Our July 2nd international free agent preview piece is now up for Insiders.
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Klaw: My features form with a change in the weather. Klawchat.
Nolan LeMond: With quality arms at every level of the minors, the emergence of Mike Soroka and others, and three more high-upside arms added in the first 2 rounds of the draft, do the Braves currently have the best collection of arms you’ve ever seen in one organization at one time?
Klaw: No, I think we’ve seen other teams do this before, like Kansas City a few years ago. The attrition rate is going to be high, unfortunately, unless they’ve figured out something we haven’t about arm health. But I think overall they’ve got the right idea and have a chance to be an absolute powerhouse MLB team in about 3 years if they deploy these assets the right way.
Brad: Atlanta blowing way over its budget has been expected for a while for July 2, but it seems like the Padres are going to get the better haul. Is the group Atlanta is expected to sign the second best?
Klaw: Atlanta is getting the best overall prospect in Maitan, but I don’t think their group beyond him is any better than those of other teams going all in this weekend, other than San Diego, who appear willing to give $400,000 to any random kid walking down the street in Santo Domingo.
Greg: You’ve been pretty clear that Boston shouldn’t trade Moncada or Benintendi in a deal for Teheran. If that’s the case, am I wrong for thinking there isn’t a match between the two teams? Sure seems like Coppy wants bats in the upper levels of the minors.
Klaw: I would agree, at least in that Teheran’s value is probably more than the Red Sox could provide if they won’t trade any of the big 3 prospect bats.
Nick: Have you seen/when are you planning to see some of the 2017 prep guys? Seems like a lot of good ones so far: Brady McConnell, Jordon Adell, Hunter Greene, etc.
Klaw: Saw Adell last summer, will see others later this summer. Greene has definitely jumped out early.
JV (Cleveland): Any early reports on Triston McKenzie, Brady Aiken or Juan Hillman as their pro careers get underway?
Klaw: Yep. All good. Hillman especially good early. Aiken’s healthy with good velocity so far.
Samwise: How bad is Candelario’s glove on 20-80? I’ve seen you say it’s abysmal while others have said average or even slightly above?
Klaw: Unplayable at third base. No idea why anyone’s called it average or slightly above. I’ve seen him a ton over the years.
Tom: Is Baltimore for real? Can the Orioles win the AL East?
Klaw: Of course they can – in fact I’d say they’re the odds-on favorites by virtue of the standings today. For real is another question; I killed them preseason because their rotation looked terrible, and it has been terrible. They have a starters’ ERA of 4.95, fourth-worst in the AL, and have basically one and a half non-replacement-level starters in their rotation. They could ignore the problem and maybe still win the division, but it’s not a great formula for now or for October.
Joe D: Keith, is Dovydas Neverauskas any kind of RP prospect or just a good marketing ploy by MLB to add him to the futures game? Also, is Europe the next untapped market for MLB?
Klaw: I wrote about him in the preview – he’s a good relief prospect, but of course he’s there because he’s Lithuanian, and I think MLB should always try to include as many countries as possible in the Futures Game. Maybe his inning ends up on Lithuanian TV and a bunch of kids see it and want to pick up a baseball.
Samwise: Could Eloy Jiminez be a GUY?
Klaw: Absolutely.
Anonymous: Thamas Szapucki and Andrew Church have both had very good starts to their seasons (Szapucki with 19 k’s and 9 baserunners in 10.2 innings). Should Mets fans be getting excited about these guys. Are they legit?
Klaw: Szapucki’s been legit, plus FB plus CB so far, throwing strikes. Didn’t offer much projection in the draft but the tradeoff is that it’s now stuff. Church I liked in the past but has no history of health, and now that I look he’s not even pitching that well.
Andy: For me, the biggest issue with all the Mets Rights Asshats, Jose Reyes hit 274/310/378 last year while playing in Toronto and Colorado. This is the guy you want to ignore ethics for and put at 3B? We’re not talking forgetting about in-prime Miguel Cabrera drunk driving. So they’re taking the public relations hit, looking insensitive, and putting someone with zero ML innings at 3b, all because they don’t want to throw some cash for Matt Dominguez, Will Middlebrooks, or someone similar.
