JotCast | Klawchat, 8/16/17.

Klawchat, 8/16/17.

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Keith Law

1:15

I'm going to go with 'no' on that one.

ssimo02

1:16

Rumor has it Giancarlo Stanton cleared waivers. Given his recent performance (and setting aside any no-trade clause), do you think the contract is untradeable?

Keith Law

1:16

I do, not unless the new owners decide to pay some large portion of the remainder. Loria backloaded all his deals so he could do just this - pay very little of his own money and stick the next owner with the bill.

Mickey

1:16

hey keith - congrats and great job on "Smart Baseball" -- looking forward to a sequel! Knowing you enjoy cooking, I wonder: do you have an herb garden?

Keith Law

1:17

We do have a garden, herbs, some vegetables, and a pumpkin vine that grew out of the compost that has already yielded one giant fruit with more coming.

Will

1:17

Why does Twitter continue to let Dick Spencer and Davey Duke use their service? Are they fucked in the head?

Keith Law

1:17

It's a good question. I'm pretty sure that whole neo-Nazi contingent violates Twitter's ToS every time they take a breath.

Jack

1:17

How would you compare Hunter Greene to Sixto Sanchez?

Keith Law

1:18

I wouldn't. Greene's taller, more athletic, with a better chance for plus secondary. Sanchez is 5'10" and a more polished pitcher but lacks projection. They're not terribly comparable at all.

Sterling Mallory Chris Archer

1:18

Have you heard any updates from scouts on JP Crawford? You sent a ripple in the fandom with your comments last time. Also, what's it like knowing that you can singlehandedly change the public outlook on one player?

Keith Law

1:21

It's incredibly unfortunate - even more so because they weren't MY comments, but comments from scouts and executives. And a local Philly news outlet used that content and some comments from John Manuel at BA in blog posts that were comically biased, cheering Crawford on and acting like this should be bulletin-board material. FWIW, I haven't heard anything different on him in the last month. I'm glad he's playing better, but scouts aren't seeing anything different yet.

The Average Sports Fan

1:21

Has Moncada been pretty much what you expected since his promotion?

Keith Law

1:21

I guess, although in such a small sample you could expect anything and still be within reason.

Steven

1:21

Keibert Ruiz: (barely) 19 yr old C in A+, 12% K rate across two levels and has hit .300+ at every stop in his, albeit, short career. Stat line and age-level case looks strong, can you offer the scouting take?

Keith Law

1:22

Saw him in March. Big strong kid, looks like he can hit (good swing, feel to hit), did not get much of a look behind the plate but folks tell me he's a bat-first guy.

Young Hoss Radbourn

1:22

Greetings, Klaw. If you had to hang your hat on one guy becoming a star, who would it be out of Fernando Tatis, Jr, Forest Whitley, Juan Soto, or Bo Bichette?

Keith Law

1:22

Tatis Jr.

addoeh

1:22

Many Republicans may be blind to problems of climate change, and anti-vax, and a host of other issues, but at least they are smart enough to see that neo-Nazis are the fucking worst. It's a low bar, but it's something. Shame our President doesn't see it that way.

Keith Law

1:23

Shame so many officials in government only feel that way in private conversations, instead of going on the record.

jim

1:24

Afternoon Keith. Finally finished Smart Baseball and loved it. Do you think this season for the Mets is just a bump in the road or the start of another down turn? They seem to have the makings of a really solid core with Conforto, Cespedes, Rosario, and Smith but the rotation, outside maybe deGrom and Noah, and bullpen are still question marks. Thanks!

Keith Law

1:25

I agree the rotation needs help. You could argue they had bad luck with health, and some of that (Thor with a non-arm injury) is true, but Harvey isn't reliable, Matz has no history of health, and even deGrom is probably less consistent than you want. But the offensive core is coming together really nicely. Szapucki getting hurt and Dunn scuffling so badly in A-ball both hurt their depth badly.

Tommy

1:26

How have Michel Baez's secondary pitches progressed this season?

Keith Law

1:26

Well. Have heard the CH has shown plus and the breaking ball above average.

Aiden

1:26

Okay, let's start with a difficult one for our president to answer: Nazis, good or bad?

Keith Law

1:26

Gotta hear both sides, Aiden.

1:26

Odds that Devers keeps up the Sanchez-esque (Sahchezque?) late-season debut?

Keith Law

1:27

I wouldn't predict he keeps this up, but I have long contended that Devers will be a superstar and I'm not budging.

Brian

1:27

Javier Baez has a 5.3% walk rate. Which, not great. Hides the more concerning thing that 11 of his 19 walks are IBBs (10 in front of pitchers). What are the chances he can become more than this? And what he is now isn't a disaster as a guy that can play fine defense anywhere on the IF....but it leaves me wanting more.

