Klawchat 6/5/25.

My latest piece at the Athletic looks at six prospects who’ve seen their stock rise or fall in the small sample of the 2025 season to date.

Keith Law: No phone in the phone booth. Klawchat.

Mike: With the reduced size of the minors, what do teams do when they have a situation like the Dodgers outfield in A+, where they have three guys who could all move up and Quintero behind them who also could? In this case it seems like their AA OF isn’t that amazing and maybe it’s okay to push them aside, but in general what happens when there’s a traffic jam at a particular position?
Keith Law: In their case, it’s easy – move Sirota up. He’s looked like the player he was in 2023 again; I learned recently that he lost a lot of weight before the 2024 spring began and the loss of strength led him to overcompensate at the plate, which wrecked his spring. He’s 22 and belongs in AA by now. In general, though, you move guys around – 1b, DH, wherever someone will fit – and maybe you have to work in some days off here and there.

Boston: You are all over Franklin Arias. His hard hit and exit velocities aren’t very good, and there is little physical projection, as he’s small and stocky and not a fast runner. I get that not whiffing is great, but isn’t this a dink and dunk hitter that’s not explosive?
Keith Law: I’ve been puzzling over this question since you sent it two+ hours ago, and my only conclusion is that you are thinking of someone else. His batted-ball data is good (he’s hit 110 mph), he has some physical projection, and as you can see in this video he is not small or stocky. You’re right that he’s not a runner, but that’s it. Otherwise you are describing another player.

Aaron C.: Considering all the traveling you do, have you ever had a really good meal (even grading on a curve) in an American airport?
Keith Law: Yes – big fan of airports that have local restaurants come establish outposts there. Tortas Frontera in ORD. Matt’s Big Breakfast in PHX (probably the best airport for local food). Bud & Marilyn’s here in PHL, although I wish their menu were a little broader. Silver Diner at BWI.

James: Thoughts on Cade Horton so far?
Keith Law: Too soon.

Chris: If you had to bet on Zyhir Hope or Josue De Paula becoming an MLB All-Star, who are you picking?
Keith Law: Hope. More defensive value there. Not a CF but RF should work, maybe even above-average there. De Paula has more offensive potential but it might be 1B.

Alex: What is wrong with Atlanta’s offense? The offense is underperforming for the second year in a row but is mostly locked into long-term extensions, and the farm is thin. I’m concerned that the team has fallen behind in its analytics, and its players are getting overmatched by savvier organizations. What can they do, short of cleaning house?
Keith Law: Well one thing would be to improve their drafting – I don’t think they’ve drafted well at all of late, and they’ve gone so heavily for HS arms that it’s depleted the system.

Eddie V.: You’ve mentioned before you lost interest in Pearl Jam after the Vitalogy record. What was it in the change between Vs. to Vitalogy that soured you on the band?
Keith Law: That’s a hard question to answer because it’s a subjective thing. I thought they became less of a grunge band after Vs., and the Neil Young influence became much more pronounced. But the bottom line is Vitalogy had fewer memorable hooks, and the album after that had almost none for me.

James: Although it would be a PR nightmare, wouldn’t it make sense for the Pirates to sell high on Skenes now? If they could get Rushing, De Paula, Freeland and Ferris or Anthony, Mayer, Fitts or some similar combo, wouldn’t that be a better long term plan?
Dana: Should the Pirates trade Skenes now for 4-5 pieces that could reasonably become the core of their next playoff team?
Keith Law: I really wonder if they could get enough to make up for both the PR disaster they’d have and for the fact that Skenes is almost irreplaceable in their rotation. Nutting should have let the front office spend this winter to boost the offense, and he didn’t. Trading Skenes is going to turn them into the 2024 White Sox.

Chris: Has Ian Happ become the player you expected?
Keith Law: Over the course of his career, yes, although I thought he’d end up at 3b.

Aaron C.: I don’t want you to name names because that’s all that anyone will focus on, but in all the years you’ve been doing this, has there ever been the son of an MLB player drafted in, say, the top 5 rounds who might otherwise not even be a top 10 round guy is not for his last name?
Keith Law: Oh yes. Tony Gwynn Jr. comes to mind. Kenny Williams’ son might be the most egregious case.

