Yahoo Fantasy Baseball Podcast

The NL East is not the greatest division in 2019, but what it lacks in great teams, it makes up for in intriguing fantasy options Scott Pianowski is joined by Michael Salfino of The Athletic to check in on the starting rotation of the New York Mets, a sub .500 team with a pair of top-20 starting pitchers in Jacob deGrom and Noah Syndergaard (1:20). Michael discusses his latest column about teams with huge schedule advantages in the league-leading Minnesota Twins and the Atlanta Braves (19:45). The Braves discussion also dives into the fantasy viability of Julio Teheran, a not-flashy pitcher on a team in playoff contention (25:30). Scott and Michael also discuss the impressive season from Lucas Giolito (29:30), thoughts ahead of the 2019 MLB draft (34:15) and wrap up the fantasy discussion on Kevin Gausman and José Ramírez (39:30). Scott and Michael close the show with a 5-round draft of the best athletes from the 1970s (45:45). Please remember to rate, review and subscribe on your podcast provider of choice and send us your questions for future episodes on Twitter @YahooFantasy. Follow Scott @Scott_Pianowski  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Coming out of the weekend that unofficially starts the summer, Yahoo Sports' Dalton Del Don joins Scott Pianowski the day after Memorial Day for a podcast about holidays and redrafting your league right as the MLB season hits full stride. For the bulk of the episode, Scott recounts his NFBC "Second Chance" draft which alters some rules in favor of starting a brand-new league from scratch with scoring starting on Memorial Day (0:40). They discuss the topsy-turvy first round where Scott landed an unexpected star with the third overall pick, where the first tier of ace pitchers landed and how advanced stats should play into your selections at this time of year Later, Dalton gets into his insane League of Leagues team where he absolutely crushed his starting pitchers with guys like Hyun-Jin Ryu, Matt Boyd, Caleb Smith, Chris Paddack and Jose Berrios. They discuss Dalton's strategy for landing them and how to track up-and-comers either in future drafts or in FAAB (27:10). To wrap up the baseball portion of the episode, the guys discuss some later-round picks in Matt Carpenter, Miguel Sanó, Nicholas Castellanos (33:40) and a few valuable but unsexy pitchers on bad teams (38:25). Acknowledging the Memorial Day weekend, Scott ends the show by asking Dalton to participate in a draft of the best holidays (41:20). Please remember to rate, review and subscribe on your podcast provider of choice and send us your questions for future episodes on Twitter @YahooFantasy. Follow Scott @Scott_Pianowski Follow Dalton @DaltonDelDon  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

After a week of call-ups throughout the majors, fantasy owners likely have their heads spinning. Yahoo Sports' Scott Pianowski and Fred Zinkie try to make things easier this week by discussing two major aspects of in-season fantasy management: FAAB bidding and trading. But first, the guys check in on Bryce Harper. Remember him? The guy who led every hot take from November until March? Scott and Fred talk about his early season performance and ask whether it's time to pump the brakes on Harper (1:20). Next, Scott and Fred dive deep into the slew of prospects recently called up into the majors including Atlanta's Austin Riley, Colorado's Brendan Rodgers, Houston's Corbin Martin, Texas' Willie Calhoun, and Milwaukee's Keston Hiura. They talk FAAB bidding strategy and how you should manage your FAAB through the season (6:00). Later, Scott asks Fred to talk about a problem area for many fantasy owners: trades. They discuss how to get more out of your trades and be a better trading partner in general (23:45). Scott wraps up the show asking Fred to participate in a five-round draft of their favorite beverages (39:15). Please remember to rate, review and subscribe on your podcast provider of choice and send us your questions for future episodes on Twitter @YahooFantasy. Follow Scott @Scott_Pianowski Follow Fred @FredZinkieMLB  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

It's a mostly Michigan day on the Yahoo Fantasy Baseball Podcast. Michigan resident Scott Pianowski is joined by Michigan native Paul Sporer of Fangraphs and ESPN for some talk about the AL Central, FAAB strategy and some older guys calling good and bad attention to themselves in fantasy baseball. The guys start off discussing the Detroit Tigers and a couple intriguing players in pitcher Matthew Boyd and "utility knife" Ronny Rodriguez (2:50). Sticking with the Tigers, Scott and Paul hit on Detroit legend Miguel Cabrera and Cincinnati's Joey Votto. Is there any optimism for these fading stars who have started sluggishly in 2019 (10:40)? Elsewhere in old-guy talk, Hunter Pence's resurgent season with the Texas Rangers comes up. The guys also discuss the slugging Joey Gallo and the Rangers' bullpen (14:35). Moving to straight-up fantasy strategy, Scott asks Paul about how he uses his FAAB and they discuss tactics to get the most value out of free agency (26:00). Coming back around to the AL Central, Scott and Paul discuss the division-leading Minnesota Twins and a pair of their stand-out pitchers in Jake Odorizzi and Martín Pérez (30:00). Wrapping up the baseball portion of the podcast, Scott talks about his Vlad Guerrero Jr. FOMO and Paul outlines how Vlad's slow start could ramp up soon (35:35). Finally, Scott and Paul close out the show drafting their favorite athletes from Michigan (40:10) Please remember to rate, review and subscribe on your podcast provider of choice and send us your questions for future episodes on Twitter @YahooFantasy. Follow Scott @Scott_Pianowski  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

