MLB Preview Show Part I: MLB Awards, World Series, AND Trade Predictions, Plus EPIC Would You Rather's| ft. Steven Russell

0:00The Maps app that came with your phone, it's fine if you enjoy waiting and guessing and inefficient routes or you could use MapQuest. MapQuest is back with live directions, real-time traffic and faster routes. It moves when you move. Best of all, no prints are needed, no paper, no more misterns, just you and the app. Get there fast with MapQuest. Download the MapQuest app on the app store or visit MapQuest.com. MapQuest, still getting you there. Has the news been getting you down? I'm Megan McCartle and I'm here to help. I'm the host of a news show from Washington Post Opinion called Reasonably Optimistic and it's an antidote to the pessimism that's riddling America right now. Every Wednesday I'm going to talk to people who see a path forward. It does seem to me that there is some awakening of a desire to act together to solve problems where they are. Now I am a believer in America and it's worth fighting for. Join me Wednesdays on YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts.

1:01Every team, every topic, everywhere. This is believed. And now this is the moment you've all been waiting for. We are live on the charity strike podcast with your host Alex Josh there. We'll back maybe Stripes Ball. It's Jeffrey throws. Cuzz there. Free Josh fish or special guest. Steven Russell. One of our favorite follows on social for baseball. We linked on social. I loved your stuff. It's always a good feeling. And then look, you know, we're both blessed to have like good following. It's good engagement. Good people interacting with us. It's always a great feeling when you follow another creator and they hit you right back. You know what I'm saying? Or like they'll hit you back later or they follow you and then you hit them back. It's a good tip. It's like a tip of the cap type thing. So we've been following each other for a bit. It's great to have you on part one of our baseball

2:04preview this season. It's coming up. We've done a ton of free agency. It's done a ton of trade stuff. But Steven, you and me, we're going to go through some awards. I'm going to play a little woods you rathers. I'm going to play the old Hall of Fame or Hall of Very Good, which to prepare you on social, people get thrown through the ringer. We had field yates on and we did an NFL with him and people were just like all over him. I almost felt bad sending it to his recipe. Hey, look, it did like hundreds of thousands of views. Just don't check the comments. Whatever you do, he'll never come back on. But we're going to have a fun one today, man. Let's start with our predictions. Let's go to AL MVP first and foremost. Give me your, we'll both give winners, dark horses and long shots. But you'll go first. Who's your AL MVP winner this year? I think until he slows down even a little bit. If you're putting up 200 OPS plus seasons, you have to be at the MVP pick every single year, unless maybe Shohei Otani is in your league,

3:06which he's not anymore, which is why Aaron Judge isn't easy pick for this one. Even though it's boring. You know what? I was going to just to keep it spicy because obviously Judge is so the pick, right? But I'm going to ride the guy road last year. I'm going to ride Bobby with Junior. He's so close. He's right at the mountaintop. The platinum glove. He does that again. I'm going to buy them putting the fences in a little bit. I think he's got a real shot to go 30, 40 and dare I say 40, 40. And if he does that and the royals find themselves top the AL Central, which I think is completely plausible with the glove, I think Bobby with Junior can be the AL MVP. Who's your dark horse? Okay. The player that I have been really, really all about over the last year has been Junior Caminero. Not only does the guy bring energy, but he's already proven himself. 45 home runs in your age 21 season is otherworldly. And I think he's just getting started.

4:07I think there's a lot more ceiling to this guy. Yeah. You know, man, I think he almost had him. So I'm glad we're differing here. Just throw a bunch of different names out, right? But I love so much. And so many people pegged him for like a regression type year. But obviously he's showing it in the minimal sample size in the WBC. But the bat speed, how hard he hits the ball, the barrel percentage, like all the underlying metrics for what he does. I feel is so magical. And then his first full season 45 bombs. It's just crazy what he's done. Yeah. He's the man. For my dark horse, I'm going with Gunner Henderson. Kind of a down year quote on quote last year, comparatively what he did in 2024. But I think in hope they'll get a little healthier. I know Westberg's already down, but I think in hope they'll get a little healthier. What I liked though, adding Pete Alonzo and Taylor Ward, what he lost, I felt last year. Again, kind of came into the year, not fully healthy himself, but Santander being out of the lineup. They lost a lot of

5:09protection for Gunner Henderson, adding Alonzo adding Ward gives him more protection. Great love. Totally has 30 30 potential. I don't think they're the favorite by any means to win the ALE, but if all the stars align, they totally could. And if he finds himself at the top of what could be the toughest division in baseball, I think Gunner Henderson has a shot. And that's why he's my dark horse. All right. The fun one. Give me your long shot, my friend. Okay. I have debated a few different directions to take this pick, but I'm going to go with someone who I think his career has been hampered by injuries in recent seasons. I've gone back and forth a little bit. I'm going to say Byron Buksted for a few reasons. One, the guy last year actually did stay healthy for a big part of the year. And the numbers were there. I'm not saying he was quite MVP level, but if we're just talking about a guy who has crazy upside and demonstrates these skills on a per game basis,

6:12I don't think that Byron Buksted is outmatched by many players in the game. So I like him too, because he's got the combination of he can play great defense, he could steal some bases, and he's got power. He actually has an outside shot of putting up like a 40 40 season with great defense. Obviously, it's a long shot, but if I had to pick one player who I think has crazy upside that is not quite tapped in, I think Byron Buksted could do it. Dude, I love the route. You went and I thought you were going to take my guy because my guy, let me, let me, let's see if you could guess him. I'm going to run you some numbers. Okay. 2023 played 119 games, 7.2 war. 2024 played 123 games, five war. Last year, he played 102 games with a 6.2 war. Easy, Cory Seager. Bang. Cory Seager is my dark horse, man. If again, can the Rangers win the AO West? I don't think they're my favorite by any means, but it's plausible if everyone stays healthy. And if Cory Seager himself, he's only 32, he's not even 32 yet, but only 32 this season.

