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Klawchat 4/26/18
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Keith Law
1:00
Seeing their children caught up in the latest Klawchat.
Mike
1:00
Would the Padres have been better off starting Tatis Jr. in high A?
Keith Law
1:00
Is this an overreaction to a slow April? No.
J
1:00
Is Mitch White hurt?  Was trying to locate where he is assigned and what he is doing...?
Keith Law
1:00
Yes, he's in extended.
addoeh
1:01
Given your the book you were reading earlier in the week; whose solo career do you prefer, Peter Gabriel or Phil Collins?
Keith Law
1:01
I don't know Gabriel's work between leaving Genesis and <em>So</em> well enough to answer that.
Megatron
1:01
Hey Keith, thanks as always for these chats. My question is about the White Sox double play combo. How are Anderson and Moncada putting up such good numbers (in fWAR, wRC+, OPS, etc.) despite sky high strikeout rates?
Keith Law
1:03
Only Moncada's K rate is sky high, and his .385 BABIP won't last either. Anderson has a 22% K rate, and he already has more than half as many walks in 2018 as he did in all of 2017 or 2016.
Alex
1:03
Per Fangraphs, Javy Baez's '17 wRC+ was 98, so far in '18 he's at 186 (SSS I know as less than 100 PAs). What's a realistic full season expectation?
Keith Law
1:05
His rate stats are skewed by the 4 IBB he's received (and only 2 unintentional, which I assume happened because the pitcher sneezed mid-delivery). I think a well above-average wRC+ is reasonable, something in the 120s, driven by power and what appears to be a consistent .330ish BABIP ability.
Dante
1:05
What's the most obscure place you've traveled to see a prospect?
Keith Law
1:05
Kendallville, Indiana, to see Jarrod Parker; or Baxley, Georgia, to see Byron Buxton. Baxley was 2:40 from Macon, which is itself nearly 2 hours from Atlanta.
Steve Dalkowski
1:05
Has Severino made any changes to his delivery (or to his body) that would make you think there's less chance of a breakdown in the next couple of years than you originally thought?
Keith Law
1:06
He has bulked up a lot, but I don't think we know if that reduces breakdown risk, so I'd say no. Hell, anyone throwing that hard that regularly is probably at a higher than average risk, since one of the few things we know contributes to injury is regularly pitching with high (for you) velocity.
Frank
1:06
seems like the Yankees signing machado this offseason to a massive deal wouldn't make sense anymore given didi, andujar, and gleyber look like long term pieces in the infield. what do you think?
Keith Law
1:07
Machado is a clear upgrade over Andujar anyway, so even though I believe Andujar will be at least an average regular, trading him and signing Machado still makes the team better.
Sonny Gray
1:07
WTF is wrong with me?
Keith Law
1:07
I discussed that with Buster on the podcast today. It might be about pitching style, not injury or stuff.
Grant
1:07
Keith, I know you've read Hyperion, but have you ready any other Dan Simmons? I'm currently reading The Terror and really enjoying it so far.
Keith Law
1:07
No, just Hyperion.
Glen
1:07
Andujar has been phenomenal lately, but am I wrong to be concerned he might be Maikel Franco?
Keith Law
1:08
Much better approach than Franco at the same age.
Tom F
1:08
What's your take on Adbert Alzolay? Future 3-4 starter potential or bullpen guy in the bigs eventually? Doesn't seem to have a ton of strikeout stuff
Keith Law
1:08
Future 3-4 starter. Reliever in the majors this year.
Mike
1:08
Is the third-time-through-the-order penalty just a fancy name for looking at pitch count? Is there anything to suggest that facing the 19th hitter on 70 pitches is harder than facing the 18th hitter (after adjusting for hitter quality of course)?
Keith Law
1:08
Yes, the data indicate that both variables are contributing factors: Increasing pitch count and hitter familiarity.
Mike
1:09
I feel like most 21-year-olds who put up a .300/.340/.540 line in AAA with 13 HR/18 SB in a half season at a premium position would have gotten a lot more press than Adalberto Mondesi did, probably because he'd already been so bad in the majors and lost his rookie status. Do you think there's any reason to think he's just a quad-A player or does he still have a good shot at a career?
Keith Law
1:09
More than a 4A guy, but doing that in AAA after you've played two months in the majors (and seen MLB pitching) is less impressive or predictive than doing it when you've never been above AA.
Darren
1:09
Hi Keith,
I would love to hear you discuss Didi and his growth. We knew he had a stellar glove but I dont' think anyone saw this coming. Following in the footsteps of Jeter was one thing, ridding himself of the defense first guy took work, but now he is looking like one of the best all around players in MLB. Impressive.
Keith Law
1:11
Remember when Kevin Towers (RIP) comped him to Jeter, and everyone, myself included, scoffed? Guess Kevin out-scouted us all. I thought Didi had a swing geared for power but nowhere near the strength for it. He's gotten a lot stronger, and the ball itself has helped him (is it a coincidence that he never hit 10 homers in a season until 2016?). The part that seems even more out-of-nowhere, and that might also indicate that he really is a top ten player in the AL, is that he's suddenly walking like crazy without any increase in K rate.
BRM
1:11
Have you looked at the GenCon event list and if so, what are you looking forward to?
Keith Law
1:12
I glanced at it, but haven't signed up for anything yet because I am finalizing my panel schedule in the writers' symposium too.
Alex
1:12
Are there any San Diego area HS players I should make a point to go see?
Keith Law
1:12
Not this year. Only three SoCal prep players on my top 50 - Turang, Winn, McClain.
Greta
1:12
Hello Keith. Ever read any Hubert Selby, Jr.? If not, I'd recommend starting with Last Exit to Brooklyn or Requiem for a Dream.
Keith Law
1:12
I haven't, and knowing what little I know about those books, I don't think I'd like either.
Drew
1:13
Do you think the NL East will remain this competitive all season, or do you expect the Nats will begin to dominate the division once Rendon, Eaton, and Murphy return?
Keith Law
1:13
I would still pick the Nats to win the division. Dominate is too strong, and it doesn't really matter if they win by one game or ten.
Kevin S.
1:13
In the minors, Tyler Austin's performance got him on the back end of a couple top-100 lists ahead of the 2013 season, at which point he started suffering some really unfortunate injuries.  He made it to the bigs, but struggled in limited playing time.  Now that he's healthy and playing with Bird out, he's really tearing the cover off the ball.  Is this just SSS theater, or is he starting to fulfill that promise he flashed five years ago?
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