Klawchat 8/1/18.

I had a slew of Insider posts around the trade deadline, including:

• the Kevin Gausman trade
• the Chris Archer trade
• the Tommy Pham trade
• the Roberto Osuna trade
• the Jonathan Schoop trade
• some smaller prospect deals from Tuesday

I’ll be at Gen Con 2018 in Indianapolis from tomorrow through Sunday, including a scheduled book signing on Friday at noon. If you can’t get me there, feel free to reach out and I’ll make sure I find you during the con.

Keith Law: Throw away your calendar. It’s Klawchat.

Dr. Bob: Tommy Pham was my favorite STL player. Played hard. Spoke his mind. Made no excuses when things weren’t going well. Cards wanted Archer. I don’t understand why they wouldn’t pay the price of a couple of prospects along with Pham and signing money to get him. Totally baffled.
Keith Law: I understand moving Pham to make room for Bader and perhaps O’Neill (Mercado, whom I mentioned in the Pham write-up, was later traded to Cleveland). I don’t quite get moving Pham but not addressing another need on the major-league roster. And Pham was so popular and active in the community, in addition to just being a good player, that it feels like a larger loss for the team to move him and not replace him with someone just as good.

Brendan: Through the years, have any of the minor league players you write about in your columns ever reach out to discuss your evaluations of them?
Keith Law: Very rarely. One was upset I said he projected as a fourth outfielder. It turned out he didn’t even become that in the end. I’m happy to discuss my evaluation with a player, as long as it’s offline. There’s no upside to having that discussion in public.

CT Pilgrim: The Nats stood pat yesterday. Does that make any sense? Either improve the team for the 2018 run, or move some lesser pieces (Murphy, Gio, etc) for 2019.
Keith Law: If the Nats believe they can catch one or both teams ahead of them this season with the roster they have – I do – then it made sense.

Brian: The Yankees signed a cluster of IFA’s who received significantly less than the other IFA’s ranked near them. Is this just the Yankees IFA machine at work, or could another IFA package deal situation (similar to the Red Sox a couple years back) be in the works?
Keith Law: My reaction was that they locked up these kids a while ago, and their perceived values have gone up since then. Remember that for most July 2nd IFAs (non-Cuban), teams and agents strike oral agreements when the kids are 14 or even younger.

Miles from somewhere: I suggested this on Twitter, but I really dug “Sorry to Bother You” and think it’s worth an add to your list. Thanks all the writing, baseball and otherwise.
Keith Law: It’s on the list. August and September are much better for getting to the movies than July is.

David: How long would it typically take to alter a starters routine to convert them to the bullpen (thinking about Touki in September) and do you think this sort of late season change could be detrimental to a pitchers development or even heighten injury risk?
Keith Law: I don’t think it takes any time to alter the routine in that direction, but I wouldn’t use Touki or any full-time starter as a one-inning, two or three days in a row reliever.

JR: As a Mets fan (TIA for your sympathies), I’m happy they didn’t trade any of their key guys yesterday because 1) the return they got for Familia was so light I was worried they would get fleeced and 2) they have a 3 headed GM right now. Would rather wait until offseason when one GM is calling the shots to trade key guys.
Keith Law: I 100% agree with point 2. They have to let the new GM shop deGrom, Thor, or whoever else.

Bob: On a scale of one to ten how excited should people be about the rays wander Franco
Keith Law: He was in my top 20 as a 17-year-old in the Appy League. That’s pretty rare territory.

Amy: When teams trade international bonus $, does $ actually change hands or does the receiving end just have permission to spend more?
Keith Law: It’s permission to spend more. It’s like trading a draft pick – you don’t get the slot money associated with the pick, but you get the right to take another player, and your total bonus pool increases.

Robbie: Any thoughts on the pitchers the angels received in their two deadline deals?
Keith Law: The Boston guys are probably middle relievers at best. Sandoval is a spin-rate guy, probably a reliever too.

john: what did you think about the return for Leonys Martin in Willi Castro?
Keith Law: On top of this post, I have links to all of my trade writeups from this week, and that trade – I like Castro and explain why – is in the ‘other prospect deals’ post.

Mike: Hey Keith, I’m an Atlanta fan has barely seen Gausman throw. I remember the hype and breakout potential you and others have talked about. What do you think he has to change to reach the potential?
Keith Law: A consistent spot on the rubber (and thus delivery), and a better/more consistent slider. The first is easy, the second isn’t.

