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Klawchat 10/5/17
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Keith Law
1:03
If it's all right with you, I'll rip this here joint apart. Klawchat.
Tyler
1:04
Given what we know as of now, do you think the Braves will lose Kevin Maitan? Do you think that would be a fair punishment for what seems like a league wide practice?
Keith Law
1:05
Given what we know to be true, I don't think so, but MLB confirmed to me that their investigation is still ongoing. If this is merely about verbal agreements with players before they turn 16 and "hiding" them from other clubs, everyone does it, and I've argued for a while that the CBA provides compelling incentive for everyone to do it. If they want to root out the corruption in the July 2nd market, they need to stop trying so hard to prevent teams from paying money for talent.
Gabriel
1:05
Seems hard to believe that the johns werent involved in this whole coppy mess right?
Keith Law
1:05
I find it hard to believe they weren't aware of these industry standard practices.
Jack
1:05
How would you go about fixing the Giants? Full rebuild necessary?
Keith Law
1:07
The system isn't going to produce enough starting pitching in the near term to make them a contender; if Cueto and Shark turn around and have big bounceback years in 2018, they might contend, but that's their hope for near-term success. The problem I see with a full rebuild is a lack of tradeable assets on the ML roster other than Posey, and I can't imagine them dealing him - I'm not sure I could even advocate that.
Joe
1:07
Will all the teams that have agreements with international players for July of 2019 be told they can not sign those players or do you think the Braves will be the only team that doesn't sign the player that they had a deal with?
Keith Law
1:07
July of 2018 ... and 2019 ... and 2020. MLB is very good at pretending this isn't happening all over the place. In the draft too - I'd estimate 75% of players taken in the top 5 rounds have predraft deals in place.
Jeremy
1:08
If a team goes 86-76, are they 10 games over .500 or 5 games over .500?
Keith Law
1:08
I would rather engage in a two-hour debate over whether a hot dog is a sandwich (it is) than get involved in this semantics argument.
John
1:08
Feels like Nolan Jones is semi forgotten about. But he’s put up great numbers in A-. Does he skyrocket in 2018?
Keith Law
1:09
Don't think he's forgotten about, any more than a typical non-first-round HS prospect. Big progress this year, definitely a guy on the radar again, probably on the outside of my top 100 (although I haven't even started that process yet).
Bill
1:09
Is Kris Bryant under rated or over rated? I hear both.
Keith Law
1:09
(wanking motion)
Eric
1:09
Should the Diamondbacks put Archie Bradley back in the rotation next spring or is he a bullpen-only guy from here on out?
Keith Law
1:10
I'd like to see him get a shot to start, but when a pitcher who struggled as a starter finds this kind of success in relief, he and the club may both want to leave well enough alone and I don't argue with it. I only have an issue with teams leaving ex-starters in the pen when the pitcher still wants to start and the scouting indicators were in favor of him starting.
Bauer
1:10
Do you buy Cleveland's reasoning for starting Bauer over Kluber in game 1?  It sounds to me they're managing for games they're not guaranteed
Keith Law
1:10
That was my take - this was an October-long strategy rather than a win the ALDS strategy.
Scouting
1:10
I really enjoyed your scouting articles on the Phillies young hitters and Darvish and was wondering what, for you at least, are the biggest differences in scouting MLB vs MILB players?  Are there different things you're looking for?
Keith Law
1:11
As you move up the ladder, physical tools and projection become less important, approach and feel for the game become more important. You can be strong as hell, or have a beautiful swing, but if you can't distinguish balls from strikes or fastballs from breaking balls, it's not going to matter.
Snap into a Slim Jim
1:11
A. Cam Newton is dumb; B. Of Course he should apologize; C. We don't need 40 articles written about it though, do we?
Keith Law
1:12
We're going to get at least that many. If he had just apologized after the fact - the reporter said he didn't, he actually made it all worse - then maybe we could have gotten around this. Now it's going to go on for days and days.
Ethan
1:12
Hi Keith - love the chats and feedback, as I have learned a lot from you and your book!  My question is around Dinelson Lamet. I completely understand the need for three pitches.  However, is there a situation and/or example of a SP that thrived with just two elite pitches?  And what level would those need to be?  60?  70?  And do you think Lamet’s fastball/slider combo can reach those levels to lessen the need for an average third pitch?
Keith Law
1:13
You're sort of begging the question here. If your two pitches leave you with a massive platoon split, then it doesn't matter. And that's Lamet's problem: Neither of his two current average or better pitches gets LHB out, and his changeup is ineffective.
Coppolella
1:13
If you were running a team would you be looking to add Coppolella or Blakeley to your front office given that they're by reputation quite smart and seemingly got caught doing something that everyone does?
Keith Law
1:14
If MLB clears one or both of serious wrongdoing, yes, but I think every team has to wait for the outcome of that. And let's not pretend that MLB never blackballs anyone, players (coughBondscough) or execs.
RaysBiscuit
1:14
Why are defensive oriented catchers picked highly in the draft? I'm sorry for any recency bias, but whenever I see Reese McGuire, Taylor Ward, Justin O'Conner, Nick Ciuffo, Mike Zunino... I wonder why they were picked that high and it seems catchers don't turn out to be worth the selection compared to the others though hindsight is 20/20. I'll give Zunino a pass as he was bullet rushed but is every team hoping for a Posey type catcher when one picks a catcher in the first round?
Keith Law
1:15
Teams overdraft catchers because of positional scarcity, not just in the majors but within the draft. There are so few decent catchers in any class that they tend to get elevated on draft boards because the scarcity makes them seem more valuable - or because there's a fear of having a draft where you don't get any catching at all. (Solution: Draft one or two guys every year who are possible conversion candidates.)
Frankur
1:15
Yankees making a mistake by not pitching Severino in game 2?
Keith Law
1:16
If there is no physical impediment to him pitching game 2, then it's an odd choice. But maybe he doesn't feel right and that's part of why he was so off in the wild card game
LDS
1:17
Which series do you think represents the biggest mismatch of the LDS and which series is the tightest to you?
Keith Law
1:18
No real mismatches to me. I'm not doing a preview piece, but I'll at least give you some picks here: Astros, Cleveland, Nats, Dodgers.
Anti-Intellectualism
1:18
What do you think is the best way to combat the rampant anti-intellectualism that's seemingly on the rise in our country?
Keith Law
1:19
I wish I had a good answer. I do think that the more intellectuals - really, subject matter experts - who speak up, the better chance we have for facts to win out over myths, but humans have a rather strong tendency to believe whatever they want.
Dana
1:20
Do you think football's brain injury problems will lead to more African-Americans in baseball down the road?
Keith Law
1:20
I think that's already happening - although it's less "in baseball" and more "in alternatives to football."
Jeff
1:20
I have a coworker that checked himself in to the hospital a couple of weeks ago because he thought he may commit suicide. Our boss has verbally displayed his displeasure about him missing all the work he has and has openly talked about demoting him and even firing him. Is he allowed to do that? I have great respect for my coworker for being able to reach out for help, but I hate that it could cost him his job. That just doesn’t seem right to me.
Keith Law
1:21
Don't think that's legal, but I'm not a lawyer. Of course, what was illegal for employers a few months ago may become legal any day now...
delatopia
1:21
Everyone in the Bay Area raves about the A’s youth but I basically see Chapman and maybe Barreto and then a bunch of second division starters and bench guys, at least among position players at the MLB level. Is there more there that I’m not seeing?
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