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Klawchat 4/22/21
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Keith Law
1:28
Not unreasonable.
Noah
1:28
Re: the Mets front office, don't you think at this point Sandy Alderson has to step down?  One mistake in hiring is maybe something you can shrug off (although with sexual harassment, I don't think so), but this is a pattern.
Keith Law
1:29
Yes, he absolutely does, for rehiring someone with a history of harassment over the active objections of multiple current employees. I have always liked and respected Sandy, but this is not just an error in judgment, and his response to the Athletic article did not help matters.
1:30
My guess is that he'll finish the year and be allowed to "resign" on his terms, since his departure now would leave an interim GM and no baseball executive above him, but I wouldn't even wait that long. It sends a horrible message to the organization.
Jason
1:30
Is billy mckinney (with his former first round pedigree) a breakout candidate or is he just having a hot start?
Keith Law
1:30
He has a .297 OBP. That's not a hot start.
Steve
1:31
What is the main reason Wander Franco isn't a major leaguer yet?
Keith Law
1:31
He's never played above A-ball.
Ben Z
1:31
Alright Keith. Hit us with your Oscar picks. I know you haven’t seen MINARI yet (I think), my choice for Best Picture of the nominees, albeit in a deservedly tight, strong 1-2 race with Nomadland...so setting that movie aside for now...
Keith Law
1:32
I think Nomadland will win, and it would be my pick. This year's possible Green Book is The Trial of the Chicago 7, which is very actorly and Such an Important Movie, You Know, In This Moment, but which I would rank 8th of the nominees.
Zach
1:32
Do you think Tejay Antone's stuff can hold up in the rotation? It looks like has video game cheat codes.
Keith Law
1:32
Big spin guy but more likely a reliever in the end. Stuff plays, though.
Uli Jon
1:32
I thought this was going to be an above average draft a year ago, which maybe says something about early projections as well as Covid weirdness. If you had to pick one, would you say this class is weak or more of a shrug emoji?
Keith Law
1:33
It's ended up weak. Now maybe it's because guys were rusty, or are dealing with more fatigue than usual, but it's a weak class.
Anthony
1:33
If Tatis was still a prospect would you drop him in your rankings because of this shoulder issue?
Keith Law
1:33
No, that's absurd.
Frank
1:34
You seem to be a big Henry Davis fan from your article.  If you were picking 1-1 would you take him over any of the pitchers?
Keith Law
1:36
I am going to see Leiter (if possible) in the next few weeks, but right now, I think I would. Elite bat at catcher. Position player > pitcher. And the pitchers this year, while very good up top, are not Strasburg/Cole/Price.
Michael
1:36
Vlad is crushing it. Is it because he's really in the best shape of his life or something else?
Keith Law
1:36
Two possible explanations: either it's because he's putting the ball in the air a lot more (launch angle is way up over 2019 or 220), or it's because I made him a breakout pick last year and those names always seem to be a year too early (or, as with Rickie Weeks, just never right).
Jays
1:37
Are the Jays' defensive issues an organizational failure or the logical outcome of a bat first bottleneck? Is improvement even possible?
Keith Law
1:39
Bat-first bottleneck, sure, but also, why play Bichette at short over Semien? why play Biggio at third? They're making some specific choices that, while probably not huge individually, might add up to 10 or more runs allowed over the course of the year.
Ben Z
1:39
What do you think is the proper course for my Nats? It seems like their window has finally shut. It’s been a great decade and I’m not complaining (nor can I get too upset over things like the Strasburg and Corbin contracts or their failure to extend young position player superstars or trading away Giolito and Luzardo...who knows, remove one of these, and maybe they don’t get their ring)...but this will be a tough plane to take apart and rebuild...
Keith Law
1:39
Scherzer would be quite the coveted midseason acquisition if they choose to trade him. I know that's not Rizzo's MO, but he could probably make a killing.
Amos
1:39
Hi Keith - If you were in charge of the A’s, would you roll the dice on Jaden Hill towards the end of the 1st round? They’ve gambled on high end tools in Beck and Murray and Hill seems like a similar lottery ticket type pick if given the time to recover from TJ surgery. Thanks.
Keith Law
1:40
Depends on the medicals, but yeah, where they pick, it would be a worthwhile gamble in this draft.
Guest
1:40
The standard answer is you should never draft for need and the worst result is you have multiple talented prospects at the same position which you can trade- buuuut, would the Yankees take another catcher at 20 (given the prep catcher talent) if they've drafted 3 catchers in the top 2 rounds in the last 3 years?
Keith Law
1:40
Why, though? It's not a great prep catcher class, so I'm not sure why they'd specifically take one with greater depth in other areas of the class.
Max
1:41
What does Del Castillo have to do to get back into the top-5ish part of the draft a lot of people pegged him at earlier this year?
Keith Law
1:41
That's just not happening.
HH
1:42
Are teams allowed to ask players whether they've had the Covid-19 vaccine, and if not, whether they plan to get it? Would you downgrade a player who refused relative to a similar player who wouldn't? If so, how much?
Keith Law
1:43
That's a good question. I assume they could ask, given what they're allowed to ask players about their medical histories. I would consider refusal to get a vaccine as an indicator of questionable makeup. It shows a lack of critical thinking.
Mac
1:43
I get all that about Jobe but what if he's a unicorn?  HS right hander aside he sure checks a lot of boxes for a TOR pitcher.
Keith Law
1:44
He's not, though. He doesn't check any more boxes than Abel did. And you're ignoring the base rate - why is he going to be a unicorn? Because he's tall and athletic? So are lots of top HS pitchers. Because he throws hard? Well, even more do that.
Jobe is a good prospect. He doesn't belong in the top 5.
Dylan
1:45
Re travel to Texas for scouting Lawlar -- I was in Dallas this past weekend, and nearly everyone I encountered was masked.  My sense is that the metro areas still act about like they did under the mask orders, but that it's a different story in rural areas.
Keith Law
1:45
That's great to hear, although his season is about to end on Tuesday, and there will only be limited chances to see him beyond that.
Chris
1:45
Thoughts on Frankie Montas?
Keith Law
1:46
He's a reliever, always has been. I'm amazed how much of a chance he's gotten to start.
JC
1:47
Austin Riley's baseball savant's page is hard to look at - do you think this was a case of the Braves actually thinking he could get better, or just being cheap and hoping they can get anything for min salary? Just all around frustrating to watch him now
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