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Tony
2:46
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe you've commented that the Pirates player development system hasn't had success in changing swing angles to increase power. I read comments from the Pirates that they hoped with an adjustment to Bryan Reynolds' swing angle his power would begin to play and he'd fulfill his potential. Question: do you think such a project is generally feasible and, in this specific instance, how high is Reynolds ceiling if he is able to make this adjustment?
Keith Law
2:47
I think it's feasible for guys who already have some feel to hit and some natural power. I would love to get a time machine and try this with Ryan Sweeney, the best 5 o'clock power hitter I ever saw (who couldn't do it in games, obviously).
Greyson
2:47
Have you heard any buzz on Tyler Kolek? Is he back near 100 or are those days over?
Keith Law
2:47
Check his stats from last year. If he's 100, it's to the backstop now.
Stu
2:47
The Reds are trying Senzel at SS... chance he sticks?
Keith Law
2:47
I think nearly zero.
Brian
2:47
A national reporter quoted a scout today saying that JP Crawford isn't a good defender. How can any scout possibly think that?
Keith Law
2:48
No clue. Some scouts don't like the way he plays - I've heard that on Brendan Rodgers too - and that may be coloring that one guy's opinion on JPC. I think Crawford might be a 70 defender if he works at it.
Jack
2:48
Thoughts on Jose Israel Garcia? I'm falling in love with the tools from what I'm reading, but it's so hard to find any video on the guy.
Keith Law
2:48
Everything i have on him is in the 'just missed' column. I've never seen the guy - almost no one has outside of a few teams who scouted him last June.
JM
2:48
Album yet to be released that you are most anticipating?
Keith Law
2:49
Courtney Barnett, Frank Turner, Speedy Ortiz.
Tye
2:49
Why are you so low on Gonsalves? Is his ceiling more of a 4/5? Will he be better than replacement level?
Keith Law
2:50
How am I low on him? He's a lefty with no average breaking ball and fringe-average velocity. I don't think he's more than a 4.
Sean
2:50
I had a discussion with a co-worker about pitching injuries. My co-worker tried to make the case that the pitchers of old were more durable than today's pitchers because of innings/pitch limits imposed today. I know this a preposterous claim, but I want to find a better way to illustrate to him that this not the case than just stating that reserve clause age pitchers were less incentivized  to report injuries than today's pitchers. Do you have area I can look to for greater knowledge on the issue?
Keith Law
2:50
They also didn't throw anywhere near as hard as today's pitchers. I think the average fastball velocity has been creeping up steadily for about 20 years now.
Chris
2:51
Knowing how much you love Chvrches but how you're not a fan of Matt Berninger's voice, how torn were you on whether to like the new Chvrches single featuring him?
Keith Law
2:51
I wasn't torn at all. It's terrible. So is "Get Out."
Brian
2:51
I want to follow up on a question I asked last week: while most saw Mickey Moniak as a below dollar sign in a weak draft. But almost every draft analyst seemed to agree w/the Phillies that he had a good hit tool. That seems to have been exposed an incorrect., So what I'm wondering is how a consensus like that develops that's incorrect? Is it something about what scouts saw or is it related to projecting how a guy will hit better pitching?
Keith Law
2:52
Scouts saw him hit well against good pitching as an amateur. I don't know that I'd say it's "incorrect;" you'd have to give him another year before going that far. I'd say that his hit tool isn't as advanced today (present tool) as we thought. He might still hit.
Adam Doctolero
2:52
I find the research that has been done regarding the juiced baseballs to be fascinating and pretty damning for MLB, but I have a hard time reconciling that with their obsession with shorter games. Is MLB really dumb enough to not recognize that more offense leads to longer games, or are they just trying to have their hot fruit and eat it too?
Keith Law
2:53
Probably the latter. They'd love three-hour games with lots of homers. I guess you could do that with a giant strike zone?
Noah
2:53
Nats' Jefry Rodroguez a prospect for you?
Keith Law
2:53
Saw him right before the suspension. A prospect, not an elite one.
Tom
2:53
So why are we fighting about ideas to stop school shootings? Lets do a bunch of stuff, stricter gun laws, armed security guards at schools, stronger security measures in schools, why is it always just one idea against another instead of a compromise where we put pieces of everyones thoughts together?
Keith Law
2:54
I can say for myself that a lot of the proposals for "stronger security measures" are going to be very expensive and produce very little benefit. (Some such measures, like metal detectors, just create new soft targets because they slow entry and crowds build up outside the building.) I want safer schools; I don't want our governments spending a billion or so dollars on measures that won't work.
Oscar
2:54
Debating getting a French Press or Pour Over for my office? Where do you fall? Any particular models you recommend?
Keith Law
2:55
Pour-over takes more time, but makes better coffee. I have a Hario, which was maybe $24.
Andy
2:55
Ken Griffey Jr also used to disrespect the game, by wearing his hat backwards.
Keith Law
2:56
Yes he did. So disrespectful.
Jim Nantz
2:56
Lincecum as a closer intrigues me if he's actually throwing 90-93 as reports have suggested. Think he's got anything left?
Keith Law
2:56
Unlikely, not impossible. Let's see how hard he's throwing when he throws three times in four games.
Scott
2:56
Please help me settle an argument with a friend.  Does momentum exist in baseball?  I cite the Sela and Simonoff study, but he showed me that Bill James believes it is possible it exists.  What is your view?
Keith Law
2:57
It does not exist. Someone believing a thing is possible does not make it possible. (And your friend used a classic appeal to authority. "Keith Law believes it does not exist" isn't a good argument either. Instead, tell him to show you evidence that this invisible, important thing is actually real.)
Craig
2:57
Where will Rodgers End up for the Rockies? Is he good enough to push Story out or is the more realistic thing to do is to move to second and move DJ?
Keith Law
2:57
I think the odds of Rodgers going to 2b or 3b are increasing.
Sandy Kazmir
2:57
How soon do you think we'll see teams turning away from strikeout-prone hitters?
Keith Law
2:58
I believe some teams are already hunting for those guys - not just in the majors, but in the draft too.
Mike
2:58
Re: Acuna. I don't think anyone can say they didn't love watching the DR and PR play in the WBC last year. Watching Baez, Lindor, and Correa was so much fun every game.
Keith Law
2:58
If you didn't love watching those dudes, you probably should go watch golf.