Kraig: Despite of adult age the whole time Gen Con has been in Indy I’m going for the first time this year. No real plans, just exploring but any tips/advice/suggestions on navigating around?
Keith Law: It’s pretty huge and thus overwhelming. If you just want to explore, the main show floor has booths of just about every major publisher where you can see demos or protoypes of new/upcoming games. There’s also a huge open gaming room next door, with some scheduled events/tournaments, and some places you can just find a game to join.

JD: Is the Chris Archer deal about this year or the coming years? Seems like a big haul to give up to just finish less out of the playoffs than they otherwise would have.
Keith Law: I thought both that and the Kela deal were more about 2019-20.

Ryan: Do 10-5 rights apply to trade waivers? What’s to stop Baltimore from letting Jones go to Philly via waivers and then a trade in the offseason where the prospects end up in BAL anyway for someone who would’ve been non-tendered?
Keith Law: This has been a debate with the union for as long as I have been in the business. I think they do apply – Jones could reject the assignment and/or file a grievance.

Pat: How many more boxes does Eloy have to check? Is this a service time game Rick Hahn is playing?
Keith Law: What service time game? If he’s not calling Jimenez up now, he’d have to wait until mid-April next year. That’s a long time to stall a guy’s development just to get an extra year of control at some point after the world ends.

Jeff: With everything that has happened this season in Washington, does Rizzo return in 2019?
Keith Law: I can’t see why not.

Bubbles: Good afternoon! I have a question about two players but what I’m asking is a broad question. Barring some injury, do you believe Nick Senzel and Luis Urias will both get 500+ PA in the MLB next season?
Keith Law: Senzel is already injured, so I have no idea what his outlook is for next year. Urias will.

kyle: There are a lot of Twitter and chat room tough guys, but has anyone ever come up to you at a book signing to tell you to stick to baseball?
Keith Law: Never. But many, many people at every signing thank me for *not* sticking to baseball.

john: I don’t have a question but I just want to say how disgusted I am with the Astros. This whole Osuna thing is gross and I know I shouldn’t be surprised but I guess I wanted to believe my favorite team wasn’t this shitty. I don’t know if Luhnow really thinks we’re all idiots but his attempts to justify it are ridiculous and insulting and the whole thing honestly makes me want to not watch them anymore this year.
Keith Law: I’m most bothered by the trade. I’m also bothered by the disingenuousness that accompanied it. Just fucking own it. “Yep, we traded for a guy who (very likely) assaulted a woman, because we think he’ll help us win another World Series.”

Dougie: The most likely outcome for Mitch Keller is what? Mid-rotation? Would you bet on more or less?
Keith Law: I don’t think that’s a likely outcome. He’s either better than that, or he’s in the pen because he never develops a third pitch.

Jeremy: What do you think of the Rangers adding almost exclusively pitching prospects in the draft and via trades? I know they’re a organization that has struggled developing pitching. They’re trying get as many spins at the roulette table they can in developing one, but does it seem too narrow-sighted?
Keith Law: Seems like it was a real organizational weakness coming into the year, so I’m not troubled by it.

Anon: A few weeks ago I attended a family wedding of a distant cousin that was about an hour and a half away. Once the processional started, I noticed the groom and all the groomsmen had boots emblazoned with the Confederate Flag. I was really bothered by this and even contemplated leaving, but because of circumstances decided against it, and just didn’t look down the rest of the ceremony or reception. It wasn’t until during the reception that we noticed they were also all carrying sidearms throughout the ceremony and reception. What would you have done in this situation?
Keith Law: I would have left. You don’t have to make a scene, or even tell anyone. I just would have walked out.

Alan: Blake Swihart suddenly is looking good defensively and hitting. Think Sox should continue to start him over Vazquez when he returns from injury?
Keith Law: Yes. Always been a Swihart fan, until this run of injuries put his career in doubt.

Greg: Do you think that the emergence of Gregory Polanco made Huntington comfortable with going all-in on this Pirates’ group? Aside from his horrid defense, he’s been hitting at a star-caliber level since June.
Keith Law: I’ve been fooled by Polanco before, but in general I’m a believer – I think I still talked him up in a chat here in May? – and it wouldn’t surprise me at all if that was part of NH’s thinking, especially that they could afford to move Meadows because Polanco might finally be becoming a star.

