AL Cy Young race debate + Jonathan Papelbon on rigged MLB mounds

0:00The entire draft room groans because you just took the guy they wanted. There's no better feeling than crushing your fantasy football league. I'm JJ Zacharyson, host of the award-winning Late Round Podcast. Before your draft, our players to target and players to avoid episodes tell you exactly who to circle and who to cross off. Listen to the Late Round Fantasy Football Podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts. College football will hijack your weekend, ruin your sleep, and break your heart. And that's why we make the Solid Verbal College football show. I'm Ty Hildenbrand, he's Dan Rubenstein. Every week we preview the games that matter in the storylines that are going to ignite your group chat. And you can join us in the aftermath as we react to what happened, why it matters, and how the sport went completely bonkers yet again. Listen to the Solid Verbal College football show on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts,

1:01or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, I'm Mike Yama. And I'm Trevor Sikama, and together we host the NFL Fantasy Football Show. Are you ready to dominate your fantasy league this season? Because if you aren't locked in with us on the NFL Fantasy Football Show, you're already playing from behind. Whether you're a first-time player or a grizzled vet chasing another championship, we give you the advantage and the confidence you need to make every move count. Listen to the NFL Fantasy Football Show on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. In the weeds, ALSI Young Race. We haven't covered it much. Let's do it right now. Todd Father, you've watched a lot of Cam Schla... You've watched probably a good amount of Dylan Seas. Schlauer has the edge in most numbers. Is the ALSI Young Race even a race? Or is it over where we can very clearly go? Schlautler 1, Dylan Seas 2. I don't think it's over.

2:01I don't think it's over. I think Cam Schlautler has the edge. I think he has the edge. Slightly. Again, you know me. You can put all the numbers in the world, but I test. I've seen both of them pitch. I love the one-time Schlautler went out and dominated with 14 strikeouts. And I think Seas came right back with another 13 or 14 in the one game. So these two guys are going to battle through Thicken Thin. I love what Cam Schlautler did last night. Absolute gem of a performance only given up one run on a home run. Where everybody thought it was a pop-up fight at the center, but guess what? It's a home run at the end of the day. He didn't get the win. Dylan Seas is a strikeout machine. And he's just coming on strong. Again, the numbers are there. You guys can all look at him. But again, I've seen both from pitch, probably a little bit more Cam Schlautler than Dylan Seas. I think Cam has the edge. And I do think Cam will overall be the side of the young at the end of the day.

3:02Innings pitch, he's probably got what 171.2 to 156.1. I look at something like that. He's got basically two more starts of innings in his book than him. You know, the year A is a pretty similar. I just think it comes down to who finishes stronger. And I think Cam can do, can go with another bad game. If he has one, I still think he has that chance. But if Seas comes on strong and he's last four or five starts, that he's going to have, he's going to make a tight little push. And he's going to get some votes from some guys. But for me, Cam Schlautler is your side of the young. If I had to side today. I mean, this is, this is straight Corbin Burns, Zach Wheeler. All over again, Zach Wheeler ended up losing the Corbin Burns who had 167 innings and less strikeouts, but more strikeouts per nine. So is that the path that Dylan Seas ends up going? Does he have more strikeouts per nine,

4:04which I think then elevates your ERA plus all the things that people look at when they're voting? But it's like Todd said, the eye test. Who's been more dominant? Because this isn't an MVP. This isn't like, oh, well, where's the team without this guy? Like it's really just the pitching award because we've seen guys with below 500 records win this award. So it's not a wins. It's not a, it's who to the writers think has been more dominant? And I think Seas has a shot at still catching them here in September because some of these races are won or lost in September. But first strike goes to, or first punch goes to Cam Schlieler with what he did last night in Anaheim against a pretty poor team. And he dominated them. And I think Cam over the season, if I were to vote, has dominated more than Dylan Seas had. Not taking anything away from Dylan Seas.

