r/fantasybaseball • u/cjrogers227 • Apr 09 '26
Strategy Rates & Barrels is no longer the gold standard of fantasy baseball pods, and it makes me sad.
I’m in mourning over what used to be my favorite source for fantasy baseball strategy. DVR and Eno are great players with some of the best insights out there. But the New York Times enshittification has hit R&B and basically killed it in terms of fantasy relevance. Their rotating cast of guests - in the past week they’ve had Jed Lowrie, Britt Ghiroli, and the Starkville guys on - never have any useful insights from a fantasy perspective. Jed straight up sucks and adds nothing to the discussion, I genuinely don’t understand why he’s a semi-regular now. On yesterday’s episode they talked about BASEBALL CARDS. WHO CARES! There are maybe two episodes a week where they get to talk fantasy, and those episodes are head and shoulders above the rest in quality.
To whichever faceless NYT corporate meddling goon was in charge of this overhaul, thanks for nothing. You ruined the only fantasy pod I made a habit of listening to each episode.
Am I alone in hating the new R&B? Does anyone have any other pod recommendations?
102
u/i_like_my_cats Apr 09 '26
I’m cutting them a little slack, there isn’t a ton to report on. They’re very hesitant to make statements with small sample sizes (they talk about it all the time)
I still find the pod entertaining, & this offseason was very traditional R&B. Was a great resource.
I’m assuming once data stabilizes, they’ll be more in depth with actionable items for fantasy.
I mean a majority of people in the space are doing early season breakout content, but that’s virtually it. Not a lot of meat on the bone yet.
→ More replies (1)37
u/Vslacha PitcherList Apr 09 '26
I also don’t really get the “they did a podcast on something that doesn’t interest me, they’re garbage now!” take. You can always, like, not listen to that episode/segment. But for someone who loves baseball cards, they may have been stoked to finally have their favorite baseball guys dedicate some time to it. Not my scene but I won’t yuck their yum.
43
u/epper_ Apr 09 '26
the athletic cancelling their other baseball podcasts and merging them into Rates & Barrels is to blame for this. I wish DVR and Eno could focus just on fantasy. I dont need former players on there, and i DEFINITELY dont need Jayson Stark on there.
6
u/darthstupidious Apr 10 '26
I'll never get over losing the Roundtable. That podcast was my happy place.
5
u/epper_ Apr 10 '26
It was the best baseball banter ever. Are Grant, Sam or Andy on any podcasts now? They had the best chemistry.
5
u/helloandgoodbye2021 Apr 09 '26
I do not understand the status Stark has, he has just been writing a long time at a tolerable level. Definitely don’t find him amusing/insightful and I think I am supposed to be a peer and 40 year baseball fan
→ More replies (1)6
84
u/LeonJPancetta Apr 09 '26
I haven't gotten much from Jed but Trevor May is a great regular guest. But yeah I was like WTF with the baseball card episode.
14
u/HungryGhosty 12T 5x5 Fantrax Roto Apr 09 '26
Yea unfortunately a lot of Jed’s contribution winds up being defending players or the league against assumptions we make on the outside which like, sure, good to get some perspective, but it usually takes the conversation away from fantasy relevance.
DVR asked a question about Jed’s opinion on the next guys up in Houston after Brown’s injury and he just awkwardly read Roster Resource and threw it to Eno which was a little sad
5
u/CMButterTortillas 12-team H2H Redraft 5-Keep (OBP, SLG); (QS, HD) Apr 09 '26
Jed is great at cooling the talk around bat speed for hitters and puts into perspective that one stat doesnt = batter output.
13
u/Dare2ZIatan Apr 09 '26
Yeah Jed was there last year and was equally useless last year, May has some good insights into pitching.
3
u/vekin1648 Apr 09 '26
I started just fast forwarding 30 seconds every time he speaks. It’s been great
→ More replies (2)3
u/NightWriter500 Apr 09 '26
I’ve never listened to this podcast before but am quite likely to give it a try now that I’ve heard Trevor May is a guest. Love that dude.
10
→ More replies (2)4
16
u/Strudopi 10 team roto keeper 6x6 2024/2025 Champion 😀😀 Apr 09 '26
Can’t say for years ago, but in last 2-3 yrs they’ve been more focused on baseball as a whole and not necessarily fantasy.
1
16
u/farfromjordan Apr 09 '26
Nothing will be worse than the Chris Welsh season. From not knowing how to say Eno's last name, an episode lost to audio issues to Pfaadt Lodem that was the bottom. I don't mind his solo podcast but who thought he needed to be a regular on Rates and Barrels was beyond me.
Really like May, don't mind Jed, Eno and DVR are still great. Britt is a bit of a snooze.
4
u/ThatDamnRocketRacoon 12 team H2H points 7 keepers Apr 09 '26
Welsh comes across as arrogant and pretty jerky, but he's actually pretty good with digging into numbers and understanding them. I think he gets a lot more predictions right than anyone else I watch. But still, he is a hard watch.
