Jay Jaffe: Good afternoon, folks! Welcome to the 2021 baseball season and this, our Opening Day marathon chat.

Kevin Goldstein: Hi everyone, Jay is starting with the Yankees/Jays, while I’m sticking to my Midwest roots with Indians/Tigers in the SNOW.

Jay Jaffe: I’ll be joined here by Kevin Goldstein and David Laurila for the first leg of today’s action, and other colleagues will take the ball as the day (and night) continues.

JT in Town: For Kev – obviously everyone’s going to ask you about your time with the Astros from now until forever, so here goes – what’s the funniest/quirkiest thing you can remember from past Opening Days during your time with the team? Any kind of  superstitions or just general oddness? And I’ll hang up and listen.

Kevin Goldstein: I wish I had a good one, but I only think I did one Opening Day in Houston. I was a player evaluator and I didn’t live in Houston. I remember spending Opening Days watching college and high school games and I remember spending Opening Day night watching a amazing low-budget MLB whip around like show in my hotel in the Dominican. I wish I could get that channel here.

Kiermaier’s Piercing Green Eyes: Oh boy, every team will play today!

Justin: what kind of things should an awful rebuilding team like the Pirates be doing over the next 6 months?  Maybe you learned lessons from good and bad things from your early Astros days that they should apply.

Kevin Goldstein: Hi everyone! Welcome to the chat and happy Opening Day Week (is that a thing?). I look forward to your questions. The Pirates have some decent arms and they should be looking to deal them this summer to improve their long-term outlook. Pretty simple, really.

DaleMurphy: You’re building a dynasty team and can start with either Wander Franco or Bobby Witt. Who do you choose?

Kevin Goldstein: Franco is the No. 1 prospect in baseball, no question. So it’s Franco. That’s not an insult to Bobby Witt, who is really damn good.

Scott: Hi Kevin!  What is your outlook for Cristian Javier and Jose Urquidy this season and for the future?

Kevin Goldstein: I don’t see any reason they can’t be soild middle of the rotation starters now and for years to come.

Dan Szymborski: Hello, been trying to figure out why it’s not on the front page!

Dan Szymborski: Oh wait, NOW it is!

Dan Szymborski: lol

Dave: Legend you would most want added to MLB The Show 21?

Dan Szymborski: I don’t know who is in it yet!

Dan Szymborski: I want to see some 19th century mustache petes

Jay Jaffe: Good afternoon, folks! I’m back after a very abbreviated chat full of technical difficulties last week.

Jay Jaffe: I’ve been kind of scarce on FanGraphs this week because I was working on the first of my two Positional Power Rankings assignments, the catchers, but I did just publish something about Jacob deGrom’s Hall of Fame chances, inspired by numerous questions along those lines in this space. Enjoy! https://blogs.fangraphs.com/jacob-degrom-might-be-blazing-his-way-to-c…

Jay Jaffe: Also, I am pleased to announce that I’m freshly vaccinated as of yesterday! As is my wife as of today! Yaaaay! Here’s hoping that if you haven’t gotten your first shot, it’s coming soon

Jay Jaffe: And now, on with the show

mmddyyyy: So how much do you weight a pitcher’s offense in their candidacy?

Jay Jaffe: I don’t pay a ton of mind to it except that pitchers’ batting WAR is included in JAWS, because pitchers who can hit (and run the bases) well do have more value than ones who don’t. Zack Greinke, who has 5.1 bWAR for example, gets a nice little bump in his JAWS thanks to his offense.

Eric A Longenhagen: Morning, everyone. Hope everyone is well and looking forward to a weekend of two- and three-screening hoops and baseball. Let’s do this thing…

Greg: I hate to be that annoying guy, but I will be anyway — any timeframe on the Braves prospect list?

Eric A Longenhagen: Monday or Tuesday

Larry: Anything to the Michael Harris hype out of Atlanta’s camp?

Eric A Longenhagen: “Wouldn’t surprise me if he were (the Braves) top prospect a year from now.”

Gas throwers union: *MLb Draft question* Have you gotten a chance to look at Matt Mikulski or Jason Coules? And what’s your evaluation?

Dan Szymborski: And greeting! Sorry about no chat last week, but I was not feeling well!

Sodo Mojo: I know that springs stats are noise but is there anything you’ve seen from Tramell’s approach this spring that shows progress in his profile?

Dan Szymborski: He’s certainly played well! I haven’t seen him play though, so I can’t say much for the change. Spring stats are *slightly* meaningful, but it’s smart to be careful about excitement.

druidiful: Hi Dan, just wanted to say “hi” and keep doing the good work!

Dan Szymborski: Yo!

You da Bohm: Enrique Hernandez has looked really good at leadoff this spring, but historically he hasn’t been much of an on-base guy. Do we think a new team and a change in approach and park can make a difference?

Kevin Goldstein: Hi everyone. Let’s get this going. I’m horrible at maintaining my personal schedule, so I have a radio hit in about 20 minutes, but I’ll answer some early and then stay awhile after I’m done. Hope everyone is enjoying all the great work here at FanGraphs and hopefully listening to Chin Music!

Jeremy: Despite the hype, it’d be completely absurd to expect Bobby Witt Jr. — a guy with only AZL experience under his belt? — to debut in 2021, right?

Kevin Goldstein: I think it’s a bit heady, but I certainly don’t think it’s completely absurd. Let’s see how he looks once minor league games get going and re-assess. He’s really good.

Fate: While you worked with the stros, who was(is?) your favourite hitter who tore up the minor leagues but never got a real MLB chance?

Kevin Goldstein: For the most part, I think players get their chances if they earn them. Nobody really stands out.

Russ: Thoughts on Bielak/Garcia as depth since Framber’s status is still in question?

Jay Jaffe: Good afternoon, folks! It’s nearly 70 degrees outside in Brooklyn and it’s taking all of the willpower I can muster to remain in front of the computer for this chat, but a commitment is a commitment, and I’m here. A bit of housekeeping before we launch this thing forward…

Jay Jaffe: Today I’ve got a piece on the historical precedents for Juan Soto’s performance and what that could mean with regards to a contract extension and a spot in Cooperstown https://blogs.fangraphs.com/extending-juan-soto-all-the-way-to-coopers…

Jay Jaffe: Yesterday, I took a look at the impact on the Yankees’ bullpen caused by the loss of Zack Britton, who’s having surgery to remove bone chip(s) in his elbow. https://blogs.fangraphs.com/loss-of-britton-puts-a-dent-in-yankees-bul…

Jay Jaffe: And in a trifecta, I took a look at the spring debuts of Shohei Ohtani, David Price, and Stephen Strasburg, and the implications for their respective teams .https://blogs.fangraphs.com/shohei-ohtani-is-on-the-comeback-trail/ https://blogs.fangraphs.com/david-price-is-ready-for-whatever-and-so-a… https://blogs.fangraphs.com/strasburgs-return-and-a-thumbnail-guide-to…

Jay Jaffe: I also spoke to RJ McDaniel about Ohtani for today’s FanGraphs Audio https://blogs.fangraphs.com/fangraphs-audio-joe-block-talks-pirates/

And now, on with the show.

Ben: If he had kept on playing, did Nick Markakis have any foreseeable chance of having a decent HOF case by piling up counting stats?