5:06Just if you're comparing the two, the two best pitches in the American League, Cam Schlieler takes it from me right now. And the strikeouts are close enough. And some of the other advanced metric, FIP, FILDING independent pitching. I mean, Seas has the edge there, but it's close enough for me guys. The 15 inning advantage is big because the array advantage is there. And that's of course going to still be a huge deal when we're talking about this. 204 Seas is further back. Seas is further back in innings for me. If Cam Schlieler just pitches well, and doesn't like it's just a barring injury for me at this point. And then it's his. That's how I look at it, right? Because even if, I mean, he's not going to, if Cam makes his starts, Seas isn't catching up to him on innings, right? So then at that point, you're looking where else can he get an edge? And usually, ERA is still a big deal in the voting. It's a very big deal, right? So if you're looking at that, I mean, Dylan has some work to do. So even if he catches up and they're pretty close, right?

6:06Let's say, oh, let's say he maintains and Cam has, you know, a couple of starts that are okay, their quality, but they're not like he did last night. And he falls back more to the two, three range. He's still got the edge. He's got the innings. And he's pitching. I mean, for me, he's pitching for a yank's team. I know it doesn't really matter, but that's needed him. Like the narrative, I know it doesn't matter. But damn, look at him last year and even going into his debut at some point last year, it's not like everyone was like, oh, here comes Cam Schlieler. He was like, oh, here's a nice prospect for the yankies. He started to rise in the system and all of a sudden, I mean, you blink, he was insane in that one start against Boston and playoffs. And then now here we are one year later. And he's the best pitcher in the American league. It's pretty crazy. It is. I just, I just, for people who's to side by the way, who side with Scott and agree with Scott, I just want you to be aware of the national league 2021, national league, say young race because Zach Wheeler led in innings by he had 50,

7:11I'm sorry, 47 more innings. He had 13 more strikeouts. He had three complete games, two shutouts, all compared to Corbin Burns who ended up winning it and had a lower ERA, which was a 2.43 to Zach Wheeler's 2.78. Like I agree with Scott. I'm just saying humans are voting for this. There is a contingent that doesn't necessarily look at it the same way that we do. Yeah. That's why no, it'll be looked at closely, but if it ends today, right? If the season ended today, I think it's, it's a pretty easy call that is Camsel Hitler won. We'll see what the next half weeks look like. I bet the votes are half. Right now. No, no, no, I'm saying how the players are going to vote.

8:13I mean, how the, how the, uh, the voters will vote. They'll be a little bit more slow, so the players will be getting closer to half than we would, than we would put on. Right now, you think it's a split jury. I think so. I don't agree with it, but I'm just saying that. No, no, no. I, I, I will, I asked, we asked the voter, well, we can't ask the actual voters because they're not allowed to talk about it. But we can ask the writer, the next time they, they come on to talk about it. Yeah, let's. Yankees are playing this weekend against the Padres. That's another one on the Fox schedule. You can stream the 2026 World Series Live on Fox one. You're getting plenty of games down the stretch here. Three day free trial is available Fox one dot com. You know the feeling you make a pick in your fantasy draft in the entire room. Grounds because they wanted that player or you grab a small school rookie off waivers and you start him right before he goes off in prime time. There's no better feeling than crushing

9:14your fantasy football league. I'm JJ Zacharyson, host of the late round fantasy football podcast. Before your draft are players to target and players to avoid episodes tell you exactly who to circle and who to cross off. We've got data driven analysis, historical trends and the strategies that separate winners from the rest. And your dominance doesn't stop with the draft all season long. We have our 15 transactions, 10 trends, sleepers and the mail back data driven quick hitting episodes to help bring home that league trophy. Listen to the late round fantasy football podcast on the iHeart radio app Apple podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. College football will hijack your weekend, ruin your sleep and break your heart. And that's why we make the solid verbal college football show. I'm Ty Hildenbrand. He's Dan Rubenstein. How's it going? Every week we preview the games that matter sort through the biggest storylines and tell you what to watch before kickoff. There's a lot to keep track of. Who's for real? Which upset is hiding in plain sight?