Kent: Huntington added Kela and Archer without surrendering Keller or Hayes. Huge win?
Keith Law: Solid deadline.

Andy: I’d like to get ahead of this. I was a dumb, teenage boy. I truly regret what I did, and I am in no way that person anymore. I purchased multiple Limp Bizkit albums.
Keith Law: I’m not sure you’re sufficiently penitent for your sins here.

Deke: You’ve mentioned how baseball is “work,” and in your off time you like to get away from work. Now that you’re doing board-game reviews, do you consider that more “work” than play? Are they less enjoyable now in general?
Keith Law: Aside from rare exceptions where I play a game for review purposes, but end up disliking it, no. It’s still fun, and the responsibilities are really light anyway.

Matt: Don’t think I saw a write-up of the Soria trade anywhere (please correct me if I’m wrong), was Medeiros a good return for the Sox?
Keith Law: That was in another wrap up piece. Medeiros is probably a lefty specialist.

Washington Nationals: Keith, any explanation for what the Nationals did by trading Kintzler to the Cubs, holding onto Harper, then DFA’ing Kelly? Is bringing up Suero really worth trading Kintzler, especially when the club is floundering around the .500 mark?
Keith Law: Supposedly they traded Kintzler for talking to a reporter about the clubhouse dynamic. I have no additional insight on that. Kelley more than earned his DFA, though.

Lucas: I had heard from a source internally that one of the reasons Pittsburgh felt okay in dealing Meadows is because they’re very happy about the progress Jason Martin has made this year. “While he doesn’t have Meadows upside, we felt the distance between the two combined with our current OF situation made Meadows expendable. Thoughts on Jason Martin?
Keith Law: Extra OF.

Dave: Who was the best prospect traded at the deadline?
Keith Law: Mejia.

JP: Biggest non-trade surprise? Harvey?
Keith Law: Not just a surprise, but nonsensical. The Reds absolutely should have traded him.
Keith Law: They can’t trade Swaggerty until October, and he can’t be a PTBNL (nor can any player they just drafted). So it’s not him.

Justin: Do Jordan Luplow, Jason Martin, or Bryan Reynolds strike you as particularly interesting these days? I’m curious if i can slap a “Pirates LF of the future” label on any of them now that Meadows isn’t in the picture.
Keith Law: Always been a Reynolds fan. Still not sure where the power is – but I’ve noted before that the Pirates in general don’t seem to develop power hitters, or more specifically, they don’t seem to get power from their guys who have some raw but don’t show it in games.

Ryan: Conforto, Rosario & to a lesser extent Dom Smith haven’t done much this year. Smith is SSS but has your opinion changed on Conforto or Rosario for their future?
Keith Law: No, esp with Conforto clearly not 100% physically. I hate how they’ve handled Smith. Rosario is just young.

Alex: What kind of upside does Luis Garcia have. Seems to be holding his own as 18 year old in high A.
Keith Law: Physically underdeveloped but more than everyday upside. Has blown past Antuna.

Brendan: Bellinger: has the league figured him out, or is this what he is with last year an aberration?
Keith Law: He turned 23 two weeks ago.
Keith Law: Like, guys come up, do well, struggle, make adjustments, rinse, repeat. If he’s 27 and still struggling, different story. A lot of hitters his age are still in the minors.

Matt: As a Tampa native I’m slightly biased, but what areas across the country do you find to have the best collection of amateur baseball talent?
Keith Law: Southern California is by far the strongest. Central Florida and Georgia are probably next. I think Texas is overrated for strength of talent – it’s dispersed over such a wide area and large population that it doesn’t match those other states.

AGirlHasNoName: Can you explain what to make of the Brewers infield going forward? None of Moustakas, Shaw or Schoop are shortstops, right?
Keith Law: Correct. I don’t know why Brewers fans were telling me Schoop will take over at shortstop. He was a shortstop and he was not good.

Orion: Can Harrison Bader be (or is he already) an above average regular in the Cardinals OF? Seems like one of those guys who has no eye popping tools but is average in everything, which makes for an above average total package.
Keith Law: Yes, fourth OF floor, everyday regular most likely, above average/non-star ceiling. And I think he’s ready.

ben: How do you personally maintain hope in today’s world?
Keith Law: There are many, many kind people in the world, doing kind things for others, in your life and in the broader world around us. I focus on that and try to be that way in my personal life too.

