RotoWire Fantasy Baseball Podcast

Scott Jenstad and Jeff Erickson break down the weekend news and the FAAB results of the week. ---00:00 MLB Pod 4-27-2500:30 Player Talk / Week 5 Preview01:00 Aaron Judge is just ridiculous (.432 / .520 / .792 – 270 wRC+)05:00 Taylor Ward (Worst OBP in baseball at .215)09:30 Marcus Semien (.179 with 2 HR / 1 SB – Keep playing him?)12:20 How good is Hunter Brown?14:40 Best winning % in the AL? Seattle Mariners – 6 wins in a row.17:20 NL West is wild, Dodgers 7 Wins in a row, Padres 5 wins in a row.19:10 7 Gamers: AL: Royals, White Sox; NL: Dodgers, DBacks, Braves, Reds19:40 Rockies: Home all week: 3 Det, 3 SD20:20 Padres: 3 @ NYY, 3 @ Col; Braves: 4 v Cin, 3 @ Pitt; Dodgers: 3 @ Mia, 4 @ AZ20:50 News and notes21:00 Triston Casas – Likely out for the year with a ruptured patellar tendon21:55 Shota Imanaga – Left early Sunday, left hamstring strain while covering first.23:50 Corbin Burnes – Missing start Monday with right shoulder inflammation – Dbacks hope no IL.24:25 Tommy Edman – 10 Day IL with an ankle injury.25:20 Yordan Alvarez – Missed the weekend with inflammation in right hand, no imaging needed25:40 Anthony Volpe – Sat Sunday after feeling pop in shoulder, but x-rays / MRI clean26:15 - Isiah Kiner-Falefa – IL with a right hammy strain; Otto Lopez – 10 Day IL with right ankle sprain26:30 Clarke Schmidt – Scratched Saturday with left side soreness, scheduled to now start Tuesday27:10 Jackson Merrill – Trending towards return on Monday; Jake Cronenworth – Could return next weekend31:50 Pitcher FAAB32:00 Starters32:15 Tony Gonsolin35:20 Gunnar Hoglund37:00 A.J. Smith-Shawver39:30 Ben Casparius (70% ME)41:50 Lance McCullers, Jr (Not available in most leagues)43:00 Ryan Weathers45:00 Michael Soroka46:00 Hunter Dobbins47:00 Logan Evans47:30 Relievers48:15 Evan Phillips49:30 Shelby Miller / Kevin Ginkel52:00 Hitter FAAB52:15 Coby Mayo & Hyeseong Kim53:35 Javier Baez (46% ME); Jeff McNeil (65% ME); Miguel Vargas (90% ME, 11% 12)57:30 Brandon Marsh (44% ME)1:00:00 Others - Daniel Schneeman; JP Crawford (58% ME); Chase Meidroth (51% ME); Zach Dezenzo (54% ME); Colt Ketih (42% ME); Javier Sanoja; Alexander Canario; Jorbit Vivas; Eli White; Addison Barger; Jhonkeny Noel; Zack Gelof; Jordan Lawlar Stash? (39% ME); Matt Shaw? (81% ME, 21% 12); Connor Wong (75% ME, 26% 12) Get the latest fantasy sports insights, expert analysis, and premium tools at RotoWire.com—enter promo code ROTO15 at checkout to receive 15% off any product. 

Erik Halterman and Ryan Boyer go over their top waiver pickups of the week.---00:00 Headlines12:00 Shelby Miller16:50 Lucas Giolito19:40 Zach Agnos22:00 Lance McCullers24:30 Griffin Canning27:00 Luisangel Acuna29:00 Daulton Varsho30:30 Coby Mayo33:30 Sal Frelick36:55 Kyle Stowers40:00 Deep-league pitchers51:30 Deep-league hitters---Vivid SeatsSwing into the season with MLB tickets + unbeatable rewards from Vivid Seats! Take in all the on-field action from the first pitch to the final inning with a great selection of MLB tickets. Plus, as a Vivid Seats Rewards Member, you can earn amazing rewards all year long just for buying! So, sign up today and start earning toward your next purchase. Get the latest fantasy sports insights, expert analysis, and premium tools at RotoWire.com—enter promo code ROTO15 at checkout to receive 15% off any product. 

