162 games for each team are in the books and most fantasy trophies have been handed out; the only suspense left in the 2019 season is who will take the World Series? Joe Sheehan of Sports Illustrated joins Scott Pianowski for a final debrief of the 2019 season. They begin by questioning the shape of the game in 2019 as well as the shape of the baseball (1:25). Is the juiced-ball era a blip on the radar or an evolution towards something different? Moving from real-life baseball to fantasy basebal...
Sep 30, 2019•59 min•Ep. 29
As the 2019 MLB regular season and most fantasy leagues draw to a close, Scott Pianowski is joined by Gene McCaffrey of The Athletic to take a look back at the year that was and set sights on the year ahead. This episode, Scott & Gene deliver some of their major takeaways from the 2019 season including: - why you shouldn't over-react to off years from good pitchers (3:50) - taking note of the growing divide between the good teams and bad teams (8:00) - why you should potentially invest in ri...
Sep 16, 2019•53 min•Ep. 28
In a crazy holiday weekend across sports as pro and college football began their autumn grasp of the American sports fan's psyche, the performance of the weekend was on the mound. Scott Pianowski is joined by Paul Sporer of Fangraphs to discuss Justin Verlander's no-hitter on Sunday in Toronto (0:50). The pitcher talk continues as Scott asks Paul to run through his preliminary top 30 pitchers list for 2020 and in addition to Verlander, the guys discuss Max Scherzer, Gerrit Cole, Noah Syndergaard...
Sep 02, 2019•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 27
We're a week away from Labor Day and for lots of fantasy owners, football is becoming more top of mind. Inspired by the boredom the Los Angeles Dodgers displayed over the weekend against the New York Yankees, Scott Pianowski is joined by Yahoo's own Fred Zinkie to discuss ways to combat the late-summer boredom that strikes fantasy baseball owners (2:50). Next, Scott & Fred chat about the Indians' José Ramírez and his broken hand that will sideline him for the rest of the season. How does tha...
Aug 26, 2019•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 26
With the 2019 regular season winding to a close and September call-ups looming, Scott Pianowski is joined by Rob Silver of Baseball Prospectus and the Launch Angle Podcast to look back at the year's most discussed rookie: Vlad Guerrero, Jr. The guys talk about how his draft value panned out for fantasy owners, what his 2020 could look like and also take a look at the Blue Jay's emerging young bats in Bo Bichette, Cavan Biggio and Lourdes Gurriel, Jr. (10:00) Transitioning to the NL, Scott & ...
Aug 19, 2019•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 25
With Scott Pianowski hitting the links this weekend on a much-needed vacation, Yahoo Fantasy's ultimate utility guy Dalton Del Don takes over the podcast for the week. He's joined by Derek Carty of ESPN and RotoGrinders and the creator of The Bat projection system to talk about some of the trends he's been seeing this season and how he's updated some of his projections since his last podcast appearance. First, they chat about the crazy numbers put up this weekend by Lucas Giolito and Aristides A...
Aug 12, 2019•46 min•Ep. 24
With the trade deadline in the rear view mirror, fantasy owners can focus on their own league trade deadlines (if they haven't passed already) and settle in for the home stretch of the season. Patrick Davitt of BaseballHQ joins Scott Pianowski this week to discuss how the majors reshuffled last week and then gives some hitters and pitchers from both leagues that could be a boon or a bane this upcoming week. Before they dive into the players who actually moved this year, Scott and Patrick chat ab...
Aug 05, 2019•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 23
Despite the fact that the 2019 MLB trade deadline is a mere days away, the teams have been suspiciously quiet on the transaction market. With far too few trades to report on, today's episode is devoted to the game theory aspect of fantasy baseball. Scott Pianowski is joined by Sammy Reid of RotoGrinders to talk about his experiences playing poker full-time and how all fantasy owners can apply poker strategy and game theory to their seasonal leagues (2:15). Next, Scott and Sammy talk about fantas...
Jul 29, 2019•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 22
With the trade deadline fast approaching for both major league teams and fantasy teams, Scott Pianowski welcomes Bay Area native and Rotowire columnist Scott Jenstad to the show to update on the Giants and A's, two teams that could be active as they make their final playoff pushes. Before they get to the NorCal teams, they first dip down to San Diego to chat about Manuel Margot, Wil Meyers and the crowded Padres outfield (2:30). Next Pianow talks about his rough summer on the Kevin Gausman rolle...
Jul 22, 2019•1 hr 15 min•Ep. 21
The 2019 All-Star break is over, commemorating baseball's unofficial mid-way point and that means one thing for fantasy owners and real GMs alike: it's trading season. Scott Pianowski invites Yahoo Sports' very own lead NFL connoisseur Frank Schwab to shed the pigskin for the day and talk some fantasy baseball before the football season kicks into full gear. They start the conversation with the major strategic differences between fantasy baseball and football and why baseball tends to reward mor...
