THE Average Sports Fan: How would you feel about getting rid of extra innings and just having 9 inning ties?

Meg Rowley: Hi and welcome to the chat. Yes, I jumped the gun with a question, but to answer it: If the idea is to prevent injury in the minors, then I’d prefer a tie rather than the weird theater of a runner on second.

Meg Rowley: Sadly, I don’t think that is the purpose here. I think the purpose is as a laboratory for the majors, and boy would that be a dumb bummer.

Meg Rowley: I’ve been with Manfred on mound visits and pitch clocks and automatic intentional walks, but this feels like a fundamental misunderstanding of his product. Extras are exciting!

Uncle Charlie: Hi Meg! Do you do fantasy questions?

Meg Rowley: Never very well! But this is a great chance to encourage you read Fantasy Preview Week over at The Hardball Times! Those guys actually know what they are talking about.

jjp: Do you fill out a March Madness bracket? If so, who do you have winning it all?

Jay Jaffe: I had *planned* to fill out a bracket, but being under the weather and rather swamped for the past couple of days — my own version of March Madness — I didn’t get around to it. NBD, I didn’t watch a single college basketball game this year, and my interest in NCAA sports has basically been stabbed 23 times by so many scandals and revelations over the years. I’ll probably check in on the tournament but with the University of Utah not in it, I have no dog in this hunt.

Aaron : Hey Jay, Keeper help! H2H 5×5 categories, keep 3, as first 3 picks of draft, can keep forever. Betts, Bellinger, G. Sanchez, Syndergaard or Bregman? who you got? Thanks

Jay Jaffe: Standard issue response: I’m sorry but I don’t play fantasy baseball anymore, and don’t want to misrepresent myself as being a useful source of information in that realm. That said it would seem to me that Sanchez, a power-hitting 25-year-old catcher with the defensive skills to hold the position for awhile, is the way to go here.

Sharp: Tom Boswell thinks that this offseason’s FA pricing means that Harper will be lucky to get 7/250 next year.  How wrong is he, and why?

Jay Jaffe: I think Harper can get into the $300 million range with a longer deal than that, but for as much as I love the kid’s game, I’m also among those who believe that he has to put together a 2015-like season — healthy and dominant for 150sh games — to get there. Put that MVP season aside and he’s averaged 3.6 WAR in his other years (it’s better than that if you prorate, obvs), which is nice but hardly transcendent.

Kiley McDaniel: Okay I’m here now, sorry for the delay!

Kiley McDaniel: Had an errand run too late then a dog demanding some cleanup

Rick C: I haven’t seen much progress from Folty over the last couple years.  I suppose right now he could be seen as a #4/5 starter, but do you think it might be best at this point to move him to the bullpen?

Kiley McDaniel: That’s kinda the question with Folty. He’s either 8th/9th inning guy or 4th starter as currently constituted. If he can unlock everything, then it’s more of a 3rd starter, maybe a 2. Kinda depends on the patience of the team when/if you move him to the pen. Braves may have less patience as he gets more expensive and younger arms could pass him

Jim: What are your thoughts on Jose Soriano?

Kiley McDaniel: Intriguing lottery ticket arm, chance to start, shows some above average pitches and feel. Could take off, could just be a guy that only shows glimpses. We’ll see!

Eric A Longenhagen: Hello from Tempe. Just got back from seeing amateur ball in Southern California. Quick link drop before we start:

Eric A Longenhagen: In which I attempt to approximate Matthew Liberatore’s likely draft range by comparing him to other recent prep lefties: https://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/a-glance-at-matthew-liberatores-draft-…

Eric A Longenhagen: In which I dump some relevant big league scouting notes on Corey Kluber and others: https://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/scouting-corey-kluber-as-an-exercise/

Eric A Longenhagen: Okay, let’s begin…

Bernie: I’m intrigued by three Cardinals prospects who seem to get little publicity: Andrew Knizer, Adolis Garcia and to a lesser extent Harrison Bader. What are your thoughts on them?

Eric A Longenhagen: I think they all have a chance to be everyday players. Knizner as a bat-first catcher, Garcia needs to be more patient to get there, Bader is sneaky fast and viable in CF.

Dan Szymborski: He passes to the man, shoots it, and boom goes the dynamite!

Gub Gub: Did you hear how the guy who invented Super Mario contacted the GoldenEye people, and said the violence was appalling, and that they should add a scene at the end with the characters shaking hands in the hospital?

