Klawchat 2/20/20.

My top 100 prospects ranking goes up on Monday, 2/24, at The Athletic.

Keith Law: Somebody holds the key. Klawchat.

Jabroni: Are we going to get another 100+ prospect ranking this year?
Keith Law: I just answered that at the top of the post.

michael: Hi KLaw – if the giants wanted to look at another will wilson / cosart type of transaction – would trading either belt, samardzija, or johnny cueto (with us paying down a significant amount of the salary) bring any useful prospects back?
Keith Law: I doubt the pitchers would. Maybe Belt but his history of injuries might scare teams off.

a.j.: how would you sort out the detroit tigers infield prospects? who plays where?
Keith Law: I’m trying to figure out what there is to sort out there.

Moe Mentum: Barring injury, Scott Kingery will be in the Phillies’ Opening Day lineup. Care to guess which position he’ll be playing?
Keith Law: If he’s not playing second base, the Phillies have made a mistake.

Sammy Sosa: Should later state voters voter for their personal favorite or, if different, their favorite with a realistic chance at winning the nomination? A contested convention terrifies me for a number of reasons.
Keith Law: I’ll vote for my preferred candidate even if it doesn’t matter by that point here in Delaware.

barbeach: Ordered the new book–looking forward to digging in when it’s ready!  If you were the Yankees, what would you do about Miguel Andujar?
Keith Law: Probably bring him back as a DH and see if you can ease him into a position over time.

Henry: If you’re Manfred, what would you do to contain this Astros mess?
Keith Law: There’s no containing it now. The mistake was trying to downplay it from the start by giving players immunity from suspensions.

Wait, what?: Any inside info on the Theo/Maddon thing? Seems like the more Joe talks the worse he looks (in LAA eyes too.)
Keith Law: I have no idea. Not my department, nor is it something I’d ask about.

Salty: Tim Anderson – does he have the ability to maintain a high BABIP to help lift his AVG to the .280-.300 range, or was last year a total fluke, and he’s likely to head back towards the mid-.200’s going forward?
Keith Law: I think he’ll always be a high BABIP and low BB% guy but is talented enough in other ways to make it work.

Kyle KS: In thinking about Jose Berrios and his arbitration hearing, it’s obvious the team values a relatively small amount of money over the relationship with the player.  My question is how do the players view this?  Is it just part of the business or do they feel slighted?
Keith Law: Part of the business. There’s no evidence that, say, players treated well in pre-arb contracts or in arbitration later give teams discounts.

Mike G: Digging into Lux – I see a couple of golden nuggets in his (I, know SSS) MLB debut that I love – like his 20.9% o-swing & 52.9% hard-hit rate. Then when I compare that and look over his MiLB numbers – I get a Bregman offensive-vibe; plate discipline, sneaky power/speed, and strong hit tool. I know that’s a lofty comp + SSS, but is that the type of player he may grow into over his career? It’s a very neat skillset he possesses, and I’d love to hear your insight. Thanks
Keith Law: I would never draw conclusions like that from a tiny sample of September at bats. There is no way to distinguish the noise in there from the signal.

Gene: Keith, I am a bit of a traditionalist and am at a complete loss for what Manfred hopes to achieve by further diluting the post season with an extra tier of games with sites chosen in a BS game show format. Is the further erosion of the game’s dignity worth a few more shekels?
Keith Law: The owners want the extra cash. Manfred works for the owners. We are all deluding ourselves if we think Manfred will act in the best interests of the game when it is his literal job to act out the interests of the owners.

Epsthoyer: Who has the better chance to make the jump into your top 20, Brennen Davis, Miguel Amaya, Braylin Marquez or Christopher Morel?  Didn’t include Hoerner on this list as I‘m assuming he wont qualify.
Keith Law: For 2021? I’d be surprised if any of them made my overall top 20.

Tom: What do you think of Bryant leading off? Seems like a reasonable decision, as he is a good baserunner (not really steals, but first to third, etc.) Couldn’t be worse than Heyward!
Keith Law: Fine with me.

