JotCast | Klawchat 9/14/17

Klawchat 9/14/17

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Keith Law

1:41

I'd still roll the dice on Moncada's upside even knowing that Hoskins is probably no worse than an average major-league regular.

Rob

1:41

Why do left handed hitters seem to more often have such extreme splits against left handed pitching than right handed hitters do against right handed pitchers? Or is that a narrative baseball people have implanted in our heads?

Keith Law

1:41

It's very true, and I think it's a function of LHB seeing so few decent LHP as amateurs or low-minors prospects.

Mark

1:41

Was pleasantly surprised to read your scouting report on Tate. If he reaches his ceiling, can we expect a solid #2 or very good #3?

Keith Law

1:42

It's #2 stuff and #4/5 kind of not-missing-bats results. I'm cautiously optimistic, though. I don't think this is Nate Eovaldi, where the velocity is good but there's nothing else. Tate's fastball has life and he does have two decent offspeed pitches.

Owen

1:43

What was Dusty Baker thinking last night leaving Scherzer in for 120 pitches with the division locked up and his ace clearly tired?

Keith Law

1:43

The last inning was probably pushing it. I don't think 120 is an automatic negative with Scherzer, given his age, size, durability, etc., but he might have been fatigued at teh very end.

Justin

1:43

What do you make of Tyler Glasnow? He seemed to fix his control problems in AAA after making a few adjustments, then pitched in MLB last night and was awful. I'm not giving up on him, but I was just curious what your current thoughts on him are.

Keith Law

1:44

Losing faith that he'll ever have the command and control to be a starter. It's ace stuff, but I don't think he's ever had a delivery that he could repeat. It does look better today than it did in March, when I compared his delivery to Bert doing the pigeon.

Owen

1:44

Thomas Boswell made a comparison between Michael A. Taylor and Mike Cameron the other day (excellent defensive CFs who didn't break out offensively until 26, and they do show up on each other's B-R comps by age). Fair comparison? Semi-fair? Outrageous?

Keith Law

1:45

Very fair. Similar skill sets across the board - power, speed, hard contact, strikeouts. Is Taylor as big as Cameron? I only saw Cam up close when he retired, while Daz was an amateur, and holy cow he was huge.

Denis

1:45

Which prospects are you most looking forward to seeing in AFL?

Keith Law

1:45

I'm not joking when I say all of them. It's one of the best things I do every year. I'm like Homer in the Land of Chocolate.

Mr. Red

1:45

Is Jose Siri a legit prospect or just a guy who had a really nice hot streak? Follow-up: can you answer without making an iphone Siri joke? I'll hang up and listen.

Keith Law

1:46

Legit prospect. But I hear he doesn't recognize faces.

Jon V

1:46

There is talk of Tito going with a 14 position player roster for the playoffs. Do you like this strategy or is there a big risk you tax your staff if one of your starters has a bad outing?

Keith Law

1:46

If you have the right relievers, guys who can go multiple innings, then you can do this, easily.

Patty O'Furniture

1:46

Do you believe in Austin Riley yet? Hit .315 with 8 bombs once he got to AA

Keith Law

1:47

With a .393 BABIP, way above anything he'd done before. Not sure why you're just ignoring the bad performance in high-A, either.

Daniel

1:47

Most intriguing Starting pitching prospect in Yankees system?

Keith Law

1:47

Loaisiga or Abreu.

Tracy

1:47

Keith, you mentioned last week what you do with all the books you read and it finally made me realize that not only do I enjoy reading, I am also a bibliophile — I enjoy the physical experience of reading and holding a book, hardcovers in particular (forget e-books). Does that make me a snob?

Keith Law

1:48

If it does, I'm a booksnob too. Although I do read probably 15-20 ebooks a year, and maybe a dozen audiobooks, on top of 70+ physical books.

John

1:48

Heard that the cubs thought alzolay had surpassed cease as a prospect? Do you agree with that assessment?

Keith Law

1:48

You probably heard that from me when they traded Cease.

Tom

1:49

What are your thoughts on Zack Godley? Is this season indicative of his talents, or is it just a fluke?

Keith Law

1:49

CB is much better than I'd ever heard it was, or even remember seeing on TV before this year. So I think it's fairly real.

Angelo

1:50

Enjoyed your review of Yamataii. How is it as a two player game?

Keith Law

1:50

Plays well with two, best with three, four is crazy but good-crazy because you're competing for space.

Brian

1:50

How much do you look into why people do bad things, and does that affect your opinion of them? I know everyone can change but it seems MUCH harder to do for some. I'm thinking of how you say people can't be rehabilitated if they commit certain crimes (e.g. rape). What if that person grew up in a household where rape was common? Even if society says it's wrong, all the people you're looking up to (e.g. parents) are either participating or are observers, which can result in you thinking - even for once in your life - that it's ok to do.

Keith Law

1:51

Many violent criminals were themselves victims. That should affect how our justice system approaches them, but the prevailing belief in the field is that such people - pedophiles, people with violent paraphilias - can't be 'fixed,' either.

Ben

1:52

What World Series matchup are you hoping for? I think Indians-Dodgers would be a lot of fun.

Keith Law

1:52

I think that or Cleveland/Nats would be the best for fans in general - meaning, if your team isn't in the WS, what pair of clubs would most make you want to watch?

Chris

1:52

Thanks for your Trenton writeup, it's exactly what I was hoping for when I sent you that tweet. So, is Thairo worth a 40-man spot? Likely to be popped in Rule 5 (I know, you love Rule 5 talk), but behind tons of middle infielders and utiility guys arent that hard to find.

Keith Law

1:53

I'd probably protect him - I think he's taken for sure - but maybe that means he's trade bait for them in November?

Bert Stanton

1:53

Hey Keith, I appreciate all of the work you do. Would you grade Kyle Tucker's current/future hit and power tools any differently now than you did this past offseason?

Keith Law

1:53

I don't remember where I graded them last offseason (if I did); I would say I think as much power as there is now, there's at least another full grade in there. He's still a good distance from his physical peak.

David

1:53

Will we get read your thoughts on Dillon Tate's start at some point?

Keith Law

1:54

Posted this morning, and the link is at the top of this post.

Bort

1:54

Are you buying shares in Max Fried?

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