Yahoo Fantasy Baseball Podcast

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Closing out the season, playoffs preview and top 10 Yankees Sep 30, 2019

Show notes

162 games for each team are in the books and most fantasy trophies have been handed out; the only suspense left in the 2019 season is who will take the World Series?

Joe Sheehan of Sports Illustrated joins Scott Pianowski for a final debrief of the 2019 season. They begin by questioning the shape of the game in 2019 as well as the shape of the baseball (1:25). Is the juiced-ball era a blip on the radar or an evolution towards something different?

Moving from real-life baseball to fantasy baseball, the guys recap their thoughts on the 2019 season in fantasy and where they went right and wrong (13:30).

The Houston Astros stellar pitching staff was a topic of conversation all year. Scott & Joe talk about why they were so successful and if Justin Verlander, who will be 37 at the start of next season, should still be drafted as a top pitcher (18:30).

Moving onto 2020, the guys discuss who would be their number one pick in a fantasy draft next year (22:00), how they try to find steals in the current era (24:30) and if they buy the big September showings from guys like Garrett Hampson and Tommy Edman (33:20).

They briefly preview the 2019 playoffs (38:45), then talk about what went wrong with the Chicago Cubs (42:00)

Closing out the show for the year, Scott & Joe draft their 10 favorite Yankees players (43:50).

Thanks for listening, Scott and the Yahoo Fantasy Baseball Podcast will return in the spring with more strategy, analysis and random drafts.

Please remember to rate, review and subscribe on your podcast provider of choice and send us your questions for future episodes on Twitter @YahooFantasy.

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2019 takeaways and a 2020 mock draft Sep 16, 2019

Show notes

As the 2019 MLB regular season and most fantasy leagues draw to a close, Scott Pianowski is joined by Gene McCaffrey of The Athletic to take a look back at the year that was and set sights on the year ahead.

This episode, Scott & Gene deliver some of their major takeaways from the 2019 season including:

- why you shouldn't over-react to off years from good pitchers (3:50)

- taking note of the growing divide between the good teams and bad teams (8:00)

- why you should potentially invest in riskier mid-round players next year (12:35)

- how to find the sweet spot of mid-range closing pitchers (16:40)

Later, they take stock of some contenders in the Tampa Bay Rays, Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees and Houston Astros as the postseason draws near (22:25) before closing out the episode mocking the first 10 picks of a 2020 fantasy draft (31:10).

Please remember to rate, review and subscribe on your podcast provider of choice and send us your questions for future episodes on Twitter @YahooFantasy.

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Verlander's no-hitter and projecting next year's best pitchers Sep 02, 2019

Show notes

In a crazy holiday weekend across sports as pro and college football began their autumn grasp of the American sports fan's psyche, the performance of the weekend was on the mound. Scott Pianowski is joined by Paul Sporer of Fangraphs to discuss Justin Verlander's no-hitter on Sunday in Toronto (0:50).

The pitcher talk continues as Scott asks Paul to run through his preliminary top 30 pitchers list for 2020 and in addition to Verlander, the guys discuss Max Scherzer, Gerrit Cole, Noah Syndergaard and Shane Bieber (5:10).

The curious case of Trevor Bauer continues as Scott asks Paul to comment on the recently-traded pitcher who has seen his stats plummet since moving to the Reds (23:30).

Taking a brief break from pitching, the guys move out west and talk Shohei Ohtani... as a hitter (28:00).

Scott & Paul discuss Frankie Montas and Matthew Boyd (30:50), then close out the baseball portion of the podcast discussing a way-too-early 2020 fantasy draft Paul took part in over the weekend (38:40).

Closing out the podcast, Scott & Paul pick their top 5 famous movies they haven't seen (42:15).

Please remember to rate, review and subscribe on your podcast provider of choice and send us your questions for future episodes on Twitter @YahooFantasy.

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Combating late August fantasy fatigue and replacing José Ramírez Aug 26, 2019

Show notes

We're a week away from Labor Day and for lots of fantasy owners, football is becoming more top of mind. Inspired by the boredom the Los Angeles Dodgers displayed over the weekend against the New York Yankees, Scott Pianowski is joined by Yahoo's own Fred Zinkie to discuss ways to combat the late-summer boredom that strikes fantasy baseball owners (2:50).

Next, Scott & Fred chat about the Indians' José Ramírez and his broken hand that will sideline him for the rest of the season. How does that affect him next year and who are some replacement options in the short-term (8:15)?