Klaw: I chose not to discuss the baseball merits of the move at all in my piece on the signing because I thought it would diminish the core issue of whether teams should take a stance on players who’ve committed an act of domestic violence (in this case, a very serious one). It doesn’t seem to me like a sliding scale, where we’ll accept more violence if the player’s better. For me, at least, I would simply say no, this is not who we are as an organization, regardless of what he can do for our team – and if my bosses said, sign him anyway, that’s when I’d walk away from the job.
Jeremy: What were your thoughts on the Giants allowing Madison Bumgarner to bat instead of using a DH? My general thought was that even if he was a better hitter than the alternative (doubtful) the risks associated with him batting as far as injury, tiring him out unnecessarily, etc, were unnecessary and foolish.
Klaw: I think Bochy probably looked at the lack of any RHB on his bench other than Trevor Brown and figured Bumgarner (a RHB) was a better option anyway than the LHB available. I don’t agree with this at all – Bumgarner, for all the HR he hits, has a .226 career OBP and doesn’t exactly hit any kind of pitcher well, so it’s not even helping the team. Then you get into the injury issues you raised and, well, maybe they should address the bench.
Anonymous: No question. Just wanted to say I really enjoyed being in Omaha for the CWS but OMG THE BUNTING MAKE IT STOP
Klaw: The series ended yesterday and the Chanticleers are still throwing over to first base.
Andy: Can I read anything in to Austin Hedges start? What kind of power potential do you see for him?
Klaw: Repeating AAA in a crazy hitter’s environment. That said, I do think he has 20-25 HR power if he can hit enough to get to it.
Nick: Ever been to Au Cheval in Chicago? Does a better burger exist?
Klaw: Is it just me or is that a bad name for a burger place?
Craig: What is the earliest age that most teams will start to track/scout players? 14? 15?
Klaw: International guys like Maitan, 14. Draft players, summer after junior year of HS, usually.
Alan: You’ve caused quite a stir with Atlanta fans by talking about the Nationals still pushing for Maitan. Is this something we should be worried about?
Klaw: A few months ago, maybe a year, the Nats made Maitan an offer that he (may have) accepted, after which Atlanta (reportedly) upper their offer and recaptured him. I heard the Nats were still trying to get Maitan to accept a $7 million offer – and there is actually nothing preventing any of these players from breaking an agreement with a team prior to the deadline because THESE DEALS ARE ALL ILLEGAL. The whole system is totally, royally fucked up.
Matt Neffer: Keith, in your opinion, should the Red Sox be penalized for their actions in the last international signing period or are they just doing what every other clubs does but on a larger scale?
Klaw: Most clubs do it. Boston got caught. I don’t think the penalty is that big of a deal, though, as they’re going to lose a handful of low-probability 16- and 17-year-old prospects, none of whom projected (yet) as average or better guys. Maybe it will end up hurting them, but this seems more like a message sent to other clubs not to pull the same maneuver … even though the system provides plenty of incentive for everyone to do this. See my previous answer.
Michael: Sorry if this is obvious, but could you explain what happens to a pitcher mechanically when he throws a breaking ball that doesn’t break (a hanging curveball or slider)? Is it a lack of concentration?
Klaw: Usually he either didn’t get enough spin on the ball from the rotation of his wrist or it slipped out of his hand earlier than he’d wanted it to. Better question for someone who actually pitched, though.
Michael: I was at an International League game the other day and saw scouts from a club with the NPB. Is that common? Have you ever seen Japanese scouts?
Klaw: All the time. Fall League too. Looking for tweeners and 4A guys who’ll go all Tuffy Rhodes over there.
Derek: Has recent performance (12+ Ks in 3 of 5 starts) given you a reason to update your prior on Reynaldo Lopez – your prior being that he’ll end up in the pen? Apart from whether he’s a starter going forward, putting him in the bullpen is the best way for the Nats to improve the 2016 pen, right? He may not be Chapman or Miller, but he may be close and he’s free.
Klaw: The bullpen opinion is about his delivery, not his stuff. I’d definitely look at him as a pen upgrade rather than trading for one of those guys.
Michael: I’m far from an economics expert and I go back and forth on a minimum wage and forced overtime pay. While I thought the bill introduced the other day was an abomination, isn’t low minor league pay an unfortunate, ugly consequence of free-market capitalism?
Klaw: The market for minor league players is not free, though. Movement is highly restricted by the draft and the reserve clause.