10:19And which storyline is about to take over your group chat? And when the games are over, join us in the aftermath too. We're going to react to what happened, talk about the biggest results. Of course, we'll cover the playoff picture and all the little details you might have missed while flipping between like 12 games at once. Whether you know every coach and coordinator or just want to understand why everybody is yelling, we're here to help make sense of the madness. Listen to the solid verbal college football show on the iHeart radio app Apple podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Britt Coleman and I'm Trevor Sikama. If you ever watched a game and wondered what really made the difference beyond the final score, that's exactly why we created NFL Pro Strowth, got a man wide open. Touchdown, say hocks. Every week we use exclusive next-gen stats insights and NFL content to break down the biggest stories, matchups and moments from around the league. We go beyond the box score to uncover the numbers, the tendencies and details that help explain what actually

11:24happened on the field. Fires it out the flat to Barclay, who beats one man, spins past another, leaps over the crowd. And don't worry, this isn't just a show for stats experts. We use advanced analytics to help tell the story behind the game, turning the numbers into insights that every fan can understand and enjoy. So whether you're a casual fan learning more about football or a hardcore fan who can't get enough analysis, our goal is to help you see the game in a whole new way. If you've ever wanted to know why a playwork, how a matchup was won, or what most fans missed on Sunday, NFL Pro delivers insights you simply can't get anywhere else. Listen to NFL Pro on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Here he is, Jonathan Papalban joining us right now on FT.

12:27Pap, I want to take you to the Miz first and how he's been slipping off the mount. I don't know how much you caught of the last conversation, but how much do mounds get rigged? How much do you get help when you're home and not when you're on the road, dude? Let me tell you something. I believe everything crap is saying. I've seen it firsthand. Every mount in the big leagues is rigged when I played it in my opinion. Look, not only pitching coaches, Cratsy, but pitchers themselves, I've seen drop a pretty good coin on some ground's group keepers to make that mound the way they wanted to make that infield the way they wanted it. And, you know, unfortunately for me, I was the last one coming in. So I always knew, I'm not going to say any names for former teammates, but I always knew when certain starters before me came in exactly how that mound would be. So yes, now I've been out of the game, but I don't know how much it goes on nowadays

13:31as far as how much it went when I played. Stop. You know, it's still going on. The computer nerds ain't trying to figure out how to get the extra edge. The pitchers are trying to figure it out. If you did this, if you had this extension that he has that's going past a certain location at the clay is no longer there, what's your what's your recourse? What are you doing? Are you being like, hey, you know what? We got to tell everybody in the major league to change the mound. What are you, what are the things that you're doing to be able to pitch the best? Well, I'm going to go to the Grouse crew. The heads ground crew keep her first and say, hey, man, what's going on here? This shouldn't be an issue. This shouldn't be a problem. And then if nothing's done, I'm probably going to go to my manager and say, hey, listen, this is what's happening. I can't pitch on these types of mounds because of X, Y, and Z.

14:35And then after that, I guess you take it up with major league baseball. But you know, it was such a secret. Let me take some Finway Park. The new ground, they got new grounds creeper there. But the old grounds keeper there, man, he would stuff his pockets full of cash on every start from home starters. And man, I remember that like you said, the grass. And that grass will be three, four inches long on some stars. If somebody like Tim Wakefield was pitching, getting them ground balls, and Tim Wakefield would come out of his pockets, put money up for them, that long grass. But what do you do? What do you do if it's on the road, though? Because you can't change. Do you think guys would go to a grounds keeper on the road? Or do you think guys go to major league baseball? Because that's where the Miz is slipping the most. I think he's got it locked in at home.

15:36Yeah. Well, on the road, it's a different story, Crats, because you know that you're dealing with the enemy, so to speak. And so, yeah, I mean, you got to go to your managers and say, hey, look, ace kill. This mound is horrible. I can't go through my normal delivery, because there's not enough clay. There's not enough tackiness. My spikes aren't digging in. I'm bailing out of my Delivery X, Y and Z. And then you and the managers sit down and probably figure out how to deal with it with major league baseball. I like that manipulation and how it's finest. Crazy. Because that's hitters. We don't do anything like that. How are we supposed to get a feel, you know, perfectly how it's supposed to be? It's all about the pitchers. The pitchers get that. No, all good. I'm just having a little. No, I really didn't phrase. I'm starting pitchers, man. They cry babies. Yep. Of course. Of course.

