Rotowire Fantasy Baseball Podcast

Chris Crawford (@Crawford_MILB) and Ryan Boyer (@RyanPBoyer) dig into some over/unders from the Central divisions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Clay Link and Todd Zola discuss all the latest news from around spring training and updates to their Top 300 fantasy baseball rankings. Sign up for Fantrax FREE today and you’ll be entered to win an Official MLB signed jersey from Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Simply visit this link to sign up today. 0:00 Intro/Joey Votto finds a home Vladdy Jr. has been battling a jammed thumb. News Nathaniel Lowe has an oblique strain, not expected for Opening Day. Jared Walsh appears likely to step in at first base for TEX. 4:00 Does this affect Wyatt Langford’s chances of making the roster? Lars Nootbaar injured, diagnosed with two non-displaced fractures in his left ribcage. Tommy Edman (wrist) is doubtful for Opening Day. 8:15 Dylan Carlson? Eddie Rosario to the Nats. Hurts Jesse Winker’s chances, but James Wood is making an interesting case. 14:00 Kevin Gausman (shoulder fatigue) says he’ll be ready for Opening Day. Brayan Bello gets his contract extension (six years, $55 million). TGFBI teams 23:00 Changes to

A popular draft strategy in snake draft leagues is to go with "Pocket Aces," i.e. drafting elite starting pitchers with your first two picks. Derek VanRiper did so in the LABR Mixed Draft League, beginning his draft with Spencer Strider and Corbin Burnes. He and Jeff Erickson talk about the nuances, strengths and weaknesses of the strategy. --- 00:00 - News & Notes 01:00 - Bello extension, Red Sox rotation 08:00 - Rodon velocity down, gets hit hard 12:00 - Michael King, Johnny Brito, Will Warren 17:00 - TB/CLE/LAD pitching development 20:00 - DL Hall 25:00 - Pocket Aces - Defined, Reason for Going that route 26:00 - Who qualifies as an "ace" for such purposes? 34:45 - How to follow it up 43:00 - When do you next go into the SP pool? 45:00 - Applied - DVR’s LABR draft, Jeff’s TGFBI draft 1:01:00 - Draft position matter? --- Fantrax Promotional Copy Sign up for Fantrax FREE today and you’ll be entered to win an Official MLB signed jersey from Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Simply visit this link to sign up today.  Hyp

Jason Collette on defending his AL LABR crown Identifying pockets of players Adapting on the fly to another team's punt-pitching strategy When to price enforce and when not to Nomination strategy The Rays depth chart Sign up for Fantrax FREE today and you’ll be entered to win an Official MLB signed jersey from Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Simply visit this link to sign up today.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It's fantasy baseball auction season, and Fred Zinkie has the keys for you to dominate your league. Fred and Jeff Erickson will discuss auction strategy tips and the biggest news of the day, including the latest Ronald Acuña update. --- 00:00 - Lucas Giolito’s season appears to be over before it started. 05:00 - Ronald Acuna seems to be fine. 07:30 - Sonny Gray could open the season on the IL. Maybe Kevin Gausman too. And Braxton Garrett.  12:30 - Paul Skenes will open the season in the Minors. Draftable? 15:40 - Jordan Montgomery and Blake Snell 20:00 - Ken Rosenthal wrote that Jackson Holliday has a 50% chance of making the OD roster. Is that enough to draft him in the middle rounds? 23:30 - A.J. Puk is becoming a spring training story. He was drafted in my tout league tonight. 29:00 - Auctions 29:15 - Are auctions better than drafts? Why or why not? 31:45 - What do you do to prepare for your auction? 35:45 - Pen & Paper vs. Software 40:00 - Do you have any strategy for nominations? 46:40 - Are you flexible