Derek: Bone spurs: are the Mets being reckless with Syndergaard and Matz?
Klaw: I think I said they were being reckless on Buster’s podcast yesterday, but if I did, then I apologize for a take that was way too hot. There’s so much that I don’t know here, from exactly what’s going on their elbows to what the probability is of further injury – I thought spurs and chips potentially led to damage to the UCLs, but perhaps that impression is out of date – to what these players, highly paid adults with agency, want to do. I shouldn’t have come on that strongly about the Mets’ plans here. I’m sorry.
Jose: How does Trey Griffey get drafted and Andrew Beckwith not get drafted?
Klaw: Griffey, you know the answer. Beckwith isn’t really a pro prospect of any sort.
Dave: Favorite Chvrches song? I’d lean towards Clearest Blue. Saw them with Death Cab for Cutie in Cleveland and they were incredible.
Klaw: Leave a Trace or We Sink.
Adam: Are you concerned about Manuel Margot’s low OPS relative to his playing environment or am I just scouting the box score?
Klaw: Your mistake is looking at OPS, which is a garbage stat. Margot is 21 in AAA with a .353 OBP. His slugging is low, dragging down his OPS, but he’s not a power hitter and will likely never be one. His game is defense, OBP, instincts, but not power.
Ryan: With half a season in the books, has your impression of Rhys Hoskins’ future changed at all? I know you have previously said he is one to watch, but I am not sure how much he should be considered a real prospect based on the history of power hitters at Reading. Thanks!
Klaw: He’s hit away from Reading, while Cozens did most of his damage at home. I’m more inclined to buy into Hoskins’ numbers, plus I have never been a fan of Cozens’ makeup whereas I am of Hoskins’.
Chuck Connors: With the expected arrival of Braves new international signings, I assume Braves remain #1 (by a wide margin) in your farm rankings. How do you compare the Braves long-term rebuild strategy to similar teams (i.e. Astros) at this point?
Klaw: Yes, they’d still be at the top. The Astros managed to grab more college guys in the draft and more near-in prospects in trades, though, so I think Atlanta’s rebuild may take longer. That’s good, because by the time their prospects are ready in 2019 or so, people trying to get to games at The Big Con in 2017 will have found parking.
Adam: You said Adrian Morejon could have been a Top 5 pick in this last draft. Would he immediately become a Top 3 prospect in the Padres system once he signs?
Klaw: Margot, Guerra, Quantrill, Morejon?
Jeff: Shortly after Austin Meadows was promoted to AAA you referred to him on Twitter as a “budding superstar”, is it safe to say he’ll likely be back in your next Top 25?
Klaw: All depends on who else is up and down before then. Next list is in two weeks. Remember he wasn’t healthy last time I did an update, so he was around #26-28.
Anonymous: Any plans on a Cape trip? Any names there you want to see or feel obligated to see?
Klaw: trying to figure out how to get there with other obligations this month (TV stuff) and family matters. Not sure yet.
Adam: Is Chris Paddack legit or just too polished for his competition?
Klaw: Legit. 90-95, plus CH, breaking ball will flash above average, average command now, comes right down at hitters. Great pickup for Padres.
@RationalMLBfan: While Dilson Herrera toils in AAA, the Mets have given playing time to Matt Reynolds, Ty Kelly, Eric Campbell, and Kelly Johnson, have signed Jose Reyes. Why?
Klaw: I don’t know, but I said earlier this year they seem to be down on Dilson for reasons no one seems to understand.
Andy NMB: Hey Keith, who decides on who makes the futures game? On the USA side just a few outfielders. Wondering why Judge although SSS is maybe one of the hottest hitters. I figured he’d be there. Also after signing 1st pick Rutherford, how is the yanks minor league rankings? New rankings coming soon? Thanks for all the hard work…insider, dish & newsletter. Your the best!!
Klaw: Remember that teams get to say no – for example, I believe the Pirates said no on Glasnow, either because they just didn’t want him to pitch (fearing injury) or because they were looking at calling him up before the game. I know MLB puts together wishlists and doesn’t get everyone they want.
Jim: So, Keith, although his June surge is logically unsustainable, is Danny Espinosa now entrenched at SS for 2016? And what does this mean for Trea Turner? Is the CF “experiment” real, or a blip? Thanks!