Tom Walter: Are you as surprised as I am that I still have a job?
Keith Law: Surprised, no. Dismayed, yes. That’s a firing offense – you can not lead a team if that word is in your vocabulary because of what the use of that word says about your feelings. How could any queer player or staffer ever feel comfortable in that clubhouse?
Keith Law: I promise you there will be no consequences here. My conversations with the NCAA have strongly implied that they want this to go away.

Dave: Lots of speculation that MLB is down to Apple TV and NBC for Sunday Night Baseball rights starting next year. It seems like even if Apple is offering more money, that hiding the marquee game of the week on Apple rather than making it very accessible on NBC would be a marketing disaster for MLB. So of course I fully expect the owners to take the short term cash over the long term health of the game.
Keith Law: I completely agree that they will take the most money, period.

ck: If Skenes is available for trade, would you not give your top 5 prospects to get him?
Keith Law: Depends on who those five are. You have to factor in the chance that Skenes gets hurt and misses some significant time in the next four years – not that I ever want this, but that is simply the nature of pitching today (which is a byproduct of our industry attitude that they are disposable assets).

Caleb: Was Jordan Walker rushed to the big leagues too soon? Or is there another reason to explain his struggles the past couple years?
Keith Law: He’s needed swing help and hasn’t gotten it. I’m hopeful that as they add to their major and minor league staffs that it won’t be too late to help him. They’ve seen some upticks on the pitching side already.

Matt: Am I crazy for thinking Judge is the best hitter in history? Dude is on pace for 13.7 WAR. The only player to do that was Babe Ruth and he was playing against farmers and plumbers.
Keith Law: No, that’s not crazy. He’s in Bonds territory.

Will: Do you have a feel for how the House settlement (assuming it’s approved or schools just use state laws to provide the benefits) will affect which draftees will choose to enroll/return to school over signing? Will more scholarship dollars plus NIL and revenue sharing make enrolling a more attractive option than it currently is?
Keith Law: I truly don’t have a feel for this, sorry.

Ryan: I know you’ve said that in the past the best way for young players is through the draft, because even if they flunk out in the minors MLB (?) will pay for them to get their degree after, and get developed by big league coaches is way better than being told to throw 120 pitches one night and then 40 more less than 48 hours later… but with the changing landscape of NIL and possibility -depending on which side you ask owners/players – about a worldwide draft … is it possible college is becoming a better option?
Keith Law: College has always been a better option for certain players. It’s not the better option for, say, the kid throwing 95 now who has a $2 million offer from pro ball, because the odds of him still throwing 95 and being healthy in 3 years aren’t that high. It’s the better option for the projectable kid throwing 90 now, or someone like Hagen Smith, who had TJ and missed his senior year of HS, then saw his velocity increase every year at Arkansas.

Ryan: One thing I never get about the draft is why can a JUCO freshman be drafted and not an NCAA freshman? Why hasn’t someone sued the NCAA for that yet (or is that an MLB rule)?
Keith Law: A longstanding agreement between MLB and the NCAA, enshrined in the MLB rules. It’s anti-player and I would hope it would lose a challenge in a labor court (well, not right now).

Matt K: Thanks for doing this, Keith – always love your takes and information.  Question about Brock Wilken.  My feel is that he is mostly back, or at least back to what he is going to be.  That is a good sign for him, so happy about that.  He does not seem to be at the level I personally had anticipated, though. Tons of walks, good power. The Ks are still higher, it seems.  Is he a guy the Crew could rely on to play 3B/1B for a few seasons at this level?  I had some early hope he showed some Jeff Bagwell signs, but have given up on that – am I wrong?
Keith Law: I’m afraid this is probably who he is – this was within the range of possible outcomes even when he was drafted, a guy who just didn’t have the pitch recognition or swing decisions to get to the power. I was willing to let last year slide after he got hit in the face and came back so quickly but I think we’re seeing evidence that this is it.

Justin: The statline seems to indicate that Josue de Paula is starting to turn his raw into some game power (HR at a higher rate, higher ISO, etc).  Do you think he’s taken real steps (in physical or baseball or mental development) and is now one of the great hitters in the minors, or is this still just small sample theatre?
Keith Law: I worry he’s still more passive than patient, but the power is real – it’s always been there, and he’s getting to it more in games.

Guest: Keith. Thank you for all of your excellent content. I really look forward to your Music Updates every month.  Are you a fan of the late Scott Miller and his bands Game Theory and The Loud Family?
Keith Law: I am not, sorry.

