Baseball Bar-B-Cast

Baseball season has officially arrived! The 2026 season will kick off tonight in California when the New York Yankees take on the San Francisco Giants. As part of the start of the grind that is the regular season, we tell you about some of the most important names you need to know in baseball for this year.

On this episode of Baseball Bar-B-Cast, Jake Mintz and Jordan Shusterman discuss the top 50 most notable names, including four important members of the Los Angeles Dodgers who aren’t named Shohei Ohtani and one very large presence in the Bronx looking to make history. They also discuss which umpire you should be aware of with ABS becoming a part of the league, and why we need to see Vladimir Guerrero Jr. have a more impactful season.

Later, Jake and Jordan try to determine which starting pitchers will fare the best on the first game of the season with their annual starters draft. The guys then discuss the Chicago Cubs extending Pete Crow-Armstrong, the Detroit Tigers breaking camp with Kevin McGonigle, and why the Netflix broadcast for the first game of the season is going to be a wild experience.

1:49 - The Opener: 50 notable names

5:14 - Dodgers you need to know

17:09 - Vlad Guerrero Jr. needs an MVP season

25:14 - ABS joins the league

32:12 - Aaron Judge goes for three in a row

36:36 - Opening Day starters draft

58:58 - Around the League: Cubs-PCA extension

1:03:57 - McGonigle breaks camp

1:09:44 - Netflix hosts Yankees-Giants

Subscribe to Baseball Bar-B-Cast on your favorite podcast app:
🎧 Apple Podcasts
🎧 Spotify
🖥️ YouTube
📢 Check out the Yahoo Sports podcast network or yahoosports.tv
And check out Jake, Jordan & the show on X or Instagram:
🌤️ @CespedesBBQ: https://bsky.app/profile/cespedesbbq.bsky.social
🐦 @CespedesBBQ: https://x.com/CespedesBBQ
📷 @CespedesBBQ: https://www.instagram.com/cespedesbbq
⚾ @Jake_Mintz: https://x.com/Jake_Mintz
🧢 @J_Shusterman: https://x.com/j_shusterman_

The start of the 2026 Major League Baseball season is just two days away, so now is the perfect time to take a look at the projected win totals for all thirty teams this season. There are a few interesting projections this year after a busy offseason that could influence changes in the standings from last season.

On this episode of Baseball Bar-B-Cast, Jake Mintz and Jordan Shusterman make their predictions and explain why they would take the over or under on projected wins for each team. While the Los Angeles Dodgers are coming off an incredible season, being the only team projected to eclipse the 100-win mark might be a tall task. Can the Atlanta Braves surpass their projection after an incredibly disappointing season?

Later, Jake and Jordan dive into the American League, where they ask whether the New York Yankees, largely running back their roster from 2025, will get over the 94-win mark. They then take a strong stance on whether the Houston Astros missing the postseason for the first time in a while last year properly reflects their projected win total for this season.

1:07 - The Opener: Explaining over/unders

4:43 - NL East

20:09 - NL Central

35:32 - NL West

46:31 - AL East

58:48 - AL Central

1:11:12 - AL West

Subscribe to Baseball Bar-B-Cast on your favorite podcast app:
🎧 Apple Podcasts
🎧 Spotify
🖥️ YouTube
📢 Check out the Yahoo Sports podcast network or yahoosports.tv
And check out Jake, Jordan & the show on X or Instagram:
🌤️ @CespedesBBQ: https://bsky.app/profile/cespedesbbq.bsky.social
🐦 @CespedesBBQ: https://x.com/CespedesBBQ
📷 @CespedesBBQ: https://www.instagram.com/cespedesbbq
⚾ @Jake_Mintz: https://x.com/Jake_Mintz
🧢 @J_Shusterman: https://x.com/j_shusterman_

The start of the 2026 Major League Baseball season is less than a week away, which means it’s time to make one bold prediction for every team. While a lot of these picks may seem far-fetched—like Giancarlo Stanton stealing a base for the New York Yankees or Luis Robert Jr. leading the New York Mets in WAR—some of these might actually come to fruition.

On this episode of Baseball Bar-B-Cast, Jake Mintz and Jordan Shusterman talk about their picks for the American and National League teams, which include Edwin Díaz possibly reaching the 50-save mark in his first season with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Garrett Crochet reaching the 230-inning mark for the Boston Red Sox. Also, is there a chance the Pope will be at a Chicago White Sox game this season? And will Mike Trout win another MVP award?

Later, Jake and Jordan take a look at which baseball players you should consider drafting for your upcoming fantasy season and why it might be best to consider fading Francisco Lindor, Corbin Carroll and Cal Raleigh. They then make their picks for The Good, The Bad & The Uggla, which includes the disappointing news that Trey Yesavage and the Toronto Blue Jays just received.