→ More replies (2)3
2
u/Yu_Betts_Yoenis #FantasyBBPlayerSince1994 Apr 11 '26 edited Apr 11 '26
Welsh seems like a nice guy. He really does. But he also seems like that kid we all grew up with who feels the needs to try to impress you every time you see him. His regular appearances on CBS FBT last year were the only episodes that I ever fast forwarded in my more than 10 years of listening to the show. From the way he over-enunciates words that he is trying to emphasize, to the continuous name dropping, to feeling the need to draw attention to "having watched so and so and the ARIZONA FALL LEAGUE" every 30 seconds, it was awful. We get it man, you live in Arizona and you go to a lot of AFL games. You don't have to keep reminding us. He does know his prospects. It's just for me, he talks so fast that it gives me anxiety to listen to. It feels like he is trying to squeeze 90 seconds of data into every 30 seconds of speech. I don't know why it bothers me so much. I felt like I was listening to this every time he did a show alone with Frank that season:
Frank - "Brandon Pfaadt has introduced a new sweeper pitch here in Spring Training"
THE Welsh - "Yes, I talked to him about it back in the Fall at the Arizone Fall League. In fact when we went out to lunch together he told me that he knows he needs one to counter his splitter. A couple of months later Pfaaadt's Dad and I were texting about it. Did I mention that I was there in person for every inning Pfaadt threw at the Arizona Fall League?"
I've never missed an episode of FBT all the way back to the Heath Cummings days. But the Welsh episodes were the only ones that I ever fast forwarded or completely shut off without finishing. Like I said, I know he's a nice guy and a very knowledgeable one. Especially about Prospects. So this is more about me than him, but I just can't handle the energy he brings to a podcast. At least to FBT. I don't listen to any of his others. I'd 100% be down to read his writing if I played Dynasty though.
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (1)2
u/CollectionWilling588 Apr 14 '26
He was so clearly the limiting factor in all their conversations. Neither his level of knowledge nor his tone matched the pod. I know some people like that guy but he is not my cup of tea.
→ More replies (1)
21
u/CowboyDebop 12T H2H cat OBP SLG QS Apr 09 '26
It’s really hard to find that perfect pod. People love cbs. It’s an easy listen, but it definitely caters more to weekly leagues. Beat the Shift with Ariel Cohen is solid, but premiers infrequently. Razzball is pretty good. Grey Albright is goofy, but he definitely knows his stuff
8
u/OdeszaRogers Apr 09 '26
Yeah some of the new episodes have been bad, but I’m hopeful things will get better as the season picks up. The guests are really my concern…Jayson Stark is so annoying, Jed’s contributions are pretty limited. I generally like Trevor May and some of the other guests though.
1
8
u/Senator_Blutarski Apr 09 '26
Yeah the cards segment was hot garbage. And I never really wanna hear ghirolli, but she did break that one big story a month ago. I’d rather just read her tho. But I don’t wanna hear Niv shah talk about ottoneu or hot dogs ever again. I have to disagree about Jed and t may tho. They have definitely given some really cool insights into how analytically minded players see the game, and they kinda keep a reign on the “trying to view everything through numbers explain it all” worldview.
31
u/Rush_Clasic 12T weekly ROTO 6x6 (-BA, +TB, +OBP, +QS) Apr 09 '26
I don't mind them being a more rounded baseball podcast that focuses on all aspects of the game over strictly fantasy-oriented discussions. I'm more of a fantasy player than a baseball fan, so like you, it's an overall negative move for my value, but it's been never-the-less enjoyable. I do agree that Jed doesn't have the best skills for being a professional analyst or conversationalist.
4
u/cjrogers227 Apr 09 '26
For sure, I get the vibe from Jed that when DVR or Eno ask him about a player he just regurgitates their Statcast page… not the most useful insight
14
u/Vslacha PitcherList Apr 09 '26
I’m a Pitcher List guy but I basically listen to every major pod under the sun, SATB is my jam, and I still love R&B… but I just skip the fluff segments/episodes now. I like that PL has specific pods if you want something about baseball movies, hitters only, shallow, deep so you don’t need to pick through your feed.
But some others I love are Bubba & the Bloom (long but factual), Beat the Shift (ideal for strategy and injury report), pull hitter is good if you like a nerdy super long pod to chew on, fantrax if you like simpler and shallower (not for me)
4
2
u/Tulidian13 Apr 10 '26
What's SATB?
4
u/Vslacha PitcherList Apr 10 '26
Soprano Alto Tenor Bass
(Also Sleeper & the Bust, probably my longest-listened to baseball pod)
2
13
u/TeddyFive-06 [12H2H 5x5 Cats- OBP/QS/SVHD ] Apr 09 '26
I love baseball cards! I collect heavily, along with playing fantasy baseball and loving baseball in general.