After a weird weekend in sports highlighted by a bizarre turn of events in the Kentucky Derby, Yahoo Sports' Scott Pianowski is joined by Rotowire's Chris Liss for a larger discussion about some of the major factors complicating the fan's relationship with their favorite sports. There's plenty of fantasy baseball talk too. They start off with the derby, "disqualification culture" and the role of replay in sports (0:50). It leads to a larger discussion about whether some of baseballs advanced stats have gone too far (8:10). Scott and Chris dig into this fantasy season a bit to talk about April outlier teams and players and ask when is "too early" in terms of cutting ties with underperforming assets (11:15). Vlad Jr. comes up again as the guys discuss him and Cincinnati's Nick Senzel and whether the league is moving towards younger players (20:45). Later, Scott asks Chris about his baseball viewing experience as a resident of Portugal and it leads to a larger discussion of the fan viewing experience and James Holzhauer, the Jeopardy guy (24:00). Scott and Chris wrap up the show drafting their favorite food items (37:20). Please remember to rate, review and subscribe on your podcast provider of choice and send us your questions for future episodes on Twitter @YahooFantasy. Follow Scott @Scott_Pianowski Follow Chris @Chris_liss  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Yahoo Sports’ Scott Pianowski is joined by Jonah Keri of The Athletic and Sportsnet to take a closer look at one of the most puzzling divisions so far this season - the AL East. First off, in Toronto, it’s time for VLAD VLAD VLAD VLAD. Also, is this the Marcus Stroman year we’re been waiting for? (3:40) They check in on one of baseball’s most pleasant surprises, the Tampa Bay Rays. Scott wonders why he doesn’t take their over every single year, plus Diaz, Lowe, the bullpen, Glasnow… (18:20) Over to struggling Boston, where they discuss how much panic is appropriate for their start? Where are you on Chris Sale? Are you in on Michael Chavis? Is JBJ’s defense worth the bat? Can Porcello survive in the shape of 2019 baseball, where contact is so dangerous? (29:00) And a look at the New York Yankees, where Scott can’t help but wonder, how the hell are they 17-11 with all those injuries? Are you a Voit believer? A German believer? A daydream believer? (36:30) As far as Baltimore goes, it’s a nice city for crab cakes. Jonah discusses his experience playing in the League of Leagues with an interesting cast of characters, including a famous WWE Superstar (43:00), and they close out the show with a draft of their Top 5 Best Sports Books Ever (46:00). Remember to rate, review and subscribe on your podcast provider of choice and send us your questions for future episodes on Twitter @YahooFantasy. Follow Scott @Scott_Pianowski  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

It was a rough weekend if you were in a particular group of major league pitchers...or if you owned one of them in your fantasy league. Jacob deGrom gave up 3 runs in 5 innings to the Braves, then thought he needed an MRI, then didn't. Max Scherzer got lit up by the Marlins. Gerritt Cole was blasted into a different dimension by the Rangers. Scott Pianowski is joined by Jeff Erickson of Rotowire to grade how panicked fantasy owners should be if they own the likes of deGrom, Scherzer, Cole and Sale (3:20). Next, they discuss the intricacies of managing injured players and try to determine the perfect amount of IL spots a fantasy league should allow (19:55). Scott asks Jeff about the Cincinnati Reds, Joey Votto and a trade he was recently involved in (27:15) and later they chat about the Texas Rangers bullpen and some waiver wire pickups (30:10). To wrap up the show, Scott and Jeff draft polo shirts, gambling, the Ryder Cup and their favorite things about the sport of golf (35:55). Please remember to rate, review and subscribe on your podcast provider of choice and send us your questions for future episodes on Twitter @YahooFantasy. Follow Scott @Scott_Pianowski Follow Jeff Jeff Erickson  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