7:17If Cory Seager himself stays healthy, I think there's a world in which he can win the AL MVP. It's a long shot, but when he's at his best, there are very few that hit the baseball like him, and he's solid with the glove still. So he's a guy I'm looking out for to have a big season and hopefully stay healthy. Let's go to the NL. Let's keep it rolling. Give me your national league MVP winner. This is another scenario where obviously it's really boring, but if show how tiny stays healthy and on the field, not only is he going to be MVP during the 2026 season, but we could be legitimately looking at not only his best season ever, but maybe the best season ever put together by a major league player. If you can give us 100 plus settings and continue to take steps forward offensively, I don't even know what the limit is here, but something like 60 home runs and 200 strikeouts as a pitcher. 30 soul and bass is too maybe. Dude, I was like last year when he had that insane game in the playoffs,

8:18we made a video where like, hey, like this guy is undoubtedly the greatest athlete of all time. And obviously you have like all the old heads, like I got an immediate text from my father, no bow Jackson. I'm like, okay, and someone and someone who's not a baseball fan, my buddy's not a baseball fan is like explain this to me in football terms. I'm like, okay, imagine Patrick Mahomes at his best goes out there picks a part of defense in the biggest moment leads a drive to take the lead in the fourth quarter, then comes back out onto the field, plays edge records a strip sack fumble to seal the game. That is literally what show Aotani does every single night when he's at his best. So yes, obviously unbelievable pick. I'm going to veer for the sake of veer and could show I have courses a great pick. I'm going to go with Juan Soto. Oh, the things could go incredibly well for the match or they could go incredibly poorly, as is the case every year. June, August, September might have been the best player in baseball. If he can get to 25 plus steals again, I think that's kind of a long shot, but if he can get there again, and if he could

9:18put together a full season like he did in the second half, there is no better batter other than maybe Aaron Judge in baseball. I don't mean hitter. I mean, batter. I'm talking about I on base percentage of the ability to make a positive play at the dish. I have Juan Soto, who is your dark horse for the NL MVP? Between a couple guys, but I think I'm going to go with the the safer route here of the the guy who I think has the best ceiling in the game outside of maybe there's probably like three or four guys, but Ellie De La Cruz, he last season in the first half, we saw what he was capable of doing. And then he just fizzled out in the second half. Could be a number of different reasons why it actually happened. But I think Ellie De La Cruz, if he puts it all together, we've seen he's got 70 stolen base upside. And his power, it's not fully realized yet. I think he could be at least a 30 home run guy, maybe even an outside chance of being a 40 home run guy, you put it all together on a Cincinnati Reds team that I think is going to be good for this upcoming season. This is an MVP candidate.

10:22Yeah. So you say he could hit 30, 40 home runs. And you say he gets stolen bases in the 70s. All valid. So my dark horse is a guy that's already done that. I don't think people are talking enough. And it might be cheap because he's definitely up there. And he's definitely one of those guys when he's fully healthy, that's considered a talk about Ronald the CUNY Jr. When Ronald the CUNY Jr. was healthy last year, he showed unbelievably great flashes of the Ronald the CUNY Jr. We know he can be. So if he is fully healthy and it's going to help Matt Olson, by the way, Matt Olson, oh, where's the power gone? Where's, you know, he's great in the field. He had a great year under a year last year, in my opinion. I think a lot of people would say that where's the power gone? Well, Ronald the CUNY Jr. has been out of the lineup at him back into the lineup. And this brave team, despite all the injuries in the rotation, despite the profile nonsense, I think this team can zoom still. And I think Ronald the CUNY Jr. is the straw that stirs the drink, the engine that makes this thing go. And he's fully healthy. He's my dark horse. Who's your long shot?

11:24A guy who prior to getting suspended looked like he was on the trajectory to being one of the absolute best players of his generation came back from the suspension, became a platinum glove winning outfielder. But the one thing we have not seen him do yet is put together all of the offense that he was before. And that is Fernando Tatee Jr. I think we have not seen him. I think he is another level offensively post suspension that he has not tapped into yet. I don't think he's ever going to be quite what he was maybe in that was at the 2021 season where he was completely ridiculous was on like a 50 30 pace. But I do think there's a chance he could still get to 35 plus homeruns, play platinum defense, steal 30 plus bases. And I think the Padres could be a very competitive team again. Yeah, it's one thing about FTJ. I know this is I think a lot of his discourse right now is like, Oh, he's not been the same player at the dish since he got since he got suspended. And there were parts of last year starting the year at the end of the year where he