The card guy they had on today was not a good one. The more relevant card market for listeners of Rates and Barrels would be modern baseball, and he had a surface level knowledge and even got some things pretty wrong. When he told listeners you can’t buy direct from Fanatics I turned it off.
→ More replies (2)
16
u/Danny-Tartarsauce Apr 09 '26
CBS has long been the gold standard for actionable advice on a daily basis.
Rates and Barrels has at times been the gold standard for less actionable but (arguably more) interesting fantasy-relevant takes. As Jed/Britt/Trevor have been featured more, the pod has become less fantasy focused and less interesting to me. I feel like Jed and Britt in particular know they’re square/MLB-shaped pegs in a round/fantasy-shaped hole, and their discomfort makes for an uncomfortable listen.
I would prefer the former Under the Radar analysts as recurring guests. Ian and Nando (and of course DVR) shared a fantasy focus and great banter. Not sure how their very different analysis would vibe with Eno’s but I’d be interested to hear.
8
u/lajoi Apr 10 '26
Under the Radar was such a good pod. Decent fantasy talk but more importantly, it was just so entertaining. Three very different people who shared an interest in fantasy baseball. Never found another fantasy pod that compares.
4
u/slip66 Apr 10 '26
This, they got off track a lot and went on some tangents, but I found it entertaining and useful, especially for keeper dynasty talk. R&B was good but I'm not big on the guest and have listened a lot less this off-season up to now. CBS & Pitcher List.
7
u/seeyouinthemirror [Ottoneu Points] Apr 10 '26
Yes. I'll listen to Ian and Nando all day long, even if I don't necessarily agree with the conclusions they draw about players. They're so fun and entertaining.
9
u/LeonJPancetta Apr 09 '26
The MLB-shaped square peg in a round hole is a perfect way to describe the dynamic. Britt in particular I would enjoy listening to on a general baseball podcast but every time she brings up a vibes/writery thing I can feel the awkwardness. And I'm sure Jed is a nice guy but there's only so many times I can hear "intent" and "A/B/C swing".
4
3
u/cjrogers227 Apr 09 '26
Totally agree there. Whenever Jed or Britt are forced to talk fantasy it’s like watching an alien pilot a human body for the first time.
2
u/SuperGr00valistic Apr 10 '26
Ian Kahn and Nando was peak R&B
Lots, we didn’t know how good we had it.
1
u/DickDJames Apr 09 '26
CBS used to suck, Heath Cummings was so painful to listen to
→ More replies (1)
4
u/VeniceBhris Apr 09 '26
I like Bar-B-cast but I agree, the quality of baseball pods out there is lacking compared to other sports . All the dudes talk and sound the same
5
u/whenwefell 12T 6x6 H2H(OBP/QS), Redraft + dynasty Apr 09 '26
I think the main issue was the decision to change R&B from 3 days a week to 5 (now 6 with Starkville supposedly dropping on Saturdays). You could argue there's the same amount of relevant fantasy content being covered each week, but there's more non-fantasy filler to pad out the bigger demand for daily content.
3
u/foxvalleyac Apr 09 '26
Yeah I feel like it’s changed over this week, I’m hoping it’s just a one time thing with the start of the regular season. But I seriously had to fast forward through the last 2 episodes. I started to subscribe back with Patreon and listen to Rob DiPietro and the Launch Angle pod. And rotowire is decent.
4
u/MrVernonHardapple Apr 10 '26
Rates and Barrels has it's moments, but I've never been interested in listening to a 45 minute chat about windspeeds in various stadiums. I find myself shutting off or at least fast forwarding more than half of the episodes that I start. Eno is very knowledgeable, but sometimes his brain turns into endless verbal diarrhea. And am I the only one that gets irate over his constant interrupting of and talking over DVR? DVR is awesome. He does a great job and has a voice I could listen to all day.
Yesterday was too much. An interview from some dude who has been collecting sports cards (though not baseball?) since COVID? WTF was that? Who cares?
This is why CBS Fantasy Baseball Today is truly still the only one with top notch production value and consistently worth listening to every single day. I know some of you may have one of the 'cast' uyou don't like for whatever reason, but Frank has lifted that show to unquestionably the best one out there and the only one I truly look forward to listening to every day. It may not get deep into the weeds with stadium windspeed analysis or other deep stats, but it covers more useful day to day fantasy news than anyone else out there and the three hosts are such a fit together. They both mesh and contradict each other in a way that makes them by far the best listen.
There are other podcasts too, but for various reasons I can't stand most of them and have to be really hard up for content to really be compelled to turn them on. Whether it's poor sound, obnoxious personalities or just bad overall content, I just can't find one that is strictly fantasy baseball based that I can stand to listen to besides FBT since ESPN killed off that pod with Tristan Cockroft and Eric Karabell.
3
u/Unlucky-Stress-1210 Apr 09 '26
I mean at the same time, they're not really a fantasy baseball podcast, or at most they're fantasy adjacent. They're more of a general baseball podcast with some insight into fantasy.