0:00 Intro/Rockies have won back-to-back games, don’t let them get hotPickups from the RotoWire Steak League on Thursday night:Andy Pages $20Shelby Miller $18Jordan Beck $15Steven Matz $59:38 Gunnar Hogland $4Javier Baez $3Lance McCullers $3Marcelo Mayer $114:05 Chris Martin $1Kevin Ginkel $0Zach Agnos (not added)19:03 Two-Start Pitchers (Week of May 5, 2025)Corbin Burnes 4 (Todd 3)Zac Gallen 4Luis Severino 3 (Todd 2)AJ Smith-Shawver 2Chris Sale 5Cade Povich 1Lucas Giolito 3Matthew Boyd 3Brady Singer 3Andrew Abbott 3Luis L. Ortiz 3Chase Dollander 1 (Todd 0)Shane Smith 3Sean Burke 2 (Todd 3)Jackson Jobe 2Ronel Blanco 2 (Todd 1)Cole Ragans 5Seth Lugo 4Tyler Anderson 138:57 Sandy Alcantara 1Tobias Myers 0Pablo Lopez 542:13 Griffin Canning 3Carlos Rodon 4Zack Wheeler 5Carmen Mlodzinski 0Michael King 4Bryce Miller 4Landen Roupp 1Drew Rasmussen 3Nathan Eovaldi 4Jose Berrios 3 Get the latest fantasy sports insights, expert analysis, and premium tools at RotoWire.com—enter promo code ROTO15 at checkout to receive 15% off any product. 

Erik Halterman is joined by Ryan Bloomfield of BaseballHQ to discuss a group of hitters who have improved in multiple different underlying metrics at once.---00:00 Intro02:00 Starting pitcher news08:20 Injury news16:05 Skillset 1, early hitters35:00 Skillset 1, late hitters53:10 Skillset 2, early hitters58:35 Skillset 2, late hitters---Vivid SeatsSwing into the season with MLB tickets + unbeatable rewards from Vivid Seats! Take in all the on-field action from the first pitch to the final inning with a great selection of MLB tickets. Plus, as a Vivid Seats Rewards Member, you can earn amazing rewards all year long just for buying! So, sign up today and start earning toward your next purchase. Get the latest fantasy sports insights, expert analysis, and premium tools at RotoWire.com—enter promo code ROTO15 at checkout to receive 15% off any product. 

James Anderson and Chris Welsh preview the rookie-level complex leagues that are about to get underway in Arizona, Florida and the Dominican Republic!Players discussed:Yolfran CastilloJD DixEmil MorlaesKale FountainPaulino SantanaJhonny LevelYairo PadillaRainiel RodriguezLuke DickersonJosuar De JesusYorger BautistaElian Pena+ Many more! Vivid SeatsSwing into the season with MLB tickets + unbeatable rewards from Vivid Seats! Take in all the on-field action from the first pitch to the final inning with a great selection of MLB tickets. Plus, as a Vivid Seats Rewards Member, you can earn amazing rewards all year long just for buying! So, sign up today and start earning toward your next purchase.Get tickets today!(hyperlink: https://www.vividseats.com/?wsUser=948) Get the latest fantasy sports insights, expert analysis, and premium tools at RotoWire.com—enter promo code ROTO15 at checkout to receive 15% off any product. 

Fred Zinkie and Jeff Erickson break down 10 polarizing closing situations, highlighted by Devin Williams losing the closer's job in New York.---00:00 Fred Pod 4-2900:30 Welcome01:00 10 Polarizing Closers01:30 Early Closers Draft Mistakes?03:45 Devin Williams10:15 Emmanuel Clase15:10 Raisel Iglesias17:30 Vivid Seats18:30 Edwin Diaz21:30 Ryan Helsley25:00 Carlos Estevez27:40 Ryan Walker / Camilo Doval31:38 BlueWire31:55 David Bednar / Dennis Santana34:20 Will Vest / Tommy Kahnle37:30 Luke Jackson43:30 Remaining Team-by-Team Rapid Fire43:45 NL East - Phillies, Nationals, Marlins45:45 AL East - Blue Jays, Red Sox, Orioles, Rays50:45 NL Central - Cubs, Reds, Brewers56:00 AL Central - Twins, White Sox59:20 NL West - Dodgers, Padres, Diamondbacks, Rockies1:03:10 AL West - Mariners, Athletics, Astros, Angels---Vivid SeatsSwing into the season with MLB tickets + unbeatable rewards from Vivid Seats! Take in all the on-field action from the first pitch to the final inning with a great selection of MLB tickets. Plus, as a Vivid Seats Rewards Member, you can earn amazing rewards all year long just for buying! So, sign up today and start earning toward your next purchase.Get tickets today!(hyperlink: https://www.vividseats.com/?wsUser=948) Get the latest fantasy sports insights, expert analysis, and premium tools at RotoWire.com—enter promo code ROTO15 at checkout to receive 15% off any product. 