Keith Law

1:27

This is probably what he is - 90% chance this is it. Useful, not a regular.

John

1:27

Focusing only on defense, how worried should a Red Sox fan be about a left side of the infield with Devers and Bogaerts? I feel like the defensive stats have been all over the map for Bogaerts.

Keith Law

1:28

Bogaerts is an enigma to me - he had power as a teenager, but makes relatively poor contact; he has good hands and instincts, but generally grades out poorly by advanced defensive metrics. Devers will be fine, but they may need a better glove at short.

Which puts X ... nowhere.

Tommy

1:28

With Reynolds crashing back to Earth, is McMahon going to take the long side of a 1B platoon in COL rest of season?

Keith Law

1:28

Would love to see that.

1:28

Enjoyed the book. Thanks for touching on the caught stealing. Is there a way to quantify GIDP or is there too much RBI type noise?

Keith Law

1:29

Fangraphs tries to value it, but you nailed the problem (opportunities vary). It's a skill in that a certain player type - slow runner, hard contact, too many balls hit on the ground - will hit into more of them.

Danny

1:30

Still very early but has Nick Williams performance thus far exceeded your expectations?

Keith Law

1:30

Nope.

Lenny

1:30

Let's say Kopech turns into a #2 (too many walks or something keeping him from being a true ace) and Moncada plateaus into something like a league-average guy, perhaps a tick more. Would the White Sox be happy with an outcome like that – even if they hoped for more? (not saying this is the likely outcome at all, just speculating on how blockbuster trades like that are viewed later on)

Keith Law

1:30

They should be happy with that, but I would guess White Sox fans would be disappointed in that outcome because both players have the potential to be more.

Connecting…

Eric

3:53

Hi Keith, Ryan Borucki is getting a lot of hype right now. Any insights on him?

Tyler

3:55

Is Joe Maddon a poor strategist? I am a Cubs fan - he seems to be outstanding with respect to managing personalities; but I am starting to think he is an absolutely terrible manager from an Xs and Os standpoint.

Chris

3:56

What has JP Crawford corrected to be playing so much better since the beginning of July?

Jim

3:58

Any scouting report for us Royals fans on Seuly Matias?

Ryan

3:59

What's your read on Ronald Guzman? Platoon bat, second-division regular, first-division regular, or star?

Marc

4:00

Is Zack Godley legit?

Jake

4:00

I know Willie Calhoun has some defensive flaws--can he still be a valuable player at DH?

Tim

4:02

What did you think of the twins draft?

Jeremy

4:02

Who do you think ends up winning NL MVP? Stanton, Goldy, other?

Bob

4:02

Enough data on Kevin Maitan for a better read at this point?

Phil

4:03

Still a believe in Oscar De La Cruz? Is he ever going to pitch again? How would you rank De La Cruz, Alzolay, Albertos at this stage?

Chaz

4:04

Justin Dunn - reliever or starter?

Rob

4:04

Have you heard any recent reports on Michael Kopech? He has been incredible over his last six starts.

Tom

4:05

Do you know of any corner outfielders who improved his defense enough to become a plus defender in center? Mets seem to think Conforto can be a full-time CF in 2018, I'm not so sure.

Melvin

4:06

Hey Keith - Big, bad setback year for Sandy Alcantara, or to be expected with leap to AA? Still think he can be a front of the rotation type?

Jimmy

4:06

Who wins the NL Central?

Jimmy

4:07

Better Prime- Pedro, Koufax, Clemens?

Mike

4:07

We all know Eloy's bat will play anywhere, but what about his defense? I've seen reports that he's going to be above average right fielder than others that say he will be below average in left.

Kevin

4:07

Trey Mancini: you buying or selling?

Steve

4:08

Is Corey Knebel's breakout legit?

Mike B

4:10

Tim Beckham? Obviously he won't keep up the pace he's set since he joined the O's, but do you think he's finally putting it all together? Is he a "needed a change of scenery" guy?

matt

4:11

Did you expect Kyle Schwarber would have as much trouble as he has making contact inside the strike zone? How would you project his slash line ROS?

Nate

4:12

Keith, are there 5 names to keep an eye on for the 2018 draft?

Arnold

4:12

How many political questions will you get today? You occasionally touch on a few in these chats, but I'm betting you get more such questions than normal after the past few days.

Ryan

4:13

I know how you feel about Tebow the player but - marketing, etc. considered - does he retire with over/under 0.5 at-bats at the MLB level?

David F

4:13

Which lower level White Sox prospects or sleepers can fans be excited about ?

4:13

Welcome back Keith,

Lance

4:16

He's unfortunately injured, but before that Wilson Contreras was really locked in. Does he have MVP potential?

jay_B

4:16

Odds that Schwarber has 2 or more 4-WAR seasons?

Ortho Stice

4:17

Loved your book! Got lost when my room was rearranged mysteriously.

