Rates & Barrels: A show about Baseball

On this Fantasy Friday, Eno and DVR discuss the latest early-season injuries and what they mean for your roster decisions heading into the weekend. Then, the guys welcome Ottoneu’s Niv Shah for a conversation about the bullpen market, followed by the season's first installment of 'Taste of the Majors.'
Rundown
1:20 Corbin Carroll Slowed by Hip Injury
2:49 Brent Rooker Leaves Game with Core Injury
5:46 Parker Meadows Suffers Concussion & Fractured Arm
8:32 Hunter Goodman’s Early Exit After HBP
10:45 Jorge Polanco Slowed by Achilles Soreness
20:32 Weekend Waiver Preview
23:07 Bryce Elder Is Rolling but Eno Is Skeptical
26:14 Kyle Harrison Has Made Changes
32:47 Interest in Luis Gil & Jeffrey Springs?
35:39 Mick Abel’s Turnaround
37:33 Widely Available Starting Pitchers
43:09 Niv Shah Joins the Show to Discuss Messy Bullpens
55:55 Taste of the Majors Is Back! (L.A. & St. Louis Dog Reviews)
Follow DVR on Bluesky: @DVR.bsky.social
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E-mail: [email protected]
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Hosts: Derek VanRiper & Eno Sarris
With: Niv Shah
Editor: Jason Potere
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Eno, Trevor, and DVR discuss a new tool — the Pitching Pairing tool from FanGraphs Lab — as a great visualization for tunneling and a way to better understand how pitchers are attacking opposing hitters. Plus, they explore adjustments that can be made by position on the pitching rubber, which gives pitchers a way to manipulate their horizontal approach angle. Finally, they discuss a recent piece from Ben Lindbergh at The Ringer, wondering if increased on-field information for players and tactics like calling pitches from the dugout have gone too far.

0:42 Cole Ragans Avoids Major Injury
5:15 FanGraphs Labs’ New Pitching Pairing Tool
11:45 Establishing the Fastball
18:16 How Sandy Alcantara is So Effective
25:58 Horizontal Approach Angle
43:20 On-Field Information: How Much is Too Much?

Related Links
The Pitching Pairing Tool at FanGraphs Labs: https://www.fangraphs.com/lab/paired-pitches
“A Visual Primer on Horizontal Approach Angle (HAA” by Alex Chamberlain: https://blogs.fangraphs.com/a-visual-primer-on-horizontal-approach-angle-haa/
“Keep MLB Front Offices Away From the Field” by Ben Lindbergh: https://www.theringer.com/2026/03/23/mlb/keep-mlb-front-offices-off-the-field-pitch-calling-scouting-cards

Follow Eno on Bluesky: @enosarris.bsky.social
Follow DVR on Bluesky: @DVR.bsky.social
Follow Trevor on Bluesky: @iamtrevormay.bsky.social
e-mail: [email protected]
Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/FyBa9f3wFe
Subscribe to The Athletic: theathletic.com/ratesandbarrels
Hosts: Derek VanRiper & Eno Sarris
With: Trevor May
Editor: Jason Potere
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Eno, DVR, and Jed break down how the Cubs plan to fill Cade Horton’s spot in the rotation after news of his season-ending torn UCL. They also discuss Astros ace Hunter Brown’s status following a Grade 2 shoulder strain, and later welcome baseball card enthusiast Sean Campbell to explore the ins and outs of the card collecting world.

Rundown

2:43 Cade Horton Out For The Year

8:48 Hunter Brown’s Shoulder Strain

17:25 Other News & Notes From Around MLB

26:08 Sean Campbell’s Start In Card Collecting

28:55 Sean’s Favorite Cards

30:24 Card Grading

31:42 Goals As A Collector

35:22 Considerations For Grading

37:11 Finding Sellers You Trust

39:51 What To Expect In Cheaper Boxes

42:17 Understanding Value

48:16 Advice From An Expert

53:34 Older Cards

Follow Eno on Bluesky: @enosarris.bsky.social

Follow DVR on Bluesky: @DVR.bsky.social

Follow Sean on Instagram: @roostercardsandwax

e-mail: [email protected]

Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/FyBa9f3wFe

Subscribe to The Athletic: theathletic.com/ratesandbarrels

Hosts: Derek VanRiper & Eno Sarris

With: Jed Lowrie & Sean Campbell

Editor: Jason Potere

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jayson Stark and Doug Glanville joins Eno and DVR to explore a big question in the wake of Konnor Griffin's recent promotion -- who is the baseball teenage position player in baseball history?