Justin: Do you have any personal heuristic on how you project 2 way prospects who suddenly start focusing on one thing? It had to have helped Skenes turn into SKENES at LSU, right?   Does the switch to only pitching impact your thoughts on Nolan McLean?
Keith Law: No heuristic but I do agree that those players can improve more in a shorter period of time because being a two-way player is so much more work.
Keith Law: And McLean went from the bullpen to the rotation after giving up hitting, like Shaun Marcum and Spencer Schwellenbach.

Cora Breslow: The Red Sox are 6-17 in one-run games. Is that something that evens out over a full season, or is it indicative of fundamental problems with the team?
Keith Law: It’s mostly randomness. Joe Sheehan has harped on that a ton.

JJ: So, why is Roman Anthony still in Worcester?
Keith Law: I do think there are some swing decision things he could work on before bringing him up. It’s not like Mayer, who still has a real mechanical issue with his front leg to fix, has blown the doors off.

Ben (MN): With Pablo Lopez out, it looks like Zebby Matthews will get a chance to stick in the majors. What would you expect from him if he keeps the rotation spot the rest of the year?
Keith Law: I’m bad at those questions – predicting any rookie/young player’s performance in a short window feels like rolling the many, many dice I have in this house and then figuring out which four to keep. I like Zebby, I think he’s better than a 5 ERA guy, I don’t know why he’s been materially worse with men on base.

Alek: Brady house has shown incremental improvement but still too much chase. I could see a paul dejong-ish offensive career from him. What are your thoughts on him at this juncture?
Keith Law: Right now, he’s not going to hit big league pitching enough for that. I need to see exponential improvement rather than incremental.

Alek: Has seaver king figured it out a little after that tough start to the season?
Keith Law: A lot. I think his swing is back to 2024.

Alek: Any updated 1/1 news? All other things equal, i think Doyle fits the nats window better, though being a SP hes much riskier than Holliday.
Keith Law: I’ll do a mock either next week or the week after, have to check the schedule. Personally I am still wide open. If Doyle hadn’t been overused last weekend, I probably would flip him back up to #1 on my own list over Holliday. Now I’m torn.

Nick: Could the Red Sox fine Devers for refusing to play an assigned position?
Keith Law: Come on.

Frank: Michael Lombardi started the season as a two way player mostly as a reliever but was turned into a starter and has now moved quickly up the draft lists.  Where do you see his future in the MLB?  Thanks.
Keith Law: He’s legit, #51 on my Big Board (full scouting report there).

Jhonny: If you could pick one current team for a season of The Clubhouse to be filmed, who would it be?
Keith Law: I’ve never seen that show.

jimmy johnson: too many holes in montes swing to not make your top 50?
Keith Law: more or less, yeah. Lot of in-zone miss, and I don’t think he’s really that disciplined. That’s on top of questions about defense & the body.
Keith Law: He’s an old man for 20, just looking at his build and how he moves.

JR: Have you heard any whispers or industry talk on the Mets success with pitchers lately? They seem to have an uncanny ability to turn 4s and 5s into 2s and 3s, and keep them mostly healthy. Severino and Manaea last year. This year it’s Canning and converting Holmes to a starter, which is going well so far. Blackburn might be on the list too. Is this just random luck, or have they figured something out?
Keith Law: It’s happening in the majors, but less so in the minors, where I feel like everyone has to throw six different pitches and it’s holding some guys back.
Keith Law: Maybe they’ve got different voices on the two sides? I’m not very plugged in to the major-league staff.

Jackie: I watch the Red Sox every night, and every night for the last five years, it’s the same mistakes:  dumb baserunning, bad fielding, no clue on situational hitting.  Is that on Alex Cora and the Major League staff, the lack of development/teaching in the minors for guys like Rafaela and Campbell, or am I just an old woman lamenting a bygone era?
Keith Law: I can’t speak to the observations, but they have had a lot of guys reach the majors who weren’t fully formed as players – Rafaela especially, I think I’ve raved about the CF defense forever while also pointing out the guy is an inveterate hacker and hasn’t adjusted.

George: Hey Keith! I’m interested in your view of how the Nats dev/draft reputation has changed over the course of their rebuild. Their ‘23/‘24 drafts are showing much better signs than their drafts early in their rebuild, and they’ve seemed to have more recent dev success stories (Parker, Herz, Irvin etc). I know their reputation on pitching development and drafting has generally been pretty bad, but do you think that’s changing? Or is it just a broken clock situation?
Keith Law: Any reputation they had is out of date; they’ve turned over most of their decision-makers in scouting and PD the last two years. I think their 2024 draft looks outstanding already; King’s back to himself and in AA now, Dickerson gets raves, and I think Kent, Lomavita, and Cranz are all going to be big leaguers. Bazzell is the one disappointment to me – thought he’d hit, and maybe have trouble on defense.