16:36I want to talk a little red sucks here. I mean, I haven't talked about Garcrochet. It seems like since 89. How is my man doing? Talk a little about him, man. They're trying to go on a little run here, man. It's Red Sack team. I'll be honest with you. It's a team. I don't think many want to see it. Come play all the time. No phrase. It's not. But look, your boy, your boy crochet. He's doing good, man. He really is. I think he's to the point now where he realizes that he's just doing whatever it takes to get back and play. And I think he knows now that it's probably not going to be as a starter. He realizes that his ability to be able to build up and to get those innings in is too late in the season. It's not going to happen. So I think that he's looking at a relief role. Come last week of September, possibly, and into the wild card.

17:41But he's just a guy. And you know this, man. He's just a guy that you don't leave on the bench when he's able to incapable of going out there and giving you innings. I don't care what kind of innings they are. If they're innings in relief, then you give them innings. You give him innings in relief because he's going to go out there and be able to dominate. But he just won't be able to dominate throughout the course of a start like he's been used to. But he is feeling healthy, man. His, you know, the Red Sox, they do these, they measure your shoulder strength, your elbow strength and your capsule strength. It's all about his capsule. So they're measuring that day to day and he's and he's making strides. He's making strides up. So that's a great sign for him because look, they're kind of worried me a little bit right now. They're having to play. They got contrarious on the IL right now. They're having to play a few guys in different positions that aren't used to it now.

18:43Now they are playing well. But how long that will last? I don't know. It's kind of putting pieces together to string out some wins and get by after the season right now. Do you feel like him going on the IL was more like, hey, we're going to try to push through this Yankee series. If the Yankee series had gone the flip, you know, where they had won three, they had won four of those games, Wilson would have still gone on the IL or are you fearful of this IL stint being longer? No, I think he still would have gone on the IL crats and Chad Tracy spoke on that the other day. And Tracy said, hey, we're trying to find time for him so that he's got a hamstring going on, man. You know how these hammies are? You know, they're every day and they're just nagging. And his is to the point where he's having to go out there and play a little bit differently

19:46and protect that hamstring because it is so close to getting to a point where, man, you might tear something, you might over, you might really get a grade one or two strain that, hey, we're not looking for that right now. So I think they're in a comfortable enough position and they feel comfortable, especially with Mickey Gaspert first base. Man, the way this kid has been playing first base, he's been, this guy has been hitting the lights out of the day. They lights out of the ball, man, and hitting home runs. And so I think they're happy with his substitute and Mickey Gaspert. And so they're going to roll the dice with Mickey Gaspert right now and hopes that Wilson Contreras can get this thing back on our control, get this hammy back on our control. And so at it's not to the point where he's over there at first stretching three quarters of the way to the baseball instead of fully stretching or really taking a full hack or full stride in the box and stuff like that.

20:48So yeah, I think it's mainly just to get him and get that hamstring back going again. All right, we're obviously a national show. You follow the Red Sox. Can you explain what you've seen out of Mickey Gaspert who I'm so disappointed he has a go-t right now because his mustache. But when you watch a Red Sox game, the way they talk about Mickey and what he's done, can you explain it to the national audience? Well, this is what is so impressive to me about Mickey Gaspert what he's done is, is he's done it by going back and forth from AAA to the big leagues. You know, this is a very, very hard thing to do. As you guys will know, man, this kid has gone back and forth. He's been a DH. He has caught. He's been behind the plate. He's been at first base. He is basically filling every void in every position on a daily basis that the Red Sox

21:55need. And when you have that ability to do that, man, I compare that to like a Dion Sanders who plays on both sides of the ball is going to go and shut down your best receiver and go catch touchdown passes. I mean, this guy right here, he is doing it all and single handedly right now. These last few weeks saving the season, man. You know the feeling. You make a pick in your fantasy draft in the entire room, groans because they wanted that player or you grab a small school rookie off waivers and you start him right before he goes off in prime time. There's no better feeling than crushing your fantasy football league. I'm JJ Zacharyson, host of the late round fantasy football podcast. Before your draft, our players to target and players to avoid episodes tell you exactly who to circle and who to cross off. We've got data driven analysis, historical trends and the strategies that separate winners from the rest. And your dominance doesn't stop with the draft.