Later, Scott contemplates what he should do with a two-start week from Homer Bailey and the guys discuss the upsides and downsides two-start weeks from fringier pitchers and the weirdness of the night game followed by a day game (15:25).

In a few grab-bag baseball topics, Fred & Scott talk about streaming his pitchers against the Detroit Tigers for the rest of the season (20:00), Austin Nola of the Seattle Mariners (22:05), whether St. Louis' Jack Flaherty should be considered an ace next season (26:05) and dominant relievers like Nick Anderson and Josh Hader, who get a ton of strikeouts but also tend to give up a fair share of home runs (30:50).

The guys close out the show with fantasy baseball "swing thoughts," nuggets of fantasy advice akin to tiny morsels of golf advice (37:10).

Please remember to rate, review and subscribe on your podcast provider of choice and send us your questions for future episodes on Twitter @YahooFantasy.

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Toronto's young bats & Kershaw's old arm Aug 19, 2019

Show notes

With the 2019 regular season winding to a close and September call-ups looming, Scott Pianowski is joined by Rob Silver of Baseball Prospectus and the Launch Angle Podcast to look back at the year's most discussed rookie: Vlad Guerrero, Jr.

The guys talk about how his draft value panned out for fantasy owners, what his 2020 could look like and also take a look at the Blue Jay's emerging young bats in Bo Bichette, Cavan Biggio and Lourdes Gurriel, Jr. (10:00)

Transitioning to the NL, Scott & Rob discuss Clayton Kershaw's diminishing pitch velocity and whether fantasy owners should be worried this year or in the long-term (20:25).

Speaking of the Dodgers and their 18.5 game NL West lead, the guys discuss fantasy strategy for the final month of the season and how you should start players on teams with comfortable leads and sights on October (27:30).

Another team with October dreams are the Houston Astros, who are hoping to capture their third World Series win in two years. Scott asks Rob to talk about what makes this Astro's team special, especially their pitching staff (32:00).

Last years world champion Boston Red Sox are on the outside of this year's playoff picture. Rob shares his thoughts on why he's fading the entire Boston pitching staff (35:55).

To wrap up the show, Scott & Rob list 5 of their most unpopular takes (38:45).

Please remember to rate, review and subscribe on your podcast provider of choice and send us your questions for future episodes on Twitter @YahooFantasy.

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Evaluating Statcast numbers and updating projections for Leake, Greinke and Bauer Aug 12, 2019

Show notes

With Scott Pianowski hitting the links this weekend on a much-needed vacation, Yahoo Fantasy's ultimate utility guy Dalton Del Don takes over the podcast for the week.

He's joined by Derek Carty of ESPN and RotoGrinders and the creator of The Bat projection system to talk about some of the trends he's been seeing this season and how he's updated some of his projections since his last podcast appearance.

First, they chat about the crazy numbers put up this weekend by Lucas Giolito and Aristides Aquino and why those players are hard to project going forward (0:35).

Next, the guys dive into Derek's updated analytics from The Bat. They talk about some of the metrics provided by Statcast including exit velocity, launch angle, barrels and how fantasy owners can analyze those stats (4:00).

Derek then provides some projection updates to a group of recently traded players in Mike Leake, Zack Greinke and Trevor Bauer. They use these three trades as an opportunity to discuss spin rates, how venues can affect strikeouts and walks, swinging strikeout rates and adjusting to the increased HR rate throughout the majors (8:15).

Later, Dalton asks Derek about some of The Bat's hits and misses from this season including Blake Treinen, German Marquez and Yordan Alvarez (22:40)

To wrap up the baseball portion of the show, Derek gives some daily fantasy pointers and how he feels weather and umpires should play into your DFS strategy (28:25).

The guys close out the show drafting their favorite current TV shows (39:10).

Please remember to rate, review and subscribe on your podcast provider of choice and send us your questions for future episodes on Twitter @YahooFantasy.

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Recapping the trade deadline, plus boons and banes from both leagues Aug 05, 2019

Show notes

With the trade deadline in the rear view mirror, fantasy owners can focus on their own league trade deadlines (if they haven't passed already) and settle in for the home stretch of the season.

Patrick Davitt of BaseballHQ joins Scott Pianowski this week to discuss how the majors reshuffled last week and then gives some hitters and pitchers from both leagues that could be a boon or a bane this upcoming week.