Jeff Erickson and Scott Jenstad run through the baseball news from over the weekend and then discuss a bunch of interesting names going after pick 200 in 2024 drafts, including Byron Buxton, Taj Bradley and Kyle Harrison, plus many, many more. Follow us on Twitter: @Jeff_Erickson I @ScottJenstad I @RotoWire Sign up for Fantrax FREE today and you’ll be entered to win an Official MLB signed jersey from Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Simply visit this link to sign up today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Chris Crawford (@Crawford_MILB) and Ryan Boyer (@RyanPBoyer) hit on some over/under props from the AL East and NL East divisions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Greg Jewett of The Athletic joins RotoWire Senior MLB Editor Clay Link to discuss Tout Wars H2H and ALL THINGS CLOSERS! Sign up for Fantrax FREE today and you’ll be entered to win an Official MLB signed jersey from Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Simply visit this link to sign up today. 0:00 Intro/Welcome Greg Jewett of The Athletic Tout Wars H2H Congratulations on your championship victory in 2023! Beat out a pretty star-studded field. 3:55 How did you get it done? Did you pay for closers? Draft coming up Sunday, March 17 at the Iroquois Hotel in NYC. 18:00 Closers 23:57 Anybody in the top 10 among closers that you’re avoiding? Greg: Josh Hader Clay: Emmanuel Clase 31:24 Comfort level: LOW, MEDIUM, HIGH for the mid-range closers Adbert Alzolay Craig Kimbrel Andres Munoz Raisel Iglesias Tanner Scott Evan Phillips 44:26 Favorite closers in waiting Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

FSWA Award-Winning Writer John Laghezza from The Athletic joins Jeff Erickson to discuss moving averages, his award-winning Best Baseball Ongoing Series, how he sets up his draft tiers, and his Tout Wars draft where he started off with Aaron Judge. --- 00:00 - FSWA Award 01:45 - Player Sheets and Tiers 05:00 - Moving Averages 13:00 - Do you Mock Draft? 17:00 - Kodai Senga 21:00 - Grayson Rodriguez 29:00 - Compact Categories 32:00 - Tout Wars SOLDS League 38:00 - Brandon Pfaadt 40:00 - Pirates Pitchers 42:45 - Early Projections vs. Spring Training Results 48:00 - Teams Running 52:30 - Teoscar Hernandez 56:00 - Lane Thomas vs. Teoscar vs. George Springer vs. Evan Carter --- Fantrax Promotional Copy Sign up for Fantrax FREE today and you’ll be entered to win an Official MLB signed jersey from Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Simply visit this link to sign up today.  Hyperlink: https://www.fantrax.com/rotowire Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ben Brown Cade Horton Will Warren Victor Scott Colson Montgomery Dustin Harris Jakob Marsee Graham Pauley Samuel Zavala Dillon Head Jackson Merrill Brooks Lee Kyle Hurt Gavin Stone Emmet Sheehan River Ryan James Wood Elly De La Cruz Oswald Peraza Paulino Santana Tai Peete Yophery Rodriguez Wyatt Langford Yoshinobu Yamamoto Walker Jenkins Paul Skenes Jackson Holliday Thayron Liranzo Gavin Williams Will Benson Troy Johnston Tyler Black Jose Corniell Aidan Curry Brayan Rocchio Jett Williams Adael Amador James Triantos Sal Stewart Darell Hernaiz Max Clark Brock Wilken Roman Anthony Austin Wells Yoniel Curet Reggie Crawford Logan Henderson Colt Emerson Chase DeLauter Lazaro Montes Bubba Chandler Noble Meyer Michael Harris Junior Caminero Zac Veen Marcelo Mayer Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fred Zinkie just navigated the secondary closer run in the Tout Wars Draft & Hold league. Who do you like among Andres Muñoz, Jordan Romano, Craig Kimbrel, Paul Sewald, Ryan Helsley, Tanner Scott, Evan Phillips, Clay Holmes and Adbert Alzolay? He and Jeff Erickson discuss that tier of closers, and how to anticipate and/or react to cliffs in your snake draft. --- 3:30 - Cody Bellinger to the Cubs 8:00 - Is it time to downgrade Snell, Montgomery, Chapman? 20:30 - Differing Closer Plans 36:00 - Worth paying attention to the Rockies closer? 42:00 - Category Targets - Will the SB 80% threshold will be 200 this year? 51:00 - Joe Musgrove has already made two spring starts. And he stunk in both. Worried? 54:30 - Walker Buehler will face hitters tomorrow. How many innings will he throw this year? 59:00 - Chris Sale 1:02:20 - Alek Manoah --- Fantrax Promotional Copy Sign up for Fantrax FREE today and you’ll be entered to win an Official MLB signed jersey from Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Simply visit this link to sign up to