Rich: Really love my Anova…just have the Bluetooth. Should I have gotten the WiFi version? May have to gift mine. Seems like a smart idea to start the water an hour before I get home…what says you?
Keith Law: I have the bluetooth. Never needed the Wifi function myself.
Keith Law: Of course, I work at home. I get to do more things in the kitchen.

SeanE: Neal Huntington said the PTBNL in the Archer deal is a player of “significance”. Why would they wait to announce this 3rd piece?
Keith Law: Could be that the player in question is on the DL. Could be that the two sides haven’t settled on the player and have only agreed it will be 1 of N players on a list, although I don’t believe that is the case here. Not sure what other reasons there might be.

Shroud: Orioles fans are mad over not receiving multiple top 100 guys for their superstar pitcher…Kevin Gausman. They’re new to this “rebuilding” thing, huh
Keith Law: The O’s also dumped O’Day’s salary, which reduced the return in prospects.

Nick: Most underrated deal of the deadline?
Keith Law: That Cardinals-Cleveland prospect swap. No one cared because there were no major leaguers. You can just inject those trades right into my veins, though.

Seath: have you watched any of the Facebook exclusive games yet? What do you think of them? Do you think this is eventually where the game is/should head?
Keith Law: I have not. I don’t need fan commentary on the game … or any commentary, really. I’m just here for the baseball.

Dan: Kohl Stewart has put together some nice starts recently. Can he still become a viable starter?
Keith Law: He hasn’t, though. Still throws strikes with no out pitch.

Nolan: What’s your most memorable case of a fan base really sticking it to you for not thinking their fringe prospect was a future star? Junior Lake stands out to me, for some reason.
Keith Law: That was one. Lot from Cubs fans on Brett Jackson, too. Jays fans with Rowdy Tellez.

Matt: How much have Alec Hansen’s recent struggles impacted your projection of him?
Keith Law: Dude wasn’t healthy most of the year. It would be absurd to ignore that and just judge him on his performance without that context.

James: Do you see the O’s being the winners of the Victor Victor Mesa sweepstakes once he’s eligible? What can you tell us about him?
Keith Law: I know reports that they had a deal with him have been debunked. I’ll write something up when he signs.

Garrett: Were you surprised by Adell’s promotion to AA? His BB and K numbers aren’t too good.
Keith Law: I thought it was too quick from a performance level, not just from BB and K, but he wasn’t producing that well the last few weeks (actually his BB and K rates were up in July, everything else was down). But maybe they wanted to get him to a specific coach? Or away from certain parks? There can be non-obvious reasons for promotions with exceptional talents like Adell.

Drew: You saw Logan Davidson? Would love to hear your thoughts. Saw him this summer and didn’t see the hype myself
Keith Law: He looked bad, and so did just about all of the other top Cape hitters I saw last week, other than Bleday from Vanderbilt. The Cape talent in general was kind of awful.

John : 2014 ALCS contestants KC and Baltimore are now locked at the bottom of the league standings. Who do you believe reaches post season first
Keith Law: Orioles have done a lot more to turn the roster over. Royals’ system is well behind that, even with the big college pitching draft (which I as a regular attendee of Blue Rocks games greatly appreciate).

Chris: Given Harper’s relative struggles this season, what kind of contract would you offer him this offseason? Potential good buy low (if buy low is still $200M+)?
Keith Law: If he doesn’t finish strongly, look for Boras to try to do a Beltre/Boston pillow contract for him.

Rob: Padres MLB club starts seeing results in… 2020? Seems like 3-4 players called up early in the year 2019. Gore/Tatis/Baez in 2020?
Keith Law: If Tatis is okay post-injury – maybe Fall League? Please? can we get him and Vlad Jr? – then he’ll be up next year. Baez could be later in the year. Gore might be 2021, depending on how they build up his workload.

Nick: I know you were a fan of Mark Vientos coming into the draft last year. He is having a solid year so far in the Appy League. What type of player do you see him developing into? Is he a solid defender at 3B?
Keith Law: Small sample so far but I’m thrilled to see him showing some power too. Solid defender at third trending up. Very promising. I’ve said before but I think some of the results bear it out – their drafts are not the problem, and recently they’ve been quite good. Dunn has broken out. Peterson had a little dead arm deal but has been very good most of the season. Vientos looks great. I’m way in on Kelenic. Alonso is something. And from the international side Ronny Mauricio is getting a lot of buzz as a potential star. I know #lolmets is a thing because of the ownership situation but the outlook from their farm system is not bleak.