Jul 15, 2019•1 hr 23 min•Ep. 20
It's the All-Star break, so with a few less games of actual baseball to focus on this week, Scott Pianowski is joined by Yahoo Sports' Fred Zinkie to look back at the trends, the swings, the misses and the big takeaways from 2019's first half. They start the show discussing the Toronto Blue Jays' Danny Jansen and some of their most regretful drops from the first half of the season (0:40). Next they talk about the players and trends they got right so far this season, including Kirby Yates and the...
Jul 08, 2019•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 19
Just in time for the USA's yearly bash celebrating their independence from Britain, the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox brought some fireworks to London. Rudy Gamble of Razzball joins Scott Pianowski to discuss the wacky series that saw 50 runs scored in two games and the rest of the week that was in baseball. First they chat about a trio of young pitchers in the Padres' Logan Allen, the Rays' Brendan McKay and White Sox' Dylan Cease (5:00). Later they hit on that monstrous Yankees/Red Sox s...
Jul 01, 2019•1 hr•Ep. 18
Baseball teams will play their 81st games this week as the majors hit their official half-way point. As the All-Star break and the dog days of summer approach quickly, Vlad Sedler of Elite Fantasy joins Scott Pianowski on the the pod to talk about how to juggle sanity and strategy at this point in the season, especially when you're in multiple leagues and best ball leagues (1:30). Scott then asks Vlad to talk specifically about FAAB bidding strategy for mid-June (14:25) and what under-the-radar ...
Jun 24, 2019•58 min•Ep. 17
After the dust cleared in Coors Field, 131 hits and 92 runs were tallied in the mile high air this past weekend, adding up to the most runs ever scored in a four-game series in the modern era. A great weekend for any fantasy owners starting any Rockies or Padres and a sorrowful one if you happened to trade away Charlie Blackmon last week like a certain host of this podcast. Scott Pianowski is joined by SI's Michael Beller to discuss the latest happenings in the world of baseball, including that ...
Jun 17, 2019•56 min•Ep. 16
Yahoo Sports’ Scott Pianowski is joined by fellow Yahooligan Andy Behrens to bring you the latest fantasy baseball news and analysis. They kick the show off with a discussion about MadBum’s beef with Max Muncy and how it’s great for the game (2:00); With the Boston Bruins on the verge of winning the Stanley Cup, Scott talks about being oversaturated with championships as a Boston sports fan (18:00); The three hottest pitching prospects in baseball right now - A’s prospect Jesús Luzardo, Zac Gall...
Jun 11, 2019•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 15
The NL East is not the greatest division in 2019, but what it lacks in great teams, it makes up for in intriguing fantasy options Scott Pianowski is joined by Michael Salfino of The Athletic to check in on the starting rotation of the New York Mets, a sub .500 team with a pair of top-20 starting pitchers in Jacob deGrom and Noah Syndergaard (1:20). Michael discusses his latest column about teams with huge schedule advantages in the league-leading Minnesota Twins and the Atlanta Braves (19:45). T...
Jun 03, 2019•1 hr 25 min•Ep. 14
Coming out of the weekend that unofficially starts the summer, Yahoo Sports' Dalton Del Don joins Scott Pianowski the day after Memorial Day for a podcast about holidays and redrafting your league right as the MLB season hits full stride. For the bulk of the episode, Scott recounts his NFBC "Second Chance" draft which alters some rules in favor of starting a brand-new league from scratch with scoring starting on Memorial Day (0:40). They discuss the topsy-turvy first round where Scott landed an ...
May 28, 2019•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 13
After a week of call-ups throughout the majors, fantasy owners likely have their heads spinning. Yahoo Sports' Scott Pianowski and Fred Zinkie try to make things easier this week by discussing two major aspects of in-season fantasy management: FAAB bidding and trading. But first, the guys check in on Bryce Harper. Remember him? The guy who led every hot take from November until March? Scott and Fred talk about his early season performance and ask whether it's time to pump the brakes on Harper (1...
May 20, 2019•56 min•Ep. 12
It's a mostly Michigan day on the Yahoo Fantasy Baseball Podcast. Michigan resident Scott Pianowski is joined by Michigan native Paul Sporer of Fangraphs and ESPN for some talk about the AL Central, FAAB strategy and some older guys calling good and bad attention to themselves in fantasy baseball. The guys start off discussing the Detroit Tigers and a couple intriguing players in pitcher Matthew Boyd and "utility knife" Ronny Rodriguez (2:50). Sticking with the Tigers, Scott and Paul hit on Detr...
May 13, 2019•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 11
After a weird weekend in sports highlighted by a bizarre turn of events in the Kentucky Derby, Yahoo Sports' Scott Pianowski is joined by Rotowire's Chris Liss for a larger discussion about some of the major factors complicating the fan's relationship with their favorite sports. There's plenty of fantasy baseball talk too. They start off with the derby, "disqualification culture" and the role of replay in sports (0:50). It leads to a larger discussion about whether some of baseballs advanced sta...