After the 2018 New York Mets got off to a hot start, they cooled into one of the more disappointing teams of last season. Scott Pianowski is joined by D.J. Short of Rotoworld and NBC Sports to discuss the 2019 Mets and if the impressive Aprils out of Pete Alonso and Steven Matz are for real (1:40). They also discuss the Atlanta Braves, Philadelphia Phillies, Washington Nationals and what appears to be a crowded NL East race (6:30). Later they dive into D.J.'s latest Waiver Wired column and discuss some up-and-coming players you might need to fill out the fringes of your roster including Max Fried, Michael Pineda, Jesse Winker, Derek Holland and Alex Gordon (9:15). Next, Scott & D.J. reassess the fantasy value of two former fantasy studs off to very slow starts in Boston's Chris Sale and San Francisco's Buster Posey (25:05). Wrapping up the baseball talk, Scott asks D.J. about some guys who've turned some heads with hot starts in April including Dan Vogelbach, Austin Meadows, Tyler Glasnow, Ian Desmond and Anthony Rendon (31:15). To close out the show, Scott and D.J. get nerdy about music and draft their favorite albums of the last 20 years (40:15). Please remember to rate, review and subscribe on your podcast provider of choice and send us your questions for future episodes on Twitter @YahooFantasy. Follow Scott @Scott_Pianowski Follow D.J. @DJShort  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

One of the most dominant trends in the last few years of baseball has been the giant surge in both home runs and strikeouts. As both hitters and pitchers have become more effective at what they do, a sort of boom-or-bust game has emerged. Scott Pianowski is joined by SI's Joe Sheehan to talk about the surge in slugging, expanding rotations and how to manage your fantasy team in this new era (0:55). Later, as the league hits the roughly 10-game mark, Joe talks about this rule of three starts and why you should take a pitcher's first three outings seriously as a sample size (10:55) One sample size worth questioning after eleven games is the Seattle Mariners' red hot 9-2 start. Scott and Joe discuss whether or not the Mariners are for real and if their powerful offense will come back to earth (13:40). Also on the show, Scott talks about some popular fantasy pickups including Kolten Wong, Jason Heyward, Willians Astudillo and Ketel Marte (20:05). Joe talks about his preseason pick to win the NL East, the Atlanta Braves, and how they could repeat as champs in a more competitive division (30:30) and Scott talks about the Chicago Cubs series against the Milwaukee Brewers from over the weekend (33:50). The guys wrap up the show drafting their favorite MLB ballparks, past and present (37:05).  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Opening Day 2019 is in the books and after the first weekend of real MLB action, there are some small sample sizes to ponder over and bold predictions to make. Scott Pianowski is joined by Derek Carty of ESPN and RotoGrinders to talk about the first few games of the season and the methodology behind Derek's projection system, The Bat. They open the show taking a look at the new-look San Diego Padres and the issues with projecting younger players like SS Fernando Tatís Jr. and SP Chris Paddack (1:00). All the Padre talk leads into a larger discussion about Petco Park, Fenway Park, Coors Field and how park factors play into both season-long fantasy and daily fantasy (5:20). Going back to Opening Day, the guys reflect on Red Sox SP Chris Sale's troubling performance and whether or not fantasy owners should panic about small sample sizes in April (12:00). Derek makes some bold predictions for the 2019 season including some pessimism about the Chicago Cubs and some optimism for the Texas Rangers and Minnesota Twins (21:25). Scott wraps up the show by asking Derek to take part in a draft of the best movies of the last 25 years and, spoiler alert, it's surprisingly Bill Murray heavy (35:30). Please remember to rate, review and subscribe on your podcast provider of choice and send us your questions for future episodes on Twitter @YahooFantasy. Follow Scott @Scott_Pianowski  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

