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Klawchat 12/7/17
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Chris
1:30
Any idea why Ohtani and/or his agents would make 23 teams go through a useless exercise of filling out the dog and pony forms?
Keith Law
1:31
Maybe they had a purpose that didn't make it useless. Maybe they didn't want to show such disrespect to teams as to say "Ohtani is so unwilling to play for you that nothing you can say would change his mind."
EC
1:31
For closers and the HOF, even if - and that is a big if - we wanted to put them in, don't we have to wait until we have a larger crop to judge who were the best (Mariano excluded)? There seems to be an arguments that Hoffman is the second best, but there are some that seem obviously better (Nathan) or could be considerably more valuable by the end of their career (Kimbrel, Jansen). What's the rush to get Hoffman in?
Keith Law
1:33
Every writer who lists Hoffman on his/her ballot is telling you that s/he still values saves, even though we know the stat is meaningless for discussing individual value. If Hoffman pitched exactly the same way, the same 1089 innings, the same 2.87 ERA, but had zero saves, this isn't a discussion. He would have fallen off the ballot two years ago. He did less in his career than Brandon Webb, for crying out loud. But these voters will not let go of their precious saves, even as the teams they cover have made it very clear that they see no utility in the statistic.
Ted
1:33
Are you planning on updating your kitchen gifts and cookbook recommendations for this year? I have found them to be very helpful around the holidays the past few years?
Keith Law
1:33
The gift guide went up yesterday (http://klaw.me/2AwOlma) and the cookbook guide will go up after the chat.
Jason S
1:33
Have you had Philz coffee? If so, thoughts on it, have you had better?
Keith Law
1:33
I have had it. I've had a lot that's better.
Andrew
1:34
Hi klaw, greetings from the UK, something of a baseball noob here and have adopted the Rays. My first season of regular viewing was last season. Was just wondering your general view on the strength (or otherwise) of their farm system..
Keith Law
1:34
I think it's below the median, but I'll do a detailed ranking & explanation in January when I post the prospect rankings package.
Jay
1:34
With Del Rosario, Negret, and possibly 5 1st round/comp A picks, do you think the Royals can turn around the farm system quickly?
Keith Law
1:35
I don't. You might - I don't want to infer too much here - be overrating the impact of the two former Atlanta prospects. I will say this: they probably need to approach this draft differently than the last few. Their recent emphasis on high school pitching hasn't panned out so far, and with the extra picks and the money they bring, they can be more creative than they've been since the new system went into place.
Jack
1:35
How concerned should phillies fans be about mickey moniak? Should he start in low a again?
Keith Law
1:36
I'm pretty concerned. He looked like he'd never seen a slider before every time I saw him, and I believe the Phillies are considering moving him to a corner, having played him there in instructs too.
JC
1:36
Are there any long term internal options the Braves have at 3B? Let's include college options to be drafted at #8 (assuming, of course, they are BPA while drafted). If not, should they sit out this year for external options in a potential buyers market?
Keith Law
1:36
I'm not a Riley fan, but he is their best 3b prospect and I know internally they rank him more highly than I do.
Chris
1:37
You talk a lot on these chats about abuse and assault from athletes and other entertainers (and thank you for that), especially how ridiculous it can be that people then target the victim as a liar. However, I wanted to know what your opinion was around rehabilitation and what needs to happen before you would accept those accused getting back into the spotlight.
Keith Law
1:38
Those people can certainly go through counseling, although its effect is far from certain (especially for those abusers who are themselves trauma victims). But we don't have to let them be famous again. I don't need to see Josh Lueke in a major league uniform again - there are plenty of guys who throw hard and have never raped a woman.
Eddy
1:38
I'm having trouble nailing down the HR and SB totals for Gleyber Torres in a typical season. What is a reasonable expectation? Seen everything from 15 HR to 25+ and single-digit SB to 20.
Keith Law
1:38
He's not a runner. I could see 20+ homers, definitely, but if he steals 20 it'll be on instincts rather than speed.