Before they dive into the players who actually moved this year, Scott and Patrick chat about how they feel the deadline went this year after the MLB removed the second trade deadline from the calendar (11:00)

Later, the guys talk about some of the major moves from last week, specifically how the Houston Astros added Zack Greinke and Aaron Sanchez to bolster their pitching staff (14:10).

Next, they discuss some relievers who moved at the deadline as well as some general strategy on how to pick up saves from your non-closer relievers (19:40).

After that, Patrick picks his patented "Boons & Banes" for the week. In the boons category, Willie Calhoun and Dustin May, just to name a few (27:40), and for the banes, Patrick discusses a pair of Yankees he's pessimistic about: Aaron Judge and Adam Ottavino (38:00).

To wrap up the show, the guys draft their favorite underrated things (49:30).

Please remember to rate, review and subscribe on your podcast provider of choice and send us your questions for future episodes on Twitter @YahooFantasy.

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"Selective aggression" and how to play fantasy baseball like a poker pro Jul 29, 2019

Show notes

Despite the fact that the 2019 MLB trade deadline is a mere days away, the teams have been suspiciously quiet on the transaction market. With far too few trades to report on, today's episode is devoted to the game theory aspect of fantasy baseball.

Scott Pianowski is joined by Sammy Reid of RotoGrinders to talk about his experiences playing poker full-time and how all fantasy owners can apply poker strategy and game theory to their seasonal leagues (2:15).

Next, Scott and Sammy talk about fantasy football's "zero RB" strategy and how it relates to the supply and demand of starting pitchers in fantasy baseball (19:50). Sammy offers some advice as to where a lot of owners go wrong when drafting pitchers and offers some ways to out-game your competitors when it comes to finding pitching.

Scott later asks Sammy how he feels about a pair of Texas Rangers in Shin-Soo Choo and Joey Gallo (30:20).

Later, the guys wrap up the show discussing the strategic differences between DFS and seasonal fantasy leagues (35:10) and close out the podcast drafting their favorite things from the movie Rounders (38:50).

Please remember to rate, review and subscribe on your podcast provider of choice and send us your questions for future episodes on Twitter @YahooFantasy.

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Bay Area updates: A's pitching check-in and will the Giants buy or sell? Jul 22, 2019

Show notes

With the trade deadline fast approaching for both major league teams and fantasy teams, Scott Pianowski welcomes Bay Area native and Rotowire columnist Scott Jenstad to the show to update on the Giants and A's, two teams that could be active as they make their final playoff pushes.

Before they get to the NorCal teams, they first dip down to San Diego to chat about Manuel Margot, Wil Meyers and the crowded Padres outfield (2:30).

Next Pianow talks about his rough summer on the Kevin Gausman roller coaster and the guys discuss Gausman, Luke Jackson and the Atlanta Braves pitching staff (7:00).

In their first Bay Area stop, the Scotts chat about the San Francisco Giants and whether the suddenly .500 team should be buyers or sellers at the trade deadline (13:00).

Later, Pianow talks about late-season FAAB strategy as budgets tend to dwindle down and the curse of confirmation bias. (16:00)

Moving to the East Bay, the guys discuss the Oakland A's pitching staff as the team currently hanging onto the final wild card spot in the AL (26:45).

Finally, the two Scotts wrap up the show drafting overrated things (42:10).

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

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Trading season is upon us and solving the anomaly of starting pitching in the juiced ball era Jul 15, 2019

Show notes

The 2019 All-Star break is over, commemorating baseball's unofficial mid-way point and that means one thing for fantasy owners and real GMs alike: it's trading season.

Scott Pianowski invites Yahoo Sports' very own lead NFL connoisseur Frank Schwab to shed the pigskin for the day and talk some fantasy baseball before the football season kicks into full gear. They start the conversation with the major strategic differences between fantasy baseball and football and why baseball tends to reward more skilled owners (8:00).

Diving into the 2019 MLB season, Scott and Frank discuss their strategies at starting pitcher and how they've attempted to solve the position in this era of home run or bust (17:20).

Later, they try to find the upside in the roster of the recently flagging Milwaukee Brewers (24:55) and then discuss how they can better evaluate rookies who seem to be blowing up and becoming fantasy relevant at an alarming rate (27:45). They close out the baseball portion of the show breaking down the aforementioned trading season and what they're seeing in both the majors and in fantasy leagues (34:05).

To wrap up the show, Scott and Frank draft their favorite installments of 30 for 30 (45:05).

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

Check out the rest of the Yahoo Sports Podcast family at https://apple.co/2Abi8jk or at yahoosports.com/podcasts

See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

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