Ben

4:17

What should the Twins do in the offseason to improve next year? Do you think Falvey and co plan to compete for the division next year or keep building?

Ortho Stice

4:18

I see lots of people trying to decipher Miguel Cabrera's "down year", but hardly a mention of what it must be like to try and focus on baseball with the turmoil in Venezuela. Isn't that a fairly plausible explanation?

Darren

4:18

We can clearly see pitchers have made adjustments to Judge. Can you please provide some detail of the differences and changes made. To me it seems they stopped offering him high pitches most guys pop up or foul off, yet he was getting to. What else can you attribute to the recent K rate? Thanks.

Kevin

4:19

What is a reasonable SB projection for Acuna in the majors? In 31 games at AAA he's only 4-for-8.

Harvey Dent

4:20

How much has Michael Chavis restored his prospect stock? It seems like he's tailing off a little bit after a blistering run, but still solid overall

Robert

4:22

Have you ever gone to a protest?

Mitchy

4:23

If you are Jeff Luhnow, do you trade a top 3 prospect for Verlander and go all in for this postseason?

Raphael

4:23

Do you know why such an inordinate amount of R/L players are pitchers?

Matt

4:24

The president of the United States is basically a casual Nazi and the GOP is STILL SILENT. WTF are we supposed to do? How do we stop this shit before it gets worse?

Hot Takes McGee

4:25

Is Trump the Angel Hernandez of Presidents, or is Angel Hernandez the Trump of umpires?

Frenchy

4:28

You've always been a big Glasnow fan. With his simplified mechanics, what're you expecting once he comes back up?

Jung the philly fan.

4:30

Is there any good prospect coming up next year? I feel like we need at least 2 good hitters and 2 starting pitchers to be a decent team...yes, not a good but a decent team.

Greg P

4:32

Do we read anything into Tampa's Jesus Sanchez's season? What is his likely outcome?

Eric

4:33

At a somerset patriots game earlier in the year I asked jerry sands what his batting line would be in the majors, IF, he faced nothing but 70mph fastballs down the middle for every at bat over a season. He said .500 avg w 70hrs. In your opinion is this close? What would an avg MLB hitter do in that scenario in your mind?

Will

4:36

What in the fuck is wrong with your country?

Will

4:36

What in the fuck world do we live in that antifa and SJW are pejoratives?

Will

4:37

Is your president brain-damaged?

Steve

4:37

Hey Keith, anyone from the draft that you're significantly higher on now than you were before? Not SSS talk, but reports coming out about players whose stuff has ticked up or are looking considerably better now than they did a few months ago?

Kevin (St. Paul, MN)

4:38

I was watching a game the other day and while a reliever warmed up they showed his ERA (fine) and holds (yikes). What would be a good set of quick and simple stats for a broadcast to show in that situation?

Mas

4:38

Jen-Ho Tseng was not on your Cubs top 10 prospect list but seems to be doing really well in AAA. Is he potentially starter-worthy, and what's his ceiling?

Eric

4:40

If the Yankees infield next year had didi, castro and gleyber, who is playing what position

4:42

Any chance Padres' Enyel de Los Santos can crack rotation in '18?

Jack

4:42

Would being a 6'10 pitcher be a positive or a negative? Kyle Young is pitching great in short season A-ball and I don't know whether his height hurts him longterm

Esteban

4:43

Let's get to know Klaw: Tell us your about worst date and/or most interesting story not about béisbol.

Aces

4:44

A lot of talk about some struggles of Betts (still having a good year, of course) – anything you see there out of the ordinary?

4:54

Keith, I'm getting excited about what Jhailyn Ortiz is doing to the NYPL. Should I be tempering that because of the strikeouts?

Eric

4:56

If you were gm of say the Angels or yankees, would you put a waiver claim in on Stanton? What's the worst that could happen, you get him?

Mitch

4:58

Two questions that have nagged me for years: what do the random numbers on the wrigley scoreboard indicate (don't think it's pitcher), and what is the pointing gesture a pitcher gives his middle IF when a guy reaches first base?

4:59

If some legal scholar found a loophole that required us to redo the Presidential election next Tuesday with the same candidates, would the result be any different now that Trumps supporters have seen him action? I honestly think he would still win, which scares me. I think the popular vote would be even wider, but he would still win enough swing states despite his lies, racism, sexism and all his other awful features.

5:01

The Padres released Zach Lee after nobody claimed him on waivers. Is his career over?

Tanner

5:01

Hi Keith, I enjoyed your book! If you were the Phillies would you target veteran starting pitching this offseason or wait for any big signings until the huge 2018-19 class?

Joey

5:02

Should the Bluejays blow things up and trade Donaldson/Osuna/Stroman/etc and start a rebuild?

5:04

If you could ask people to stop writing one Take this week, what would it be?