Klaw: Yep, I think that’s the rest of the season for them, including Turner in CF. He’s probably an 80 runner and has good instincts; I’d be very surprised if he couldn’t become an average defender there, and they could use his OBP skills at the top of the lineup.
EC: Thoughts on Giolito’s first game?
Klaw: Looked good, not his best. CB was ridiculous. FB command was not great, although I liked how he gathered himself after each of the walks to get back into the zone. Was hoping to see more CH, but he got some quick outs on pop-ups and you’ll take those every time. Promising, but in a way I’m glad he was done after four innings because I thought he was going to run into trouble the third time through the order.
EC: I work for a member of Congress and can tell you that Rep. Boustos revoking her support for the America’s Pastime bill is the quickest I’ve ever seen that happen. Her staff must have done an awful job researching for her.
Klaw: I have a feeling she supported it because her dad was a longtime MLB lobbyist and she didn’t look into the bill. Next we need to go after Rep. Guthrie; perhaps he has an opponent this year who supports basic labor rights?
Josh: Keith, as someone who briefly passed through your world (I did the DodgerDivorce thing), I just wanted to say I’m glad you are getting the opportunity to share your views on things like the Reyes signing. While I don’t always agree with you (although I do here), it is refreshing to see reasoned, thoughtful opinion featured and promoted by your monolith employer.
Klaw: Thank you. My editor actually encouraged me to write that piece after seeing me comment on the signing on BBTN on Saturday. I don’t think that would have happened a few years ago, so there are positive things happening in Bristol that you don’t hear about.
Bob: Are the recent reports on Dylan Cease in the NWL similar to the very positive reports from the spring?
Klaw: I heard secondhand that he hit 103 the other day, so, yeah.
Dan L.: Keith I understand not voting for Trump, but how could anyone vote for a person who used all her power and contacts to try and destroy or discredit all of her husbands victims of serial assault or rape? Seems they get a huge pass from people who are always up in arms about other people who do the same. I personally think they are all scum.
Klaw: You have three choices. One, Johnson, is a protest vote with no chance to win. I don’t agree with Trump on matters of science, gender, race, immigration, taxation, regulation, abortion, gun rights, foreign policy, freedom of worship, energy policy, entitlements … and more. So, unless you’re advocating that I abstain, I think my choice here is pretty straightforward.
Brian: I saw Ashe Russell pitched is first inning of the season the other night for the AZL Royals. Have you heard if he was dealing with an injury this season. I just found it curious that Nolan Watson started at Lexington all season but Russell was left back. Thanks.
Klaw: He was 87-91 in extended.
JT: After a slow start, Tyler Beede has had a really strong June in AA, calling out an improved feel for his change up. Do you think he can keep momentum going and be an solid #3? Maybe a #2?
Klaw: More like a #4-5. Doubt he’ll ever have average command.
Jon: Bo Bichette had unbelievable high school stats and in an extreme SSS he has continued those numbers (obp over 500). Any chance he hits his way to A or High A?
Klaw: It’s 19 AB in pro ball … and this year? He’s 18. If he gets to the NYP league that’s enough.
Ian: Why didn’t the Twins ever send Kepler to the Future’s game?
Klaw: He was on the roster two years ago and got hurt.
Angelo: What’s your favorite “cheap” meat to cook? I’ve been doing pork shoulder lately but need to mix it up while being on a budget.
Klaw: That’s probably my best suggestion too. You can often get less popular cuts of steak for less – flap meat, for example, or sometimes skirt steak.
Sean: Remember when all the experts were having to eat so much crow as the phillies ran away with the NL East. Those were some good times, can’t wait until next May for overreaction theater to happen again.
Klaw: What I really remember is fans asking me if the Phillies would add pieces before the trade deadline. Derp.
Larry: Any word on where Lazarito is leaning?
Klaw: No. I looked into it a little this week, just to see if I’d missed something, and no one had any idea. He’s turned down some decent offers though.
Elton: What did you see in Gregory Polanco to allow you to predict (correctly) that his power would improve?
Klaw: I believed in his swing and hand strength.
Rob: Any chance that Aristides Aquino becomes an impact player at the MLB level. Seems to be holding his own at AA this year but has struggled previous years.