1:54 - The Opener: 2026 bold predictions

4:57 - AL East

13:38 - AL Central

23:11 - AL West

34:05 - NL East

42:31 - NL Central

48:51 - NL West

59:30 - Players you need for fantasy baseball

1:17:22 - The Good, The Bad & The Uggla

Subscribe to Baseball Bar-B-Cast on your favorite podcast app:
🎧 Apple Podcasts
🎧 Spotify
🖥️ YouTube
📢 Check out the Yahoo Sports podcast network or yahoosports.tv
And check out Jake, Jordan & the show on X or Instagram:
🌤️ @CespedesBBQ: https://bsky.app/profile/cespedesbbq.bsky.social
🐦 @CespedesBBQ: https://x.com/CespedesBBQ
📷 @CespedesBBQ: https://www.instagram.com/cespedesbbq
⚾ @Jake_Mintz: https://x.com/Jake_Mintz
🧢 @J_Shusterman: https://x.com/j_shusterman_

When the 2026 World Baseball Classic started, there were a few favorites to win the tournament, including the United States, Japan, and the Dominican Republic. However, in the end, the last team standing was Venezuela, as they took down Team USA 3–2 on Tuesday night. Behind clutch hitting and pitching, Team Venezuela captured its first-ever WBC title in Miami in what could be considered one of the biggest upsets of the tournament.

On this episode of Baseball Bar-B-Cast, Jake Mintz and Jordan Shusterman recap all the action from the championship game that saw the Venezuelan side shut down the all-star-studded lineup that the United States assembled in hopes of winning its second WBC title. Despite some late heroics from Bryce Harper, it was Eugenio Suárez who delivered the game-winning knock in the 9th inning before Daniel Palencia shut the door in the 9th.

Later, Jake and Jordan discuss why this was such a meaningful win for Team Venezuela, including highlighting a special moment for future Hall of Famers Salvador Perez and Miguel Cabrera, and the bond between tournament MVP Maikel García and Ronald Acuña Jr. They then get into where things went wrong for Team USA and why it might take a little while for the team to get this bad taste out of its mouth.

1:29 – WBC championship game recap

24:14 – Bryce Harper’s moment

27:36 – Venezuela’s comeback inning

34:18 – What this means for Venezuela

51:23 – How did things go wrong for USA?

1:00:23 – Defense for DeRosa

Subscribe to Baseball Bar-B-Cast on your favorite podcast app:
🎧 Apple Podcasts
🎧 Spotify
🖥️ YouTube
📢 Check out the Yahoo Sports podcast network or yahoosports.tv
And check out Jake, Jordan & the show on X or Instagram:
🌤️ @CespedesBBQ: https://bsky.app/profile/cespedesbbq.bsky.social
🐦 @CespedesBBQ: https://x.com/CespedesBBQ
📷 @CespedesBBQ: https://www.instagram.com/cespedesbbq
⚾ @Jake_Mintz: https://x.com/Jake_Mintz
🧢 @J_Shusterman: https://x.com/j_shusterman_

The United States are returning to the championship game of the World Baseball Classic for a third consecutive tournament. However, in what was billed as one of the most star-studded baseball games ever played, the tightly contested matchup ended in a controversial strike three call that has left Dominican Republic players and fans shaking their heads.

On this episode of Baseball Bar-B-Cast, Jake Mintz and Jordan Shusterman talk about Team USA’s 2–1 victory that saw Paul Skenes and a dominant U.S. bullpen shut down the high-octane offense from the DR that we’ve seen all tournament. They then get into the strike three call to end the game and why ABS is something that needs to be implemented when the tournament returns in three years.

Later, Jake and Jordan preview the semifinal game between Italy and Venezuela that will decide who books their ticket to the championship game against the United States. The guys also discuss Japan getting upset in the quarterfinals by Venezuela and why it wasn’t entirely shocking that it happened.

1:56 – The Opener: America vs. DR

11:41 – Aaron Judge’s game-changing play

33:02 – Controversial 9th inning

40:57 – Did the game live up to the hype?

1:01:33 – Japan eliminated

1:04:34 – Italy vs. Venezuela preview

Subscribe to Baseball Bar-B-Cast on your favorite podcast app:
🎧 Apple Podcasts
🎧 Spotify
🖥️ YouTube
📢 Check out the Yahoo Sports podcast network or yahoosports.tv
And check out Jake, Jordan & the show on X or Instagram:
🌤️ @CespedesBBQ: https://bsky.app/profile/cespedesbbq.bsky.social
🐦 @CespedesBBQ: https://x.com/CespedesBBQ
📷 @CespedesBBQ: https://www.instagram.com/cespedesbbq
⚾ @Jake_Mintz: https://x.com/Jake_Mintz
🧢 @J_Shusterman: https://x.com/j_shusterman_