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Klawchat 8/24/17
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Keith Law
2:01
Three words we shared said too early on: This is Klawchat.
Lee D
2:01
Keith, with half of the Dodgers' best pitchers on the DL but coming off soon, and Rich Hill's amazing game last night, how would you line up their starters for the playoffs?
Keith Law
2:02
Kershaw and Darvish (who I think wasn't really hurt, just stashed on the 10-day DL like the Dodgers have been doing all year) would be the 1-2. If Hill's healthy and Wood isn't, Hill is the 3. I'm not that optimistic about Wood; he's been out twice with this shoulder injury, and he's got a long history of DL time.
Seath
2:02
What do you make of Royce Lewis promotion to Low A?  He seems to be doing well (SSS).  I know lot of people in MN were upset they didn't go for Greene.
Keith Law
2:03
Seems aggressive. If he's really that advanced a bat, then it's not a bad idea to get him a cup of coffee there since he'll play there next year ... but if he's not that advanced, then there's the risk he'll be overmatched. I did not think this spring that he was that advanced a bat.
Bobby
2:03
KLAW - Again, thanks for these chats. Love them. I know in the past you have suggested Severino is an elite reliever for you rather than a starter. Obv seems like he is a legit starter now (which is fine - no one can be right 100% of time) but do you think he is? Has he fixed something or is it still likely he ends up in 'pen in your opinion?
Keith Law
2:05
Two things look different - he got a LOT bigger, and his slider improved a lot. The slider was a below-average pitch for him in the minors and not that effective for him in the majors till this year, but it's been his best pitch by Fangraphs' pitch values this year and he's throwing it more than 1/3 of the time. The three-pitch mix is elite for a starter, but I can't think of a starter who had his sort of delivery and held up over time.
addoeh
2:05
How big of a disadvantage is there for a left handed third baseman, short stop, and catcher?
Keith Law
2:06
I think it's huge for a shortstop or 3b, irrelevant for a catcher - but as I said on the podcast today, a LH catcher with arm strength ends up on the mound.
Kirkie
2:06
Daniel Johnson, at Potomac. 20+HR, 20+steals across lo and hi A ball. and apparently all 3 outfield positions with a cannon of an arm too.
Keith Law
2:07
Saw him. Not a centerfielder, not even close. Way too old for low-A, and questionable pitch recognition when I saw him there.
Kris
2:07
Any chance of Jordan Zimmermann rebounding from this two year downward trend in performance?
Keith Law
2:07
No, I think he's likely done as an effective starter.
Michael
2:07
Hi Klaw- Looking to the future for the Phils infield, would you trade Franco and have the 2B-SS-3B positions manned by some combo of Hernandez, Kingery, Crawford and Galvis?
Keith Law
2:08
Would Franco have much trade value? I think Galvis is the guy you trade, with Kingery/Crawford the DP combo going forward.
Mike
2:08
do you believe splitters rob starting pitchers of velocity? is that why it fell out of favor?
Keith Law
2:08
I believe that people in the industry believe that. I do not know of any evidence to support it.
Guest
2:09
Tyler Glasnow has been blowing away Triple A for the past month. Is he destined to be one of those guys that is just too good for Triple A but whose command isn't good enough to get MLB hitters out?
Keith Law
2:10
I think he can eventually be more than that, but what you described is what he is now.
Jerry
2:10
Has it sunk in yet that you (and ESPN) played a role in helping Trump get elected? Feel free to apologize.
Keith Law
2:10
That's quite a take.
Joe
2:10
What keeps Forrest Whitely from having a ceiling above #2/3?
Keith Law
2:11
He's a future ace. Disregard what I said in chat last week.
Dog
2:11
Nick Williams' first exposure to MLB seems to be going pretty well offensively, but I noticed on BaseballReference that his WAR is only 0.1 because he is at -0.9 defensively, which almost outweighs his offensive contributions. Is his defense truly that bad, or is that small sample size noise?
Keith Law
2:12
I haven't seen him enough in the majors to comment on that; I saw him a lot in the minors and thought he had poor instincts, but had athleticism to make up for some of it, and I know of multiple scouts who thought he'd be above average in a corner or playable in CF. (I don't think I ever wrote that he would be those things. He's one of the least instinctive players I've scouted.)
Dog
2:12
Jesse Winker has always seemed like Joey Votto without the power, which still would be a valuable player. Do you think his profile will work long-term in the majors or will he need to add power to be effective (notwithstanding that he's slugging over .500 in his small sample size so far).
Keith Law
2:12
I think he's strong enough to slug in the .400s regularly with a ton of doubles. He's not weak; he just doesn't have much HR power or the swing for it.
Phils Guy
2:12
Have you ever tried substituting a sweet (Vidalia) onion for a savory (white or yellow) onion in a recipe?  My wife made a french onion tart using a Vidalia onion and it was good, but the balance between sweet and savory wasn't what we expected.
Keith Law
2:12
I never buy Vidalias for that very reason.
Minnie
2:12
Would you suspect that the White Sox had the option of either Moncada or Devers as the centerpiece of the Sale deal and that knowing what they knew at the time they made the correct decision?
Keith Law
2:13
I don't know if they had the choice. I would have chosen Devers in that situation, which was reflected in my prospect rankings at the time.
JJ
2:13
Does Blake Swihart need a change of organization, has the prospect ship sailed, or is this just a year of bad luck?  The Red Sox always seemed strangely indifferent toward his potential success.
Keith Law
2:14
He might need a trade so he can go to a team that will just let him play regularly ... I can't believe he's just forgotten how to hit after he hit so well in the high minors before last year. Boston isn't likely to be in a position to hand him a regular job next year, though, and that's what he really needs.
Tony
2:14
What kind of player do you project Ian Happ to be? Really good power but poor plate discipline this year. Also might be the worst imposter located in center field but that's not his fault...
Keith Law
2:17
I strongly disagree that he has poor plate discipline. I think he has some contact issues, but he's not a hacker or impatient. He'll work deep counts and strike out too often.
silv
2:17
DJ Peters won the Cal League MVP. Big pop, big kid, big Ks, young for the level (though not super young). Thoughts on his outlook?
Keith Law
2:17
Good hitter's park too. Good chance for an above average regular in RF/LF with some risk because of the contact issues you mentioned.
Greg
2:17
I am looking for beginner games for my 3 year old son.  He loves Animal Upon Animal.  Anything else to recommend?
Keith Law
2:17
Chicken Cha-Cha-Cha was a favorite of my daughter's at that age. He's not too far from Ticket to Ride: First Journey either.
Jesse
2:18
Do you expect Luis Robert to start next season at low A ball?
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