Tuesday
Jan272009
Ten Questions For Keith Law
Jason Parks
Can you stump the K-Law?ESPN.com prospect expert Keith Law has agreed to do a Rangers-specific prospect Q&A for Baseball Time in Arlington. Due to the recent publication of my own prospect-specific Q&A, we've decided to keep K-Law's short and sweet. Only the ten best questions will be submitted for Keith to answer, so make them count!
You can submit your questions via the comments section of this thread, via instant messenger (here), or via e-mail (here).
The best question, as selected by Keith Law, will win an autographed picture of Keith Law (signed by Joey Matschulat).
Reader Comments (22)
Keith,
Thanks for doing the Q&A, I really enjoy your analysis over at ESPN and Scouts Inc. Elvis Andrus current projects to be about a (.240/.280/.310) hitter this year. Do you foresee him hitting better in two years? five? Will he ever hit as well as the man he is replacing? Is there any basis for a contact hitter developing a little power?
Andrew in Boston
Thanks for taking our questions Keith... With the Rangers plethora of talent in the farm system, the Rangers will be facing "good" problems to have in the near future. I was wondering what you believe to be the ideal scenario regarding the soon to be promotions of players such as Elvis Andrus, Justin Smoak, Julio Borbon, Max Ramirez, etc. and how these players will all fit into our everyday lineup? Who will get passed up and what do you expect this Ranger lineup to look like for opening day 2010?
Once again Keith, thanks for the time. In your opinion, in order from 1-5, what pitching prospects all the way from Rookie League to AAA in this deep farm system are most likely to be above average players (whether it be starter or reliever) that will be mainstays at the Major League level during their career?
Keith, if you were JD, would you try and take advantage of this entire contract year with Millwood, Padilla, Blalock and Byrd (plus draft pick compensation), or would you try to trade them ASAP, and use the entire year as a chance to see more young arms, bats and OF/C defense, in preparation for 2010 and beyond?
Or would you postpone that decision until approaching the trade deadline?
Michael
St. Helena, CA
Kieth,
Michael Main has got a lot of tongues wagging because of his mid-nineties fastball and a stike out rate of 10.34/9IP. However, Blake Beavan has just as good or better peripherals as Main except for the K rate. Is Beavan being underestimated? How important is it for a young HS pitcher to prove they can stay healthy and keep up with the pro workload?
Rob M.
McKinney, TX.
Put yourself in Jon Daniels' shoes for a moment. What is going to be the biggest obstacle in taking this team from #1 farm system to perennial contender?
Why sign Omar Vizquel to be your utility player and you have a roster full of younger cheaper players? What becomes of Joaquin Arias who played well in September. Was it a waiste of resources for a team in need of some starting pitching? Would we be better served letting the young pitchers pitch as many innings as possible so we know what we have?
Is there one thing that the Rangers are doing better than any other organization right now (maybe Latin American scouting?) As far as player development, they have improved a lot recently. What area(s) still need to be better?
Keith,
With the influx of young minor league players along with the realitive inexperience players already in Arlington, do you believe Ron Washington has the right managerial skills and personallity to get the best from his young players?
With Millwood and Padilla both at the end of their respective contracts, and assuming we let them both walk after this year and we don't sign Ben Sheets, who do you project to be the Rangers opening day starter for 2010?
From what I've read about Justin Smoak it sounds like he's as close to a sure thing as it gets in terms of an offensive prospect. If Chris Davis continues to hit like he showed during the second half of last year, how do you see the 1st base position playing out in 2010 or 2011 and beyond with the potential arrival of Smoak. Does one move to the outfield, DH doesn't sound likely considering both are very young, or do we trade one of them?
Thanks Keith. I think the Rangers did better than expected in the return they received from the Tigers for Laird (Moscoso and Melo). When healthy, where do you see Moscoso starting the 09 season (AA? AAA?)? Do you think he will reach the majors as a starter or reliever?
KLaw,
You're the Rangers GM, how do you resolve the catching situation?
Thanks in advance.
Keith: Another Smoak question. What kind of a player can we expect in Smoak? Does he hit the curve & change well? Does he favor one side of the plate for average or power? Is he susceptible to the strike out? Does he take the walk like Milton Bradley did so effectively last season? What is his power like - line drive or the towering bomb? Is he going to be a #3 hitter, or where? Thanks mucho.
Seems as if the Rangers have adopted the curveball over the slider as the breaking pitch du jour for minor leaguers, as nearly every single prominent arm in the system features a curveball, while a plus slider seems to be nearly nonexistant amongst Ranger minor leaguers. Couple of questions regarding this apparent development:
First, do you think the characterization of the slider as a pitch that is easier to develop, but more likely to cause injury, is an accurate depiction?
Next, many of the best pitchers in the majors rely heavily on the slider, especially relievers. Are the Rangers doing themselves a disservice by seemingly emphasizing one breaking pitch over another, almost exclusively?
The John Danks for Brandon McCarthy trade looks to be a huge bust for the Rangers. Did the ChiSox just do a better job evaluating these two pitchers, or did McCarthy's stuff take a big step back upon switching organizations and Danks stuff moved in the other direction? And is there any hope that McCarthy can salvage a career as a contributor in a big league rotation?
What player in in major league history do you think most favorably compares to Nelson Cruz and how do you think he will do this year?
Who is the 2009. 2010 and 2011 starting centerfielder? Golsen, Bourbon, Vallejo, Hamilton, Murphy, Byrd, Beltre, Boggs, Arias or even Kinsler if they end up moving Davis or Ramirez(could Ramirez even play third) to Third if Smoak or one of the catchers end up up taking over their position
With Max Ramirez, Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Taylor Teagarden at catcher, Chris Davis and Justin Smoak at first base, and David Murphy, Nelson Cruz, Josh Hamilton, Marlon Byrd, Brandon Boggs, and Julio Borbon among others competing for playing time at six positions (including DH), what do you see as the best and worst case scenarios?
How do you think it will play out with JD at the helm, and how would you approach the situation if you were in charge?
Are the Rangers better off with their outstanding farm system, or would they have been better off not ever trading Danks, Volquez, Galarraga, and Chris Young?
Thanks for doing the Q&A.
For years it seems, the Rangers have promoted starting pitchers to the majors out of necessity (due to injury or ineffectiveness of the starters at that time) and not because they had forced their way to the majors by pitching exceptionally well in AAA for any length of time.
The Rangers' most established pitchers (Millwood and Padilla) appear to be on their way out of town after 2009, opening up two spots (presumably for Feliz and Holland).
Are the Rangers managing their roster in such a way that, at the end of 2009, the team will have to bring up Feliz and Holland whether they are ready or not? Should the team sign a FA to mitigate some of this risk? Or do you see others in the orgaization that you believe will be ready to step up?
In this year of sifting through as many young, high-upside starters as possible, in preparation for 2010, would you go with more long men than usual out of the pen? Do you see this as a good way to break rookie starters in?