12:28was mashing. He just had that weird stretch in the middle where he cannot get the long ball going. But nobody, nobody, except for I guess a few of us talk about how unbelievably impressive it is. That he went from shortstop to the right field and he's like the best fielder in baseball. It's like, yes, completely underrated, not discussed enough. I think that's just one of the marbles of baseball that I think deserves more light. Here's my long shot for the MVP. It's a rarity. This almost never happens. And you could debate me if you want, but I might think we agree on this one. As good as Derek Scoobal is, I think the best picture in baseball without a doubt is Paul Skins. If, and it's a major if if the pirates hit their ceiling and it is a hide ceiling, if they hit it and they are a playoff team and he wins the triple crown and his ERA is sub one seven crown him. Just give him the MVP because that is such a masterclass. And I think at that point, again,

13:30boring to show. Hey, disaster. I think he deserves it. So Paul Skins for a fun one is my long shot. Speaking of Paul Skins, let's go to the NL Sy Young. I'll start us off with the winner. If I think Paul Skins can win the MVP, of course, he is my Sy Young pick. Who is your Sy Young pick in the National League this year? I wanted to get clever with this one, but once again, Paul Skins until he has an ERA that's over two. I don't know how you pick anyone else. He's ridiculous. He's actually off to like the greatest start ever by a starting picture, possibly. And I don't see any reason why he can't continue to do this. It's stuff just keeps getting better. Dude, it's literally doc good and minus the crack. That's what Paul Skins is. It's doc good and minus the crack cocaine. No, that's actually, no, it's it's a good point though because what makes him so uniquely special is not only does he have a ridiculously good stuff, but he also has in a very, very important aspect, which is the mentality and having the mentality in baseball, like the mental side of baseball, incredibly important, incredibly difficult. He's locked it.

14:32I think you put those two together like he seems like someone who's going to stay on a good course and just continue to find ways to get better. Yeah, he's a monster and he's one of the he's one of the few guys that was like, hey, this guy's the first overall pick. He's unbelievable. He gave me the best player in baseball and pretty much right away came in. It was the best player. It's like a Bryce Harper effect for me. He's he's been nothing short of phenomenal and I hope for his sake and maybe the franchise and the fan base is sake that they could start stacking some wins. My dark horse, Sai Young pick. I'm going to go with Logan Webb. You want to talk about consistency. You want to talk about mentality. You want to talk about the model of a war course. That's Logan Webb. I trust him maybe more than anybody in baseball to get to 200 innings. And that's playing a full season. His strikeout stuff jumped, better mix of the change of sweeper. I think Logan Webb kind of a really strong season like he did last year. And if it's a little bit better and some things break his way, I think he's a real good shot to win the Sai Young. Who's your dark horse? Up until the news about Hunter Green. He would have

15:34been the pick here. But now that I can't pick him, I had to debate a few different players, but I think I'm going to stick with Chris sale. Chris sale won the Sai Young during the 2024 season. And I feel like in 2025, he was just as good, but no one talked about it because he got injured and because Paul Skains was doing his Paul Skains thing. Chris sale's still ridiculous. He's still one of the greatest strikeout pictures of all time. On a per-start basis, there's basically no one better in the game. He's right up there with Terry Scubal and Paul Skains. I tell anyone, the stats are there. And on top of that, the Atlanta Braves are going to kind of need him for this upcoming season to prove that last year was the fluke. I'm sticking with Chris sale. And watching him throw that slider has to be the most gorgeous thing in pitching wise. It is just, I mean, I'm a Red Sox fan, so I love sale, of course, and a ton of Braves fans, friends who are Braves fans, but watching him throw and throw that slider, it is so mean and nasty. You feel the intensity every time he rips it. I just, and he's a lefty,

16:36it's just so gorgeous. My long shot, Jesus Lazardo, year two in Philly with a sweeper. First year with the sweeper last year, new change of scenery worked out great for him. Year two with the sweeper and he was dominant with it last year. I think he's going to be even better with it in year two. And if you look at his numbers last year, yeah, maybe they don't jump off the page from the gecko. I was like, oh my god, this guy's a total Saiyong favorite candidate. Like go buy a game game basis. He had like four starts that were utter disasters. And other than that, he was totally dominant. He had like one game was like three innings 12 run run. He's just like, I coupled disaster with starts, but outside of that, you'd utterly dealt. So he's my dark horse. I started long shot. Who's your long shot? I had I had a Luzardo in my fantasy team when he just completely imploded for those starts. It was, it was really fun. My long shot is show Hayotani. On a per start basis, he's incredible. He can be a little like the one thing he lacks is

17:38sometimes he just loses command. And part of that is probably the fact that he is balancing being a full-time hitter. But he's got some of the absolute best stuff in the game. And if there's ever been a player who will get the benefit of the doubt when it comes to anything close, they're going to give it to him because of his legacy. I think he has the chance to strike out 200 plus batters. And if everything kind of lines up for him this year, he could post an ERA in the low two is maybe even sub two because it seems like this could be something that really matters to him. I think you can make it happen. I think it's a long shot. But I do think that he wants to say young and he and maybe, maybe he could happen. Yeah, I mean, he's again, like we've already discussed fucking best athlete all time. So nothing's going to shock me. Let's go to the AL. Who's your AL say young winner this year? I'm going with Gared crochet. Last season, Terrick Scooball and him were basically neck and neck a little bit different styles. Gared crochet was an absolute workhorse,

