2018 MLB Draft Thread

[Heyward]

9 (262): @Braves select Texas Tech (TX) RHP Ryan Shetter.

[Enscheff]

Note I was very careful to use the verb “say”, as opposed to “do”.

The Heimlich case, while far different, is nevertheless tough to call: I’m a firm believer in second chances and rehabilitation. The expungement doesn’t really move the needle, though—it’s pretty clear he committed the ghastly act of which he’s been accused. But regardless of what I think, I doubt he gets a chance from any MLB club: it’s just too toxic of an issue.

I haven't looked into this much, but why is it so clear? From what I can tell he's adamantly denied it (no surprise) and only agreed to plea in order to stop a little kid from going through even more drama.

False accusations typically occur during divorces when custody hearings are taking place, and that's precisely what was going on in this instance. It is conceivable, though not especially likely, that Heimlich is telling the truth.

How do you prove or disprove something like that anyways? Is there any precedence for kids of that age to lie for some reason? Is he really a 22 year old pedophile walking among us?

[BeanieAntics]

9 (262): @Braves select Texas Tech (TX) RHP Ryan Shetter.

He's gonna be shetting on all of the NL East hitters he goes up against.

[jpx7]

I haven't looked into this much, but why is it so clear? From what I can tell he's adamantly denied it (no surprise) and only agreed to plea in order to stop a little kid from going through even more drama.

How do you prove or disprove something like that anyways? Is there any precedence for kids of that age to lie for some reason? Is he really a 22 year old pedohile walking among us?

I guess it depends on how you interpret his motivations for pleading guilty, and the fact that the child’s mother (from what I’ve read, at least) has never wavered in their insistence of his guilt. I’m no expert on the subject, either, so you’re right I shouldn’t have said anything was “clear”; but from what I have read, I lean toward assuming he did it.

These epistemological questions vis-à-vis culpability are, amongst other reasons, why I err on the side of sympathy and second chances for all sorts of folks who’ve ****ed up in life.

[SJ24]

I haven't looked into this much, but why is it so clear? From what I can tell he's adamantly denied it (no surprise) and only agreed to plea in order to stop a little kid from going through even more drama.

False accusations typically occur during divorces when custody hearings are taking place, and that's precisely what was going on in this instance. It is conceivable, though not especially likely, that Heimlich is telling the truth.

How do you prove or disprove something like that anyways? Is there any precedence for kids of that age to lie for some reason? Is he really a 22 year old pedophile walking among us?

Even if he is innocent, he doesn't deserve to play baseball. Pleading guilty to something that heinous is just stupid, no matter the motivation.

[Orphan Black]

Even if he is innocent, he doesn't deserve to play baseball. Pleading guilty to something that heinous is just stupid, no matter the motivation.

I disagree with this. A person's life should not be decided by an act he may or may not have committed. If we all were judged based on the worst moments of our lives no one on this earth would deserve any happiness.

[SJ24]

I disagree with this. A person's life should not be decided by an act he may or may not have committed. If we all were judged based on the worst moments of our lives no one on this earth would deserve any happiness.

So you don't believe in life sentences for murder or aggravated rape and the like?

He could do any number of things with his life outside of baseball. I won't be pulling for the Braves if they draft him. You don't admit to being a child molester and play for my team. Period.

[Enscheff]

I disagree with this. A person's life should not be decided by an act he may or may not have committed. If we all were judged based on the worst moments of our lives no one on this earth would deserve any happiness.

If the dude stuck his fingers inside the genitals of a 5 year old girl, he deserves to be gutted. Period. If it were my child and I knew for a fact he did it, he would no longer be breathing.

I think my issue is that I can't even fathom why someone would do something like that, so I find myself leaning towards assuming the child is lying...even though it is very rare for kids to lie about such things. Most of the time these false allegations are the result of an angry parent manipulating the child into saying things they don't even understand, but I have no idea if that's the case here.

Like most people, I wouldn't want the issue brought into my organization.

[CrimsonCowboy]

Quit it with the back and forth and get back to draft talk.

[50PoundHead]

Braves 10th round pick:



Wha?!? Langhorne, not Leghorn?

[jpx7]

Braves 10th round pick:



Wha?!? Langhorne, not Leghorn?

Both alums of Carson-Newman, I believe.

[BeanieAntics]

Even if he is innocent, he doesn't deserve to play baseball. Pleading guilty to something that heinous is just stupid, no matter the motivation.

This is possibly the worst hot take in the history of man-kind. Let me get this straight... Under the assumption that he is actually innocent (I have no clue) this is the scenario: A 16 year old kid has his life turned upside down by a heinous accusation from vindictive aunt for some reason or another. He is scared, he has no idea what to do, he fears going to jail for a long period of time. He chooses to accept a guilty plea for two reasons. To spare his niece and to gain a lighter sentence. For that crime he deserves to be shunned by society and prevented from ever pursuing his dream?