Jabroni: Your guy Cole Wilcox looked awfully good last weekend.
Keith Law: I’ll see him pitch on Saturday.

James: Royals competitive (above .500) again in 2023? Doesn’t feel like there is a lot coming through the minor league pipeline. The new owner could change that with some FA’s, but I’m not holding my breath.
Keith Law: Pitching will be there, offense will need outside help.

Querulous Quincy: The Rangers are looking at Nick Solak in CF this spring.  What are the odds he can be good enough defensively out there to be a realistic regular CF option for Texas in 2020?
Keith Law: I give that zero chance. I don’t think Solak really has a position, and if he does I don’t think it’s CF.

xxx(yyy): any new recipes that you have made recently that are added to your rotation?
Keith Law: Yes, this lentils & greens on fried bread recipe is the best new thing we’ve made (my girlfriend made it first and we loved it so much we made it again about a week later) in months.

Carter: What woould a plausible Braves package for Arenado include?
Keith Law: One of their top starter prospects/young major league starters, one of their catching prospects, Waters, and a lottery ticket.

Rob: Riley Pint: any reason for hope, or is an MLB cup of coffee even too much to ask for at this point?
Keith Law: The odds are we don’t see him in the majors.

Dylan: What went wrong for white sox prospects at Birmingham? Rutherford, Adolfo, Basabe, Gonzalez, sub .700 ops, Gavin sheets sub .800? Was it a product of the environment (coaching as well, Omar visquel?) or is it indicative of who these prospects really are?
Keith Law: Basabe and Adolfo were hurt. Sheets and Rutherford just aren’t very good.

Darin: If you were commissioner, how would you try to manage the player response to the Astro’s scandal?
Keith Law: Well, I can tell you I wouldn’t be confrontational with reporters. An open approach, admitting that the options before him each had problems, and a full reckoning was likely impossible without cooperation from players that was not forthcoming, would help matters.

Dylan: top prospects list coming out soon?
Keith Law: I feel like I answered that at the top of the post.

Alex: Do you see Mitch Keller as a high 3s ERA guy and sustaining the K rate?
Keith Law: Not without a viable pitch for LHB. Or even to keep RHB from waiting out the breaking ball to sit on the FB.

Jon: How many Astros players make the all star game? Will any players/coaches vote for any of them?
Keith Law: At least one, because that’s the rule.

Kelly: Forgive me if you’ve said previously – do you think the 2017 World Series title should be vacated, and what is the primary reason why?
Keith Law: No. Revising history is absurd. The Astros won; you can’t unwrite that. And frankly I think people who whine about vacating titles are just being crybabies.

DW: Keith, what’s your take on JD Davis? Is he a legitimate masher or BABIP lucky? Should he be a DH? or do you think he can hack it anywhere in the field?
Keith Law: BABIP spike. Could play first base but the Mets have two better options there.

Ben: What was your main takeaway from last night’s debate?
Keith Law: My main takeaway from last night’s debate is that I didn’t watch it.

EL: Where does calling the trophy a “piece of metal” rank in all time baseball commissioner gaffes?
Keith Law: Not that high, because Selig was commish for a long time.

Mark: I am subscribing to the athletic just because of you
Keith Law: I appreciate that. You’re about to get a lot of words for your money.

Mark: Pecota has the Mets winning the NL East this year with 88 wins. Buying it?
Keith Law: No.

Eric: If you were gm of a club ans found about a clearly illegal sign stealing scheme what would you do
Keith Law: I’d report it to my owner first, and then to the league. I suppose there’s a risk the owner says not to report, but I would feel obligated to do so, even at the cost of my job.
Keith Law: I also recognize that 1) most people wouldn’t do that and 2) it is easy for me to say this when I am not actually in that position.

Jeff T: Does Jonathan Stiever have mid-rotation upside?
Keith Law: You’ll see in the team reports.

Mike: Do you learn new songs by ear or specific website to find the chords ?
Keith Law: Either. Depends on the song and how patient I am.