Plus, they share huge show news -- Starkville returns and joins Rates & Barrels on Saturday, April 18th!

They also discuss early reactions to ABS, and potential improvements to the system that could be implemented in the future depending on how the early-season trends play out over the course of the entire season.

Rundown
0:49 Starkville Returns Saturday, April 18th! Right Here on Rates & Barrels
2:02 Baseball’s Best Teenage Position Players: How Do You Approach a ‘Greatest Of’ Question?
8:00 Entering with Massive Expectations: Is It ‘Easier’ on an Already Good Team?
10:45 Does Having a Recently Hyped Arrival Help? Paul Skenes’ Fast Track, High Expectations in Pittsburgh
14:25 Bright Spotlights From Day 1: How Ken Griffey Jr. and Bryce Harper Faced Added Pressure
17:05 The No. 1 Pick in Hypothetical Draft: Whose Big League Resumé as a Teenager is the Strongest?
19:54 Phil Cavaretta’s Impressive Early Arrival: Baseball’s Leader in Plate Appearances as a Teenager
22:39 Bryce Harper vs. Juan Soto: Did the Nats Actually Have the Top-2 Teenagers in MLB History?
27:05 Tony Conigliaro: A Promising Career Derailed by Tragedy
28:52 Learning From the Search: Jim Gilliam, John Montgomery Ward & Edgar Renteria?!
30:14 Stardom From Day 1: Al Kaline Was Destined to Become “Mr. Tiger”
32:10 An Old “Friend” of the Show is Back! Oyster Burns’ Unique Place in Baseball History
35:34 Late Game Challenges: Jayson’s Idea to Mimic the NFL’s Rule Under Two Minutes
38:38 Second Order Effects: Will Team Increase Aggressiveness with Challenges?
41:50 The Buffer Zone: Could Max Scherzer’s Idea to Have ‘Inconclusive’ Close Calls Stand?
46:04 How Many Strike Zones Are There?
49:49 Early Numbers: Walks *and* Strikeouts Are Up — Not Great, Bob!
54:25 Future Changes: Tweaks to the Strike Zone If Needed
1:00:21 The Margin for Error: Overturning Calls That Are Closer than Margin of Error?
1:03:20 Check Out Starkville Starting April 18th!

Follow Jayson on Bluesky: @jaysonst.bsky.social
Follow Doug on Bluesky: @dougglanville.bsky.social
Follow DVR on Bluesky: @DVR.bsky.social
Follow Eno on Bluesky: @enosarris.bsky.social

e-mail: [email protected]

Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/FyBa9f3wFe

Subscribe to The Athletic: theathletic.com/ratesandbarrels

Hosts: Derek VanRiper & Eno Sarris

With: Jayson Stark & Doug Glanville

Editor: Jason Potere
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Eno and DVR return from the weekend and wonder if Jo Adell's three home-run saving catches in the Angels' 1-0 win against the Mariners on Saturday night might be the best defensive game ever played. Plus, they discuss a cluster of starting pitchers on the fringes of rosters in many leagues, searching for early-season sources of stability, before taking a spin around the league after several impactful injuries piled up.

Rundown
0:29 Three Home-Run Robbies in One Game! Did Jo Adell Play the Best Defensive Game Ever?
9:26 The Starting Pitchers Were Good Too! Emerson Hancock and Jack Kochanowicz Deal
11:16 Choosing Your Favorite Two: Starting Pitchers on the Rise
21:39 Injuries Galore: Updates on Horton, Betts, Soto & Others
32:23 Feeling Better After Start No. 2? Tatsuya Imai Rolls Against the A’s
36:49 A Defensive Slump? Are the Giants’ Fielding Woes Fixable?
41:20 Context in Small Samples: Rain, Sleet, Snow & Other Variables That Matter
46:48 October is Behind Him: Andy Pages Is Hitting Well Again
49:28 Great Starts at Coors Field: Where Does Jesús Luzardo’s Weekend Start Rank?
58:32 What’s in Pat Murphy’s Pocket? How About a Tortoise Named ‘Bobby Jr.’?!
1:04:21 Keeping An Eye on Anthony Kay: Is It ‘Good’ Weird, or ‘Bad’ Weird?
1:08:38 Pirates Sweep the Orioles: Undefeated in Konnor Griffin Era

Follow DVR on Bluesky: @DVR.bsky.social
Follow Eno on Bluesky: @enosarris.bsky.social

e-mail: [email protected]

Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/FyBa9f3wFe

Subscribe to The Athletic: theathletic.com/ratesandbarrels

Hosts: Derek VanRiper & Eno Sarris

Editor: Jason Potere
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.