Ben and Carlos talk through Baseball America’s May Top 100 prospect update. Why we should be excited for the elite tier of shortstops in the class. Why Bubba chandler and Chase Burns have been so dominant. Jac Caglianone’s improved swing decisions and a surface level line that is impressive but perhaps not even showing how good he’s been. Questions…

Eno, Trevor, and DVR discuss the Pirates' decision to fire manager Derek Shelton after a 12-26 start and wonder how making a change in that role will can make an impact. Plus, they dig into the slow start for Roki Sasaki and wonder if he can improve his fastball command and make a tweak to his pitch mix on the fly to get better results over the cou…

Eno, DVR, and Jed discuss a brutal day at the office for Ryan Pressly and Chase Meidroth, before looking at the Orioles' sluggish start to 2025 and the rash of injuries that have played a role along the way, as well as the organization's approach to pitching. Plus, they talk about the changes in Seattle where the Mariners have put together a top-fi…

Will Sammon joins Eno and DVR to discuss the Mets' increasing distance from 'LOL Mets' thanks to their continued growth in pitching development throughout the organization. Plus, they discuss the ongoing questions around Brett Baty, Luisangel Acuña's path to lock down the second-base job, and changes to Mark Vientos' approach that haven't paid off …

Eno and DVR discuss the likely season-ending injury for Triston Casas among several other absences that popped up over the weekend including Yordan Alvarez, Shota Imanaga (both on the IL since recording), Freddy Peralta and Corbin Burnes. They also discuss BABIP as a tool to help find buy-low targets and pickups, and marvel at Aaron Judge's .500 BA…

Eno and DVR discuss the surprising early May demotion to Triple-A for Jake Burger, and look at some of the biggest movers on the O-Swing% leaderboard from 2024 to 2025. Plus, they discuss another injury for Mike Trout, Jazz Chisholm's shift to the IL, and a few intriguing names to consider on the waiver as the weekend begins. Rundown 3:40 Jake Burg…

Eno, Trevor, and DVR discuss the strike zone, which is shrinking in 2025. They dig into why that changes have taken place and consider a few implications of that adjustment. Plus, they look at a trio of underperforming starting pitchers through the first month of the season including Zac Gallen, who may have started a turnaround Thursday against th…

Eno, DVR, and Jed discuss a story from David Adler of MLB.com about Aaron Judge's batting stance adjustments throughout an elite calendar year at the plate. Plus, they look at four hitters off to great starts to determine if there is more than just a fast start under the hood. Join Our Six Picks Group -- Session 2 begins Thursday May 1st! https://o…

Chris Welsh joins and Eno and DVR to discuss several long-term risers and fallers as the first month of the season winds down. Is an uptick in production just around the corner for Jordan Walker as he continues to show elite bat speed? Is this the last chance to make a deal for Dylan Crews and Jordan Lawlar before everything clicks? Should you lowe…

Eno and DVR discuss the early exit for Tyler Glasnow on Sunday due to a shoulder issue and a new favorite emerging from the Dodgers' pitching depth as they look to round out the back of their injury-plagued rotation. Plus, an impressive return for Eury Pérez in his first rehab game, a closer change in the Bronx, and mailbag questions about being ca…

Eno, Paul Sporer & Niv Shah talk about the latest injury news around the league. They also break down some of the hot pickups/drops, Eno's new updated pitcher rankings, some waiver wire adds for the weekend and Niv's hot dog review of the Baltimore Dog. Rundown 1:53- Kyle Hart has been optioned by the Padres 7:48- Joc Pederson- should he stay or sh…

Ben and Carlos talk about a handful of big stuff, big physicality Yankees pitchers who are off to strong starts in the 2025 season. They briefly touch on George Lombard Jr. also living up to his preseason scouting hype in the early goings. After that the two talk about more Red Sox pitching prospects of note, this time those not named Brandon Clark…