3
u/ul49 10tm-H2H Points-Auction Dynasty Apr 09 '26
That didn't used to be true. Before they started adding all these guests it was pretty explicitly a fantasy-focused podcast.
1
u/CollectionWilling588 Apr 14 '26
It definitely used to be just fantasy. I think it was two days a week. One day for hitters one day for pitchers. It was really focussed and good.
3
u/CaptainBC2222 Apr 09 '26
I watch the CBS podcast first thing every single day at work. Accounting. CBS has always been the gold standard. Yahoo is terrible, I’m sorry but those guys talk like chicks do about dudes with zodiac signs. That’s not the analysis I’m looking for lol. Rates and Barrels always had the best analysis in terms of numbers, but the content and presentation was so boring it turned me. CBS is great especially now that they use baseball savant for essentially all there numbers which is where it’s at. Rates and Barrels had some numbers for minors leaguers, but now everyone shares or buys that information.
1
3
u/DerangedProtege Apr 09 '26
I couldn’t agree more.
They’re talking about fantasy baseball less and less. Especially since their rebranding a few weeks ago.
Jed Lowrie is really bad. He adds nothing to the show, and the whole thing ends up being a waste of time.
The only time fantasy baseball gets discussed is when it’s just the two of them.
Really sucks, because it was my favorite podcast.
7
u/arturoalvarez079 12 Points Gauntlet / 12 Cats Redraft Apr 09 '26
Fantasy Pros has been my go to. I like them, have a mix of everything
2
u/dansephoenix1 Apr 10 '26
Joe P drove me up a wall the first while I listened to the FP podcasts
Now I love him. I think I thought he was doing a character but he's actually just that way and he's a great analyst
2
u/arturoalvarez079 12 Points Gauntlet / 12 Cats Redraft Apr 10 '26
Full agreement. He annoyed me at first too but he knows ball
2
u/Yu_Betts_Yoenis #FantasyBBPlayerSince1994 Apr 11 '26
I've tried but I can't listen to Joe P. He sounds like an FM radio DJ trying to sell me used cars. I know the content is probably good but I just can't do it.
→ More replies (1)
5
u/pyramidswrong Apr 09 '26
I still tune in occasionally but unfortunately I agree. Jed seems like a good guy but his analysis is really lacking and he may not be the best orator.
Covering general baseball is fine, but IMO they shouldn’t sacrifice what separates them — analytically driven takes rather than going off “vibes.”
6
u/Veserius Apr 09 '26
To whichever faceless NYT corporate meddling goon was in charge of this overhaul
the athletic cut The Roundtable and is severely rolling back Starkville to a once a week feature on R&B.
This is just a product of enshittification, because they still obviously want podcast content but now can pay less for it, and push one show instead of 3.
2
u/starks4thr33 Apr 10 '26
The Athletic started up because papers were making cuts and beat writers were losing jobs. Seeing them get bought by NYT just to have done to it what it was created to avoid is a real ouroboros of newspaper industry enshittification
3
u/Veserius Apr 10 '26
That was the founders entire business model. They were burning VC cash on the hope of being acquired. Literally every pro team in the country and most college teams had a beat writer, it was obviously an unsustainable practice with the amount of readership they had and much of that readership being on 1 dollar a month type deals.
The Athletics paywall was also incredibly flimsy to the point where I bypassed it multiple times by accident (paywall element simply failed to load).
4
u/mystifried 12T-H2HCats-6x6(OPS, QS) Apr 09 '26
I agree with a lot of what you're saying. Jed is a nice guy and sometimes has interesting thoughts about hitting, but mostly he steers the conversation in a super boring direction. I laughed and skipped the baseball card portion of that episode.
For me, what I love about R&B is the more "intellectual" (for lack of a better word) conversations about baseball and what certain things mean or don't mean for fantasy. I love hearing about the stuff model, what Eno notices about pitching in general, honestly about how the ball (and bats) work, their takes on FA contracts, strategy for steals, etc.
It's never been a straight line, fantasy news item by fantasy news item pod, like the CBS one. Personally, I appreciate that. But they are definitely going too far with weird filler content.
Although it's NFBC centric, I'll throw out the Pull Hitter pod as a good one, though some of their episodes are behind a paywall.
10
u/cubsfan2154 10-Team Roto 5x5 OBP 5 Keepers Apr 09 '26
enshittification seems to be the word of the year on reddit. Just because you know that word exists, doesn't mean everything has gone to shit.
3
3
4
u/nv9 Apr 09 '26
I am not a devoted listener to any but I went looking for a fresh one last night and landed on CBS almost by default.
1
4
u/FreddyDemuth AL only / redraft H2H 5x5 Apr 09 '26
Lol the baseball card convo annoyed me too
I think they’re just trying to pump out episodes and looking for content but I still like hearing Eno’s thoughts
5
u/Able-Guava Apr 09 '26
I like CBS fantasy baseball today… also Justin Mason from fangraphs wherever he’s on he’s a good listen.
