Dan Szymborski: I’m here, sorry, got caught up in Hulk Hogan news!

Justin: Hi Dan, what is it about someone like Brandon Marsh that allows him to consistently have a high BABIP?

Dan Szymborski: Solidly above average speed, while he’s not a grounder machine, he hits a lot of *hard* grounders

Mitchell: Seems every article on deadline trade candidates includes Ryan McMahon. I get the guy packs a good glove, but he hits like a second division 2nd baseman, and that’s playing half his games in Denver. Why do we think he’s a desirable asset for a team trying to win?

Dan Szymborski: Theres’ the hope he got his crap together after an AWFUL April. He’s actually been solid since

Ryan: What lower level prospects are you intrigued by who no one is talking about?

Jay Jaffe: Good afternoon, folks!

Jay Jaffe: It’s been a few weeks since my last chat. I missed one because of vacation, another because of the All-Star game, and last week at this time, I was sweating bullets because my Mac Mini, which I bought in late 2018, finally bit the dust to the point that its indicator light was flashing a Morse code S-O-S.

Jay Jaffe: Fortunately, I was prepared for this — had scoped out which model I was buying and was backing up my work like it’s my religion (I use Time Machine for on-site and BackBlaze for off-site). So I was up and running within 27 hours and didn’t miss a day of work. Anyway…

Jay Jaffe: Today is D(backs) Day at FanGraphs, in that Michael Baumann and I have done a point/counterpoint regarding whether Arizona should sell or buy at the July 31 trade deadline. My take just went up https://blogs.fangraphs.com/point-the-diamondbacks-should-sell-at-the-…, Michael’s will be along at 12:30, and David Laurila spoke to Merrill Kelly, one of their big trade targets, for another piece https://blogs.fangraphs.com/merrill-kelly-is-a-trade-target-who-thrive…

Jay Jaffe: Yesterday the D-backs popped up in my Worst Defenses Among Contenders roundup https://blogs.fangraphs.com/the-worst-team-defenses-among-contenders-2…

Jay Jaffe: And last week was my Replacement Level Killer series, which begins here https://blogs.fangraphs.com/the-2025-replacement-level-killers-introdu… and covers 6 installments.

Eric A Longenhagen: Hello one and all from Battery Avenue in Marieta for our live draft chat.

Eric A Longenhagen: Meg and I walked from the hotel here and both were sweating profusely. I told her that her hair looks fine.

Eric A Longenhagen: My mock just went up. It sounds like Washington is still negotiating, however.

Eric A Longenhagen: In case you missed it, my final rankings are live:

Eric A Longenhagen: The Board | FanGraphs Baseball

Eric A Longenhagen: Here is the mock

Dan Szymborski: Sorry, took me some time to get in!

Tacoby Bellsbury: What is your favorite portdanteau?

Dan Szymborski: Dang, I know I have some but I can’t think of them!

Dan Szymborski: I did once describe the feeling of getting mad at Hall of Fame voters for not voting for deserving players as Blylevengeance.

Dk: What do you see the Mets doing at the deadline?

Dan Szymborski: I don’t think they’ll go CRAZY, but they may add some depth, especially to rotation