Eric A Longenhagen: Hello from Denver. I am in a hotel, not at the draft itself. Hope everyone’s doing well.

Eric A Longenhagen: KG and I are still trying to ascertain who is going 1. Pittsburgh hasn’t tipped their hand and nothing concrete coming thru the agents right now.

Jason: Odds on a surprise with Watson at #1?

Eric A Longenhagen: Very remote at this point. He might slip deep into the top 10 based on latest buzz

Robert: Are the Angels the garbage disposal of the top 10 picks or are they being more proactive? Seem all over the place.

Eric A Longenhagen: I think they’ll snap up a good value guy who falls and if not do Taylor.

Jay Jaffe: Hey folks, sorry I’m late. I’ve somehow become entangled in Starlin Castro 3,000 Hit Twitter

Jay Jaffe: My piece on the Cubs’ losing streak and pending teardown just went up a short time ago https://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/the-cubs-losing-streak-portends-furthe…

Jay Jaffe: And yesterday I wrote about the state of the Dodgers’ rotation in the wake of Clayton Kershaw’s trip to the IL and Trevor Bauer’s administrative leave https://t.co/VP7Ty2CtNH

Jay Jaffe: Anyway, the queue is filling so let’s get to it. Before I do so, let me caution you that I have absolutely no opinions or knowledge pertaining to the draft. You’re barking up the wrong tree here.

Fat Spielberg: Are you surprised by how few sticky stuff suspensions there have been?

Jay Jaffe: Maybe a little — i’d have guessed one or two guys a week would get nabbed, as a warning to the rest, but so far it’s just Hector Santiago, and he’s appealing the suspension.

Dan Szymborski: The appointed time as foretold has arrived.

Dan Szymborski: So prepare those complaints that people are asking questions about a topic you do not want them to.

Joe: What are your thoughts on going underslot in the first round of the draft? Seems very risky considering how unpredictable the draft gets after the first 15 or so picks.

Dan Szymborski: I think it’s risky, but if you *really* like someone, it can be worth the risk. I dont’ think a hard/fast always/good-always/bad thing works

Dodgers pitching “Depth”: Who will the dodgers pick up? I think Nats should at least get a call but a healthy kluber on a flailing Yankees might be a good move. Or maybe Hendricks if the Cubs flop?

Dan Szymborski: Hendricks is certainly a possibility, but the Cubs may not want to trade him at a low point in his value. I do think the Dodgers will pick up a pitcher of course.

Jay Jaffe: Good afternoon, folks! I’m back from my annual Cape Cod trip, and i could almost pass for tanned and rested.

Jay Jaffe: it appears that a technical glitch prevented the word about this chat from getting out until just a short while ago so I’m going to take a couple minutes to finish lunch while the queue fills up

Jay Jaffe: Here’s my piece from yesterday — my only piece in the past week — about Mookie Betts’ strange season https://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/mookie-betts-has-been-in-a-funk/

Gary: Evidence suggests Gary Sanchez got the timing right on his leg kick in the middle of an at-bat in Tampa in May and has been on a tear since then. How often do you think mechnical things are figured out mid-game like this? (Also, hey, he can still hit)

Jay Jaffe: It’s been great to see Sanchez turn things around given the unending shit avalanche to which he’s been subjected by a certain segment of the local fans and media. Color me skeptical that Sanchez hadn’t been experimenting with dropping the leg kick behind the scenes before going that route in-game.

Jay Jaffe: Here’s a quote from Aaron Boone via the NY Daily News’ Kristie Ackert:

“He’s worked really, really hard behind the scenes too and having the courage to make some real adjustments. But it’s been rooted in a lot of hard work and a lot of hours and correcting that. And now you’re seeing a real quiet, lower half a much more balanced hitter,”

Eric A Longenhagen: Good morning from Tempe, everyone.

Eric A Longenhagen: It’s the last day of Extended Spring, my target game got moved to 6pm so here I am. Let’s talk prospects and whatever else your heart desires for about an hour…

Buff Chick: Cubs or Brewers list first?

Eric A Longenhagen: Brewers

>this guy<: Eric are any of the prospect bonus demands starting to leak out and are those causing people to allegedly rise or slide according to #sources?

Eric A Longenhagen: Nothing beyond the handful of guys who already have very strong commits or who had bad springs. If there’s one player who’s the inverse of this it’s FL prep SS Jonathan Vastine (Vandy) who sounds more signable than we thought a couple months ago.

Dan Szymborski: CHAT BEING NOW

DAN: Do you think the Giants rotation is going to sustain this success with the substance crackdown and/or escape more injury (such as the yearly Alex Wood 60-day trip)?

Dan Szymborski: I don’t have a real basis for saying which team will benefit from this really. It’s all an unknown right now

Dan Szymborski: But the Giants have enough wins bagged that they probably just need to go .500 the rest of the way to make the playoffs

Seth: Has perception of Christian Pache’s FV slipped due to his struggles offensively at the beginning of the season?

Dan Szymborski: He’s been lousy enough that you *should* think a little worse of him. But not *that* much.