22:57All season long, we have our 15 transactions, 10 trends, sleepers and the mail back, data driven, quick hitting episodes to help bring home that league trophy. It doesn't have the late round fantasy football podcast on the iHeart radio app Apple podcast or wherever you get your podcasts. College football will hijack your weekend, ruin your sleep and break your heart. And that's why we make the Sullivan-verbal college football show. I'm Ty Hildenbrand. He's Dan Rubenstein. How's it going? Every week we preview the games that matter, sort through the biggest storylines and tell you what to watch before kick off. There's a lot to keep track of. Who's for real? Which upset is hiding in plain sight and which storyline is about to take over your group chat? And when the games are over, join us in the aftermath too. We're going to react to what happened, talk about the biggest results. Of course we'll cover the playoff picture and all the little details you might have missed while flipping between like 12 games at once.

23:58Whether you know every coach and coordinator or just want to understand why everybody is yelling, we're here to help make sense. Of the madness. Listen to the Solid Verbal College football show on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. The new NFL season is here and you should be listening to NFL Daily as we march along to Super Bowl 61. Last year we had Mike Bick-Dottal, Sam Darnal on the field after the game. But that was last year. If you're a football sickle like me, NFL Daily is your kind of show. It is in the name NFL Daily fresh content in your feed every day all season long. Matthew Stafford coming off his MVPC on a dazzling darts from Matthew Stafford. Big time trades that shake up the NFL. And of course those Seahawks trying to run it back and win another Lombardi trope. The Seahawks win Super Bowl 60.

25:01They are bringing Lombardi back to the Northwest. If it's happening on a football field, NFL Daily will cover it. Listen to NFL Daily on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Mickey Gaspers and Dion Sanders, you heard it here first. Jonathan Papelban, the prime, Mickey Gaspers and prime. Speaking of the catching position, Adley Rutchman, maybe the biggest trade of the trade deadline, the Red Sox pick him up. He misses all three games in the last series. Is this move going to, in this season, this season, 2026, not the future or anything like that, is it going to put the Red Sox in the best position to win a World Series this year or at least the American League? Well, I'm not going to say that. I don't believe that one player does put you in the best position.

26:02I think he's a huge, huge piece. But at the same time, at the end of the day, Jaren Durand has got to stay hot. Seahawks got to get going again. His defense is always there, but I'm talking about the bat. Trevor Story has to be Trevor Story of Old. And where do your brain? Where you have to keep doing what he's doing and you've got to get Wilson Contreras back. But as far as behind the plate, I'm worried about Adley as well. Just because the other day, they did an MRI on him. I think this was yesterday or two days ago, I did an MRI. Nothing came back as far as glaring or nothing came back as far as like, oh man, he's got slapped hair or he's got a full tear in this in this wrist of his. But at the same time, he's just not able to go out there and play night in and night out. And so that's a little bit worrisome for me because then, you know, when you're not able

27:05to do that, you're not getting the bat sets that you're used to. And so for me, he's got to have the at bats because he just came off the I.L. And when you just come off the I.L., you want those at bats. You know, I'm not a hitter. Y'all could speak on that more. But if it was for me, I'd be wanting those at bats. But yet he's not getting them because he's having to rest the inflammation that he has in his wrist. Now, is it carrying on for two or three days? Sometimes he can. Sometimes he can't. So it's a day to day thing. And when you're dealing with a day to day thing, it's hard to project what he can do night in and night out. All right. Let's go to that rotation now. It's been it versus Brennan Young. This rotation outside of sunny gray and obviously Ranger, I don't care if he gives up 10 runs of game for the rest of the season. He's clearly going to start game two of the post season because of his post season chops. Or do you evaluate what Ranger Suarez is doing the last month?

28:10And possibly if he doesn't do well, he doesn't pitch for you in the post season. All right. So if I'm the manager right now, I see how I'm heavily evaluating Ranger Suarez more than I am anybody right now because it's a playoffs towards tomorrow. And I'm the manager. Ranger Suarez is not pitching for me. I hate to say it. He's not pitching for me. It's going to be Bennett, Gray, and then Toley. So I'm going lefty, righty, lefty or Toley, Gray, Bennett. Ranger Suarez simply isn't pitching because it just hasn't shown me the ability. And you know how important this is, ma'am. And phrase will tell you this too, as a hitter, when the whole ball part knows what pitches to come in, whether it's a fastball or curveball, you've got to be able to make that hitter swing and miss and be able to produce an out or get a pop fly or a ground ball or swing and miss.