XBL: XBL similar what XFL done with NFL,- Xtreme baseball league, its time for new league? how much start up cost to make new league because Manfred’s incompetence as commissioner of MLB and no punishment from players? XBL – stereoid and stealing signs  are allowed. Hitting 500 feet homeruns= scoring 3 points instead 1.  You should be Commissioner XBL Keith? thoughts?
Keith Law: No, thank you.

UH: Thoughts on Balazovic?  What is ceiling?
Keith Law: You’ll see the answer to that in the top 100.

xxx(yyy): about how long do you typically spend “on the ground” in Spring Training? Are you looking for anything particular?
Keith Law: Not too much time. I find it’s not that productive for me until the minor league games start.

Will: Keith, will you be doing less MLB Draft coverage now at the Athletic?
Keith Law: No, it’ll be the same.

Bob: I think Luis Urias will be a .320 hitter, is that a reasonable projection?
Keith Law: No, that’s not a reasonable projection for any hitter, really. Do you know offhand how many guys hit .320 last year?
Keith Law: I’ll answer that in a minute.

Ben: Franklin Perez is supposedly healthy and looking pretty good early this spring. Even when he was healthy with HOU, he really never had thrown nearly as many innings as you would think for a pitcher AA. With that in mind, and his last two years of lost time, what does a successful, healthy 2020 look like for Franklin Perez?
Keith Law: I’ll believe that when I see it.

Adam: Hey Keith. Did you watch the Academy Awards?? If so, any thoughts on the winners or anything else that you found entertaining or lame about the show.
Keith Law: I did. Thrilled that Parasite won, and that the audience reacted so positively to it. Thought Wiig/Rudolph were the best presenters, the Martin/Rock duologue went on too long but had its moments, the Cats bit was really funny (if a bit mean), the Janelle Monae number’s honoring films that weren’t nominated was clever, Zellweger’s speech was cringeworthy, and the fact that people of color are apparently allowed to be the show’s entertainment but not to win the awards is appalling.

Mike: Does the 2020 Draft still shape up as a “Top 4” or is it too soon to day that?  Asking as a Blue Jays (#5) fan.
Keith Law: Not a “top 4” draft. That’s a false dichotomy.

HH: How much movement is there between college coaches to the minor leagues? You’ve identified programs that almost always improve players (go Vandy!) – do teams ever throw a bunch of cash at such a staff to develop their guys in the low minors?
Keith Law: It’s happening more now than it has in my career, for the better, I think.

Kevin: Shouldn’t teams like the Red Sox or other big market teams try to “buy” prospects by taking back bad contracts? Seems like a no-brainer to me
Keith Law: The Giants did this.

Lee: What kind of ceiling does Alex Verdugo have?  A lot of Sox fans are pretty down on the Betts deal but seems to me that Verdugo could be pretty valuable over the next 5 years.
Keith Law: I think what you saw from him in 2019 over a full season – assuming his back injury is resolved – is about right.

AndrewB: Hey Keith, I appreciate all that you do to keep shining a light on players accused of/guilty of DV and not allowing the deeds to fade into the background, as happens far too often. My question is: What’s an appropriate punishment for such crimes? We all know that outright banning for life will never happen, so what’s a next-best option that will feel in any way satisfactory as we watch awful people make millions upon millions of dollars and be feted with adulation?
Keith Law: Domestic violence suspensions shouldn’t be about feeling satisfactory, although I think they often are aimed at that end. They should be about prevention, preferably done in tandem with evidence-based education programs for (in MLB’s case) the athletes themselves.

Aaron G: Jack Leiter…I know it was just one start but whoa. Possible 1st round in 2022?
Keith Law: He was a first-round talent last year if he would have signed. Nothing has changed.

Steve: There have been talks of Tatis moving to CF if they get Lindor.  Would that be wise? Even if they don’t get Lindor, is Tatis a SS long term?
Keith Law: No. Tatis is a SS. Wastes his talent to move him.