Andy: I understand it’s short season defensive data, but Betts is looking above average as a SS. Can we marvel at this a bit, an elite RF becomes a middle infielder at age 30.
Keith Law: I don’t buy it. His metrics were so poor before this year.

Brenden: My son and I are visiting Minneapolis for a Twins game. Can food recs for the area?
Keith Law: Here’s my 2023 roundup from there. Also Lola Pizzeria is outstanding.

Andy: Exit velocities are clearly being tracked much more at minors and amateur levels. Are launch angles as well? The Dodgers have had success changing launch angles, but that’s at the major league level. Are there teams doing that for lower level players too?
Keith Law: Yes, it’s all measured by the same equipment.

MarkH: Thanks for doing the chat. What to make of Noelvi Marte? If healthy, an occasional All-Star?
Keith Law: I could see that.

Heather: Still picking Atlanta over Boston this fall?
Keith Law: ? of course not

Jivas: I noticed Thomas White did not make your updated top-50 prospects.  What improvements do you need to see him make for him to rise up your rankings?  Thank you!
Keith Law: How about strikes? Strikes are good. Let’s try throwing strikes and see what happens.

Miller: Any love for The Rehearsal?
Keith Law: Never watched.

Miller: Esmerlyn Valdez a guy?
Keith Law: Not really. Corner only bat who’s taking advantage of a great hitter’s park.

Chuck: Keith, you mentioned the Arizona Complex League. Basic question, but how does it work? Do prospects play against other teams, or just Complex guys from their own MLB franchise? 9 inning games or nah?
Keith Law: It’s a league, every team that trains in AZ has an affiliate there and they play a proper schedule against other clubs. You can find schedules and stats on milb.com.

Finnegan: Kristian Campbell has been terrible for a month and a half.  What should the Red Sox do with him?  Back to the minors, or let him figure it out in the Majors (it’s not like he’s going to hurt their playoff chances).  But I look at their coaching staff, and I really don’t see them helping anyone get better, so perhaps Campbell would be better off far away from Pete Fatse, who seems to deny the very existence of the slider.
Keith Law: I don’t love demoting guys unless you think it’s hurting them psychologically to stay up and struggle, and I can’t answer that last part for any player, really.

Drake Baldwin: Is he good enough now to justify trading Sean Murphy or would you need to see more to justify such a move? Does he have more upside offensively?
Keith Law: I would explore trading Murphy because Baldwin looks like he can handle the job, Murphy is already kind of injury-prone at 30, and they have a lot of other needs.

Andy: Will the stupid ban on Venezuelans make a difference to any MLB teams?
Keith Law: Probably.

Santaspirt: Re: Your newsletter about food. I have a very limited palate, and don’t venture outside my comfort zone. You love food and your taste is pretty vast. We pitch this TV show idea where we travel around to different cities, you pick the restaurant and order for me, and I have to eat whatever you order. All of it. You get to talk about the food you ordered, the flavors, why you picked it, etc. and I get to talk about the absolute hell I’m going through. I’m sure you know more producers than I do.
Keith Law: Hey, I’m sold. As long as I don’t have to clean up after you.

Aaron C.: Hey, Keith. I may or may not be a Sacramento A’s fan under this paper bag. Any new scouting intel on Colby Thomas and Henry Bolte or is the former still making mostly soft contact and the latter still “a great athlete, but…”?
Keith Law: I’ll give Bolte credit – he’s hitting much better in pro ball than I ever expected. He’s also still punching out too much, even as a sort-of AA repeater, but he’s done more than enough to change to show he wasn’t as bad a pick as it first seemed (and it seemed awful, he couldn’t really hit in HS for a second-rounder).

Adam D.: I’m curious how often you chat with your peers like Eric Longenhagen, Kiley McDaniel, etc. about prospects during the season. Is there an open dialogue about what you’re seeing or hearing as a way to verify things, or do you guys tend to keep that info to yourselves?
Keith Law: I talk to lots of those guys, mostly in person, but I don’t hold info back. We’re probably all going to hear the same stuff at some point, and even if I don’t, say, text Eric to tell him something (which he and I have definitely done with info), it’s going to appear on the site anyway.
Keith Law: There are a very small number of us who do prospect writing full time. I prefer to see us all as members of the same small circle than as competitors or enemies. I don’t think I take audience away from them or them from me … seems like most of you want to read more than one prospect writer and that’s great.

