player who knows it to help introduce the concept. Azul is a little heavier, but it was my #1 game of 2017 and is such a visually appealing game I think it's a good gateway title anyway.
Xam
1:28
Are you buying Max Fried as a starter in 2019 and beyond? The combo of groundballs and strikeouts is pretty sexy.
Keith Law
1:28
I am. Always believed in his stuff and athleticism. Not sure Atlanta has a rotation spot for him.
Josh
1:28
Any thoughts on Isaac Paredes? He looked to have great seasons at A and AA at a young age
Keith Law
1:29
Can really hit. Not sure there's long-term upside but the bat is real.
Ryan
1:29
Klaw, what do you think is more sought after GM job, Mets or O's?
Keith Law
1:29
Mets' job will be unless the Angeloses are clear about letting the new GM have the appropriate amount of autonomy.
Dr. Bob
1:29
One of my favorite Dodgers teams was 1977. Four players (Garvey, Smith, Cey, and Baker) each hit at least 30 HRs, which set a record. How quaint. The entire team hit 191 which was the team record at the time. This year's team hit a team-record 235. It's a different game.
Keith Law
1:29
Extremely. And that's both positive and negative.
Evan
1:30
How should I feel about Leody Tavares? The game results don't match the tools and the great reports re his batting practice showings. Is it time to scale back my expectations, or can he be a first division starter?
Keith Law
1:30
Still young and physically underdeveloped. I believe he's a first division starter with upside.
Matt
1:30
If a relief pitcher gives up one or more runs but holds a lead, his WPA for the game can be negative. But if a 9th inning pitcher gives up one or more runs without blowing the game, his WPA is automatically positive. Do closers have inflated WPA?
Keith Law
1:31
I don't really care for WPA, since it's entirely situation-dependent. But to be honest I'm not sure I follow your second statement there about the ninth inning guy.
Norman Golan
1:31
whatever happened to Delvin Perez?  The Cardinals got him after he tested positive for PEDs, and I recall the reaction was (1) bad on the Cardinals for rewarding PED use and (2) hewas a great talent for the cards to get so late in the 1st round.  But since then its been crickets
Keith Law
1:31
He's been kind of terrible in pro ball.
Cameron C
1:31
Vladdy Jr or Wander Franco, who are you most excited to see grow into Major League guy and who could be the better player. Wander put up better stats than Vlad did at the same age in the Appy league.
Keith Law
1:31
Vlad's a lot closer, but I don't think it's absurd to think Wander might end up better.
Mike
1:31
Are you astonished that so many Republicans (and especially evangelicals) say Kavanaugh should be confirmed even if it's determined that he did commit sexual assault? I mean, where is our basic human decency?
Keith Law
1:31
I'm not astonished any more. I'm disgusted, sure, but not astonished.
Mike D
1:32
Has there ever been a study on how much "experience" helps, or "youth" hurts a team in the playoffs? You always hear announcers talk about it, but not sure if its fact or just more "chemistry and "it factor" talk?
Keith Law
1:32
It's bullshit. I feel like there was a study years ago about the ages of playoff rosters but I have no memory of who did it. You can also see how young most of the recent WS winning rosters were.
Zac
1:32
Tigers are expected to move forward with Grayson Greiner. What is his ceiling? below average starter?
Keith Law
1:32
Backup.
Anthony
1:32
You've been critical of hiring MLB managers with no prior experience. I'm curious what the process looks like for evaluating a minor-league manager. No one cares about wins and losses and player development is probably a reflection of the org as a whole, so how would you evaluate their success? Just interviewing players?
Keith Law
1:33
Your player development director & other staffers spend the year visiting affiliates, and reviewing game reports. They'll talk to the managers, coaches, and players in the system. They should know which managers were able to execute the FO's plans for each player, and understand organizational philosophies, and which managers did well working with players of differing backgrounds.
Mike
1:33
In a few chats, you have mentioned Alex Scherff as a guy to watch in the Red Sox system. What's his ceiling if he can stick as a starter?
Keith Law
1:34
Sounds like #2 starter.
Anthony
1:34
What's your take on Ramon Laureano? Buying him as a regular?
Keith Law
1:34
Loved him in the AFL two years ago but he's not going to post a .388 BABIP going forward. Good tools that might make him a fringe regular, much more likely he's a very good fourth OF.
Jake
1:35
Keith, obviously ranking prospects has some subjectivity to it, however on mlbpipeline's most recent top 100 KC had one representative.  Singer at 60.  I find it strange that you could have him at that slot and Lee, Lynch and Kowar nowhere in the top 100.  Your thoughts?
Keith Law
1:36
Lee is clearly a top 100 guy for me; Singer isn't, but I've never been a big believer in him given the delivery and lack of a pitch for LHB. I think Lynch is better at this point. Kowar did not throw well this summer, so leaving him off is understandable and I doubt he'd make mine.
Grant
1:36
Thought Scooter Gennett would have made your column about "people you were wrong about" What's your outlook for the rest of his career?
Keith Law
1:37
He's never been much of anything vs LHP, which was my critique of him going back to the minors. I think he's had one adequate year, which seems flukish. If this power is real - and he never showed it at all till he got to Cincinnati, but now has 50 HR in two seasons - he's essentially the strong half of a superb platoon.
Scott
1:37
If you were the Phillies’ GM, and assuming that money is not a factor, what moves would you make to roster and/or coaching staff? Which players and/or coaches would you want to stay and let germinate?
Connecting…