Todd: better chance at making the Yankees rotation? Garcia or Schmidt?
Keith Law: Schmidt is probably the safer bet even though Garcia is closer to the majors.

Dylan: Ed Howard is a local kid, part of the white sox intercity program (ACE), could they look to take him at 11?
Keith Law: Maybe, but the fact that he’s local should have absolutely no bearing on their choice. You don’t get extra points for winning with local players.

Colin: Help me understand why you say saves don’t matter. The best pitcher in the bullpen will be getting the save, so obviously you can use it to show who the best relievers are. What am I missing?
Keith Law: “The best pitcher in the bullpen will be getting the save” is a false statement. I assume you’re trolling.

Matt: Evan White has a bit of a confusing profile for a 1B, but seemed to start hitting the ball with some authority last year. Do you see him as a guy who could ever hit 30 HRs, or is he just never going to hit for that much power?
Keith Law: I would bet the under on that. I think 20 homers with a solid OBP and ++ defense.

HH: Since rule changes are in the air: what’s one rule in baseball (on the field) you’d like to change, and how?
Keith Law: Aside from the automatic strike zone? I’d like to see an end to hitters who lean over the plate getting first base when HBP.

Evan H.: Do you see 2020 lhp Dax Fulton still going in the 1st round despite TJ surgery?
Keith Law: No.

Todd: The arrogance of the Astros players, Correa and Altuve especially, is really embarassing. They both seem so out of touch with what happended or just truly dont care.
Keith Law: They don’t feel remorse. There is no guilt there, and trying to shame them isn’t going to work.

Tbang: Is there any shot for Florial or is he just not good
Keith Law: I have never thought he was good enough to make my top 100. (And I got pilloried for it by Yankee fans two years ago.)

Marc: Do you think Cole Tucker can be the Pirates answer at SS, and would you move Kevin Newman to 2B?
Keith Law: Other way around.

Matt: I’d be curious to get your thoughts on Jose Urquidy. While the ceiling may not be high, he seems like a SP3/4 type already, and that’s what you dream a lot of your pitching prospects become. Despite that, I don’t get the sense that he’s viewed as a top 100 prospect. Do you think he is worthy?
Keith Law: I won’t answer the top 100 part now but I agree he’s a fourth or fifth starter right now. He might be a five-and-dive type but isn’t that what fifth starters are?

John: One of the arguments I’ve seen for the proposed playoff format is that it holds fans’ interest later into the season because they have a chance at a playoff spot. I don’t buy that basic premise. Teams maintain fan interest by being good and fun to watch. A boring, mediocre 80 win team that backs into the 7th playoff spot isn’t any more fun to watch than an 80 win team that misses the playoffs.
Keith Law: I agree. Someone – Sheehan? Calcaterra? – pointed out that this format would have put 79 win teams in the playoffs in the last few years. Hard pass, thanks.

John: Is anything exciting happening at The Athletic on Monday 2/24?
Keith Law: Nothing. I’m taking the day off.

Michael: Fact or fiction.  Most teams are cheating in some way similar to the Astros and Red Sox?
Keith Law: Most, no. Many, yes.
Keith Law: I have heard, without real confirmation, that at least six teams were caught doing something. One of those teams … let’s just say I believe it, but would require evidence to say it, if that makes sense.

Gary: Thanks for chatting Keith. I’m curious about your thoughts on college players and if you think there is a maturity they gain vs HS kids who come out and seem to stumble or have less success. Do you see a large benefit for kids to go to college instead of turning pro?
Keith Law: I do not. For some kids, yes, but for most, no.

Uli Jon: Am I an insular left coaster or does that lukewarm piece of toast that was on the stage last night have any chance of beating Trump? Yes, the money helps but at a certain point he has to open his mouth and that seems…not so good.
Keith Law: I did see the clip of Warren eviscerating Bloomberg on the NDAs, and, well, bye, Mike, you DINO.

Jim: Does Carter Kieboom have enough thump to be an asset at 3b?
Keith Law: If he ends up a regular or more at 3b, it’ll be by hitting .300+ with lots of doubles, but not with big HR power. He’s just not that kind of hitter.

