Meg Rowley: Hello, and welcome to the chat.

Meg Rowley: HAPPY MACHADO DAY

Mark: Mannnnyyyyy!!!!!!!

MadKyleDisease: MEG ITS HAPPENING

CamdenWarehouse: Congrats to Dave Cameron!

Chris: I heard some guy signed. Your thoughts?

Dan Szymborski: Powered by bourbon and a few packs of Smarties, it’s the Dan Szymborski Chat!

Rick C: Can you elaborate further on the projections for Soto vs Acuna?  Of course Soto being above Harper even was a surprise, but he’s more than a full win ahead of Acuna.

Dan Szymborski: Acuña projects as more valuable as a centerfielder, he can’t leverage all his talents in a corner!

CamdenWarehouse: Reminder – Moose is a Hall of Fame pitcher. Mousse just signed a contract with the Brewers

Dan Szymborski: If Babe Ruth can share with like a dozen guys, Moose can share.

Dan Szymborski: It’s not even Mussina’s to hoard: Moose Haas, Moose Skowron, and Randy Milligan shared it with him with nary a protest!

Jeff Sullivan: Hello friends

Jeff Sullivan: Welcome to Friday baseball chat

LudeBurger: Prospects, Jeff. Prospects.

Jeff Sullivan: Not your guy, LudeBurger

The Electrician: Do you think there will be a rush of free agent signings once teams move their guys to the 60 day DL and open up 40 man roster spots?

Jeff Sullivan: Already seeing it. Oakland used a 60-day stint to make room for Robbie Grossman. Also used one to make room for Brett Anderson. Arizona used one to make room for Caleb Joseph. Miami used one to make room for Sergio Romo. Kansas City used one to make room for Jake Diekman, etc

Jay Jaffe: Hi folk, and welcome to another edition of my Thursday chat. First off, today is a year and a day since my FanGraphs debut, so a big thanks to all of you for following along as well as to my boss, David Appelman, for having the good sense to hire me, to editors past and present (Carson Cistulli and Meg Rowley, respectively, with Dylan Higgins pinch-hitting in there as well), and to all of my great coworkers.

Second, happy pitchers and catchers to those of you celebrating — yes, there are a lot of distractions currently, particularly with the free agent stalemates, but with the opening of camps, we can at least be reassured that winter is on its way out the door. On with the show…

John: Hi Jay! What role do you think statistics should have in team halls-of-fame? Have you heard of any analysis on what kinds of players are or are not in a team’s hall of fame?

Jay Jaffe: I don’t think it’s really necessary to get too number-crunchy with team Halls of Fame. If a team feels as though it wants to honor somebody, particularly a player (or non-player) who made a huge impact in a short time, even in non-statistical ways, I think that they should.

Case in point: Frank Robinson, whose passing reminded me that the Indians retired his number and erected a statue in honor of his barrier-breaking stint as MLB’s first black manager. Robinson’s teams posted a .496 winning percentage in his two-plus seasons at the helm, and obviously he wasn’t the same offensive presence as he was at the outset of his career, but he nonetheless left a big mark there.

Alex: Should we be worried about free agent pitchers that sign late in spring training and how they’ll fare early on in regular season?

Jay Jaffe: Anecdotally, it does seem like last year’s batch of players who signed late tended to struggle. Pitchers such as Alex Cobb, Lance Lynn, Yu Darvish, and Jason Vargas, and htters such as Eric Hosmer and Logan Morrison. That said, J.D. Martinez signed late (Feb 19) and put up an MVP-caliber season.

In June, Craig Edwards took a look and didn’t find much of an effect (https://blogs.fangraphs.com/did-spring-training-matter-for-free-agents…) , but to my knowledge I don’t think he circled back once the season was over. It’s a topic worth closer study.

Mat: Over/under of 170 IP for Kershaw?

Eric A Longenhagen: Hi there, everyone. By now you probably know where the top 130 list is, so let’s get right to this. Kiley will be along shortly.

Jared: Who are some potential high leverage RP’s in the upper minors, with big stuff? Eric (not sure who’s doing the chat) gave me a good list last year at this time that included Jose Alvarado.

Eric A Longenhagen: That list you’re referring to was last year’s Picks to Click article, and this year’s version of it drops tomorrow.

Jackson: Swaggerty: is it his defense that puts him so high? Highest ranking I’ve seen from a publication.

Eric A Longenhagen: CF with speed and power, his tools belong there. You could argue the swing issues should force him down toward the other power/speed CFs with contact issues, but whose bat are you betting on improving, the new guy or someone like Monte Harrison who hasn’t made much progress over several years?

Jim Bob Cooter: Why you guys so down on Franklin Perez? Is a lat injury now considered serious or something?

Meg Rowley: Hello and welcome to the chat!

Meg Rowley: Allow me a brief moment to retrieve my coffee from the microwave.

Meg Rowley: Shall be back shortly.

Meg Rowley: I have returned. Many thanks for your collective patience.

Chris: Have the odds the Padres land Harper gone up or down since your last chat?

Meg Rowley: I suppose down slightly, though I still think I think that he ends up in Philly. I still think I think that.

Dan Szymborski: The ancient prophecy that was foretold, about a chat coming at noon has now come to pass.

Chet: Can you explain the frank Thomas comp for Tyler white in your recent ZiPS projections?

Dan Szymborski: There are two Frank Thomases of note in history.

Dan Szymborski: One is FRANK THOMAS

Dan Szymborski: the other is Frank Thomas.

Dan Szymborski: rather than use all caps, for the purpose of ZiPS comps, Frank Thomas is Not That Frank Thomas

Jeff Sullivan: Hello friends

Jeff Sullivan: Welcome to Friday baseball chat

Jeff Sullivan: I’m sorry about that extra long delay — had a podcast go slightly over

Bork: Hello, friend!

Jeff Sullivan: Hello friend

Bork: In which way will Melnyk drop the ball with Duchene & Stone?

Eric A Longenhagen: Hey there, it is I. Today’s chat will be quick and I will need to update The Board if/when the Realmuto trade is official

Starbucks Nightmare: Is Morgan Cooper alive

Eric A Longenhagen: Yes but the Dodgers typically take things very slowly with the injured college pitching they’re constantly drafting.

John Stamos: Any words on Maximo Castillo in the upcoming Blue Jays list?

Eric A Longenhagen: a bunch of 50s, he’s in the Others section

Cave Dameron: How fast can you throw a baseball right now?

Kiley McDaniel: Hello from ATL now that it’s warm and all the tourists are gone, things are looking up

Steve Sanders: When will the Blue Jays team prospect list come out?

Kiley McDaniel: This week for sure, rankings are locked now but we’re working on those reports and prospects week stuff side by side

Cave Dameron: If you had to convert any position-player prospect into a pitcher, who would it be and why?

Kiley McDaniel: You can see the top arms in the minors here: https://www.fangraphs.com/prospects/the-board/2018-in-season-prospect-…

Kiley McDaniel: I’d probably pick Robles or Pache b/c you want pure arm strength but also athleticism and body control