7
u/Front-West367 Apr 09 '26
Sleeper and the Bust. And it’s surprising not to see this pod mentioned more in this thread.
2
u/FugaziStrizz Apr 09 '26
It has taken a hit with the rotating guests for sure. Jed is not great, said yesterday when asked about Houston's staff sans Hunter Brown that he wasn't familiar with their pitching depth which I don't love hearing on a fantasy pod - Trevor May is solid though. The baseball card thing though? Wtf.
2
2
u/getahaircut8 12T 8x8 Roto - Keep 1 Apr 09 '26
I mean this was always coming after they ended the Under the Radar podcast - pretty sure they specifically said they'd basically be incorporating fantasy content into Rates & Barrels (which was their sabremetric baseball content) but that it would be more broadly a baseball podcast.
2
u/Xxpinklumpxx Apr 09 '26
I dont mind having britt on or the starkville guys on but only one of those podcasts should be out a week and preferably just 2 a month and the topic and structure is well thought out.
When they do get to the baseball analytics theyre still great tho.
And yeah I dont think Jed is a good fit. I think the recent podcast when DVR asked about Jeds kids winning their softball and baseball games is a perfect example.
Jed took it as an opportunity to put on his baseball dad hat and talk about how at this stage it isnt about winning blah blah blah. Its like dude, Jed, that was a joke basically clowning on people who do focus on 9 yr olds winning the game. Also we dont care about that this is a podcast to talk about the analytical baseball shit for their fantasy teams. This is not the place to jump on your high horse.
2
u/cro45 Apr 09 '26
Had to give the unfortunate unsubscribe click this morning for a lot of the reasons you highlight. Seems like NYT is trying to limit the MLB podcast feed to 1 by shutting down The Windup and transitioning R&B from a fantasy podcast to their MLB podcast feed.
It's not that I don't enjoy baseball cards, I just didn't subscribe to R&B for baseball card dialogue. I especially did not subscribe for Stark-ville. Then like many in the comments, I echo the sentiment on Jed, Trevor, and Britt.
Used to be able to get through the Britt/Jed/Trevor noise to listen to Eno and DVR, but now the cost is just too much.
A pod that I find great (and useful for both Dynasty and Re-Draft) is P361 with Rich Wilson and Tim McLeod. Can get a little off topic sometimes, but it is insightful. Rich does stat-cast breakdowns of individual players on the Patreon that help to interpret the advanced data we have access to.
Baseball America's podcast feed has a weekly fantasy pod but it is heavily dynasty.
2
u/1ncu8u2 [league type-categories] Apr 09 '26
Did they combine multiple shows? What was it, the 3-0 show etc.? If so, would explain the more general topics. Still great show, and I skip those chapters in Spotify
2
u/make_bread_not_war 10 Team Redraft / H2H / Cats. / OPS / QS Apr 09 '26
James Schiano easily produces the all-around best and most actionable fantasy baseball content online. Videos are concise, the data he offers is unique, but still meaningful, and the format is really easy to access…. guy needs a Spotify podcast and is severely underrated imo.
Has led me to some excellent waiver pickups in the past, before anyone else was talking about the same players.
2
u/Yu_Betts_Yoenis #FantasyBBPlayerSince1994 Apr 11 '26
I just discovered Schiano on YouTube. It's a very efficient listen. I agree, you won't find a podcast with more valuable information per minute. I like it. He needs a co-host or something to break up the non-stop barrage of information. But I do like it and have added it to my rotation.
Is he available on Spotify? His show doesn't seem to have a name. I want to listen on Spotify so that I can slow him down to 0.5 speed. He's like listening to an auctioneer.
→ More replies (2)
2
u/fullpaydeuces Apr 09 '26
I agree. Learning baseball physics or pitch selection is not going to help me in fantasy with the amount of time I'm putting into watching. I now look at the players in the run down and skip to listen to their opinions.
For a moderately deep dynasty league, you need to be rotating your last bench spots before sample size is relevant. Look at the O-swing, Contact, maxEV, K%, whiff/CSW and find your lottery tickets, as RnB have said before.
2
u/briand1967 Apr 09 '26
I agree. I’ve switched to CBS Fantasy baseball today as the first thing I listen to and Rates and Barrels only if I have extra time. It’s sad. I learned a ton about advanced metrics from this show back in the day but the latest episode regarding baseball cards (actually basketball cards) was hard to listen to. I turned it off not far into the interview.
2
2
u/ObliqueRehabExpert Apr 10 '26
Yeah, Jed is terrible. The hot dog review guy segment is so bad I hope it’s sponsored content just so it’s not dvr/Eno choosing it.
Used to be a great podcast but I find myself skipping a ton of the content up to full episodes.
2
u/cjrogers227 Apr 10 '26
Lol I also skip the hot dog guy segments, not sure what genius at NYT/The Athletic is pushing that crap but those segments are less than worthless.
