JotCast | Klawchat 6/3/19

Klawchat 6/3/19

Prev Page View Full Chat Next Page

Bill

3:44

Where would Bo Gentry rank in this draft?

Keith Law

3:45

He's in strong consideration at the #2 pick, if Boston doesn't trade the #1.

Denise

3:45

Do you see the mets going for a prep bat or leiter besides all the other pitchers mocked to them?

Keith Law

3:45

Not in the first round.

Alex

3:45

Any chance anyone meets Tre Fletcher's number, or is he going to Vandy?

Keith Law

3:46

I feel like he's going to school ... it only takes one team, of course, but he seemed to want a big number, and he's raw, and he hasn't been easy to see (Maine HS baseball isn't exactly the easiest to scout).

Curious Reader

3:46

Will you be reading Ben Lindbergh's book "The MVP Machine" coming out tomorrow? I know you Ben has cited you in his works before - were you interviewed for this book?

Keith Law

3:46

I have a copy but haven't read it.

3:46

Any chance the Mets can find another Jarred Kelenic like player this year, but not trade him months later for pennies on the dollar (as a Mets fan, that's going to hurt a long time)

Keith Law

3:47

That should hurt, because it was obviously a bad deal the day they did it. The new GM didn't understand the market value Kelenic had at that moment, and got too little in return for him and Dunn.

BullpenHelp

3:47

Thanks for the chat KLaw

Where do you see UConn closer Jacob Wallace being drafted?

Keith Law

3:47

I have heard he could go third or fourth but I'd bet after the fifth myself. Straight reliever.

Denise

3:47

I have heard that the college pitching crop is the worst in a long time, do you think this is so?

Keith Law

3:47

Absolutely. The worst I've ever covered/been involved in, and this is my 18th draft.

Jerome

3:47

Does your Top 100 account for signability also? I.e. Are some players lower on your board do to their college commitments?

Keith Law

3:48

No. I don't get that info on all players, and sometimes I don't know if the numbers I hear are real or just smokescreens, so I ignore them.

Nate

3:48

Last year the Jays surprised some people by going down the draft board a bit and snagging Jordan Groshans, a pick that (so far) seems to have worked out decently. Any chance they do something like that again and anyone like Groshans they could target? Thanks

Keith Law

3:48

Pick looks great right now - he was the lowest-ranked first rounder last year, I think? - but I only hear them on college arms, including Rutledge.

3:49

If Manoah is there, I would take him, but I've heard they have a very split camp on whether he's a starter in the long term.

Jscott022

3:49

UVa is normally a hotbed for draft talent is there anyone out of Virginia going in the early rounds of the draft this year?

Keith Law

3:49

Tanner Morris could go in the third; good hitter without a position. I didn't put him on my top 100 so I have him as more of a fourth-fifth round talent.

Andy

3:49

I wish Carter Stewart luck, but the thought process has been asked about college basketball. Why don't high school kids go overseas and get paid to play, then come back and get drafted by the NBA. The answer is, because going to a new culture is tough for anyone, especially an 18 year old away from home for the first time, and it's really fucking hard to play against adults doing it professionally. So again, I hope that lots of kids have huge success in Japan and scuttlebutt the MLB draft, but I won't get my hopes up.

Keith Law

3:50

I agree with everything you said here - and because of the CBA, Stewart would be under the international cap system until he's 25, so he'd have to be there for six seasons.

Nate

3:50

Do you see a team going for a reliever tonight and getting the m up to the majors this year?

Keith Law

3:50

No. That's rarely worked.

Jon

3:50

Keith, do you see any future "Aces" in this years draft? Thank you and Happy Draft day!!

Keith Law

3:50

I don't, actually, which is also part of why it feels like a bad pitching draft.

Jakob

3:50

Ever read any of Neal Stephenson's books?

Keith Law

3:51

Yes, Snow Crash and the Diamond Age. Not a huge fan.

Collin

3:51

What’s the word on Brennan Malone’s landing spots? What’s his range tonight in your opinion?

Keith Law

3:51

Seems like something caused teams to steer away from him lately, so he might get to the 30s.

Sriram

3:51

Thanks for all the work. The Top 100 shows your rankings - but where do you think the major breakpoints are in your rankings, where you think the tiers are among the prospects.

Keith Law

3:52

The big one I've highlighted is that I think Vaughn is close to Rutschman, and there's a breakpoint right after him, before the HS crop. That seems to put me at odds with my colleagues at MLB or Fangraphs.

Collin

3:52

Is Jerrion Ealy in play for anyone in the first round? How signable is he based on what you’ve heard?

Keith Law

3:52

No, not even close to first round. He's not very good, and he's probably going to play football.

Roger

3:52

If Abrams does slide into the teens/middle of the first round would it be because most of those teams don't view him as the top prospect on the board? Or possibly because they've already done so much work on other players not really realizing he'd be available?

Keith Law

3:54

This is a great question for which I don't have a great answer, but my instinct is that the second issue is bigger than folks want to admit. If you didn't really do the work on Abrams, and you have a player or small set of players on whom you did all the work (not just scouting but medicals and meetings and psych tests or whatever) who will be there, do you just say "fuck it!" and take Abrams, or stick with your process? I would probably do the latter unless it were someone who was such a no-doubter like Vaughn.

Nate (Seattle)

3:54

How many drafted players would be in a mid-season top 50 prospect list?

Keith Law

3:54

We'll see in a month, but I'd guess 5-7. We've had a lot of graduations from the pro top 100 already.

3:54

What’s the knock on Jung in your opinion? Power?

Connecting…