Eno, Trevor, and DVR discuss the Orioles' slow start and mounting pitching injuries and wonder -- is this a 2025 playoff team? Plus, they dig into four fast-starting pitchers in search of potential breakouts, and how teams can try to combat increasingly aggressive basestealers within the constraints of the pitch clock and limited disengagements. Ru…

Eno, DVR, and Jed discuss news and notes from around the league including injuries for Emmanuel Clase and Cristopher Sánchez and MLB's biggest three-team rivalries, before digging into the new-look Mariners' offense and Julio Rodriguez's slow start on the heels of a slight downturn at the plate in 2024. Rundown 4:20 MLB's Biggest Hate Triangle 9:17…

C. Trent Rosecrans joins Eno and DVR to discuss the Reds -- including Andrew Abbott's fast start and track record of posting ERAs below his projections -- the ascent of Hunter Greene, Nick Lodolo's missing strikeouts amidst good results, and questions around the quality and depth of the Cincinnati bullpen. Plus, they examine the profile of Nick Kur…

Eno and DVR discuss the promotion of Chandler Simpson by the Rays and attempt to determine how his short-term outlook for playing time and long-term ceiling will come together. Plus, they dig into mailbag questions about the early struggles of Devin Williams and Emmanuel Clase, making the choice between slow-starting bats and surging waiver-wire op…

Eno and DVR discuss the setback for Grayson Rodriguez and the fallout for the Orioles' rotation, the promotion of Luke Keaschall as the Twins deal with a few injuries on their depth chart, and weekend waiver pickups to consider with Ottoneu found and Rates & Barrels Senior Hot Dog Correspondent Niv Shah. Rundown 1:09 Grayson Rodriguez Has a Setback…

Ben and Carlos look around the league and talk about a number of prospects off to hot and cold starts to to begin the 2025 season. They talk briefly about how they think about prospects repeating levels, then get into a number of listener questions including Billy Carlson comps, how much we can take away from lineup orders and whether or not Ethan …

Eno, Trevor, and DVR discuss the return of Spencer Strider before digging into Eno's recent story with Britt Ghiroli and Jen McCaffrey examining the progress of hitting tech and development and the efforts to close the gap on pitching. Plus, they discuss the challenge of game-planning for Jacob Wilson, and the early struggles of Gavin Williams. Eno…

Eno, DVR, and Jed discuss baseball's annual celebration of Jackie Robinson Day, before examining the Cubs' decision to demote Matt Shaw at Triple-A, the challenge of balancing present needs with long-term player development, and expectations for a trio of fast-starting starting hitters - including Ben Rice, Spencer Torkelson, and Tyler Soderstrom. …

Lance Brozdowski joins Eno and DVR to discuss new pitches that should make a big long-term difference including changes to Max Fried's sinker and a larger change to Max Meyer's overall arsenal, before looking at a few Triple-A standouts and explaining why it's so difficult to analyze pitching with different baseballs in play until pitchers reach Tr…

Eno and DVR discuss a big weekend for the Cubs, who took two of three from the Dodgers in Los Angeles including a blowout on Saturday night, but revealed that Justin Steele will have season-ending arm surgery. They discuss the need for more pitching in Chicago even prior to Steele's injury, and add the Cubs to the Sandy Alcantara sweepstakes. Plus,…

Eno and DVR discuss the Twins' contemplation of a six-man rotation to potentially incorporate David Festa and Zebby Matthews into their starting mix, the Brewers' heavy use of fastballs for third season in a row and why (beyond a rash of injuries) they might have been interested in Quinn Priester. Plus, they look at early playing time splits from j…

Eno, Trevor, and DVR discuss the surging Kyren Paris and strange feats, in the face of Jesse Chavez signing with Atlanta for the *sixth* time in his career. Plus, they look at several pitchers that have significantly altered their arm angle this season in pursuit of staying health -- including Garrett Crochet, Paul Skenes, and Cole Ragans -- MacKen…

Eno, DVR, and Jed take a spin around the league as April injuries pile up, and take a deep dive into a matchup between José Ramírez and José Soriano from Friday's Guardians-Angels matchup. Plus, they answer a mailbag question inquiring about team's patience with switch hitters despite poor splits, inspired by Elly De La Cruz. Rundown 1:06 Jackson M…