Matt K: Brewer question, Keith.  Could Dinges be a “guy”?  Between his bat looking so good, his good-enough athleticism behind the dish, and the Brewer system being so good at developing/tweaking catcher defense, I have a lot of optimism for him.  Am I way off?  Thanks!
Keith Law: I’m buying. Got a *great* report on him from a scout who saw him in low A, so just bear in mind he was old for the level, but he’s a guy.

Turd Fergison: Keith, I know this is pedantic, but the search capability at your employer is HORRIBLE. When I look up a player – say Chase Burns –  it returns more results from other sports than it does baseball. And nowhere in the results would you find any of your articles on Reds Prospects, or Top 100. Am I using search the wrong way, or is it really as bad as I’m making it out to be? I know you don’t control this – is there any place or person I can give feedback?
Keith Law: I actually agree. I have other ways to find my own archived columns because I can’t find them through our search function.

Joshua: Do you have any more intel on who the Nats may draft at 1.1, or who they may have truly narrowed their board down to? Any “surprise” names that may be there due to the uncertainty at the top of the draft this year? Thanks.
Keith Law: I don’t think we’re going to know who they’re taking until the afternoon or evening of the draft. It’s still wide open. I’ve heard at least 5 names still in the mix.

Braydon: If the Nationals pick someone other than Holliday is he a real possibility for the Cardinals at 5 or is that still highly unlikely?
Keith Law: The scenario where that happens is that the first four picks, in some order, are the three college LHP (Doyle, Anderson, Arnold), and either Aiva Arquette or Ike Irish. Then Holliday’s there at 5. Seemed outlandish a month ago; with Anderson almost a lock to go top 4 right now, I think it’s possible.

JBC: Is Druw Jones officially a bust?
Keith Law: Uncomfortably close to yes.

Sam G: When do you believe the Reds will call up Chase Burns? I don’t think he is learning anything in the minors and needs to learn at the big league level. Thoughts?
Keith Law: Absolute nonsense. You’re definitely just scouting the stat line here. His four-seamer is very straight and he needs to throw his changeup a lot more. I wouldn’t even consider AAA for him until we see some real adjustments.

romorr: I’m more amused by Elias’ not taking pitchers highly. 2023 draft arms are looking good at least. But with 19, 30, and 31, is this the year he takes one in the first round? Has to be, right? Or do I just have to take it that 3 college left-handed hitters are incoming?
Keith Law: After their 2024 draft, which looks really bad right now – Honeycutt was a foreseeable disaster, but even Griff O’Ferrall, probably the most advanced hitter of the group, isn’t hitting – I would hope they’d at least open up their approach and consider other sorts of players.
Keith Law: Will they take a pitcher? I’m not betting my 401k on it.

Guest: What are your thoughts on the recent moves of sending Colson Montgomery and Elijah Green to the complex to work on their swing mechanics? Should more teams be doing this? Seems like every org has guys who would benefit more from a month or so of supervised development instead of trying to stay afloat at an affiliate?
Keith Law: Right move for Montgomery even if it hasn’t helped. Green’s issue isn’t his swing, but that he can’t hit a lick. It is 20 everything – pitch recognition, swing decisions. I want him to go play in Australia or the Netherlands or somewhere else where he can go be anonymous and try to rebuild his confidence at the plate.

Jonathan: Matthew Liberatore has been really good to start the year. I know it’s a small sample but I’m curious if you’ve heard anything about a change he has made like a new pitch or different pitch selection that would make you think this could be real?
Keith Law: The part I do understand is that he’s finally become the plus command guy he looked like he’d be in HS. The part I don’t understand is how his four-seam fastball seems to be basically the same pitch, but now it’s much more effective than ever. I had resigned myself to him being a reliever or swingman because the fastball just wouldn’t play.

Brian in NoVA: Obviously, Harris has his own timeline but is this the time for Detroit to trade some of their mid to low level prospects to help them this year given the depth of the farm system?
Keith Law: Yes. Keep Clark and McGonigle. Anyone else is available in the right deal.