18:43which is not what I expected at all. That was what took him to that next level because his stuff was incredibly dominant. But then adding in the fact that he could throw over 200 ittings and lead MLB and strikeouts huge news. And the fact he was able to do it in Boston and pitching in Fenway a big part of the time. The fact is numbers were what they were last season. And the fact that that team was going to be competitive again and need him to be good again, there's really no reason to not at least put him in the rutting for the side young winner not to mention historically winning the side young three years in a row. Pretty difficult thing to do. And I just like the big strikeout guys. So I'm not going to pick a non-strike out guys. So we're second with Gared crochet. Striking a guy out is the best thing you could do as a pitcher. Exactly. Not a hot take. I'm going to see your Gared crochet and call you a Gared crochet. First time going over 200 innings and he dominated. The innings took a little bit of a toll as the season went on. But he was still so brutally tough to hit. And I think in his second year as a full-time workhorse, I think there's

19:46no reason why Gared crochet can't be other than scuba will be absolute lock of a pick to win this year. Who's your dark horse? Cole Riggins. This guy, yes, battle some injuries. But his strikeout rate is absolutely preposterous. His stuff is so good. All he needs to do is stay on the field. And the fact that he pitches for Kansas City, which is also a pretty good ballpark for him to pitch in. Everything's just lining up for this guy to have an absolutely ridiculous season. There's very few pitchers in the game who can strike out 250 batters. And if he gets to like 170 innings, he might strike out 250 batters with how good his stuff is. I'm glad you called him out because that was my pick last year. And obviously a bloop of my face. But I've been like, last year my picks were, my dark horses were, they're not this year. So it's not bleeding a hand, of course. Christopher Sanchez and Hunter Brown are like my two dark horses. So my dark horse, well, typically do well. But hopefully not for crochet. Hopefully, you know, it bucks the trend.

20:47And I go back to my quote unquote winning ways. Like best thing I ever called on our show was the year he first one. It was Tarek Scoobal to win the Sion outright. My body was like, what? That's such a wild car pick. I'm like, no, dude. If this guy like puts it together, he is the utter dude. Like he's going to dominate baseball. And he did my dark horse, Logan Gilbert, great control, great strikeout stuff, winning organization. If you can pick up the fastball a little bit, I think he should cook. I think there's a lot of guys that can do a lot of damage in that rotation. And we was the guy that did it last year. But I think ultimately if you stack everybody up and everybody's fully healthy, I think Gilbert is the best pitcher in that rotation. And I think the Seattle Mariners are the best team in the American league. So by that logic, I have to go with Logan Gilbert. Who's your long shot? Oh, here we go. Here's the Cleveland bias. Gavin Williams. This guy, I've been on board for Gavin Williams for a while here. But in the second half last year, he cooked. He absolutely cooked in the second half last year. He's going to have to be our ace for the upcoming season. He has the stuff to do it.

21:50Make a couple of tweaks. He's got a sub three ERA next year or this year. I guess I should say now. I think this guy's a limit for him not to mention how many side young awards that we've turned out just in my lifetime. This organization knows how to get the best out of their pictures. And he's got some of the best raw stuff that we've had during my entire lifetime. Yeah, he's a beast. He was my breakout player last year. I just think he's such an imposing force in the mound. And again, it's it's the guardians. You know, there's you know the way they operate. He's just going to be nasty some way somehow. My long shot, we haven't seen this guy at a hot minute. But if he's fully healthy and pitching, I think everyone's forgotten about him. Shane McLean ahead. I think is such a stud. If he's fully healthy, it's a big if, but I'm hoping for the best glass half full. The guy has some of the best stuff in baseball. If he can get back to where he was in 2023 and 2022, we are looking at a major Si Young Long shot dare I say dark horse.

22:51Let's go to the young guns, Steven. We'll start in the National League. Steven, who's your National League rookie of the year pick? I like JJ weather hole because I think when I look at all of the rookies right now, he has one of the best chances to break in with the team. I also think that the Cardinals have a lot of reason to play him a lot. He hit incredibly well in the minors last year. I think his OPS was like over 900. He was obviously one of the top picks in the draft. He was someone that Cleveland looked at possibly drafting. I don't think he's going to have a crazy career in terms of like high super high upside, but I think he's going to be major league ready right away can give you probably, I don't know, 15, 20 home runs, a solid batting average, good counting stats, just a really good combination that will result in rookie of the year if there's no other dominant player in the league. Okay, I love JJ. I think it's a great pick. I think this guy could dominate though for my pick. I'm going to go

23:55with Nolan McLean. Cowboy, Otani at an okay state. It's just one of those things where the mets have, it just gives not that you look sprotes gone, right? And Tongue was like the big guy coming up. It gives, oh, we have Matt Harvey. We have Noah Sindergarten. Oh, like, yeah, we have this other guy who's going to come up and be good too. Maybe like the third guy behind him and Jacob DeGrom. Not saying he's going to be DeGrom who's obviously ridiculous, but it kind of reminds me of that where he kind of bucked up, bucked up throughout the rankings and all of a sudden exploded on to the scene. And if he actually hits what we all think he can be as the ace of the mets along with Freddie Peralta, I think he can lock up the rookie of the year. Who's your dark horse? So I have two players for this depending on which way we want to go because they're both on the pirates, but they're for two different reasons. One is obviously Connor Griffin because he's the number one prospect. If he does break camp or if he does, if he's in the opening day lineup,