Remember you laid out the "even if he is innocent" condition. If he is innocent, I have more sympathy for him than almost anyone in America. If he is guilty then that changes everything. Obviously in the eyes of the law he is guilty, but sometimes the eyes of the law and reality (or morality) are two extremely different things.

[chop2chip]

In what world should a parent NEED to do so if they were effectively raising children?

If you (or teachers or coaches) haven't taught kids better than that by the time they've reached 15, there's little reason to expect better.

Condescension aside, why are you assuming this teenager hasn’t been told it’s inappropriate to say someone should be shot?

[BeanieAntics]

If the dude stuck his fingers inside the genitals of a 5 year old girl, he deserves to be gutted. Period. If it were my child and I knew for a fact he did it, he would no longer be breathing.

I think my issue is that I can't even fathom why someone would do something like that, so I find myself leaning towards assuming the child is lying...even though it is very rare for kids to lie about such things. Most of the time these false allegations are the result of an angry parent manipulating the child into saying things they don't even understand, but I have no idea if that's the case here.

Like most people, I wouldn't want the issue brought into my organization.

This all day. The reality is that there is no way to currently know one way or the other. If he is guilty he can go screw himself. If he is innocent, I can't imagine the pain that kid is going through.

[chop2chip]

Monitoring is tough, I’m sure, but some of these parents probably aren’t even sitting their kids down and saying, “Look, you have a real future in this sport, so be careful how you conduct yourself online and in public.”

I understand your point, but your post assumes the parents did not have those discussion with the kid. Professional athletes with a personal PR team make these sort of misktakes all the time. I just don’t think an immature teenager is capable of grasping those type of consequences in the moment. For that reason, I think our society needs to do a far better job of extending the benefit of the doubt in these cases. In general, I think it’s kind of gross that people do these sort of archive dives.

[SJ24]

This is possibly the worst hot take in the history of man-kind. Let me get this straight... Under the assumption that he is actually innocent (I have no clue) this is the scenario: A 16 year old kid has his life turned upside down by a heinous accusation from vindictive aunt for some reason or another. He is scared, he has no idea what to do, he fears going to jail for a long period of time. He chooses to accept a guilty plea for two reasons. To spare his niece and to gain a lighter sentence. For that crime he deserves to be shunned by society and prevented from ever pursuing his dream?

Remember you laid out the "even if he is innocent" condition. If he is innocent, I have more sympathy for him than almost anyone in America. If he is guilty then that changes everything. Obviously in the eyes of the law he is guilty, but sometimes the eyes of the law and reality (or morality) are two extremely different things.

He. Pled. Guilty.

[Enscheff]

This is possibly the worst hot take in the history of man-kind. Let me get this straight... Under the assumption that he is actually innocent (I have no clue) this is the scenario: A 16 year old kid has his life turned upside down by a heinous accusation from vindictive aunt for some reason or another. He is scared, he has no idea what to do, he fears going to jail for a long period of time. He chooses to accept a guilty plea for two reasons. To spare his niece and to gain a lighter sentence. For that crime he deserves to be shunned by society and prevented from ever pursuing his dream?

Remember you laid out the "even if he is innocent" condition. If he is innocent, I have more sympathy for him than almost anyone in America. If he is guilty then that changes everything. Obviously in the eyes of the law he is guilty, but sometimes the eyes of the law and reality (or morality) are two extremely different things.

From what I've gathered, his motivation was that it would "go away" by the time he was an adult. That probably seemed preferable to a long drawn out court battle with family members. The only reason it came to light was because he missed some sort of reporting obligation.

I don't know if he did it (odds are he did), but Taylor is showing just how dumb he is with comments like that.

[jpx7]

I understand your point, but your post assumes the parents did not have those discussion with the kid. Professional athletes with a personal PR team make these sort of misktakes all the time. I just don’t think an immature teenager is capable of grasping those type of consequences in the moment. For that reason, I think our society needs to do a far better job of extending the benefit of the doubt in these cases. In general, I think it’s kind of gross that people do these sort of archive dives.

I don’t disagree—especially with the first of those two sentences, and especially in cases where those archives aren’t really relevant to the person’s vocation (versus, say, a politician or a journalist, where accountability to what they’ve said is a little more relevant). But even in those cases, people aren’t static, and benefits of both doubt and time should be extended.

Having said all that, I also see why it’s a PR headache, and why people would be legitimately unhappy with the sentiment expressed.

[jpx7]

Looks like Langhorne is a decently fast 3B without a lot of power and with a lot of swing-&-miss. Even as a budgetary sign, this might be the biggest head-scratcher of the day.

[BeanieAntics]

He. Pled. Guilty.

He probably did it. But that isn't what you said. You said even if he is innocent. Condemning an innocent person who has gone through hell and back is a pretty ugly way of looking at the world. Once again, for reading comprehension's sake, I am not saying he is innocent. I'm simply saying that if he is, he is a sympathetic character.