Brian: Hi Keith thanks for all your work! Only reason I’m an insider sub.. What is the rationale for MLB not allowing the trading of draft picks? The other major sports allow it.
Keith Law: In the 1980s MLB feared small-market teams would just sell/trade the picks rather than pay the exorbitant demands of drafted players who were looking for bonuses of … (checks notes) … $100,000.

Rick: Trea Turner seems to have made a heartfelt, tearful apology as well as vowing to work for organizations to go against bullying and such. Ready to forgive him?
Keith Law: His was the best apology yet from any of these players.

Nick Howard: What is my deal exactly? am I a non prospect, or still a chance?
Keith Law: Got the yips, not a prospect any more.

Steve: Could you explain why the international money that the O’s received as part of the Gausman trade was not part of your analysis? And what is T25 in regards to your Schoop tweet yesterday?
Keith Law: They didn’t receive international money; they received slots, described above. And that’s all that is – a slot, the right to spend money, not an actual player. How would you like me to evaluate that?
Keith Law: If you don’t know what T25 is, you might be pronouncing Schoop’s name incorrectly.

Chan: The Marlins decided to hold onto their three relievers who had trade value. Are you surprised? Should they have lowered their demand to retrieve at least something?
Keith Law: Unless the market was so saturated with similar relievers that they got garbage offers? I thought Yates would be next out of San Diego, but I don’t think they got any decent offers.

The Boxes Are Checked: Gut feeling- do Jimenez and/or Kopech debut in MLB this season?
Keith Law: Kopech in particular needs to come up this season. Let him face major league hitters and see if they force him to throw more strikes. He’s just going to blow AAA guys away the longer he’s down there.

Dave: Does the player to be named later in the PIT-TB deal most likely mean he was a 2018 draft pick and not been w/ PIT long enough to be traded yet?
Keith Law: Again, that’s prohibited.

Kevin: Apparently Tampa wouldn’t trade Archer to San Diego unless they got Paddack or Patiño. Is it safe to say Patiño has passed up guys like Baez and Quantrill in the Padres system? What’s Patiño’s ceiling?
Keith Law: Patiño has not passed Baez or Morejon or Lawson. He’s still got a lot of reliever risk too. Quantrill has regressed since that first summer.

Brian: It was great to meet you in Acton on Saturday. Thanks for coming out and answering questions. You discussed gausman and the orioles messing with his mound placement/delivery. Do you think ATL has the specific people in place to help gausman or is it more of any team has a better chance to help him than where he’s coming from?
Keith Law: Yes, I’ve thought Gausman would be a perfect change of scenery candidate for a while. Even getting to a new coaching staff without the baggage he’s had might help.

Dr. Bob: If I understand the rules correctly, the Reds will not get a compensating pick for Harvey when he leaves at the end of the season (he is a FA, right?). If that’s true, why in the world do they not trade him? They sent players to NY to get him so that he can help them finish this season not as far in fifth place as they otherwise might have been?
Keith Law: Right. I don’t understand not trading him.

SeanE: Couldn’t the Reds just move Harvey in August? His velo has ticked up significantly recently. If he has a few dominant starts could he maybe fetch more?
Keith Law: He can be claimed on waivers and then the Reds have no leverage in negotiations.

Mat: If you had to rank Edmonds, A. Jones, Lofton and Bernie Williams in a pecking order for the Veterans Committee (even though Andruw isn’t on it…yet), how would you rank.
Keith Law: Edmonds, Andruw, Lofton, Bernie, in that order. Edmonds would have made my ballot had I been a voter at the time.

Tony! Toni! Toné!: Just following up on my Swaggerty/PTBNL question. I know you technically can’t trade players in his situation, but isn’t that what a PTBNL is often used for? For involving guys in deals who can’t be officially traded yet.
Keith Law: You literally cannot trade a drafted player, even as a PTBNL, until after the World Series in his draft year. It’s colloquially called the Trea Turner rule.