24:55I think his chances of winning are probably as high as any player in the National League. But I don't think he's going to make the team if I were just to take a guess on this. I think he'll probably stay in the minors at least for a little bit, which will limit his chances of winning. So if I don't pick him, I like his teammate, Bob a Chandler. This guy was a top pitching prospect in the game. I think he's kind of forgotten among a bunch of other really exciting pictures. He's pitching in a good ballpark. He's in an organization that is maybe playing for something for the first time in a while during the 2026 season. His stuff's ridiculously good. And I kind of like him as a dark horse pick. Yeah, I mean, he's one of those, I just hope he's not like Tyler Glass now for them where they can't figure him out. They can't get him going. And then he has to go somewhere else. And all of a sudden, he's great again. Right. If he, if they configure, I think I know like people will be like, oh, like the pirates developed, we had this whole battle. We had Trevor with Trevor because he was like here, the top five organizations developing

25:58pictures. And he didn't include the pirates. And I think the argument for that is the guys that they quote unquote develop, like, okay, Garrett Cole and Paul, they're developed already. They're already like ready to go, right? It's it's it's it's a drive through. It's McDonald's. Okay, bang, bang, bang, done like on your merry way. My dark horse pick for the NL rookie of the year. I mean, there's so many different ways you can go with this. I know you like the Reds a lot. So I'm going to go with South Stewart. Yeah, there we go. He needs to be good. Like they actually need him to be good. So there's a little bit of pressure there. But if he can mash and it was such a small sample size. But if he can do like a percent of the damage he did in those 18 games we saw last year for the Reds, he could be a real force and a real impact bat in the middle of the order that they now are relying on with hunter green not coming back to like the midsummer. So South Stewart is my NL rookie of the year dark horse. Who's your long shot? If the Mets give him playing time, I think that Carson Bench could be a pretty good MLB player right away. A little bit of the

27:02JJ weather hole. I don't know if he's going to have a crazy ceiling. But I think if he gets every day at bats, his numbers should translate pretty well. And he should have some decent counting stats in a good match lineup with plenty of protection. Yeah, I felt the same way about my long shot. Moises by Astero's like he's probably just going to hit realistically. But he is a really, really strong batter. Great eye, good pop for a guy that for a guy of his age. And there's so much protection that clubs lineup. So he could see some really good pitches. And I think he's the kind of guy that could turn on them. So he's my long shot for NL rookie of the year. Stephen, who's your AL rookie of the year pick? I will admit, I'm getting a little bit more nervous about this pick, but I'm going to stick with Trey, you savage. I liked what I saw from him in the post season. The stuff is definitely there. The blue jays are going to need him if they're going to stay competitive, which is one of the reasons why I'm a little bit worried because I don't know what they're going to do with his usage over the courses season to keep him healthy for the post season.

28:03But if he can get a reasonable amount of innings, I think they're going to be really good innings. Yeah, I feel that he's my pick too. I also have Trey Savage. It feels a little chalky, and those trepidations you have kind of like are in the back of my mind. But what we saw like the stuff is so real, so good to pick anybody else right now. I just think is absolutely crazy. Who's your dark horse? I'm going to stick with Moonataka Murakami. It's one of those ones where it's like, is this really a dark horse because we heard so much about him. He was extremely hyped. If we talked about this a year ago, he would be probably the the easy favorite here. But obviously, teams had a little hesitation in signing him and he didn't get the contract that we all thought that he would. But it's undeniable that he could still hit 40 home runs. It might be with a 185 batting average and 250 strikeouts. But if he can just improve a little bit in adjusting to MLB pitching, I think this guy could be really good still.

29:03Yeah, I think I'm going to go a similar route to you. I'll be not a Japanese player. I'm going to go with Samuel Besayo. I think if he gets every day at bats and in that Orioles lineup, the power is so real and so raw. And if he can mash, and again, we talk about in early in another segment, we talk about the protection in that Orioles lineup, which is now very palpable with veteran hitters. I think Samuel can be really strong. So he is my dark horse to win the award. Who's your long shot? Chase Delodder has been a really good player in Cleveland's minor league system, but he's dealt with injuries. If he gets every day at bats and a team that really actually needs some offensive improvement, the talent is there for him to put together some really, really good numbers. He just has to stay on the field. If he does, I think he's going to be right there in rookie year discussion. For my long shot, I'm going to go with Tetsuya Yimai. I'm not going to buy into the whole spring training thing fully, but if you're going to tell me

30:06that guy's fastball right now is topping off at 98 and a half. And he's Japanese, so I know his control is sound. I don't mean like that's just how it is. I fully think in this Astros team, which is always competitive and they always get the best out of their players. I think he'd be really successful as a rookie. So if he hits those innings, I think there's a world in which he wins AL rookie year. So he is my long shot. And now let's go to a fun one. I'm so curious to see where you're at with this dark horse, long shot winner, of course. Steven, who is your world series winner this year? It's really boring. I'm sticking with the Dodgers three painting. I think the team got better in the, my boys is cracking. I think the team got better in the off season. And they're so proven in the postseason, which is a huge reason why teams often fall through when