Klaw: Great tools but he’s 22 in high-A (not AA) and I think that’s a big part of why he’s playing well. Would really like to see him get to AAA next summer so the Reds can see how much of this improvement is real, not just age.
addoeh: You seemed to thoroughly enjoy Omaha. What cities (MLB, MILB, College) have most exceeded your expectations from a culinary standpoint?
Klaw: Omaha, Nashville, Charleston, Minneapolis, Atlanta, San Diego, Phoenix (cheating, since i lived there), OKC.
Tyler: Several times this year you’ve advocated for TEX to turn the page on Prince Fielder. At the same time, you are always cautious about SSS when a guy is going good. What is a large enough sample size to determine a player has gone bad and is done? Fielder, for example, was solid last year, so it seems like a decision to dump him is based only on this year.
Klaw: He wasn’t solid last year, though; he had a fluky first two months or so but his bat speed was visibly down and he was getting killed on hard stuff in. Sure enough, he was much worse in the second half as teams changed how they pitched him, and it’s gotten worse for him this year. His bat speed is gone. This is why I watch.
Pat: Keith – Bundy is starting to look good, man. Give me a dose of reality so I don’t get too excited
Klaw: He’s been cultivated so carefully this year that it’s creating unrealistic expectations. He’s still got calcification in his shoulder and his arm swing is so much more restricted than it used to be.
Anonymous: Hey Klaw, teacher here…I’m on summer break and can finally make your chats live! Is Verdugo for Vizcaino about right in terms of value?
Klaw: No, massive overpay for Dodgers.
mike: Help Klaw, yesterday my 2 year old was thrown out of “Dance” instead of taking my wife aside to tell them to leave the instructor did so in front of all the other moms and kids. Im pissed. In the meantime she tells my wife clingy kids never change and come back in 5 years. How can she do this
Klaw: did your 2-year-old start chanting “Jet Fuel Can’t Melt Steel Beams!” in the middle of “Baby Beluga?”
Harvey: Will Jason Groome really attend Jr College?
Klaw: This is the threat, but I think it’s a poor bluff. Next year’s draft class is much stronger in college pitching, and Groome will not likely be more valuable in that class than he was in this one. Also, the makeup concerns about him are not going to vanish with a year at junior college. The Red Sox can offer him about $4 million without giving up a pick next year and he’d be ill-advised to turn that down.
Jack Burton: Did Arcia just need a change of scenery?
Klaw: Yes – or more specifically he just needed to be left alone to play.
Harvey: Is E Rod tipping pitches just a cover for a bigger problem?
Klaw: My guess is that his knee is still bothering him. Can’t do much as a pitcher if you can’t plant your leg.
Robes: Alex Bregman, better than expected?
Klaw: No, just the power, which could easily be a half-season fluke. Everyone thought he’d hit, even in HS.
Jeff: I am a firm believer in not voting if a worthy candidate is not on the ballot. People tell me, “you can’t complain if you don’t vote” – the hell I can’t. Record-low voter turnout would be a wonderful statement to make, IMO.
Klaw: It’s also how you get extremist candidates elected.
Rob: Do you think Lucas Giolito should continue to start once strasburg returns from the DL?
Klaw: In whose stead? He might be a better option than Gio Gonzalez, but I wouldn’t guarantee that, and they’re not demoting Gio to the bullpen anyway so that’s a stupid idea, Klaw.
Dale: Can you define what you mean by “makeup” when describing a prospect? Is it like “character”? Pedigree? Bloodlines? Thanks
Klaw: Pedigree and bloodlines are irrelevant. I’m talking about the type of person a player is, particularly the stuff that matters – work ethic, aptitude, communication skills, willingness to learn.
MichaelT: Re: Reyes and Chapman, is it fair to say your position is that once a player is accused and punished for DV that no team should ever employ him, or that he needs to do something else (not sure what that is) before he can return to the field? I believe that’s the part of the question that throws some fans.
Klaw: What throws me is fans caring about that question rather than saying, oh, hey, he beat his wife, so fuck that guy.
JG: Should Buxton just be left to play?
Klaw: Yes. And perhaps there’s an issue with the Twins’ coaching staff and young hitters? I’m speculating here.
TedT: Has Trey Ball pitched well enough this year to justify his high draft pick and does he project as a major league starter? Reliever?