John: So you’re saying you’d rather have Eloy in the majors for the rest of this season and next April instead of having him for the 2025 season? Why?
Keith Law: 2025? Where will you be then? What kind of team will the White Sox be at that point? Who’s the GM? The owner? Meanwhile, if you have a player whose development appears to require a promotion to the majors, you’re merely wasting time if you leave that guy in the minors. (I feel more strongly this way with pitchers, since projecting any pitcher to stay healthy for seven years is like playing roulette with a crooked croupier.)

Matt: Without looking at your book lists, have you read the Three Body Problem trilogy? I’ve never gotten into sci-fi, but the books are incredible, especially the scale of subject matter that it tackles and the big-picture issues it tackles. If you have read these, do you have any similar recommendations?
Keith Law: The first one. Very good, despite the weird unfolding-of-the-proton ending. But it didn’t compel me to continue either.

Matt: Did you read that article about hackers were able to hack voting booths in less than 2 hours? This seems…problematic.
Keith Law: I did. It is. Especially since there’s a foreign government that has a demonstrated interest in messing with our elections, and our own Administration thinks it’s just so darn cute.

Rich: Even though their talent is awful on the ML team, would you hang on to Andy Green, or should the Padres look for someone else to mentor the youth that will be coming up?
Keith Law: I like Green. He’s not part of the problem and I think when the roster improves and gets younger he’ll be part of the solution.

Anthony: Re. Keller: would you ever be comfortable projecting a fastball-curveball guy as a starter (even if changeup never comes) because curves tend to be platoon-neutral?
Keith Law: Fastball-breaking ball guys do not tend to be platoon-neutral.

JR: Why do teams with good records/teams that exceed expectations always tend to have good chemistry (per the media), while teams that disappoint/don’t play up to talent level have bad chemistry (also per the media)?
Keith Law: Because cognitive biases are everywhere.

Rex: Some people consistently beat the market. Just because you can’t do something doesn’t mean other people can’t.
Keith Law: The people who ‘beat the market’ in the last N years almost never beat the market again in the next N years. Maybe never.

Donald: Hey Keith, thanks for doing these chats. Last week, you said “xwOBA doesn’t work”, I’m not trying to argue it does and you are wrong, but I was just curious if you could elaborate on that a little more and explain why it doesn’t work.
Keith Law: I can’t find the link but someone – Russell Carleton, I think – showed that they don’t actually predict future wOBA (or whatever the stat is in the x-stat).

Bobby Bradley’s 40-time: Saw something yesterday how TB pitching coach Kyle Snyder, being a large, ex-pitcher himself at 6’8″, is a “savant at helping pitchers understand and control their bodies” and could be a huge help to Glasnow and helping him to learn how to better control his levers. Think that’s noteworthy at all?
Keith Law: I think it’s a delightful idea without proof or even evidence.

Aaron: Allard looked pretty crafty last night, even if the results weren’t great. Should I be worried about him missing enough bats?
Keith Law: Yes, if you want more than a 4th/5th starter. Averaged ~89, didn’t throw his CB as much as I expected.

Yuan: Just read your take on Tyler Austin being moved – do you think he still has a chance to redeem himself or is the inability to hit offspeed too much to overcome?
Keith Law: He hasn’t shown any adjustments to the slider yet. If he does, great, he can be a regular. If not, well, he can join the multitudes who never did figure it out.

mike sixel: How good can Alex Kiriloff be, and when could we see him in MN? thanks,
Keith Law: That kid’s a star. I think he’s going to make more than a few All-Star teams if he stays healthy.

JR: I know most of the anger/frustration with our current Pres is directed directly at him and his admin, but I’m shocked how many individuals are willing to carry out all his racist/hurtful policies (oftentimes with glee). I couldn’t grab a parent and deport them. I couldn’t pull a child away from a parent and send them to a separate facility. I just couldn’t do it, yet there are so many people who are willing to “just follow orders.” It really baffles me.
Keith Law: Seemingly ordinary people had no problem rounding up, torturing, and killing Jews in World War II. Seemingly ordinary people had no problem grabbing machetes and hacking their neighbors to death in Rwanda in the 1990s. All it takes is a good ‘othering’ by the people in charge. That’s why i want Twitter and Facebook and Youtube to cut the crap already and kick the neo-Nazis and conspiracy theorists off their sites.