31:08they get to the playoffs is their nerves clearly get to them or they just don't do a good job of putting the right guys into the game because the manager is inexperienced with a squad that he has. None of that stuff are things to worry about. You also don't have to worry about the team getting tired on the stretch because they're a lot for the playoffs again. So everything lines up for this team to three Pete. And on top of that, I just don't think any team this off season got so much better that there's a real competition. Yeah, I mean, they're obviously, unfortunately probably the pick, but I'm going to veer. I'm going to veer. I think this team can do it. I'm buying the hype. I think they got better in in small ways. I'm talking about the Seattle Mariners and I think they have everything. They have the rotation to compete. That's undoubtedly true. I like the Rob Reff Snyder off the bench pickup. Call me crazy. Call me a sucker for former Red Sox, but I like that

32:09pickup. I like the Brendan Donovan pickup. I think dominant can zone can be Mitch Haniger 2.0. And I think the thing and this is going to be a theme for me here. I think the thing that they can separate them, the American League and ultimately get them to the World Series is their bullpen. I think their bullpen like last year is going to be even better though and be nasty. So the Seattle Mariners for the first time ever are my World Series winner in 2026. Who's your Dark Horse? So to me, it's not necessarily a Dark Horse because I've been on this team for a while, but the Cincinnati Reds will win the National Accenture during the 2026 season. Even though I feel like ever since I called this, everything has been going wrong. There's been enough going right still that I think that this team is in their window. The Hunter Green Ninja Rehearts a lot because that was part of the reason for my enthusiasm, but I still like Chase Burns, I like Nick Lidolo. I like some of the young guys on their team. You combine that with the upside for Ellie Dela Cruz, who I think we have not seen the best from him yet. There's a lot of things about the team.

33:13Also, the AU Hany Westwara signing, which is exactly what I thought that team needed to fill out their roster. Sure. It's a good team. I don't think they're going to win 100 games or anything during the regular season, but do I think that they can win the division with around 90 wins and then make a good postseason run? Yeah, especially if Hunter Green's healthy. When I watched your video, when you picked them, because I love them too. And there was like an ESPN article where they had their rotation outside the top 20. And I was like, that was like the most blasphemous thing I've ever seen. I've seen a lot. We all seen a lot of blasphemous things on ESPN. That might have been the most blasphemous thing I've ever seen, because with Hunter Green, their rotation is really damn good. And that's just poor, piss poor research. So I like the reds pick a lot. I'm going to stick in division. I think there is a massive world in which this team takes a step back. They were kind of the Cinderella team last year. They were the darling. I'm talking about the Milwaukee brewers. They had a very unfortunate sad ending. If everything goes right for the brewers, I believe it

34:15actually can. I don't think this team took that big of a step back in the off season. I think South Freely will only get better. Bryce Turing will only get better. Jackson Trio can only get better. I mean, how is 22 years old? The guy could be an absolute superstar, right? We've seen him show so many great spurts. Obviously, Yelich, if you get the same production from Vaughn, I like their rotation. I know Woodruff is such a what if, but if he is healthy, if mispitches a full season, I think both those two guys atop your rotation are what you need to compete. And you want to talk about best ball pens and baseball. Their bullpen is absolutely lethal and nothing's changed there. So their bullpen is so nasty. I think especially in a regular season, it's going to keep them in games. If they can get to the playoffs, I think for the first time ever, the Milwaukee brewers can win the World Series. So they're my dark horse. Who's your long shot? I'm going to cheat on this one a little bit because I'm basing the long shot off the fact that this team got off to an awful start last year and didn't even finish with a 500 record.

35:15But I am 1,000% on board with the Atlanta Braves. Yes, a lot of people now have warmed up to the fact that this team will be good. But people are constantly making comments about another injury for the Braves. The this Braves team, they're just the, you know, the guys, they already signed the contracts. They don't care to win anymore. And I've just heard so many reasons as to why this team is not going to be competitive. And I don't believe any of it. Like I still think that this team is incredibly talented from top to bottom. I'm excited about what Chris sale can do for this upcoming season. Spencer Strider, a little bit of a wild card. Don't exactly know what he's going to do. But we've seen what his upside could possibly be. Maybe he gets a velocity back. I think this team is a playoff team for the upcoming season. And if everything clicks, they could be a world series contender again. Yeah, I mean, that's a very strong pick. It seems like they've just had like an awful off season after bringing back a glaciers and bringing in Bob Suarez. And no one's talking about that. It's just so focused on the negative. So this team

36:20has the championship DNA. I think they could totally do it. My long shot is the San Francisco Giants. I think a lot of people are picking them to be the third, even fourth team in the NL West. And I could understand why while they have a couple of weak points shortly on defense, they have a ton of wrong points, not just strong points, elite points on defense. I think Junho Lee going to right field is going to benefit him. Beta and center, great defense, Bayley, obviously the best, Chapman and Adamus all really strong. Then I think they also have maybe the most underrated one to punch in the rotation with Logan Webb and Robbie Ray. The issue is the bullpen and the guys following Ray and Webb. That's why they're the long shot. But if the bullpen can produce well enough and not totally blow games, and you can get solid production in the rotation from three to five, I think this team has a chance to surprise in people. So they are my long shot pick to win the World Series. And Steven, those are our awards for the year. I'm so glad you were here to do this with me, man. Like it's always fun to look back because last year we did it with Kate