Klaw: Stuff hasn’t really ticked up. So projectable but it’s never come to pass as expected.
Ed: You’re talking about Atlanta maybe being a powerhouse if they handle their assets correctly. Are you referring to trades for bats?
Klaw: Some of that, yes. Pick the ones to keep, flip some for bats.
Trey: I believe the gentleman was suggesting you abstain from voting. They’re all terrible, I won’t vote so I can openly criticize them all. 2017-2021 is going to be awfully interesting with either Clinton or Trump at the helm.
Klaw: I can vote for someone, because I think her opponent is dangerous, and criticize her at the same time. People who are saying they’re abstaining this year despite their disdain for Trump seem a bit disingenous to me; there must be some level at which you’d vote for a candidate you disliked simply to try to defeat a candidate who scares the hell out of you.
Luke: You’ve guided me correctly with Ticket to Ride, Carcassonne and Splendor, what should the next game be for my family with a 7-year old son?
Klaw: You’ve hit the big three for sure. It’s a bit less common but Cacao is a tile-laying game like Carcassonne with simpler scoring and shorter playing times.
addoeh: The folly of the electoral college. Some people, like me, can make a protest vote and it won’t impact the election because they live in an uncompetitive state. If you live in a battleground state, that may not be possible.
Klaw: I’ve actually never voted in a Presidential election while living in a state where my vote might have mattered. Delaware, my current state, hasn’t gone Republican since 1988. Massachusetts, where I voted in five elections, hasn’t since 1984. Arizona, where I voted in 2012, has gone Democrat once (1996) since 1948. So this is all so much talk.
Sedale: Obviously you were as high as anyone on C. Seager, but has his production thus far even surprised you? He’s on pace for a 30 HR/.800+OPS season as a rookie short stop and has been the Dodgers best bat by far.
Klaw: I wasn’t this high on him in the draft – not until he got to pro ball and I saw how advanced the approach was for his age. He also made a really rapid adjustment when the Dodgers saw he was starting to develop a soft front side in high-A; I think players who make adjustments that rapidly are showing you they’re going to be the exceptions going forward too.
Ian: I think you overstate the power Trump would have. He’s an idiot and couldn’t do many of the things he has suggested. But Clinton’s rhetoric on national security should be getting a lot more attention from progressives. This might be a line in the sand moment. Do we want internet privacy to go away? Do we want drones spying on US citizens (or killing them)? Do we want the govt to fight harder against FOIA? I laugh at Trump and his brand of ignorance but Clinton’s more frightening, IMHO.
Klaw: Presenting this for a little balance, since I didn’t address any of what I dislike about HRC’s policies. You nailed some of them; in general, I do not agree with the Democratic Party’s stances on many issues, including many questions of food policy. (Keep the Republicans out of my bedroom and the Democrats out of my kitchen.) On drones, though, isn’t Trump proposing to use them to monitor the border with Mexico? And to step up airstrikes in the Middle East? I’m basically anti-drone, period, but at this point that’s about as politically tenable a position as reinstating the Volstead Act.
James: reyes – I read your article and understand your feelings on those who hit their wives/family members but if reyes would have taken the year off, gotten counseling (not the lip service kind), got a mentor, would you have supported him coming back or is it a zero tolerance policy? Also, how does your opinion change of some hitting their wife vs. someone who beats up a stranger? I am not trying to corner you, just trying to understand a little more.
Klaw: Domestic violence is not equivalent to beating up a stranger. Domestic abuse is an exercise of power and intimidation. I have never said Reyes should be banned; I have said I would not sign him if I were a GM, and I will criticize a GM who does.
Chris: I’m curious about your opinion on redemption for DV and sexual assault perpetrators. Can there be reform for these individuals? Redemption? To be clear, I don’t mean redemption through athletic performance, but perhaps through therapy, and committing oneself to preventing others from committing DV or sexual assault.
Klaw: I don’t think sexual assaulters can be reformed.
Scott: Is the power Marcus Semien showing real? Because with his improvement in defense, oakland might have themselves a player worth keeping.
Klaw: I don’t think he’s a 30 HR guy going forward – if he is, then hell yeah they have something worth keeping – but between the swing changes, the athleticism, and the hints of power he showed in the minors I could see him now being a 20+ HR guy. He’s definitely an asset now.
