Baseball Prospectus - Chat with Keanan Lamb

Chat: Keanan Lamb

Welcome to Baseball Prospectus' Monday July 12, 2021 12:00 PM ET chat session with Keanan Lamb.

Keanan Lamb is a Senior Prospect Writer and Lead Draft Analyst for Baseball Prospectus.

Keanan Lamb: Day 2 of the MLB Draft is about to get going, so crack open a cold one (energy drink) and let's get it!

Brady (Home): So are the Pirates cheap or are is they overthinking this or is their plan working out like they thought it would?

Keanan Lamb: In this particular class, I don't think it's crazy to try and get as many players as possible. The high school crop is particularly deep, so depending on who they can also sign in the next few rounds will give you a better answer if they were successful or not. Davis is a very good player with more certainty as a college product, I don't question it much if at all.

Andrew (Brooklyn): I’ve seen so many different opinions on Kumar Rocker’s ceiling/floor. Is his FB quality really that swingy? Is this something teams have any track record of fixing via changes to grip?

Keanan Lamb: Your last sentence is the $10 million dollar question and in some ways answers your question. His velocity was noticeably down for a long stretch this season and TrackMan data we've seen suggests he was trying to tinker with his mechanics to find an arm slot that would produce a better spin. This is layered... 1) good for him for trying to be proactive, 2) concerning because it could have or will lead to injury, 3) inevitably allowed for these questions to percolate to the point he "fell" to 10. For me, I was more worried about command of the pitch than its movement.

Robert (Albany): Are the Mets the right organization to straighten out Rocker's fastball issues?

Keanan Lamb: Every team is going to drink their own Kool-Aid and believe they have the secret elixir to cure all baseball maladies within their player development department. One thing being talked about yesterday was, "can he pitch in the majors this year?" which to me would be a great disservice to him. He pitched a ton for Vandy this spring, just get him down to Port Saint Lucie and throw some bullpens and maybe some FCL or even Low-A games. Start fresh, see what happens.

Tommy (Chicago): FASTBALL SHAPE SO HOT RIGHT NOW

Keanan Lamb: I'm sure this will come up with Ty Madden at some point.

edwardarthur (Illinois): How excited/disappointed should Yankees fans feel about the Sweeney pick?

Keanan Lamb: It depends on who you ask! I'll admit, I was pretty low on him based on the video I saw of him this spring. Let's start with the positives, though. Pro body, great bat path with explosive in-zone results. However, really funky setup with a ton of movement to it that you don't see hardly any big leaguers succeed with. He also probably isn't a shortstop long term, so finding a defensive home will be key.

Robert (CA): Bachman at #10 for the Angels probably only makes sense if they are able to get someone like Chandler or Taylor in round 2, right?

Keanan Lamb: Not necessarily. They were going to go one of two ways at #10, either the super athlete they've targeted in previous years or the college arm that can move quickly through the system. Reid Detmers from last year looks like a solid pick thus far. Bachman has much louder stuff than him, albeit with some health questions. As said previously, this draft has plenty of high-end prep talent they can now dip into with their second pick.

Jefferson Airplane (The Sky): Who are some SPs that the Red Sox might target on day 2 of the draft?

Keanan Lamb: I wouldn't assume their second selection at pick #40 is going to be a pitcher, first off. Their system still needs the best guys available, so depending on their board they might wait to take a pitcher. A few fun names to consider? Jaden Hill out of LSU was thought to be a top 10 pick before the season and had TJ surgery, taking a flyer on him would be very interesting.

BillBob (Austin): Ty Madden is a stud and deserved better

Keanan Lamb: Ok, Cool. Hook 'Em

But seriously, I thought it was a good value for the Tigers in that spot. I think there is a real reliever risk to his profile as a two-pitch pitcher, funky arm path, and weird spin to his fastball from an over-the-top slot. He could be a very good reliever, too! There are more hurdles to clear to become an effective starter, IMO.

paul (long beach): Will the Mets need to save $ with their 2nd/3rd picks to accommodate Rocker's bonus?

Keanan Lamb: Prevailing wisdom would suggest that's the case. Slot for pick #10 is $4.74 million and assuming he wants something closer to top 5 money you're talking 6-6.5 million range. Pick 46 is 1.617 million and 81 is $755,000 so those are going to be the best spots to make up ground.

James (Portland): What position do you think Ford ends up playing?

Keanan Lamb: I saw him play last summer and early this spring, and I have to admit my opinion shifted based on what one scout told me. We agreed he's a tremendous athlete that could play just about anywhere, including center field. We agreed you don't see that type of player as a backstop and his advanced approach might be too much to hold down while he assimilates to pro catching. Where we diverted: "but wouldn't it be fun to see a player like that catching?" Just because it's not normal, doesn't make it wrong.

Eddie (Long Beach): Was Mazzicato the biggest reach?

Keanan Lamb: Back in 2013 when the Royals chose Hunter Dozier 8th overall it was seen as a far greater underslot reach so they could get Sean Manaea. And hey, when you look at what those two have brought it terms of production and in Manaea's case trade capital, you'd be happy with a World Series ring, wouldn't you? Mozzicato was not going to make it to their second pick, I have at least 2 teams confirming that to me. A big pop-up guy, I think he's a perfectly reasonable choice to work a deal with and net another big fish here on Day 2.

Billy G (Bay Area): It seems like there's a lot of varied opinions on Carson Williams' hit tool. Why is that? Something mechanical? Is it approach based? Where do you land on it?

Keanan Lamb: It's an imperfect swing at present, but it does have some very nice qualities to it. I really like his weight distribution, hips and torso clearing his front-side. There is some length to the swing, so I see both sides of it.

ODoyle (Bahston): Who are the biggest winners and losers after Sunday?

Keanan Lamb: Lots to discuss on this one! In fact, maybe I'll just write about it later this week on the site...

Keanan Lamb: Round 2 is about to begin, so we'll end things there. For more draft updates, scouting reports, video and more, please follow me on Twitter @keananlamb and subscribe to the YouTube channel under my name. Thanks for all the engaging questions!