37:21Mascalco and I went back and looked. I was either on the money or so brutally. There was nothing in there's like, there was no like, oh, this is kind of close. There was either like disaster with Sania Contera or like great hit on Christopher San. Like it was just nothing in between on those picks. So it's going to be really fun to look back. Yeah, there was a lot of chalk last year, but I for every person who says I don't know ball, I always want a point to even though I picked a lot of the obvious picks. I got both MVPs, both Sy Youngs and the World Series winner at the end of the day. I mean, dude, it's pointed out. The people like these guys have no idea what they're talking about. Yeah, all right, dude. Like I just made like a nine minute video on the NFL draft, like fucking hammering home all these players. Like if you just say, hey, I don't agree. Fine. Don't hit me with these guys. Don't hit me with the stupid meme of the guys we're talking. And it's just so dumb. All right, let's play some games, baby. Let's play some games. All right, Steven, who would you rather have going forward Vlad Guerrero Jr. edition?

38:23Vlad Guerrero Jr. or Francisco Lendor? A little harder than maybe some people would give credit to it because I think Francisco Lendor is actually kind of underrated. And I think his skill set has aged pretty well to this point. But I don't imagine his offense is going to keep it up. I think Vlad Jr., we have not seen his best years yet. So I'll stick with Vlad Jr. Vlad Jr. or the newly minted Dodger, the rich, rich man Kyle Tucker. I'll stick with the guy who I like. I just think that Vlad Jr's offense is going to continue to be pretty good. Kyle Tucker, I kind of question if a couple of things fall apart from his skill set, how good he'll be. So I'll stick with the guy who's got the offense. Vlad Jr. What about Vlad Jr. or his countryman, Fernando Tati's Jr. This is actually really tough because I think that Fernando Tati's Jr. has some good offensive seasons ahead of him too. I'm going to, oh, this is so difficult. I would give a slight edge

39:29to Vladimir Guerrero Jr. But just barely. Vlad Jr. or the underappreciated Corbin Carroll. I do think he's underappreciated. I do worry a little bit about how his skill set will age. And he's dealt with a few injuries already. I think I'm going to stick with Vlad Jr. Vlad Jr. or Gunnar Henderson. It's tough not to take Vlad Jr. again, honestly. I'm sticking with Vlad Jr. Yeah. Vlad Jr. or Julio Rodriguez. Well, everyone knows how much I love Julio Rodriguez. So he's going to be the pick in this situation. I think he's the guy who is going to have even better seasons ahead of him. Vlad Jr. or Ronald Acunio Jr. You pick two of my absolute favorite players in the game. I'm sticking with Ronald Acunio Jr. He's literally the third best player in the world.

40:31And I don't think it's even really a question. Vlad Guerrero Jr. or Cal Raleigh. Man, that's such a tough one with Cal Raleigh's 60 home run season. I think I'm going to have to give the edge slightly to Cal Raleigh because of how good that season was. And the fact he's a catcher. Vlad Guerrero Jr. or Juan Soto. I'm pretty comfortable saying Juan Soto because he reminds me a lot of Vlad Jr. As a hitter, but even slightly better and more consistent. Okay. Let's keep the train rolling a few more for you. Same exercise, different player. Who do you rather have going forward? Roman Anthony edition. Roman Anthony or Wyatt Langford. Oh, no. I have been such a big white Langford guy.

41:32It's probably bold, but I'm sticking with Wyatt Langford. Roman Anthony or James Wood. I think I'll take Roman Anthony. I certainly Roman Anthony is going to be incredible. I think he's like really good. Roman Anthony or Jackson Merrill. I'll pretty easily take Roman Anthony. Okay. Roman Anthony or Jackson Cheerio. Back to back, Jackson. This is a little tougher. You know, I'll give a slight edge to Roman Anthony. I think he has a better hit tool. Roman Anthony, where the guy that took the world by storm, PCA. PCA's defense is so good. Even if his hitting isn't as good, it's so valuable. But it's just so hard to depend on defense. So I'm going to stick with Roman Anthony. I love the hit tool. Roman Anthony or Kyle Tucker. Right now, I would take Kyle Tucker, but give it like a couple of seasons. I'll take

42:42Roman Anthony. So Roman Anthony, Roman Anthony or Corbin Carroll. I think I would give a slight edge here to Corbin Carroll because I've already seen how good he can be. It's fair. Roman Anthony or Riley Green. I think I'm pretty comfortable. I think I'm pretty comfortable taking Roman Anthony in this situation. Roman Anthony or one of your favorite players. Got a lot of them coming up. Ronald Acunia Jr. Oh, this is no question. Ronald Acunia Jr. Roman Anthony or Julio Rodriguez. Julio Rodriguez, Roman Anthony or Fernando Tati's Jr. A lot closer, but I'd give a slight edge to Fernando Tati's Jr. Okay. Last two for your brother. Then we'll go wash them baseball. All right, Steven, way or no way, will this player be traded

43:47this season? First up, my Red Sox, Jaren Duran. I actually don't think that he will because I think the team is going to be competitive all season long and he's going to factor into their plans. The only thing I can maybe see happening is him getting traded for a different equal piece, but it just doesn't happen very often, especially in a contending situation. So, no, what about Sandial Contara? I absolutely think Sandial Contara will be traded this season. What about will your brave? I don't think he will. No, I don't think Boston's going to be making too many moves. Yeah, I don't think so. CJ Abrams. Yeah, I think there's a likely chance that CJ Abrams gets moved. How about his teammate, James Wood? I don't see any scenario where James Wood gets moved.