Jeff Erickson and Scott Jenstad give their thoughts on the 2024 closer market, break down a number of specific relievers and then move over to starting pitchers to discuss a number of intriguing SP in the Top 150. Follow us on Twitter: @Jeff_Erickson I @ScottJenstad I @RotoWire Sign up for Fantrax FREE today and you’ll be entered to win an Official MLB signed jersey from Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Simply visit this link to sign up today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Chris Crawford and Ryan Boyer look at the latest headlines from baseball, including Kodai Senga's shoulder injury that likely will see him miss significant time. They also take a look at Tim Anderson's potential fantasy impact with the Marlins, and offer some players they believe are overrated or underrated in the National League East to begin the 2024 season. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Clay Link and Todd Zola discuss the latest news from around the league, Tarik Skubal already touching 100 mph in spring training and their top targets in drafts. Sign up for Fantrax FREE today and you’ll be entered to win an Official MLB signed jersey from Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Simply visit this link to sign up today. News & notes: Kodai Senga has been shut down indefinitely with a moderate posterior capsule strain. Tim Anderson lands with Miami on a one-year deal. (8:00) Vaughn Grissom is nursing a hamstring injury. Wilyer Abreu is the favorite to start in right field… is he a target? (10:50) Tarik Skubal is already touching 100 mph in live BP. Ricky Tiedemann scratched from tomorrow’s Grapefruit League start with a hamstring issue. Where are you picking in TGFBI? (21:10) TARGETS Clay: Shohei Ohtani Slated for Cactus League debut next week. Luis Castillo (31:00) Bryce Miller Great control, introducing splitter to the mix in 2024 Will Smith (LAD) (53:15) Brayan Bello TZ  - (28:45) Logan

Jenny Butler joins Jeff Erickson to recap the LABR 15-team Mixed League draft. Jeff drafted from the third slot, Jenny from the 14th slot. Plus we'll discuss the latest Reds updates, including Elly De La Cruz's average draft position. --- Full LABR draft grid here: https://www.rtsports.com/labr-mixed-draft --- Fantrax Promotional Copy Sign up for Fantrax FREE today and you’ll be entered to win an Official MLB signed jersey from Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Simply visit this link to sign up today.  Hyperlink: https://www.fantrax.com/rotowire Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ricky Tiedemann Jackson Holliday Jackson Chourio Wyatt Langford Noelvi Marte Paul Skenes Jared Jones Emmet Sheehan Gavin Stone Jackson Jobe AJ Smith-Shawver Hurston Waldrep Cade Horton Dylan Crews Jordan Lawlar Jackson Merrill Will Warren Robby Snelling Jarred Kelenic Alek Manoah Sign up for Fantrax FREE today and you’ll be entered to win an Official MLB signed jersey from Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Simply visit this link to sign up today.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jeff Erickson and Fred Zinkie share their thoughts over the first two hours of the 15-team LABR Mixed League draft, with Jeff drafting third (Bobby Witt) and Fred drafting fourth (Corbin Carroll). --- Sign up for Fantrax FREE today and you’ll be entered to win an Official MLB signed jersey from Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Simply visit this link to sign up today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jeff Erickson and Scott Jenstad discuss the news from the weekend and then break down a number of interesting middle infielders currently being drafted in The Top 200. Among others, they discuss Elly De la Cruz, Oneil Cruz, Anthony Volpe and whether to take Bobby Witt, Jr at the top of the draft. Follow us on Twitter: @Jeff_Erickson I @ScottJenstad I @RotoWire Sign up for Fantrax FREE today and you’ll be entered to win an Official MLB signed jersey from Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Simply visit this link to sign up today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Erik Halterman (@erik_halterman) and Ryan Boyer (@RyanPBoyer) go over the latest headlines and discuss their overrated and underrated picks from the NL Central. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Clay Link (@claywlink) and Todd Zola (@ToddZola) discuss Kyle Bradish's injury, whether Gerrit Cole is overrated for 2024 and much more! Sign up for Fantrax FREE today and you’ll be entered to win an Official MLB signed jersey from Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Simply visit this link to sign up today. Intro/Tough news for Kyle Bradish John Means is also expected to begin the season on the IL after his left elbow flared up, leaving the Orioles thin in the rotation right away. (7:30) Justin Verlander is “a couple weeks behind” due to a right shoulder issue, but he reportedly bounced back well from yesterday’s throwing session. (14:00) Is Gerrit Cole overvalued for 2024? THE BAT only has him as the fifth-best SP While he won the AL Cy Young, he fell far closer to the pack in terms of strikeout rate at 27% Slight dip in fastball velocity Now 33 years old NFBC ADP: 13.91 While on the topic of the Yankees: Nestor Cortes (shoulder) said Friday that he expects to be ready for Opening Day, according to the New Yor