Tbang: Do you think Manfred does anything else about the astros or do you think he rides it out
Keith Law: What more can he do? I think his hands were partly tied by the owners, and he tangled them up completely by handing out immunity to players.

Michael: No snark. When the Betts trade happened there were at least seven Athletic articles on it.  At ESPN you were often the only one. Do you get worried about being lost in the noise over there?
Keith Law: Nope, i can see stats on my articles and y’all are still reading (for which I thank you).

Will: Sneak peak for next week?  Has Sixto Sanchez moved significantly since your MidSeasob Top 50?  Up?  Down?  I cant get a good read on his projection.  Thanks
Keith Law: You will see the answer next week.

Tommie from Nebraska: Hey keith, when does your next top 100 come out? Thanks.
Keith Law: 2021.

Dark Johnny: Will Michael Baumann be in the O’s rotation by 2021-22?
Keith Law: Reliever for me.

Lee: After the last 3 years, how can it be that there’s a good chance that Donald Trump will be re-elected?  Even if you’re a conservative that likes the policies he’s put into place, why would you be accepting of a complete immoral lunatic in charge of our nuclear arsenal.  Has 50% of our country lost their minds?
Keith Law: Only takes about 30-35% of the electorate to re-elect him. I think there’s a realistic chance of it, in part because of the Democrats’ general incompetence as a party, and in part because a lot of Americans secretly agree with an Administration that pushes racist, Islamophobic, anti-science, anti-environment, anti-LGBT, and anti-woman policies.

Greg: Huff not getting an invite to the Giants 10 year celebration- Good thing, or great thing?
Keith Law: Right thing. Also, you get no points if you correctly predicted that gun-masturbating ding-dong would bring up the First Amendment in his response.

Dick Diver: Considering your upcoming labor focus with the Athletic, how do you feel about opiod testing for players? I am not sure if you have commented before, but while we do want to prevent use and tragedy, it seems a bit nanny state-ish no?
Keith Law: Yes. I don’t think players should be tested for drugs of abuse unless they have a prior incident.

Todd: Thoughts on Yankees lower farm arms Yoendrys Gomez and Alexander Vizcaino? Is TJ Sikkema a legit lefty reliver prospect?
Keith Law: They’ll be in the Yankees’ report. I’ll tell you now, since I said this previously, Sikkema is a starter prospect.

xxx(yyy): The odds that Jeff Lunhow has a GM job again are: 0% – 1% – 2% to 25% – 25% to 50% – 50% to 75% – 75% to 100%?
Keith Law: Zero.

Henry: I know each team operates differently but do most GM’s have to get approval from their owners to make trades or get free agents even when they’re operating under a standard operating budget?
Keith Law: Yes.

John: Long term Plesac or Civale?
Keith Law: Plesac. I like both.

Idaho Nuke: What do you think an appropriate punishment for Astros players should be?
Keith Law: Any player at the center of the scheme should get the same suspension Hinch and Luhnow got, if not more.
Keith Law: They were just there when it happened; no one has accused either of them of contributing to the scheme. So why do they get lengthy suspensions but the players who actually did this shit get off scot free?

Eric: Finally got to play Wingspan for the first time recently and loved it.  Thanks for your great review of it last year.  I just purchased the European expansion and was wondering if you’ve played that one yet?
Keith Law: I haven’t, mostly because I feel like the original has so much replay value.

Alex: Just got an airfryer.  Do you have one?  Any good recipies to share?
Keith Law: I don’t. When I fry food I use oil, because that’s what it means to fry something.

Greg: Give that MLB still has its anti-trust exemption and given that the MLB commissioner is now basically a cudgel for the owners and has not been a “steward of the game” since Faye Vincent… Should there be some kind of special case where a non-owner/congressional body picks or vets any new MLB commissioner?
Keith Law: How does that work? MLB is a private business. Do you want the government picking the CEOs of other private businesses?

