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Klawchat 3/9/23
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Keith Law
1:01
To the chair in the room where I live and breathe. Klawchat.
Joe
1:01
Did you post an article about your scouting trip in Minnesota?  Maryland fan here hoping the first hand reports were not as bad as the box score.
Keith Law
1:01
No, I'll file something after this weekend - I wanted to wrap both trips up into one post since this one probably wouldn't be enough for its own.
Guest
1:01
Have you heard anything about how Thomas Saggese looks at Rangers minor league camp? Is he opening at AA Frisco this year?
Keith Law
1:02
Minor league games haven't begun yet. I assume he'll go to Frisco since he finished there after spending nearly all of the year in high A - he's not going back down and I see no reason they'd jump him to AAA.
JT
1:02
Tennessee just allowed denying interracial couples marriage licenses.

How the hell does the GOP have a single voter? #%#*%$#*
Keith Law
1:03
Because there are a lot of people in this country who agree with their policies. Although I admit that Tennessee, with more than half of its population living in/near cities, should be far less reactionary than its legislature is.
JT
1:03
The Blue Jays have a certain MiLB hitter killing it in ST: is the best reaction from Jays fans that it's cool his heights include this and then stay the course?
Keith Law
1:04
Spring training stats do not matter. They just don't, and we do this every year, and they still don't matter. Jays fans should just remember the year Gabe Gross led ST with 8 homers.
Scott
1:04
You have been evaluating prospects for quite awhile. Are you able to get the sense from young players who might become a future MLB coach or manager? If so, can you provide some examples?

I'm curious if those skills are able to be seen at such a young age.
Keith Law
1:04
No, that's not what I'm looking for when I go to the ballpark to see a player.
Chris H
1:04
Thoughts on Ronny Mauricio?
Keith Law
1:05
You can see my report on him in my Mets top 20 and org report.
Snapper Bean
1:05
Any insight on why its taking the Phillies so long to announce what exactly is going on with Andrew Painter?
Keith Law
1:06
I mean, they don't exactly owe us an answer immediately, right? Some of the hand-wringing I've seen online is a bit much. They might be getting a second opinion, or discussing options with the player. My only complaint is that they promised an update and didn't deliver - just don't promise the update.
Benito
1:06
Keith! Are you watching any of the WBC? Excited to see a fellow paisan like, uh, Matt Harvey, pitching for Italy?
Keith Law
1:07
I'm not - I like the WBC as a way to market the sport but the majority of the players involved aren't prospects for me to cover, so I never watch much of it.
Edward
1:07
I heard chatter from the hosts on MLB Network Radio this morning saying the pitch timer should be eliminated after the eighth inning.

As someone who (I think) supports the timer, do you think turning it off in late innings makes any sense?
Keith Law
1:07
I do support the timer and I do not support turning it off in late innings. Players will adjust to it soon enough and then this won't be an issue any more.
Ryan
1:07
Hi Keith. I know you've said spring stats hold little value but is/has there ever been a situation where your thoughts on a prospect's MLB readiness what changed by how they performed in the spring?
Keith Law
1:07
Nope. Performance in ST does not matter. It has no predictive value.
Sean
1:08
Suffering Tiger fan here. Reports out of spring are that - despite not getting many hits, Torkelson is hitting the ball hard. Have you heard anything about that? We still believe in Tork? Thanks.
Keith Law
1:08
I still think Torkelson will be a solid big leaguer. Didn't he hit the ball reasonably hard last year in the regular season?
1:09
He did, actually. So I don't know what we would take from him doing the same thing against worse competition in games that don't count. (I understand they probably count for him, as he's trying to prove he deserves a spot on the roster.)
Iohn T.
1:09
How worried should the Yankees be about Rodon?
Keith Law
1:11
I don't love hearing about pitchers with forearm strains, regardless of health history. But he's also had so much arm trouble, including a TJ, that it seems like worse news than for a pitcher with a clean track record?
matt
1:11
Griff mcGarry seems to falling off the prospect radars a bit, what kind of factors are influencing that?
Keith Law
1:11
I don't agree with that at all.
Brett
1:11
What do you think about Encarncion-Strand? Seems like he may actually have a shot at the OD roster with Votto still on the mend?
Keith Law
1:12
Power over hit with a lot of chase. I don't think he's ready to hit MLB pitching. He was #17 on my Reds top 20: https://klaw.me/3xdfXZz
Radar
1:12
How has working at The Athletic changed — if at all — since it was acquired by The New York Times?
Keith Law
1:12
For me, it hasn't. I can't speak for anyone else.
Brent
1:12
Any planned visits to central Indiana for Max Clark?
Keith Law
1:13
Yes but probably later this spring when he's got some games under his belt. I'm hoping to see the big 3 HS bats - him, Jenkins, Nimmala - as well as McGonigle and Eldridge since they're near me. Otherwise I'm focusing more on college guys since it's a college-heavy draft.
Ryan
1:13
The Cardinals seem set on starting Lars Nootbaar every day this year. What was your projection of him as a prospect and do you think this was the right direction to take during the offseason?
Keith Law
1:14
I don't think I ever wrote him up - he was a big swing change guy and he's very different now from who he was in college or even pre-pandemic in the minors, when he had no power and you couldn't project him as even an up-and-down guy.
Guest
1:14
Is a catcher's game calling ability something to consider in evaluation, or not at all?
Keith Law
1:14
I think it is.
1:15
But I do rely on others to tell me when a catcher is good/not at that. There's no way I could infer that from watching even several games, not without knowing who's really calling pitches and game-planning behind the scenes.
Chase
1:15
I'm going to my 1st Spring training game in Scottsdale at the Diamondbacks park in a couple weeks. Any recommendations on the stadium, food, or another team/park I should try to visit?
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