29:14You've got to be able to get him out in the whole ball part knows what pitches come in. That's when I knew I could pitch up the big league level for a long time. As when hitters knew what was coming, I was still throwing it and I was still getting it out with him. So to me, Ranger Suarez does not have that ability to do that right now. And I think that ABS is a total killer for Ranger Suarez because he has to live on the edges. And when he's not living on the edges and he's not on those borderline strike zones, whether it's up down, in or out, when he's not on the borders, he has to come back in his own. And when you come back in his own with 92 that really ain't seeking a whole lot, 91 miles an hour with your heater or a curveball that doesn't have a ton of swing and miss, bro, you in trouble, man. Yeah, understandable, understandable. Last thing for me, man, MLB on Fox here, you got the game Boston Baltimore.

30:18Talk to me about it. I mean, Baltimore's coming baby, watch out. So give us a little link link about what you're going to see this weekend here with D Squad. Yeah, man, I think it's going to be some great games, honestly. You know that I played earlier in the season and games were not that well played, not that competitive. But look, man, you're looking at a Baltimore team that's rising and a Baltimore team that's swinging the bats right now. I talked to Bimic Donald the other day who does a lot of their analysis. And he was sitting there saying that he didn't see this coming with the Baltimore Orioles just late in the season. He thought that, you know, it might be a little bit of a downward swing, but they're on the outside of things and the Red Sox are, they're kind of treading water right now. And so Bimic tonight is going to have to go out there and give them a start where it's going to, he's going to have to throw five to six innings. He cannot afford to go out there and throw an outing where, you know, he only gets two

31:23or three innings in and they have to pull them. You know, they're going to have to pitch effectively. And look, it's, and for the Red Sox, it's all about their bullpen, man. They've got to find ways to get to their bullpen. And if they can find ways to get to their bullpen, I've said this a thousand times when we won it all in 2007 and they have a very, very comparable bullpen as far as numbers and as far as dudes, the way they pitch and the way we pitched, you know, seven as the same team. And they can get to their bullpen any way, shape, perform. They're going to be looking good, man. Yeah, that first one is tonight, seven, fifteen Eastern pop good stuff, man. You're the best. Appreciate you. Praise you. You got the game tonight. I know I'm working this weekend, man. I got nothing. Okay, buddy. Yeah. Praise, yeah, he's on the weekend shift and the little league shift.

32:26All right. Okay. He's a weekend guy. Yeah. Good stuff. See y'all later, man. See you soon. All right. So that game and that series starts tonight and then it goes into the weekend, Boston and Baltimore, seven, fifteen Eastern time is the start of that one on the Fox one app. You can check it out. Start your Fox one three day free trial today at Fox one dot com. The entire draft room groans because you just took the guy they wanted. There's no better feeling than crushing your fantasy football league. I'm JJ Zacharyson, host of the award winning late round podcast. Before your draft are players to target and players to avoid episodes tell you exactly who to circle and who to cross off. Listen to the late round fantasy football podcast on the iHeart radio app, Apple podcast or wherever you get your podcasts. College football will hijack your weekend, ruin your sleep and break your heart.

33:29And that's why we make the Solid Verbal College football show. I'm Ty Hildenbrand. He's Dan Rubenstein. Every week we preview the games that matter in the story lines that are going to ignite your group chat. And you can join us in the aftermath as we react to what happened, why it matters and how the sport went completely bonkers yet again. Listen to the Solid Verbal College football show on the iHeart radio app, Apple podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, I'm Mike Amme. And I'm Trevor Sikama. And together we host the NFL fantasy football show. Are you ready to dominate your fantasy league this season? Because if you aren't locked in with us on the NFL fantasy football show, you're already playing from behind. Whether you're a first time player or a grizzled vet chasing another championship, we give you the advantage and the confidence you need to make every move count. Listen to the NFL fantasy football show on the iHeart radio app, Apple podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.