Baseball Bar-B-Cast

The Chicago Cubs are absolutely on fire and the boys are asking the big question: is this historic run actually sustainable? Jake Mintz and Jordan Shusterman dive into the Cubs’ nine-game winning streak, their dominance at home and what’s fueling the best record in baseball. Plus, they discuss the red-hot Tampa Bay Rays and whether they can seriously challenge the New York Yankees in the AL East.

Then it’s time to go around the league. The guys break down the Yankees calling up towering prospect Spencer Jones and debate whether the Bronx Bombers may have found another version of Aaron Judge. They also discuss the latest on Tarik Skubal after his successful elbow surgery before opening up the mailbag to answer your best questions from around the baseball world.

To close out the show, Good, Bad & Uggla makes its glorious return. The boys chat about Jim Palmer, Kazuma Okamoto, the painfully struggling offense of the San Francisco Giants and plenty more chaos from another wild week around MLB.

Timetamps:

(1:00) – Chicago Cubs on a historic run: can they keep it up?

(21:30) – Tampa Bay Rays are on fire: can they compete with the Yankees?

(29:00) – Yankees call-up top prospect Spencer Jones

(41:15) – Tarik Skubal surgery update

(47:15) – Bar-B-Cast Mailbag

(1:04:00) - The Good

(1:10:00) - The Bad

(1:18:30) - 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_

Tarik Skubal’s season—and possibly his financial future—just took a major hit. The Tigers ace is expected to miss 2–3 months with an elbow injury, and Jake and Jordan break down what this means not only for Detroit’s season but also for Skubal’s looming free agency. Could this injury cost him a historic contract? They also discuss Framber Valdez’s struggles on the mound and the fallout from hitting Trevor Story in a lopsided loss to the Red Sox.

Shohei Ohtani continues to be one of the most fascinating players in baseball, but is there cause for concern? The guys analyze his recent pitching performance and dig into the narrative that his hitting dips when he’s on the mound. Is this just small sample size noise, or something teams should actually be paying attention to?

To wrap things up, it’s time for some early-season hardware. With one month in the books, Jake and Jordan hand out their picks for AL and NL MVP, Cy Young, and Rookie of the Year. Who’s real, who’s surprising, and who might not last? The overreactions are flying—and that’s exactly how we like it.

Timetamps:

(1:00) – Tarik Skubal our 2-3 months with elbow injury

(26:30) – Framber Valdez ejected for hitting Trevor Story

(35:45) – Shohei Ohtani continues to not hit when pitching

(45:00) – Carlos Correa suffers major ankle injury

(50:30) – Early season MLB awards

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 New York Yankees decided, in essence, to run back a very familiar team they had at the end of last season, there was some unease from their passionate fanbase. After all, this was a team that was eliminated by division rival, the Toronto Blue Jays, in the ALDS and didn’t look particularly threatening. Fast forward to this season, and those same fans might be thankful for the strategy, as it has the Bronx Bombers holding the best record in the American League.

On this episode of the Baseball Bar-B-Cast, Jake Mintz and Jordan Shusterman take a look at what has made the Yankees so successful this year—outside of another stellar start from Aaron Judge—and why the emergence of Ben Rice and Cam Schlittler has been key to their success. They also wonder if a new strategy is being adopted by the front office following Anthony Volpe’s minor league demotion and whether it could signal a shift in how they’re approaching this season. The guys also discuss the passing of legendary broadcaster John Sterling and what he meant to the team, as well as to baseball.

Later, Jake and Jordan recap the rest of the weekend’s action, including watching the Chicago Cubs from their famous bleachers at Wrigley Field, the Atlanta Braves getting off to their best start since 1892 and which pitcher has been irreplaceable for the Seattle Mariners. They then highlight a few other notable stories from the weekend, including the Miami Marlins calling up an important prospect and the New York Mets getting a much-needed series win in Anaheim against the Los Angeles Angels.

0:57 - Remembering John Sterling

7:41 - The Opener: Yankees standing out

29:48 - How Sweep It Is: Cubs and their home cooking

40:24 - Braves continue their strong play

54:10 - Turbo Mode: Who else won this weekend?

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_

After a little over a month’s worth of baseball games, we’re slowly seeing how the season could potentially shape up based on those who are on top and those disappointing in their respective divisions. While there are some teams leading the way that aren’t entirely shocking—looking at you, New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers—there are quite a few surprises as well.

On this episode of the Baseball Bar-B-Cast, Jake Mintz and Jordan Shusterman play their annual standings golf draft and try to determine how much stock they’re putting into the current standings. With surprising teams like the New York Mets and Boston Red Sox at the bottom of their divisions, will they actually stay there for the whole season or will things shake up as they normally do over the 162-game grind?

Later, Jake and Jordan talk about the St. Louis Cardinals becoming the first team to get a mop on the road this year, as well as the Philadelphia Phillies sweeping their doubleheader against the struggling San Francisco Giants. The guys then take a look at the mess that was the month of April for the New York Mets, highlight an incredible achievement by Nick Kurtz and make their picks for this week’s edition of The Good, The Bad & The Uggla.

2:21 - The Opener: Division standings draft

37:57 - Around The League: Cardinals doing some mopping

44:41 - Miserable month for Mets

52:43 - Nick Kurtz knows how to walk

54:44 - The Good

1:00:28 - The Bad

1:07:22 - 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_

The Philadelphia Phillies became the second team in the first month of the 2026 season to make a change at the manager position, following the Boston Red Sox making that decision over the weekend. Rob Thomson was relieved of his duties after the Phillies got off to a disappointing 9–19 start to the season, with the hope that a change will be able to jumpstart what has been a sluggish campaign.

On this episode of the Baseball Bar-B-Cast, Jake Mintz and Jordan Shusterman talk about the Phillies’ decision to fire Topper and name Don Mattingly the interim manager, what the vibe was like at Citizens Bank Park yesterday following the firing and the interesting dynamic now between the manager and GM. They also highlight the rather surprising journey that found Thomson at the helm of the Phillies and what could be next for him.

Later, Jake and Jordan discuss the debut of Cleveland Guardians’ top prospect Travis Bazzana, the impact he’ll have on baseball in Australia and whether the draft class he came out of will be one of the best of all time. The guys close the show by discussing Shohei Ohtani not hitting—at least for now—when he pitches and why this is different from what he was doing when he was with the Los Angeles Angels.

1:07 - The Opener: Phillies fire Thomson

15:12 - What to expect from Mattingly

29:45 - Field Report: Travis Bazzana joins the show

39:40 - 2024 MLB Draft class all-timer

48:29 - Kind of a Big Deal: Ohtani not hitting

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_