Joel: I think you have referred to research regarding organic foods vs. traditional. And gmo/non gmo products. Do you have those links? Personal thoughts?
Keith Law: I’ve posted lots of those links over the years. There’s no difference between GM and non-GM foods. Your body has no idea if the sucrose came from GM sugar or not. It’s like an intelligence test for consumers – if you pay more for non-GM, or demand it, you failed.
Keith Law: Organic is another matter. It’s not healthier, not per se. There aren’t pesticide residues all over your non-organic produce. But organic agriculture may be better for soil health, water retention, even carbon sequestration in the soil. And animals raised for organic meat, dairy, or eggs can’t be given antibiotics, which is a real and critical public health issue.

Justin : Are Moniak, Rutherford, Ray anywhere close to your top 100 as of now?
Keith Law: No, no, possibly.

Mike: At this point if any player gets caught with old offensive tweats or anything else bad on social media they should immediately fire their agent. It’s not an excuse for the behavior but how can an agent of competence not go through every social media account from day 1 and make sure there is nothing there?
Keith Law: How could they blame their agents for what they tweeted themselves?

Jason: The rumored SD package for Archer of Patino/Hedges/Renfroe — If that was on the table, SD would/should have jumped on it, right?
Keith Law: I would have done that, yes. I don’t believe that is accurate.

Scott of Lincolnshire: So Baez…………he might finish in top 5 of MVP this year. I recall him taking forever to heat up at every level of promotion in the minors too. Sustainable? Probably not, but i can’t quit him. Ever
Keith Law: Why would you quit him? He might be the most fun player to watch in the majors right now.

Marissa: Hi Keith. Kind of random but I am wondering your thoughts on Plawecki because I know that you were higher on him than d’Arnaud in the past. He had a good ending to last season and has been pretty average in terms of catchers this season. Do you see him being a starter still or not really?
Keith Law: Yep, a regular, not more than average at peak, but probably about that for a while.

NYTT: Re: Veterans Committee. If Andruw didn’t have the domestic violence incident, would he be ahead of Edmonds?
Keith Law: I feel better about Edmonds’ career than Andruw’s, since the latter was basically done at 31.

Spencer: Florial has crushed since coming back. SSS but where do you think he should be playing now?
Keith Law: Right where he is.

TF Fredrik: Do you find it interesting how all american sports are set up as a type of, not sure right word but, “socialism” for the benefit of smaller markets? Reverse order draft, revenue sharing, salary cap, compensation picks…etc. What do you think a completely free market in baseball would look like?
Keith Law: Totally unfettered could result, I suppose, in teams operating their own huge farm systems and hoarding players, a bit like Rickey did with the early Cardinals teams before other clubs caught on. But a more free market wouldn’t necessarily steer all talent to big-market teams because they have limited roster spots and playing time to hand out. I’d love to see a modified draft that made the top 10-15 players in each draft class free agents.

Kevin: I am an ESPN Insider member specifically to read your work, and very much enjoy reading your comment. As a Padres fan I understand your argument for Trevor Hoffman not being a Hall of Famer, but was disappointed that you would tear him down during his induction. Why not just move on from it now that he was already voted in?
Keith Law: I didn’t tear him down. Simply not true.

Seth: Is Dereck Rodriguez for NL rookie of the year at this point or at least well in the conversation?
Keith Law: It’s pretty clearly Juan Soto right now.

Tom C: Re: the seemingly ordinary people. One of my favorite movie quotes of all time is from Tommy Lee Jones in Men in Black: “A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky animals, and you know that.”
Keith Law: It’s a great line because it’s accurate.

Seth: Joey Bart is tearing it up so far. Is he above the level he is at or is there anything to make from his performance so far
Keith Law: He’s a college dude in short-season ball. It doesn’t tell us anything.

Andy: Has there ever been a draftee who demanded a no trade clause?
Keith Law: That is no longer permitted. NTCs mean major league contracts and teams can’t give draftees major league deals.

Chris: Has Richie Martin regained some prospect status this season? He’s hitting at least well enough for a shortstop.
Keith Law: He’s not a good shortstop though.

scrapper: I’m in a Strat o Matic league and I traded a few weeks back for Osuna in a deadline deal. Should I feel bad? Obviously it’s not real but I still wondered
Keith Law: That depends on how many woman fans your Strat team has, I suppose.
Keith Law: That’s all for this week – thank you all for reading, as always. I’m off to Gen Con tomorrow, so unless there’s a surprise trade my next Insider content will come next week, along with a chat next Thursday. I hope to see or even game with some of you in Indianapolis!