Pei: What do you think of the Altuve walk-off strange behavior controversy? Seems to me that the evidence of any buzzer stuff is flimsy at best but it is apparent to me that he probably wanted to hide something (that isn’t a tattoo)
Keith Law: Not a fan of conspiracy theories.

Josh in DC: Do you think it could EVER be plausible for fans — facing a situation like Boston’s fans in this off-season — to organize a boycott, however minor, that would get an owner’s attention? 40,000 unsold tickets, with $100 of spending per fan, is $4 million in lost revenues.
Keith Law: No, it’ll never happen. I’m not sure the typical owner would even notice $4 million in lost revenues.

Altuve’s Lower Back Tattoo: Of Noelvi Marte, Orelvis Martinez and Erick Pena, who’s the best player 2023 and beyond
Keith Law: One is on my top 100.

Kretin: How bad is the injury to JT Ginn?
Keith Law: We have no idea yet, but 1) it was a high-effort delivery in HS and 2) this is another example of why HS pitchers drafted high should take the money.
Keith Law: I don’t even think Mississippi State misused him – it’s just that pitchers get hurt, even when handled carefully, even if their mechanics are (supposedly) “clean.”

Keith too: You ever watch WWE, UFC or Boxing?
Keith Law: LOL.

Rocker: 1) Austin Martin
2 Spencer Torkelson
3 Nick Gonzales
4 Emerson Hancock   This my rankings in baseball draft 2020? which one has highest upside?
Keith Law: Gonzales isn’t in that group if we’re talking upside. Martin definitely has the most upside of the group, and he’d be 1 on my draft board right now, but that doesn’t necessarily make him the best player.

Vincent Adultman: Do you think Eziquiel Duran can stay at 2B? If he can’t, can he move to third?
Keith Law: He can stay at 2b.

Dark Johnny: Any chance Frankie Montas breaks out to be a frontline starter?
Keith Law: Never saw him as a starter.

Don D: Keith, I’d love to hear your take on Jordan Walker, I’ve seen some HUGE comparisons but others have him pegged as a mid-1st. What do you think of him?
Keith Law: Have not seen him yet but I do not hear mid-first on him at all.

Dark Johnny: Can you be a good MLB starter without a viable changeup in the arsenal?
Keith Law: IMO, no. Changeup or splitter.

Eric: Would you vote for Bernie Sanders against Donald Trump in November?
Keith Law: Yes.

UU: Do you ever wonder if these chats are like a few100 people just using different names?
Keith Law: I can see it’s not, but even so, that would be fine.

Lane: Do you always read the intro?
Keith Law: I do. I may not read the middle, though.

Deke: If you’re Texas, what are you doing with center field this season?
Keith Law: Probably passing a law to eliminate abortion rights.
Keith Law: Oh, did you mean the Rangers?

addoeh: What are your Girl Scout cookie rankings?  For me, 1. Samoas 2. Tagalongs  3. Thin Mints (especially frozen).
Keith Law: Samoas and Tagalongs are 1-2 and that’s it. I don’t eat any of the others. I can eat an entire sleeve of Thin Mints and feel like I didn’t eat anything, which I think is really weird.

Bill: Will you be doing an extra (or just early) chat on Monday? I believe that’s when you top 100 prospect rankings comes out.
Keith Law: Not Monday but some time next week. I will still be finishing the NL West org reports Monday and also I have some life stuff to deal with that I’ve been putting off to finish the prospect rankings.

Jay: Klaw, I get the sense that “socialism” is going to be the scare word of 2020 and despite the average American not understanding what it means, it will cost Bernie the election. I much prefer Warren but I don’t see her winning the nomination. How do you feel?
Keith Law: It’s been a scare word since the 1980s, most Americans do not know what it means, and I don’t know if even Bernie is an actual socialist. The fact that so many Americans glom on to “socialist” as a pejorative term for Democratic candidates is a huge indictment of public education in this country.