Ben and Carlos talk about the Red Sox-Brewers trade that sent righthander Quinn Priester to Milwaukee and netted Boston outfielder Yophery Rodriguez and a supplemental round 2025 draft pick. The two then talk about the number of teams with multiple picks in this year’s draft and how that could impact draft strategy. The two continue to talk through…

Jen McCaffrey joins Eno and DVR to discuss a two-month stretch for the Red Sox that has been packed with a year's worth of storylines including the offseason odyssey of Rafael Devers following should injuries in 2024, the arrival of Alex Bregman, the debut and extension of Kristian Campbell, and much more. Plus, they look back at the showdown betwe…

Eno and DVR discuss the massive deal for Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and the Blue Jays -- 14 years, $500 million -- as extension season rolls further into April. They also wonder if the Jays will be able to supplement the face of their franchise effectively and snap a postseason losing streak that stretches back to 2016. Please participate in our listene…

Eno and DVR discuss a mishap that landed Freddie Freeman on the IL, a closer change in Pittsburgh with the demotion of David Bednar, a few heavily added players in ottoneu ahead of the weekend with Niv Shah, and their picks for an on-air, five-round pitcher breakout draft featuring several players that may be available in shallow leagues. Please pa…

Ben and Carlos talk about the latest trend in bat technology and whether or not people need to be concerned about “torpedo bats,” then get into a few high-profile prep pitchers in the 2025 class. First, is this the year that we have a high school righthander taken with the first overall pick? California righthander Seth Hernandez might have a chanc…

Eno, Trevor, and DVR discuss another round of extensions as the Red Sox continue to secure long-term parts of their core with Garrett Crochet and Kristian Campbell inking new deals, Ketel Marte tacks on extra years with the D-backs, Jurickson Profar takes an 80-game suspension for a positive PED test as the Braves fall to 0-7, and Esteury Ruiz gets…

Jed Lowrie makes his Rates & Barrels debut to join Eno and DVR and to discuss Jackson Merrill's nine-year extension with the Padres, Jed's trip to the season opening series in Japan between the Dodgers and Cubs, the early-season struggles of Rafael Devers, and hitters that have moved their contact point up (toward the pitcher) thus far in 2025. Ple…

Eno is joined by Keenan Long of LongBall Labs to talk everything bats. He talks about the process of finding the right bat for a player, the different types of bats & handles, the sudden rise of the torpedo bat, what's in the future for bats and much more. Please participate in our listener survey! theathletic.com/athletic/survey25 (Three lucky ent…

Eno and DVR discuss a weekend filled with homers in the Bronx, 'Torpedo' bats, Mookie Betts' two-homer game and other takeaways from the first weekend of the 2025 season. Plus, an early look at bat speed risers and fallers, and where the money was spent in pursuit of fantasy baseball roster upgrades this weekend. Please participate in our listener …

Eno, Trevor, and DVR are live for Day 2 from Barebottle Brewing in San Francisco. Ben Clemens of FanGraphs joins them for this show. They break down some of the box score fun things they saw from Opening Day, standout pitching performances from the opener, what they are looking forward to this season, and awards predictions for the upcoming season.…

Eno, Trevor, and DVR are live from Barebottle Brewing in San Francisco on Opening Day of baseball in the US. They break down some of the big games from Opening Day and give their predictions on each division and who is going to win the World Series. Please participate in our listener survey! theathletic.com/athletic/survey25 (Three lucky entries wi…

Ben and Carlos talk through MLB opening day and offer their predictions for the 2025 season. After that the two talk about Baseball Savant’s new batting stance data and wonder what teams and players can do with it. They examine PPI eligible players this year and then take a handful of listener questions. Time Stamps (0:00) MLB opening day talk (6:0…

Eno and DVR are joined by Orioles star Jackson Holliday to talk about his love for donuts, struggling in his rookie season, the big difference between AAA pitchers vs MLB pitchers, if he looks at his contact point and much more. They also talk about some of the big news of the week and look at some breakout 2nd year bats that they have their eye on…