Munchkin: Besides Amed Rosario, is there any other exciting high ceiling Mets prospect? It seems Dom, Nimmo, etc have mostly been meh and haven’t developed much.
Klaw: Nimmo I agree. Smith is still just 21 in AA, too soon for you to give up on him. I liked Lindsay from last year’s draft quite a bit. Also think they did pretty well with Dunn this year, another very high-ceiling kid, and I mentioned Szapucki earlier as a dude to watch.
Adam: What are your thoughts on Coppy publicly admitting the Olivera deal was a bad one?
Klaw: He’s right, of course, and I applaud him for saying it. It wasn’t just a bad trade, though; it was a bad evaluation of the player, and ultimately, it’s on the evaluators who said Olivera was something more than he actually was as a player to bear responsibility for a bad deal.
Todd: I’m actually very interested in your answer to MichaelT’s question. And I don’t want my curiosity to sound like a judgment of you; I’m trying to figure out how I feel about the subject and why. On one hand, YES, fuck that guy. On the other hand I am wary of the misanthropic implications of essentially blackballing someone (and I have a hard time separating what he did from the professional suspension he already received). While I fully understand the dangerous psychology behind his criminal behavior, I also believe it costs me when I don’t allow other human beings the space to change. In short, I have a theoretical basis for giving Reyes a chance to grow and learn, while I have an emotional basis for wanting him to piss off and die. Maybe if we didn’t have centuries of oppression, marginalization and abuse of women it would be easier to decide what punishment an abuser should get in each realm of his life.
Klaw: Reyes can get on with his life; I just don’t need to see him do it on a major league baseball field. Playing this sport for salaries of six, seven, or eight figures is not a right, but a privilege. You can lose it, and beating up a woman or raping someone is a fairly good reason to lose it. (A better reason, I’d argue, than failing three steroid tests.) He can go find something else to do with his life.
Sean: I think it’s a bit disingenuous to say that every team does what Boston is being punished for doing. The majority of teams have never exceeded their pools, so they could never have been in a position to need to circumvent the restrictions. It’s the attempt to circumvent the punishment that is their “crime.”
Klaw: Most teams arrange deals prior to July 2nd with agents, which in and of itself is illegal. The whole system is screwed up. I’m saying what Boston did is not unique and at worst marginally worse than all these teams cooking up deals before negotiations are even permitted.
Taylor: Has Ronald Guzman turned the corner?
Klaw: Don’t know; he hasn’t sustained the hot start, and doesn’t have much track record of success, but since he won’t turn 22 until October I’m not going to say anything too harsh here. Merely doing what he’s done in total in AA this year is a positive step.
Tony H: Can a player improve makeup? I’m thinking of someone like Carlos Carrasco who some evaluators — including yourself IIRC — dinged for having makeup problems years ago. Did he just become a better person or is his talent just overwhelming his personal flaws.
Klaw: He was immature and grew up. That happens a lot. (And yes, I dinged him AND Gio Gonzalez for it.) Some issues are bigger; some are issues in certain teams’ eyes and not in others (e.g., marijuana use). The ones that bother me the most are players who don’t or won’t work hard, and players who refuse to work with multiple coaches. It’s a hard game when you won’t even listen to help.
Arin, Ca: What happened to Conforto? Did the Mets miss use him?
Klaw: Aside from the wrist issue, benching him vs LHP really seemed to screw up his mechanics at the plate, so he was pulling off the ball more vs RHP and his whole approach went pear-shaped. I really think Collins is the Mets’ #1 problem right now. If he won’t play young players, they need another manager.
Cam: Is Daniel Norris the answer for the Tigers going forward? Is he fully healthy
Klaw: I don’t know about his health but I’d be very happy moving forward with a rotation that has him and Fulmer at the top of it.
Steve: When are you doing your “Best Under 25” column?
Klaw: Next week, probably.
Doug: Was there any thought by you to head up to MSG for the only NA show for Stone Roses last night? Admittedly, pure bucket list in nature for me, but am so glad I made the trek, as they were 10x better than my expectations
Klaw: Had I liked the two new singles more, perhaps. But I haven’t loved them … and by the way, I’ll have a new music post and playlist up in a little bit.
Klaw: That’s all for this week. Thank you as always for reading and for all of your questions. I’ll be back next week, likely Thursday, for another chat.