Jeff Erickson and Scott Jenstad discuss the weekend in baseball and then jump into all the adds and drops in a busy week in FAAB, including massive bidding on Nick Kurtz and Agustin Ramirez. They also discuss all the shifting closing situations across the league and try and figure who to add in each one and also talk Orioles, Astros, Nick Lodolo, Tyler Glasnow and a whole lot more. Follow us on Twitter / X: @Jeff_Erickson I @ScottJenstad I @RotoWire Vivid SeatsSwing into the season with MLB tickets + unbeatable rewards from Vivid Seats! Take in all the on-field action from the first pitch to the final inning with a great selection of MLB tickets. Plus, as a Vivid Seats Rewards Member, you can earn amazing rewards all year long just for buying! So, sign up today and start earning toward your next purchase.Get tickets today! Get the latest fantasy sports insights, expert analysis, and premium tools at RotoWire.com—enter promo code ROTO15 at checkout to receive 15% off any product. 

Erik Halterman and guest Marty Tallman go over their top waiver pickups of the week.---00:00 Headlines16:30 Nick Kurtz22:15 Agustin Ramirez25:25 Rhys Hoskins28:50 Ranger Suarez31:30 Noelvi Marte35:30 Tony Gonsolin37:35 Andrew Vaughn39:20 Porter Hodge41:45 Connor Norby43:20 Cade Smith47:00 Josh Smith50:00 Deep-league pitchers1:02:30 Deep-league hitters---Vivid SeatsSwing into the season with MLB tickets + unbeatable rewards from Vivid Seats! Take in all the on-field action from the first pitch to the final inning with a great selection of MLB tickets. Plus, as a Vivid Seats Rewards Member, you can earn amazing rewards all year long just for buying! So, sign up today and start earning toward your next purchase. Get the latest fantasy sports insights, expert analysis, and premium tools at RotoWire.com—enter promo code ROTO15 at checkout to receive 15% off any product. 

Swing into the season with MLB tickets + unbeatable rewards from Vivid Seats! Take in all the on-field action from the first pitch to the final inning with a great selection of MLB tickets. Plus, as a Vivid Seats Rewards Member, you can earn amazing rewards all year long just for buying! So, sign up today and start earning toward your next purchase.Get tickets today!0:00 Intro/Night of returnsPickups from the RotoWire Steak League on Thursday night:3:02 Chandler Simpson $34Hunter Goodman $14David Bednar $12Ryan Gusto $12Jake Irvin $12Nolan Gorman $7J.T. Ginn $6Agustin Ramirez $5Jeff McNeil $4Will Vest $4Emerson Hancock $212:29 Joe Boyle $120:25 Two-Start Pitchers (Week of April 28, 2025)Eduardo Rodriguez 3J.P. Sears 2J.T. Ginn 1AJ Smith-Shawver 0Tomoyuki Sugano 2Garrett Crochet 5Shota Imanaga 5Nick Martinez 1Brady Singer 3Tanner Bibee 330:13 Luis L. Ortiz 2German Marquez 0Bryse Wilson 0Jack Flaherty 4Reese Olson 3Cole Ragans 5Jack Kochanowicz 1Edward Cabrera 0Freddy Peralta 5Bailey Ober 3Chris Paddack 043:38 Griffin Canning 3David Peterson 2Will Warren 2 (Todd 1)Andrew Heaney 2 (Todd 3)Nick Pivetta 5Logan Webb 5Andre Pallante 1Taj Bradley 3Patrick Corbin 0Jacob deGrom 5 (Todd 4)Bowden Francis 3Trevor Williams 0 Get the latest fantasy sports insights, expert analysis, and premium tools at RotoWire.com—enter promo code ROTO15 at checkout to receive 15% off any product. 

Erik Halterman is joined by Scott Chu of Pitcher List to discuss a handful of struggling hitters, trying to figure out which cold starts are genuinely worrying and which have presented buy-low opportunities.---00:00 Intro02:15 Injured Closers05:45 Other Headlines20:00 Juan Soto23:45 Gunnar Henderson27:55 Vladimir Guerrero Jr.32:35 Julio Rodriguez36:35 Yordan Alvarez40:45 Trea Turner43:00 Rafael Devers46:40 Mid-round Cs50:35 Mid-round 1Bs56:15 Mid-round 2Bs59:40 Mid-round 3Bs1:02:40 Mid-round SSs1:06:10 Mid-round OFs---Vivid SeatsSwing into the season with MLB tickets + unbeatable rewards from Vivid Seats! Take in all the on-field action from the first pitch to the final inning with a great selection of MLB tickets. Plus, as a Vivid Seats Rewards Member, you can earn amazing rewards all year long just for buying! So, sign up today and start earning toward your next purchase. Get the latest fantasy sports insights, expert analysis, and premium tools at RotoWire.com—enter promo code ROTO15 at checkout to receive 15% off any product.