May 07, 2019•58 min•Ep. 10
Yahoo Sports’ Scott Pianowski is joined by Jonah Keri of The Athletic and Sportsnet to take a closer look at one of the most puzzling divisions so far this season - the AL East. First off, in Toronto, it’s time for VLAD VLAD VLAD VLAD. Also, is this the Marcus Stroman year we’re been waiting for? (3:40) They check in on one of baseball’s most pleasant surprises, the Tampa Bay Rays. Scott wonders why he doesn’t take their over every single year, plus Diaz, Lowe, the bullpen, Glasnow… (18:20) Over...
Apr 29, 2019•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 9
It was a rough weekend if you were in a particular group of major league pitchers...or if you owned one of them in your fantasy league. Jacob deGrom gave up 3 runs in 5 innings to the Braves, then thought he needed an MRI, then didn't. Max Scherzer got lit up by the Marlins. Gerritt Cole was blasted into a different dimension by the Rangers. Scott Pianowski is joined by Jeff Erickson of Rotowire to grade how panicked fantasy owners should be if they own the likes of deGrom, Scherzer, Cole and Sa...
Apr 22, 2019•56 min•Ep. 8
After the 2018 New York Mets got off to a hot start, they cooled into one of the more disappointing teams of last season. Scott Pianowski is joined by D.J. Short of Rotoworld and NBC Sports to discuss the 2019 Mets and if the impressive Aprils out of Pete Alonso and Steven Matz are for real (1:40). They also discuss the Atlanta Braves, Philadelphia Phillies, Washington Nationals and what appears to be a crowded NL East race (6:30). Later they dive into D.J.'s latest Waiver Wired column and discu...
Apr 15, 2019•54 min•Ep. 7
One of the most dominant trends in the last few years of baseball has been the giant surge in both home runs and strikeouts. As both hitters and pitchers have become more effective at what they do, a sort of boom-or-bust game has emerged. Scott Pianowski is joined by SI's Joe Sheehan to talk about the surge in slugging, expanding rotations and how to manage your fantasy team in this new era (0:55). Later, as the league hits the roughly 10-game mark, Joe talks about this rule of three starts and ...
Apr 08, 2019•56 min•Ep. 6
Opening Day 2019 is in the books and after the first weekend of real MLB action, there are some small sample sizes to ponder over and bold predictions to make. Scott Pianowski is joined by Derek Carty of ESPN and RotoGrinders to talk about the first few games of the season and the methodology behind Derek's projection system, The Bat . They open the show taking a look at the new-look San Diego Padres and the issues with projecting younger players like SS Fernando Tatís Jr. and SP Chris Paddack (...
Apr 01, 2019•52 min•Ep. 5
MLB Opening Day is just a couple short days away and there's still time to draft your fantasy team (or draft your second, third or fourth one). Scott Pianowski is joined by Yahoo Sports' resident Canadian, Fred Zinkie , for a conversation about some last major news items and strategies to consider before the first pitch is thrown out on Thursday. [ Batter up: Join or create a 2019 Yahoo Fantasy Baseball league for free today ] They start off discussing the newly announced closer for the Arizona ...
Mar 25, 2019•51 min•Ep. 4
The Athletic's Gene McCaffrey joins Scott Pianowski this week on the Yahoo Fantasy Baseball Podcast coming out of their Tout Wars mixed league auction draft over the weekend. They start the episode off with some general auction strategy (0:30) and how it pertains to pitchers like Max Scherzer and Jacob DeGrom (3:50). Also on the show this week: - The differences between fly ball pitchers and ground ball pitchers (8:10) - Breaking down the 2019 Colorado Rockies (9:55) - A deeper look at the Chica...
Mar 18, 2019•49 min•Ep. 3
As April draws near, the list of players who wont be ready for the start of the season seems longer and longer. Clayton Kershaw is very unlikely to make his customary opening day start and on Monday, the Braves confirmed Mike Foltynewicz won't be ready by opening day either. Meanwhile, starting pitchers in general are playing fewer innings overall, which inspired Scott Pianowski and his guest Dalton Del Don this week to dive heavily into some overall pitching strategy for the 2019 fantasy season...
Mar 11, 2019•52 min•Ep. 2
The Yahoo Fantasy Baseball Podcast is finally here and Bryce Harper is finally a Phillie. The 2019 MLB season may now commence. Scott Pianowski is joined by Yahoo Sports' Andy Behrens to discuss what the Philadelphia lineup might look like with the addition of Harper and where he should be drafted now that the uncertainty of where he might play has disappeared (1:50). The guys talk about Blue Jays 3B Vlad Guerrero, Jr., when fantasy owners should draft the prospect and compare him to a young Kri...
Mar 04, 2019•54 min•Ep. 1
Human sports encyclopedia and Yahoo fantasy expert Scott Pianowski hosts The Yahoo Fantasy Baseball Podcast, premiering on Monday, March 4th. Scott will be joined by Yahoo Sports' Andy Behrens and Dalton Del Don , plus a rotating cast of experts and friends from all round the world of fantasy baseball. Subscribe now to download the first episode when it premieres on March 4th and catch new episodes with Scott and the crew every Monday. While you're at it, there's still plenty of time to join a l...
Feb 15, 2019•47 sec