MLB Opening Day is just a couple short days away and there's still time to draft your fantasy team (or draft your second, third or fourth one). Scott Pianowski is joined by Yahoo Sports' resident Canadian, Fred Zinkie, for a conversation about some last major news items and strategies to consider before the first pitch is thrown out on Thursday. They start off discussing the newly announced closer for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Greg Holland and the larger tactics surrounding finding saves, closers to target and whether or not to just punt on closers altogether (4:20). Scott and Fred give their sleeper MVP and Cy Young picks including a pair of guys from the Minnesota Twins who could make waves in a weak division: José Berrios and Eddie Rosario (14:55). The conversation evolves into a discussion about some NL starting rotations that are a bit difficult to parse in the Braves, Cubs and Dodgers (21:30). It wouldn't be a baseball conversation a discussion of Vlad Gerrero, Jr. of the Toronto Blue Jays and where he's being drafted in relation to his value (30:35). The guys move to the NL East to chat about two oft-injured pitchers in Noah Syndergaard of the New York Mets and Stephen Strasburg of the Washington Nationals (34:00). Scott wraps up the show with his draft of the week and he tosses it to Fred's homeland with a draft of all things Canadian: hockey, apologizing and Rush (36:25).  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The Athletic's Gene McCaffrey joins Scott Pianowski this week on the Yahoo Fantasy Baseball Podcast coming out of their Tout Wars mixed league auction draft over the weekend. They start the episode off with some general auction strategy (0:30) and how it pertains to pitchers like Max Scherzer and Jacob DeGrom (3:50). Also on the show this week: - The differences between fly ball pitchers and ground ball pitchers (8:10) - Breaking down the 2019 Colorado Rockies (9:55) - A deeper look at the Chicago Cubs starting rotation (13:55) - Quick thoughts on Nathan Eovaldi, Shawn Armstrong, Dellin Betances & Kirby Yates (16:30) - An update on Vlad Guerrero, Jr. and how he compares to Miguel Cabrera (22:45) - What to expect from Andrew McCutchen (26:35) - Jesús Aguilar and the 1B market (28:00) - Analyzing Gerrit Cole and the Houston Astros pitching staff (30:15) Scott wraps up the show asking Gene to draft his five most overrated musicians of all time (33:30). Bring some sunscreen because there are some hot takes. Please remember to rate, review and subscribe on your podcast provider of choice and send us your questions for future episodes on Twitter @YahooFantasy. Follow Scott @Scott_Pianowski  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

As April draws near, the list of players who wont be ready for the start of the season seems longer and longer. Clayton Kershaw is very unlikely to make his customary opening day start and on Monday, the Braves confirmed Mike Foltynewicz won't be ready by opening day either. Meanwhile, starting pitchers in general are playing fewer innings overall, which inspired Scott Pianowski and his guest Dalton Del Don this week to dive heavily into some overall pitching strategy for the 2019 fantasy season. First they start with the recent news that 3B Vlad Guerrero, Jr. is expected to miss at least three weeks with an oblique strain and whether it means anything considering he was not expected to be promoted it to the majors for a number of weeks anyways (2:10). They also discuss OF Adam Jones signing with the Arizona Diamondbacks over the weekend (6:00) and the aforementioned injury to Braves SP Mike Foltynewicz (7:00). For the majority of the episode, Scott and Dalton discuss a few different strategies for drafting starting pitchers, how the position compares to the running back position in fantasy football and some bargains and fades in the field (8:30). Finally, Scott wraps up the show by asking Dalton to participate in a draft of the best TV shows ever made (35:00).  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The Yahoo Fantasy Baseball Podcast is finally here and Bryce Harper is finally a Phillie. The 2019 MLB season may now commence. Scott Pianowski is joined by Yahoo Sports' Andy Behrens to discuss what the Philadelphia lineup might look like with the addition of Harper and where he should be drafted now that the uncertainty of where he might play has disappeared (1:50). The guys talk about Blue Jays 3B Vlad Guerrero, Jr., when fantasy owners should draft the prospect and compare him to a young Kris Bryant (8:30). Next, Scott and Andy dissect a pair of fringe players in the Minnesota Twins' Byron Buxton and Miguel Sanó and their overall strategies on drafting high ceiling/no floor players (15:40). They chat about the Royals' Aldaberto Mondesí, the Orioles' Jonathan Villar and finding stolen bases in a league where steals are on the decline (19:25). Also, as teams move further away from a designated closer role, Scott and Andy strategize about whether to spend high draft capital on the likes of Kenley Jansen, David Robertson, Blake Treinen or Kirby Yates (27:20). Finally, they wrap up the show with the first of many drafts. Some weeks, Scott and his guest will be drafting people or things sports-related. Many other weeks, they will not. This week, they draft players, uniforms, announcers and all things related to baseball in the city of Chicago: early Sammy Sosa, alcohol and a very NSFW rant from Cubs manager Lee Elia. We’ll be here every Monday through the baseball season, so please remember to rate, review and subscribe on your podcast provider of choice and send us your questions for future episodes on Twitter @YahooFantasy. Follow Scott @scott_pianowski Follow Andy @andybehrens  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Human sports encyclopedia and Yahoo fantasy expert Scott Pianowski hosts The Yahoo Fantasy Baseball Podcast, premiering on Monday, March 4th. Scott will be joined by Yahoo Sports' Andy Behrens and Dalton Del Don, plus a rotating cast of experts and friends from all round the world of fantasy baseball. Subscribe now to download the first episode when it premieres on March 4th and catch new episodes with Scott and the crew every Monday. While you're at it, there's still plenty of time to join a league or create a new league for you and your friends at Yahoo Fantasy. Also, stay up to date with the latest fantasy news and coverage from Yahoo Sports on Twitter @YahooFantasy.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.