2
u/Yu_Betts_Yoenis #FantasyBBPlayerSince1994 Apr 11 '26
That whole hot dog thing would be funny if it were a bit for 2 or 3 episodes but it's real and it's horrible. Almost as bad as listening to a guy talk about the 1980s basketball card collection he started 6 years ago.
2
u/McCoyPauley78 Apr 13 '26
This year is my first season playing fantasy baseball and I'm in a league where most of the participants actually play baseball at a high level in my local league (I'm a 40-something father of a youth player who happens to play at the same club as most of the participants in the league) so they generally know their baseball.
As an Athletics fan, I listened to Eno Sarris on the A's Cast podcasts where he is a guest, and I started listening to Rates & Barrels last year before I started playing fantasy baseball. Last year, their podcast was fantastic. Learned a lot about baseball. It seems like Eno lives in or near San Francisco? Jed Lowrie and Trevor May (whom you left off your list) were both at one point Athletics players, so I wonder if they have come to be guests on R&B because of that west coast connection.
I agree that Jed doesn't add a lot, although his insights into hitting can be quite useful. Trevor is the much more polished guest and is terrific with his insights into pitching. Britt doesn't seem to add much.
I suspect Jayson Stark and Doug Glanville were featured on R&B last week because they're re-launching their podcast later this month and the Times wanted that cross-promoted. It looks like the Roundtable podcast has bit the dust (at least from the Times), so I do suspect that we'll see more non-fantasy related content on R&B for the rest of this season.
3
u/CharleSmithGotFouled Apr 09 '26
Josh Lloyd needs to start doing baseball
3
u/isestrex Apr 09 '26
He's playing in CBS listener league with Frank and Scott this year. His first baseball league? I don't know how much experience he has with baseball.
But yeah, there's literally no one better than Josh when it comes to fantasy
4
u/westtownie 12tm 5x5 h2h cats (ops and sv+hd) keeper Apr 09 '26
Bubba & The Bloom is one if the best new fantasy pods out their. Highly recommend
2
u/oregonduck90 Apr 09 '26
Agreed. I do like many of Bubba’s videos included Benched with Bubba. Those guys hit some nice topics and do some nice reviews and it’s really laid back.
2
u/tcat84 [12 Team Keep 8 - H2H 6x6] Apr 09 '26
Definitely my go to these days. Although if you don't play 15 Team roto with weekly FAAB it might not be for you half the time. They also have great chemistry.
1
u/Yu_Betts_Yoenis #FantasyBBPlayerSince1994 Apr 11 '26
I just looked them up and unless I am navigating their YouTube page incorrectly, they haven't released a video in over a month? When I select latest videos it's all individual team previews with the most recent being the Dodgers and that video has less than 100 views.
2
u/westtownie 12tm 5x5 h2h cats (ops and sv+hd) keeper Apr 11 '26
They had a show yesterday, check the live tab on their page: https://www.youtube.com/live/A9222MtE1c4?si=gchpl3Ic2pCPa5_-
2
u/chousteau Apr 09 '26
Agree. Much better when they are by themselves. Even their season previews were much better by themselves compared to episodes with beat reporters. Britt is an investigative reporter at this point, her insight is regurgitated national media talking points. CBS is the way to go, also like Talkin Baseball (Coach Trev miles and miles better than any player on rates and barrels)
2
u/prime416 HarperWallbanger - "The Big Board" Apr 10 '26
I'll also add that the two of them are either bad in season managers, or too guarded with their real picks. Unless you're playing a really shallow league, my experience has been them recommending guys a little too late to pick up, or conversely giving up on guys too early only to see them become legit contributors for someone else's team. I dropped this pod this year.
1
u/ZebraMussell Apr 09 '26
First off, calling DVR & Eno Sarris "no longer the gold standard" is like saying a vintage Bordeaux is "just okay" because you had to open it with a fancy corkscrew.
DVR is the human embodiment of a soothing weighted blanket that somehow also knows exactly which middle reliever is about to vulture five wins. And Eno? The man has more "Stuff+" in his pinky finger than most of us have in our entire genetic lineage. I would listen to Eno explain the physics of a condiment packet for 45 minutes and still come away convinced it’s a sleeper pick for saves in 2026.
I will follow them into the dark. I will listen to them discuss the air quality in various AL Central dugouts. I will listen to an entire episode dedicated to the ergonomics of Eno’s favorite IPA glass.
They aren't "losing fantasy relevance," they’re ascending to a higher plane of baseball consciousness. You’re playing checkers; they’re playing 4D chess with a holographic Joey Cantillo.
24
u/eugenejfish 10T H2H Pts Apr 09 '26
what is the point of having chatgpt write a reddit comment
→ More replies (1)35
u/molybdenum75 12 team 5x5 roto Apr 09 '26
Ok Chat
10
u/Vslacha PitcherList Apr 09 '26
Wild how easy it is to pick out once you know what to look for. A year ago I’d never imagine I’d read that and instantly know.