JR: In your recent newsletter, you noted that you’ll eat at Panera on occasion. Usually out of necessity as it’s the best available option. What’s your go to order? I think their salads are fine, it’s what I get. Do you ever go to Chipotle over Panera, or is that on the banned list?
Keith Law: Panera is for salads. Sometimes I just need to eat vegetables. I have no objection to Chipotle but their food has never really agreed with me (especially when we talk about swing decisions).

Matt: Any info on Jaxon Wiggins of the Cubs? Seems to be taking a step forward, though walks are still a little high and may be a bullpen arm. Wondering if there might be another step towards a starter projection. Thanks!
Keith Law: He has a good enough delivery to start, but it’s below-average command and he barely has a third pitch.

JR: How did the Rockies get soooo bad? I finally watched them last weekend. McMahon is pretty smooth at 3rd. There CF is good on defense, but they’re like a AAAA team. How do you get bad and have no young, exciting players to watch?
Keith Law: They lagged behind other front offices in so many ways that they’re still catching up … the result is a lot of good players didn’t develop as they might have, pitching and hitting.

J: I’m almost scared to ask, but what the heck is up with Brayden Taylor?
Keith Law: Wrote about him in the piece I linked up top.

Jonathan: Was Brendan Donovan ever a top prospect or someone with much hype? I don’t remember ever hearing much about him coming up but all he’s done since is get on base and play good defense all over the field.
Keith Law: Never. I’m not even sure I laid eyes on him in the minors.

Michael: I know it’s only 2 starts. Very small sample size and whatnot. But any thoughts on Mick Abel? He certainly passes the eye test (to my non-scout eyes at least).
Keith Law: Hasn’t looked anything like that in AAA, unfortunately. Stuff is above-average. I can’t believe that two big league starts outweigh 34 minor-league ones.

J: Leaving aside how badly the Angels screwed the pooch on him last year, any feelings about Nelson Rada/steps forward?
Keith Law: I think he’s going to survive this and end up a good player, maybe an everyday guy.

Chris P: I know you’ve said you’re not a huge fan of Gage Jump’s mechanics, so would it make sense for the A’s to fast track him as much as possible before he blows out?
Keith Law: Already blew out once, so yes.

Kevin: Thoughts on the password? Good potential trade chip for the Red Sox since they have no where to play him, or a guy you wouldn’t sell high on?
Keith Law: He’s on the top 50, linked above.

Chris: Kristian Campbell was awful in May, but seems to have possibly had bad BABIP luck. He’s also showing how much harder MLB is than AAA. Would you just leave him in the big leagues to figure it out all year or send him down?
Keith Law: I answered some of this above, but you make a good point: Hitting MLB pitching is really, really hard. We have to stop expecting prospects who raked in AA/AAA to just keep rolling in the majors. Lots of great prospects struggled in their debuts, and I think that’s happening even more now because MLB pitching is better than ever.

Chuck: Good call out a while back on Elbow’s “Audio Vertigo” album. They’re touring the U.S. this fall. Great live band if you get a chance.
Keith Law: I’ll check that out. Their new EP sounds great so far.

JJ: So, what’s your prediction on Shoeless Joe?  Does he ever go into the HOF?   Considering everyone who ever met him died off 50+ years ago, who would be there for the photo op in Cooperstown?
Keith Law: I think people who watched the dumb movie  will put him in. He broke the cardinal rule. And he’s dead. What on earth is the point of putting him in now?

Will: Re: the airport dining question. SLC has great, local options. And they’re required to charge the same price at the airport as they do at their regular restaurants. Not sure how likely it is you’d ever get there for scouting, but the new airport is great.
Keith Law: I actually haven’t been to SLC for baseball. Went there once for a job interview in the 1990s, and been to southern Utah for work, but that’s it.

Eric: Keith, given the somewhat recent uptick in 2 player only board game releases, any plans to do a top 10 ranking for those types of games?
Keith Law: I’ve done a few such rankings over the years, including one this March on the best Duel games (spinoffs of larger games).

MikeM: Carlos Lagrange recently got promoted to AA.  He has really cut his walk rate so far this year.  Have you heard anything about the changes he has made?  Has he meaningfully improved his outlook?
Keith Law: He hasn’t changed so much as stayed healthy.
Keith Law: He’s pretty good, I’d take him over ERC, behind Cunningham and Hess though.

Geoff: Any thoughts on Ryan Ritter in ABQ? I never had much hope for him but maybe he’s made some adjustments that could be sustainable?  I get he’s playing on the surface of the moon and it’s small sample size but us Rockies fans need something to be excited about….
Keith Law: I don’t buy it.

