JotCast | Klawchat 8/13/20

Klawchat 8/13/20

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Keith Law

1:14

No, he's been Madrigal-like, it's all batting average, below-average power, doesn't walk or even seem to work the count that much.

James

1:14

I think your scouting series is so popular because we can actually watch what you’re seeing.

Keith Law

1:14

I'm just glad you guys are enjoying it. I was certainly concerned about providing enough value to subscribers in a year without the minors.

Zach

1:14

The Daniel Bard story out of CO is pretty darn cool. Did you ever scout or watch him as a young player? (Also, amazing how much money the Rockies spent on bullpen help and this guy may wind up being their stopper.)

Keith Law

1:16

Yes, saw him both summers he was an amateur, with Team USA and on the Cape. Saw him hold mid-90s up to 98 with life as a starter, secondaries were always inconsistent, arm slot was kind of a problem. I believe I wrote him up as a potential starter, though, because the velocity was so easy and he was supposed to be a smart kid. Who knows what really went awry - was it just Lancaster? Was it the arm action? Something we don't know about? - but I will say, in hindsight, he had a long way to go to get to three legit pitches and enough stuff to get LHB out to become a starter.

Jack

1:16

Any thoughts on the Laureano/Cintron incident? Were the suspensions right?

Keith Law

1:17

Yes, and yes. They're both idiots for what they did. There's a fucking pandemic going on, you dingbats.

Kevin

1:17

Is there an early indication on the baseball being used? Happy fun ball or scaled back?

Keith Law

1:17

Rob Arthur has written that it's less happy-fun than last year's.

1:17

Trump is intentionally murdering the post office to ruin mail in voting and circumvent democracy. Whither the NRA and the defense from tyranny?

Keith Law

1:18

He and his cronies are explicitly talking about reducing voting rights, but that's fine, because it's the voting rights of brown people.

Michael

1:18

The top of the 2016 draft was terrible, but after round 1 you had Dustin May, Pete Alonso, Bo Bichette, Shane Bieber, Zach Plesac and more. How are MLB teams so bad at this crucial part of building a team?

Keith Law

1:20

That's not really fair. Alonso looked quite different physically and didn't bring all that huge power to games. Bichette was a first-round talent, and some teams saw him that way, but he tried to deter some teams from drafting him so he could sign with an organization he liked (Toronto being one). Bieber had a 45 fastball. May had athleticism and a great arm but some head-whack and no real delivery consistency. You cherrypicked, with hindsight, five guys from rounds 2 and beyond. That's five successes out of, what, 500+ guys just taken in rounds 2 through 10?

Danny

1:20

I'm a Yankees fan and just saw Touki pitch this week for the first time- he's fun as hell to watch. Have I missed out? his pitches have great movement and he's really athletic on the mound

Keith Law

1:21

I still really like his future as a starter. Three potentially plus pitches, great athlete, still struggling a bit with consistency in the delivery, and I feel like he defaults a bit to power rather than location/setting up hitters.

Zach

1:21

Do you think Ryan McMahon will make enough contact to be an above-average regular?

Keith Law

1:21

I do.

jimmyb

1:21

At what point do the Angels get concerned about Adell? His defense (even on the wall catch yesterday) has been bad. And he looks sort of lost at the plate. Is it just about adjustments at this point?

Keith Law

1:21

Small sample but my impression is that he's overmatched at the plate and not ready yet.

1:22

It really seems like people get a kick out position players pitching (like Gyorko for the Brewers last night). It seems more prudent this season than any other season, with the compressed schedule. Do you enjoy it as well?

Keith Law

1:22

I enjoy it but it becomes less fun the more common it is.

Ben

1:22

There a lot of talk in Tigerland these days about wishing Boyd was dealt (before his current downturn started in the 2nd half) at last years deadline. My question to you is, do you know what level of prospects (if there actually was interest) were actually being offered then? If it was similar to the Greinke package, with all the financial negatives, I'd say Avila was right to sit. Do you think the Tigers could have gotten a better deal then the Greinke deal last summer for Boyd?

Keith Law

1:22

I don't know, but I don't blame Avila for not foreseeing Boyd turning into a pumpkin.

Guest

1:22

Why not push the end of the season a week or so to allow teams to complete their seasons? They could then get a playoff bubble in one or two cities and make sure that completes to get all their money.

Keith Law

1:22

Television contracts.

Joe

1:22

Since Tatis missed most of the last two months I forgot how much fun he makes baseball, doesn't he? I think Paddack's curve looks different this year and it seems to be fooling people. Is it moving into that average pitch territory more consistently?

Keith Law

1:23

No, not an average CB, a 45 for me. Probably good enough for what he is.

Andrew

1:23

Any chance MLB will have fans in the stands come April 2020?

Keith Law

1:24

Realistic answer? Maybe. Scientific answer? They shouldn't.

Fitch

1:24

Keith, as an outsider looking in (from UK, we have our own problems). When did Republican start to = idiot? Any post i see online or news clips you seemingly have to be thick, all lives matter, anti science, anti mask etc to be a Republican. Has Trump hardened these lines or did this start before him?

Keith Law

1:25

At some point in the Bush presidency, 2000-2008. This isn't the Republican party of the 1980s or even 1990s. Now, some of it - the fealty to the religious right, general opposition to anti-discrimination laws, smaller government and less social safety net - has been part of their platform since at least the 1960s, but this anti-science, conspiracy theory-toting lunacy is a new feature.

Justin

1:26

Bought and loved the book. Just in the last couple of days I’ve heard on the Mets broadcast that their biggest issue is that they can hit, but they can’t hit with runners in scoring position. Also heard the Rockies say of course a close pitch would go Story’s way, he has 600 games in the big leagues and the other guy has 6. My volume down button has never gotten more use.

Keith Law

1:26

You've made several good decisions there.

Braves Pitchers

1:26

Lucas Sims was pretty critical on Twitter of how he was handled by the Braves and they really only have Fried and Soroka to show for their pitching-focused rebuild. Are there issues with the Braves' front office re: developing pitching or is it just sour grapes from Sims?

Keith Law

1:26

That sounds a bit like sour grapes to me. And they still have some pitching coming, in the majors (Touki, Wilson) and minors (Anderson, Davidson).

Michael

1:27

Re: The draft, I'm talking about compared to the top of the draft with Moniak, Pint, Ray, etc. But you can do the same exercise for any year and find tons of great talent that reached the majors shortly after being picked.

Keith Law

1:27

That year had a very weak top 10 and we knew it at the time.

Charlie

1:27

Vlad Jr is 21, but 2 very sloppy errors at 1B make me concerned about how hard he works at his craft...

Keith Law

1:27

I've heard for years that he really works at hitting. That's great - make him a DH.

Tom

1:27

evan white looks very overmatched right now as well