Dan Szymborski: I did not.  That is amazing, if true.

Soda Popinski: Rangers fans are grousing about the team’s failure to move on Lance Lynn or Alex Cobb on one year deals, which would allow the team to move Doug Fister or Mike Minor to the pen.  Are the Rangers close enough, and is the upgrade enough, that Lynn or Cobb at 1 year, $12-14M would be worth it?

Dan Szymborski: At this point, not really.  The window for the Rangers is getting really small and I don’t think they’re close enough that Lynn would matter.  Cobb maybe if you can get an option.

Slapshot: Buster Olney retweeted something yesterday about how Zack Greinke’s fastball is only sitting at 84-87 MPH right now.  Is this something the D’Backs or fantasy players should be worried about?

Travis Sawchik: Greetings!

Travis Sawchik: This chat is going to have a delayed start as I’m in the Dodgers clubhouse until 12:30 pm est …

Travis Sawchik: So if you have a question you’d like to ask a Dodger, throw it in the queue!

Travis Sawchik: New estimated start time: 12:35 pm est

Travis Sawchik: Hey, I’m back

Travis Sawchik: Matt Kemp kicked us media hacks out

Jeff Sullivan: Hello friends

Jeff Sullivan: Welcome to Friday baseball chat

Bork: Hello, friend!

Jeff Sullivan: Hello friend

Dylan: I know it’s early and spring training but this is the best you could hope for out of Dan Vogelbach, right? How encouraged can we be?

Jeff Sullivan: .636 OBP, with as many home runs as strikeouts!

Meg Rowley: Hello, and welcome to the chat! It is very gloomy in Seattle. Let’s have some less gloomy fun.

CamdenWarehouse: Do you think this will be Scioscia’s last year with the Angels?

Meg Rowley: He has said publicly that he wants to focus on the season and address it when 2018 is done. I suspect he’ll be back. He seems to have a productive relationship with Eppler. If he isn’t back, I think it’s more likely the result of a retirement than the Angels moving on. That doesn’t seem super likely either, though he’s been doing this so long, and it is such a grind, who knows.

Andrew: Jake Arrieta makes so much sense for my Brewers, what do you think the hold up is?  We’ve been burned by overpaying for aging SP’s in the past (Suppan/Wolf/Garza) do you think this factors into management’s decision to not be more aggressive?  Or is there still hope of moving some combination of Broxton/Santana/Phillips for a SP?

Meg Rowley: It sounds like he (and Boras) haven’t adjusted their demands much, though I expect they will. Teams can always wait longer than individual players. Given that, I’m not surprised the Brewers haven’t been aggressive in moving one of those guys. Why not see where the market ends up?

cheese: The Dodgers have been too quiet and they have too many OFers.  What do you see happening?

Jay Jaffe: From slushy Brooklyn, welcome to today’s chat! Thanks for stopping by

Gsellman: I’ve still got something to give, right?

Jay Jaffe: That late-2016 stint in the majors was promising, but looking back at the lack of success at Triple A, I’m not sure the rotation was the right place for him, and he basically appears to be a guy on the fringes. That sinker got hit pretty hard last year

Dale: Would the Yankees trade Judge for Correa straight up?

Jay Jaffe: Hell yes. Correa’s just 23 and plays a premium position well enough to stay there for a few more years, where Judge is about to turn 26, plays an outfield corner, is likely to regress from last year’s great season (that 2nd half slump notwithstanding) and has a similar player on the roster in Giancarlo Stanton. Brian Cashman wouldn’t give Jeff Luhnow a chance to come to his senses if that phone call came.

David: Mustache grooming tips, I like this addition to the FG repertoire!

How frequently should someone trim his mustache/beard?

Kiley McDaniel: Alrighty my lunch is all set up and I’m ready to listen to selected things from you people

druidiful: You said to come yell at you, but you aren’t here yet!

Kiley McDaniel: I am now be thankful your punching bag has arrived, aggrieved internet citizen

Nat: What kind of player does Cole Tucker become? Is there enough power there for 15 HRS?

Kiley McDaniel: Raw power yes, game power maybe

Larry: Hey Kiley, thanks for the depth of info on the Braves list. Questions on two guys who weren’t listed — any update on the status of Matt Rowland, and is he a guy worth watching? Also, surprised no mention of Braulio Vasquez. I’m obviously scouting the statline, but I’ve been intrigued by him. Is he too small to be a factor?