Eric A Longenhagen: Morning, everyone.

Eric A Longenhagen: So, there are A LOT of questions in the queue about other peoples’ lists. I won’t be answering any of those.

Eric A Longenhagen: I will say this…

Eric A Longenhagen: The gap between Prospect # 20 on a list and prospect #80 on someone else’s looks a lot bigger than it actually is.

Eric A Longenhagen: Yeah, I’m looking at my Top 100 right now and the gap between #2 on the list and #21 is literally a half grade

Eric A Longenhagen: And those tiers get even bigger the further down you go.

Travis Sawchik: Welcome, everyone. Let’s talk …

Erik: Do you think the Golden Age of Shortstops could force a rethink of what it means to be a good shortstop? Currently, a glove-first shortstop with a chance to slap his way to a decent but completely empty batting average is considered a shortstop prospect. Could the current crop redefine the position to the extent that that’s no longer the case?

Travis Sawchik: I think there is the potential, yes. This current crop of shortstops is amazing … and the prospect lists are loaded with impressive shortstop potential, too. I don’t think we know much about what the 21st century athlete is going to do going forward but there’s a chance it redefines what we expect from the position (Shameless plug … I wrote about this Golden Age of shortstops on the Site today)

Rb: Quintana for meadows Keller and Newman. Who says no white Sox or pirates?

Travis Sawchik: I doubt the Pirates would part with both

GERB: What does a ceiling for Jose Ramirez look like? 2016 with a few more walks?

Jeff Sullivan: Hello friends

Jeff Sullivan: Welcome to Friday baseball chat

Bork: Hello, friend!

Jeff Sullivan: Hello friend

Joey Gallo: What do you expect from me in 2017? Going forward?

Jeff Sullivan: To be perfectly honest it’s hard for me to see you as anything more than Chris Carter. Which, hey, Carter has been a pretty good hitter. But Gallo isn’t all the way there yet, so Carter might be the 60th or 70th percentile outcome

Dan Szymborski: Now, fill up the glasses with treacle and ink and anything else that’s pleasant to drink!

Dan Szymborski: The chat has started.

RotoLando: Save us, Dan, from the worthless wasteland Twitter has become…. tell us about your cats.

Dan Szymborski: I think they’re all sleeping. It’s 2 PM, so Galileo should be appearing any minute to sit on my lap and start buttering me up for dinner.

Ryan: Greg Holland to the Rockies. Good or bad for the Rockies? Good or bad for Greg Holland?

Dan Szymborski: I’m optimistic. I’m not sure it’s the best environment to rehab your value, but he’ll probably help the Rockies.

Eno Sarris: when your long time friend says she’s working on more conscious world neo soul, you wonder what she means

Henry: What does that even mean

Eno Sarris: it’s that kind of music!

ChiSox2020: Do the Nats add to their bullpen before opening day?

Eno Sarris: Maybe in season. David Robertson is the obvious one, but maybe the asking price is too high? Joe Blanton is the obvious free agent.

Eno Sarris: Sorry for the delay! Some sort of connectivity thing.

TP: Do you think Alex Reyes is going to open the season in the rotation?

Dave Cameron: Whoops; guess we’ll answer that question before I say hi.

Dave Cameron: My guess would be no; he’s going to be on an innings limit, and has options, so the easiest way to handle their crowded rotation is to let him work in Triple-A for a month or two.

Dave Cameron: Anyway, hi everyone. Happy Wednesday.

Erik: Which division favorite requires the fewest things to go wrong in order to miss the playoffs completely?

Dave Cameron: Probably Houston. A couple of injuries to guys like Correa, Altuve, or Springer, and they might be sunk.

Paul Swydan:

Paul Swydan:

Paul Swydan:

Paul Swydan:

Paul Swydan: Hi everybody!

Dave in London: Love your chats Paul! Have you seen any studies on the success or failure of unusually tall hitters (6’5″ or taller)? As an example, I’ve heard some analysts say that pitchers will prey on Judge because of his huge strike zone — do you agree?

Travis Sawchik: We need to talk

Travis Sawchik: So let’s get started …

Bork: Would the MLBPA be wise to fight for a payroll floor more than anything?

Travis Sawchik: An article I researched related to this very subject was just published on the Site so please check it out….But, yeah, I’m surprised the MLBPA has not fought for a floor given where the owners’ share of revenues has gone, given there is a tax on payroll spending.

Travis Sawchik: While it’s not a perfect comparison, if MLB had an NBA-style soft cap and floor, there would have been 19 MLB teams under the floor in 2015

Erik: What happens first, an MLB expansion or an MLB relocation?

Jeff Sullivan: Hello friends

Jeff Sullivan: Welcome to Friday baseball chat

Bork: Hello, friend!

Jeff Sullivan: Hello friend

WannabeBork: Sup Bro

Jeff Sullivan: Sup friend

Eno Sarris: This feels like music that has come before but, unlike War on Drugs or others I’ve heard, I don’t hate it for that fact. Kinda love it.

Five tool: Eno the baseball guy! Ludes ludes ludes ludes ludes ludes!

Jack: Hey Eno – where do you see Franklin Gutierrez ending up? Do you think an unexpected team like the Dodgers, even with their OF log jam, could swoop in and get a guy who they can platoon vs Lefties?

Eno Sarris: Unexpected: Boston. More expected, especially after Mahtook trade: Tampa.

Jason: What’s the highest you see Cotton going in terms of SP this year? Top 40? Is keeping him in 17 team league for 8 bucks a solid price?

Eno Sarris: I’d keep him there. I bet he goes in the top 60 unless I’m inflating him too much.