Matt: Fwiw, I’ve really dug the European Wingspan expansion. It adds a bunch of cards that increase interaction between the players, which is maybe my one (minor) complaint with the original.
Keith Law: Good to know – thank you.

Rob Manfred: Even if I suspended some of the players, I would lose each and every case with the arbritrator, true or false ?
Keith Law: Mass suspensions would probably have to be negotiated with the union ahead of the announcement. In that case, there wouldn’t be arbitration.

John: If Kumar Rocker was eligible to be drafted in the upcoming draft, would he be in consideration for the top pick?
Keith Law: No.

Ken: In all of these article concerning the Mets and their potential sale of the team it just seems to be reported as fact the the Mets lose $50m annually. 1) This is B.S. right? 2) Why do reporters go along with it so easily?
Keith Law: 1) Right. 2) Because it’s easy. Same reason so many writers uncritically quoted that bought-and-paid-for marketing report that claimed Miller Park generated over $2 billion for the city of Milwaukee, which is pure bullshit.

Guest: ATTENTION EVERYONE:  Don’t let the 2/24 Top 100 Release (on the Athletic) overshadow the 4/21 Book Release (where ever books are sold)
Keith Law: Good point, thank you.

Caleb: Do we ever get to a point where strikeouts go down and average goes back up?  Or has that ship sailed?
Keith Law: Sure. Raise the bottom of the strike zone.

Jeff: Will you be publishing the “usual” supplements to your top 100? Breakthrough players, top ten by org, etc.
Keith Law: Yes, just missed list + org reports (20+ players per) for all 30 teams.

Jason: When you complete your top-100 lists, how often are you surprised at where players end up compared to where you thought they would be at the beginning?
Keith Law: Never surprised, but it does change a lot.

Sam: Shed Long, good enough to be an everyday 2B?
Keith Law: No. Poor defender.

BrittanyMars: Why are circle-changes and palmballs rare/going extinct?
Keith Law: Circle-changes are going extinct? I don’t think that’s true.

Ken: Is there anyone you wouldn’t vote for over Trump? If the Dems actually managed to nominate someone more vile than Trump would you just sit that one out or actually vote for the lesser of two evil? I assume you’d just go 3rd party at that point.
Keith Law: Probably would sit that one out.

Sammy Sosa: Last night Bernie — who isn’t even a socialist — was called a communist by Bloomberg and Mayor Pete talked up Denmark as the best place for the American dream. Do these people even listen to themselves?
Keith Law: No, they don’t. Or they do, but they don’t care, as long as the comments land.

Jay: Is O’Neil Cruz the most unique prospect you’ve covered? Is he the Pirate MiLBer with the highest ceiling AND lowest floor?
Keith Law: He’s up there – he would be the biggest shortstop in MLB history. Only Joel Guzman has been that height or taller and played shortstop, and of course he was terrible (at short, and in general).

Alex: Thanks for the San Diego restaurant picks a few chats ago (I went to Rovino and Mission).   Is it too early to evaluate at the Mike Elias” player development in the minors so far (pitching seems to have gotten better; hard to say with hitters)
Keith Law: Yes, just one year so far.

Bob: You are absolutely correct about Thin Mints!!
Keith Law: Thank you. Thin Mints are only good when crushed and swirled into ice cream.

Michael: Bloomberg funded Toomey in 2016 and GOP house candidates in 2018.  What is he doing here?
Keith Law: Hence, DINO.

Idaho Nuke: Why does Bernie keep mentioning Denmark when they are capitalist?
Keith Law: “Capitalism with a strong social safety net” doesn’t have a great ring to it, but that’s what Denmark, Sweden, and the Netherlands offer, and it is the kind of economy in which I want to live. Free enterprise can still exist and thrive in such an environment, but people who are less fortunate, who are born with disabilities, who fall ill, etc. would still be protected. There but for the grace of God, people.
Keith Law: OK, I have to get back to writing. Thank you all for stopping by for the chat. If you haven’t heard, my top 100 prospects will appear on Monday, February 24th, at the Athletic, for subscribers only. Enjoy your weekends!