Britt Ghiroli returns to the show with Eno and DVR to discuss the potential obstacles for a sale of the Minnesota Twins as the most recent franchise to explore new ownership. Plus, the trio shares a few of their bold predictions for the upcoming season! Please participate in our listener survey! theathletic.com/athletic/survey25 (Three lucky entrie…

Eno and DVR discuss a trio of March contract extensions including Tanner Bibee, Alejandro Kirk, and Justin Martinez -- all of whom received new five-year deals with their respective clubs. Plus, they catch up on other late spring news including a scare for Shane McClanahan, a trade that sent Nolan Jones back to Cleveland, a closer role up for grabs…

Eno and DVR get ready for a busy weekend of drafts with a quick spin through spring news and notes, before discussing ideal roster builds, when to target an ace, how to approach closers, which positions thin out quickly, a few prospects worth considering as late-round stashes in redraft leagues as they await an opportunity at the big-league level. …

Ben and Carlos talk about how the top of the composition of the 2025 draft class compares with 2024. The two discuss Coby Mayo’s comments about being reassigned to Triple-A Norfolk for what will be his third year at the level. The bulk of the show is spent on a discussion about “scouting the scouts.” What’s the value? What are the risks associated …

Eno, Trevor, and DVR discuss an interesting lawsuit around analytics a potentially lost competitive advantage, the benefits of building a 'brain' -- internal communications system -- of your own, organizational pitching archetypes, and a few different ways to grade the best bullpens in baseball as Opening Day approaches. Rundown 3:54 An Interesting…

Eno and DVR discuss Roki Sasaki's big-league debut in Game 2 of the Dodgers-Cubs series in Tokyo, the now-restored DoD page about the life of Jackie Robinson, a second option for Jared Jones' elbow injury, and other spring news and notes -- including an encouraging outing from Tyler Mahle. Plus, they reveal their most rostered players (so far) ahea…

Eno and DVR discuss the Dodgers' season-opening win over the Cubs in Tokyo, which featured five strong frames from Yoshinobu Yamamoto and an excellent showing from the bullpen. They also discuss a great piece from David Adler highlighting Shohei Ohtani's unique contact point as a possible explanation for his excellent all-fields power. Plus, they l…

James Anderson of RotoWire joins DVR to discuss a few news items from the weekend including Mookie Betts' absence from the Japan Series and the playing time outlook for Andy Pages, an early-season IL trip for Royce Lewis, and another pitching injury to watch coming out of Yankees camp. Plus, they discuss several under-the-radar prospects capable of…

Eno and DVR discuss a few spring news items including a shoulder injection for George Kirby, before looking at a few deep league pitching sleepers and wondering if we'll ever see Reid Detmers put everything together for a full season in Anaheim. Rundown 4:22 Bobby Witt Jr.: OK After HBP on Wednesday 8:36 George Kirby: Had Biologics Injection in Sho…

Ben and Carlos chat about their expectations for the Red Sox in 2025 and how quickly the big three trio of Roman Anthony, Marcelo Mayer and Kristian Campbell will be integrated. After that the two discuss Jackson Jobe’s experiments with two new pitches this spring and talk about narrow and deep pitch arsenals. They talk about first-round draft name…

Eno, Trevor, and DVR discuss spring news including an opportunity for Brett Baty at second base (!?) before sharing their top-10 rotations for the upcoming season and the unique challenges of grading pitching groups this way. Plus, Eno shares a few new training tools he's seen and heard about while in Arizona this spring. Rundown 1:35 Spring News &…

Eno and DVR discuss Jacob deGrom's bid to work with slightly less velocity in an effort to stay healthy in 2025, two pitching injuries that popped up in Rangers camp, Brandon Woodruff's steps toward a return to the Brewers' rotation, and Vladimir Guerrero Jr.'s pursuit of a $500 million payday. Plus, Eno checks in from Mariners camp in Peoria befor…