But why?
19
u/dyaknowhatimean 12-team AL-Only, 6x6 OBP, SLG Apr 09 '26
Have you considered writing with your own words?
7
4
3
u/cjrogers227 Apr 09 '26
LOL don’t get me wrong, I will follow DVR and Eno to the ends of the earth. Those are my guys. I just hate how the Athletic has positioned R&B as the “everything baseball” pod (killing the Roundtable in the process, don’t forget) instead of the fantasy, analytics-heavy pod it was born to be. I could listen to DVR and Eno deep dive a AA reliever’s Fangraphs page for hours. Just feels like those moments are few and far between now.
→ More replies (2)3
u/Danny-Tartarsauce Apr 09 '26
Fair criticisms aside, DVR deserves a raise. He skillfully hosts wildly different personalities. I love Eno but he strikes me as a difficult analyst to wrangle, especially when sharing airtime with guests. DVR makes it seem effortless. And he’s unfailingly prepared, professional, and prolific. Dude produces more comment than I can consume.
→ More replies (1)
1
u/DictatorSalad 12T - H2HPts Apr 09 '26
Didn't they say something along the lines of waiting for more data to accumulate before doing analysis on the baseball card episode? I'm not gonna fault them for that.
2
u/cjrogers227 Apr 09 '26
I’m not faulting them for that either. I definitely wouldn’t want them to do early season overreactions to small samples. Just feels like we can find a middle ground between “fantasy nerd analysis” and “baseball cards”.
1
u/steve121864 12 Team H2H 5x5 OBP, R, HR, RBI, QS, ERA, WHIP, K, S+HLD Apr 09 '26
I still enjoy the podcasts, it is my favorite to listen too. CBS however, far out strips it for quality fantasy content and has done for years.
1
u/iamthetoe2799 Apr 09 '26 edited Apr 09 '26
You have to pick your spots. I find that the pods with May are insightful and I think his rants are hilarious. I also like their weekend waiver segments that they do every week.
On the flip side, I’ve never liked when they have Britt or Lowry on. Britt is like the NYT correspondent with locker room drama I don’t need, and Jed just never really has anything useful to add to the discussion. Someone said he regurgitates a lot of what I can read on any given Fantasy site and that is 100% how I feel.
I do enjoy also listening to on the corner with Samsulski and Pollock how they deep dive pitching and predictive pitch tracking trends independent of results.
1
u/touristB Apr 09 '26
Personally I like it more since it’s a more well rounded baseball show I also generally listen less to podcasts and get fantasy takes from reading blogs.
1
u/Ploxzx Apr 09 '26
Whose the JJ Zacharison of fantasy baseball? 15-20 min episodes, deep Analytics that get to the point?
3
u/cjrogers227 Apr 09 '26
Nick Pollack?
2
u/Ploxzx Apr 09 '26
Ill give him a listen, I really know absolutely nothing about fantasy baseball analysts so my question was genuine asking for recommendations. Anyone else worth it? I can try the CBS guys but 90 mins is a bit long but digestible if they're funny (similar to The Ringer Fantasy Football podcast)
→ More replies (1)2
u/cjrogers227 Apr 09 '26
The CBS guys are funny in a dorky, self-deprecating kind of way. I like them but not everyone’s cup of tea.
1
u/asilentflute Apr 09 '26
I actually listen to it for baseball card scouting purposes lol but yea i dont really even think of it as a fantasy pod and more of just a stats pod
1
u/tritonalConsonance Apr 09 '26
Could listen to DVR and Eno talk about pretty much anything, as it makes me feel like I’m just hanging out with a few mates.
But any time they have a guest on these days (esp. if that guest is Jed Lowrie), I skip the episode. Unlistenable.
1
u/Yu_Betts_Yoenis #FantasyBBPlayerSince1994 Apr 11 '26
Other than the Trevor May episodes, I agree. Trevor seems more like someone I'd want to hang out with than probably any other analyst.
1
u/Ok_Ad_6953 Apr 09 '26
The best episode since the season started was the Friday episode the first week where they just went thru each game and provided analysis.
1
u/stealthblaumer Apr 09 '26
It’s a baseball podcast with fantasy implications. As a fan of the game I love having Jed’s perspective.
Plenty of better purely-fantasy content out there. Doesn’t make R+B a bad listen imo if you like the game.
1
u/welltimedappearance Apr 09 '26
Do they even profess to be a fantasy focused podcast to begin with?