Andy: There’s no way Jacob Wilson can continue right? I mean a TTO of 15% of PA is neat and all, but a guy like Arraez and Wilson is only valuable if they hit .320. Going down to .275 means he’s unplayable.
Keith Law: His batted-ball data doesn’t support the performance – and the eye test doesn’t either. To say nothing of whether teams start playing him or pitching him differently since there’s so little power there.

Lara: Will Masataka Yoshida ever appear in another MLB for the Red Sox?  Should he?
Keith Law: I think he will, and should he, sure, he should play somewhere, even if it was a bad signing. (Where are all the Red Sox fans who said I was wrong for writing that they should have signed Willson Contreras instead?)

Teddy: Are you Team Trump or Team Musk?  It reminds me of the tagline for Alien vs. Predator — “Whoever wins, we lose.”
Keith Law: let them fight dot gif

MikeE: Thoughts on the Mets Brooklyn bats? who’s your favorite: Ewing, Benge, Reimer or Baez?
Keith Law: I’m out on Baez. I only saw Benge and Baro the last time I caught brooklyn, but I’ll see them again this week vs Wilmington so stand by for news!

Justin: Do you think there will be an openly gay MLB player in the next 5 years?  Or are clubhouses just still too toxic / conservative?
Keith Law: I actually think MLB is the best place for a player to come out. It’s the least insular environment, by far. And the support available to such a player would be highest in the big leagues. The question is whether any closeted players keep playing through HS, college, and the minors where they’re in smaller towns and playing for smaller minds like Tom Walter.

JoeRo: Speaking of two player games, have you heard anything about Dracula vs Van Helsing?
Keith Law: It’s awesome. I reviewed it in November.

Tracy: If a player who’s owed a boatload of money over multiple years is physically unable to perform due to a chronic condition, what actions can an organization make to terminate his contract? Obviously they can’t force him to retire. Are they on the hook for the remainder of what he’s owed?
Keith Law: That’s when insurance typically comes into play.

UGW: Travis Sykora is absolutely crushing the minors.   Still a mid rotation guy for you?  K rate is insane
Keith Law: He was in low A last year, then had hip surgery, returning to rip through the complex and low A. It’s been all of two starts so far at an appopriate level.

Jason: I hope it’s Field of Dreams that’s dumb not Eight men out!
Keith Law: Well that one too. 8MO completely revises history.

James: With Skenes isn’t there such a high risk he’s a TJ candidate that it makes sense to move him?
Keith Law: I agree, but in that case, you should trade every pitcher the moment they get good, right?
Keith Law: Someone has to pitch.

Alex: On Kristian Campbell — he’s sort of learning second base on the fly, except when Cora plays him in the outfield for no apparent reason.  Does bouncing around the field like that hurt a young player’s mental development?  In other words, are they putting too much of Campbell’s plate?
Keith Law: Depends on the player, but I do think asking a guy to learn a new position, or adapt to a position he hasn’t played much, in the majors is a lot to ask of most guys.

JR: Mets fans were up in arms about the Kelenic trade, but there was almost no outrage over PCA for Diaz/Williams.

With benefit of hindsight, the Kelenic trade worked out and PCA is the one that everyone should’ve been upset about lol
Keith Law: He was traded for Baez, not Diaz. I went back to what I wrote and the only real opinion I offered on the trade was saying PCA was high floor (yes) but low ceiling (nope). I didn’t say if I thought it was too much or too little.

Ken: would you agree that any politician (on either side of the aisle) if they opening admit to voting a bill that they havent read should be immediately removed from office
Keith Law: Yes. You have one job.

Brett: In a previous chat, I believe you mentioned you were bullish on Charlee Soto and Santiago Suarez long term.  Still feel that way?
Keith Law: They’re both hurt – is that why you’re asking?

Geoff: You mentioned earlier the Rockies are playing catch up. Anything they’re doing that could lead us to believe they may eventually catch up?  Every time Monfort opens his mouth it seems he and the FO still believe in all of their processes and people that led us here in the first place.
Keith Law: They’ve made a lot of changes on the development side. It’s just going to take some time to see it produce big-league results.
Keith Law: That’s all for this week. Thanks as always for all of your questions and for reading. I’ll be back somewhere next week with a chat or Q&A once I figure out what I’m writing …