Ray Liotta as Shoeless Joe
1:38
I apologize if you have answered this before, but it is December so it is Hall of Fame season. Is Pete Rose a Hall of Famer? Not a Hall of Fame talent...a Hall of Famer.
Keith Law
1:39
I think he has to be, as much as it disgusts me. I can't argue for any player who is a 'known' PED user under the argument that the Hall needs to show the best players, period, and then argue against Rose.
TJ
1:39
The common refrain around the Red Sox is that they need power, but wouldn't a consistent hitter at 1B be just as valuable? So many times to break a game open they just need a base hit while Hanley would swing out of his shoes to hit the long ball. (anecdotal but still). Is there a point at which upgrading the power is being pursued too much to the detriment of a better offense?
Keith Law
1:39
They really do need power. They have plenty of guys who can hit. The lack of power sank the offense last year.
Chris
1:39
Any chance Mickey Jannis gets scooped up in Rule 5?
Keith Law
1:39
Doubt it.
Enquiring Mind
1:39
Better upside and/or  chance of reaching it: Kingery or Bo Bichette? I’ll hang up and listen. Thanks as always for the chats.
Keith Law
1:39
Bichette better upside. Kingery is a big leaguer right now, though.
Jeff
1:39
Is the talent in this year's Rule 5 better than normal, or are there just more recognizable names that haven't panned out?
Keith Law
1:40
Couple of more recognizable names - Nick Burdi's name has come up a few times, I think he'll go off the board - but not necessarily better ones.
Luke
1:40
Should we all just quit caring about the Hall? I fail to understand how Vizquel is getting so much support while Edmonds got booted off the ballot in his first year, Edgar and Walker can't get elected, the roiders sit on the ballot every year taking up votes and keeping deserving players out...nothing about it makes sense. And then there are writers like Livingston that you commented about on Twitter today that make a mockery of the whole process. Rant over. I guess my question is how do they fix the process for election?
Keith Law
1:41
The electorate for the Hall will change more slowly than the electorate for postseason awards, because the former includes a lot of people who haven't covered the game for 5+ years, and a lot of people who still cover it but haven't bothered to keep up with the seismic shifts in how baseball players are valued by the industry itself. But it will change.
Evan
1:41
Atkins said that they are going to exhaust Connor Greene as a SP "until he has no choice." (Smart decision.) Do you think Greene is destined for the bullpen, and if so, could he be a top end high-leverage RP?
Keith Law
1:41
I would still try him out as a starter. I don't think it's foreordained that he's a reliever.
Evan
1:41
I heard a rumor the Braves are trying to open up a corner OF spot for Acuna this season. If he plays the bulk of the year in the majors, what type of production do you think he would have?
Keith Law
1:44
I can't imagine he's there Opening Day, for service time reasons; that would be silly. But I'd release Matt Kemp for him, definitely. Think he'd hit .280-.290, low .300s OBP, 30+ steals ... I want to say 10-12 homers, but the juiced ball has really thrown me off the last year or two. He hit 21 across A+-AA-AAA last year with the minor league ball, so is it absurd to say he could really hit 20 homers if you gave him 600 PA in the majors?
Brian
1:44
Not a question, but fwiw, my grievance with insane HoF ballots is exactly the same as yours. In fact, I've noticed this is usually what makes me upset about things in general: when people are in charge of things for no reason, and yet it is very hard to do anything about it ...
Keith Law
1:44
It feels like you're talking about something more than just sports here.
Dan
1:44
Heliot Ramos appeared to have a good debut this summer, but have you heard anything from scouts (or scouted yourself) to change your pre-draft opinion of him? Is there star upside there? Or more average regular?
Keith Law
1:45
Nothing new, just a great debut, which I don't read a ton into other than that he didn't fail right away, which worries the hell out of me when a player does that in his first pro (wood bat) experience. Some guys get around it - Nolan Jones was much better in 2017 than in his debut - but most don't.
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