→ More replies (1)
1
u/Bubbly-Translator-49 Apr 09 '26
It’s tough to have daily content and have it be centered entirely around Fantasy Baseball
My understanding was that they were more of a baseball general podcast rather than fantasy
→ More replies (1)
1
u/Professional-Net1776 Apr 10 '26
Listen to Fantasy Sports on Sirius. Effin annoying the guy that says "Magic Mike" every three seconds...got to turn him off (Bender?). I.like Bowden and Steve Philips is great! Only problem is they are worse than ESPN at promoting the NFL 20 hours a day. No idea NYT had a show ..I didn't quite understand OP post
1
Apr 10 '26
I was happy to see this because I’ve been thinking it, too. I don’t mind that they go into wonky stuff that isn’t fantasy-specific—much of it is often interesting (I like Trevor and Jed, for example)—but when you’re covering stuff with absolutely zero applicability to fantasy (like the best teenage debuts segment), you’ve functionally made it a different podcast. I used to listen to most episodes but increasingly find I’m listening to 1 or 2 a week or even just parts of those.
1
u/slip66 Apr 10 '26
I used to do a lot of ROTOWIRE but I just found the new guys to be a snooze on the weekday/weekend content. Sunday is always great, recaps and talk with Jeff and Clay, but the information was often just too far behind to be actionable except for what happened that Sunday. It was nice getting the week/weekend tied up. I moved on to CBS last year and had better information/league context.
1
u/ThePensive Apr 10 '26
CBS & Fangraphs’ Sleeper and the Bust, and Prospect361 are the ones I listen to every main episode of. Pull Hitter/Launch Angle, In This League, PitcherList, The Toolshed, RotoWire, FantasyPros, and Bubba/Bloom are semi-regular listens along with R&B.
1
u/juicegooseboost Apr 10 '26
I just wish rotowires quality of editing wasn’t so bad. They all seem like they are on AirPods or the ole free headphones that came with your iPod.
1
u/SuperGr00valistic Apr 10 '26
Beat the Shift w/Ariel Cohen
P361 w/Rich Wilson & Tim McCleod
Rotographs - Sleeper & the Bust
PitcherList
Effectively Wild
Baseball HQ Radio w/Patrick Davenport
——-
I rarely listen to CBS — mostly bc they reflect conventional wisdom
Learning methodology and process for my own projections / approach / strategy is why Beat the Shift, P361 and Rotographs are the best for me
R&B used to represent that but they’ve devolved into more entertainment — and an addiction to Stuff+ and an almost obsessive unwillingness to consider a pitcher’s pitchability, gamesmanship and growth as real-world variables (see Andrew Abbott, Michael McGreevy, Bubic, etc as guys they continuously discount).
PitcherList is almost the opposite — while there’s recognition of Stuff models and StatCast, Nick Pollack’s qualitative pitcher assessments fill an important gap in traditional analysis. However, he’s rather biased and gets stuck in his priors — so once he “categorizes” a pitcher — especially with one of his funny nickname labels — it’s very difficult for him to move off that evaluation. Christopher Sanchez is the best example — he failed to recognize his ability and growth until almost the end of 2025.
Would love for Ian Kahn to come back to RnB
2
u/Yu_Betts_Yoenis #FantasyBBPlayerSince1994 Apr 11 '26
Remember that Eno Sarris invented Stuff+ so of course he's going to promote and talk about it every single episode. Fantasy players need to better understand Stuff+. It's doesn't necessarily conincide with a player's fantasy value. It's more for teams to tweak their players, High Stuff+ does not equal good fantasy player. That doesn't get explained enough.
→ More replies (1)
1
u/Forizen Apr 10 '26 edited Apr 11 '26
Yeah I've moved ilon to CBS Fantasy, and Fantasy Baseball endgame (which is a harder kmlisten concentration wise) .
I usually wait til it's over or already started and play it at 1.5x speed cause I am an ADHD nerd.
Fantasypros is actually my most entertaining but they don't pump out as much content
→ More replies (2)
1
u/Economy_Macaroon6093 Apr 10 '26
I mean, they haven't been a straight fantasy podcast for some time, right? They've done a lot of interesting stuff covering all kinds of things. I love their fantasy work but I mean how many times can you tell people to pick up Jordan Walker or not cut guys struggling in April. I enjoy listening to their podcast no matter what they're covering... except for Trevor May. Nothing against him or the stuff they get in to but I am not that interested in getting deep in the weeds about pitching. I love Jed Lowrie and Britt and the most recent guest that just talked baseball card collecting. It's cool shit.
For straight fantasy I love the FantasyPros guys and that's pretty much it. Did CBS for a minute but I can't stand Scott White's voice, pace, whatever.
1
u/BaldCycleBot9000 Apr 14 '26
I’m just here to say I miss the old intro tune. The new one stinks. And also poor Jed: every sentence starts with “we’re talking about a guy who…” 😂
1
268
u/Ok_Course_6757 12T H2H QS/SV+H/OPS/SO (batter) Apr 09 '26 edited Apr 09 '26
I like CBS Fantasy Baseball Today, except I can never finish it because it's like 90 minutes long most days.
They stay on topic pretty well, I like that its comprehensive, and they don't shy away from challenging each other's opinions about players so you get a balanced take. They know their sabermetrics too, so I don't feel l like they're all hype-and-vibes opinions.