John

5:07

Best colleges to balance academics and a good, well-run baseball program?

Jake

5:07

Christin Stewart going to hit enough to be a regular?

Bret

5:08

Has your future outlook for Dansby Swanson changed at all based on his struggles this season?

5:08

It's Aug 16 and the Giants elimination number is 6 - will probably be eliminated by the weekend. lol

Matt

5:08

How did Harper not blow his knee up falling over 1st base? Is he double jointed?

XxXxX

5:09

Elvis Andrus can opt out of his $15 million per year deal after the 2018 season -- what sort of contract do you think he could get in the open market, given his new level of offensive performance?

5:09

Did you obtain a permit for this chat?

Mos

5:09

Are you at all concerned with Gregory Polanco from what you've seen this season? Kinda flukey but wondering if there's a deeper concern there.

John

5:09

Should Boston let Leon walk this year and bring up Swihart to split time?

Steve

5:09

Any reports on Cole Ragans recently? He's striking out the world but walking half of it as well.

Quincy

5:10

Which former big leaguer's kid in the minors do you think has the highest ceiling - Guerrero, Tatis, Bichette, someone else?

Jake

5:10

Odor and Mazara have struggled this year. Any long term concerns? I'm especially worried that Maz will have to be a 1B soon.

HugoZ

5:10

If you're a gm whose contract ends in say, 2019, do you much care about holding back a prospect like Acuna so that team control is through 2024 instead of 2023?

Sterling Mallory Chris Archer

5:10

Has your thoughts on Moniak changed due to his struggles in his first year or was this to be expected?

Dbacksfan

5:14

So the Dbacks are supposed to be more analytic, what analytics do you think they used when they had Iannette batting 2nd against Arrieta, or is Torey Lovullo just awful with lineups? Still don't understand batting Goldy 4th.

Quincy

5:14

Will Francisco Meija contribute for the Indians before the season is over?

Matt

5:14

Mike Pence just said on TV that he stands by Trump's remarks from yesterday. This administration is just aces isn't it?

Jon

5:14

Does Aaron Nola have the ceiling of an ace?

Ray Grace

5:15

Lots of talk that Bueller will be called up to the majors to fill an eighth inning setup roll, how effective do you think he can be in that roll?

Brett

5:15

Both sides are at fault for why this chat is so bad!! :)

Nick

5:15

Does Devers stick at 3B long term? If not where does he move to?

Lee

5:15

Is it fair to say that Rafael Dever's is going to be a superstar? I've been following his progress for years but his pitch recognition is so advanced for a 20 year old.

Brian

5:15

Keith, Cubs keep trading my favorite MI prospects for relievers. Gleyber for a certain closer, Paredes as part of the Wilson/Avila trade. How long until they trade Ademan for a middle reliever?

Chet

5:16

I know all prospects are different, but I'm skeptical to believe in any Astros 1B prospect because of Singleton and AJ Reed. But, should I believe that Yordan Alvarez is going to be good?

Nick

5:17

With Didi entrenched at SS for the foreseeable future, and rightly so. Where does Gleyber play when he is called up 2B and move Castro to third or 3B and get rid of Headley?

Ray T R

5:19

Is there another gear for Eduardo Rodriguez? Seems like he is slipping into the Buchholz void of frequent injury and tantalizing but too inconsistent of results

AtownAA

5:19

any chance chris taylor is this for real? like the swing change made him that much better ala justin turner previous changes?

Matt

5:21

Did you read that article last week (I forget who wrote it) about how Jeter doesn't like the shift (and sabermetrics in general) and may not allow the manager to use it. The dude is gonna hire Dave Stewart as GM and Dusty Baker as the manager isn't he?

Nick

5:21

Aaron Hicks' breakout this year has been something to watch. He looks like a true 5 tool player with a high .OBP Is this the player you expected him to become as a prospect?

Kody

5:22

If Stanton were a free agent this winter, what kind of contract would he get? It doesn't seem like it would be that far off what he has left on his current deal.

Ortho Stice

5:22

Stephen Alemais becoming a guy?

5:22

SSS, but are you seeing more or less trolling and racism and the like in your comments since the weekend than before?

Kyle

5:23

Are Henry Owens' days of being pegged as a future MLB starter over?

Alex

5:23

Is Danville Braves C William Contreras(Willson's bro) a legit prospect? Heard anything on him?

Nick

5:23

What are your thoughts on Yankee 2B prospect Nick Solak? He seems to be ripping the cover off of the ball this year. Legit prospect or future bench player?

Kody

5:24

re: Addoeh, are the Republicans really the anti-vaxers? I tend to see that being the one anti-science point of the far left.

Steve

5:24

If they both are ready to contribute to the major league team at the same time, who would you play at shortstop for the Pirates....Newman or Tucker? Does the other move to 2nd?

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