44:50Where no way does Joe Ryan get traded this season? Because I don't think the Minnesota twins are going to be very relevant and there's going to be a lot of teams at the trade deadline who are going to need a starting pitcher like we saw this past trade deadline. I definitely think he's going to be on a different team by season's end. Where no way his teammate Byron Bucston. He'd be such an interesting trade target. If he stays healthy and puts together numbers like he did last year, I could see it happening. I'm going to go bold and say, yeah, I think he's going to get moved. Terrick Scooble. If I'm being completely honest, I think that Detroit Tigers are going to win the American League Central and because of that, I don't think he'll be traded. But if they fall off even slightly, he's going to get moved. Okay. And the last one, the old favorite, the time was classic.

45:53Stephen Hall of Fame or Hall of Very Good, current players edition. Hall of Fame or Hall of Very Good, Kyle Schwarber. If Kyle Schwarber gets to 500 home runs, I think he's going to get it. It's not going to look good. It's going to be a very ugly Hall of Fame case with an extremely low war. But if the guy puts up like 550 home runs, you add in the fact he's got the World Series one, especially if he gets like multiple World Series wins, I don't know how he doesn't get it. Jacob DeGrom. I'm optimistic that he can stay healthy enough in his Rangers tenure that he'll put it enough good seasons together to get him elected to the Hall of Fame because of how incredibly dominant his peak was. What about Garrett Cole? I think Garrett Cole, if he retired today,

46:55would be a borderline Hall of Fame candidate. And I think if he puts together another couple good seasons, he's a lock. So I would say he's going to be Hall of Fame. Hall of Fame or Hall of Fame is a very good Blake Snell. It would be incredible if he could win three Sa Young awards, but then do very little in the rest of his entire career to make for a bizarre Hall of Fame case. I don't think that will happen. And if I'm being honest, as ridiculous as his strike out right has been during his career, I think he's a little too inconsistent in that a couple of great seasons is not going to get it done because there's been a lot of pictures throughout history who have had careers like that and got little to no consideration. Okay, so Hall of Fame very good. Hall of Fame or Hall of Very Good, Manny Machado. I think Hall of Fame, he is, if he retired today, I think he said, Hall of Fame or Hall of Very Good, Nolan Aeronado.

47:59Hall of Fame, another guy, if he retired today, I think with how ridiculous his defense has been during his career, all the gold gloves and the fact that he had some really good offensive career or some really good offensive seasons early in his career, he's a lock. Hall of Fame or Hall of Very Good Paul Goldsmith. Another guy who is very underappreciated, he is a Hall of Fame lock to me. He's got the numbers for it already. If he retired today, he's at Hall of Fame or Hall of Very Good or all this Chapman. Trying to pick a relief pitcher, trying to pick which relief pitcher should be in the Hall of Fame is really challenging, but if you look at the all-time grades, I think where all this Chapman is right there, I think he's Hall of Fame. Wow, Hall of Fame or Hall of Very Good Christian Yelich. His peak was so good, but I just don't think it was quite long enough. Now, if he can put together a few more seasons where he puts up all-star numbers, I think there's a chance he could put a

49:04pretty compelling case together, but if I had to pick, I'd say Hall of Very Good. Hall of Fame or Hall of Very Good, George Springer. The case is there for him to maybe get some consideration for the Hall of Fame, but I think he's got to do quite a bit more, maybe win a World Series again, maybe get to a 400 career homeruns. He doesn't really have any of the milestones, so I'd say probably Hall of Pretty Good. Hall of Fame or Hall of Very Good, Cory Seager. When it's all said and done, Cory Seager's going to go down as one of the greatest hitting short stops of all time. His career has been hampered a little bit by injuries, but there's been a lot of players like that. You've seen guys like Larry Walker, who dealt with a lot of injuries, but his peak seasons were incredibly good. I think Cory Seager is going to kind of be looked at that way, where he was just so good of an offensive player

50:07that's going to be hard to keep him out, so I'm going to say Hall of Fame. Hall of Fame or Hall of Very Good, John Carl Stanton. Because there's a really good chance he gets to 500 home runs, and he's been so good in the postseason, I'm going to say Hall of Fame. Last one, I think I know where this is going. Hall of Fame or Hall of Very Good, Jose Ramirez. This is a very easy one. If Jose Ramirez retired today, he's a Hall of Famer in my opinion. Hall of Famer. Yeah, easy. Easy peasy. Steven, so much fun. Can't wait to have you back hopefully throughout the season at points, man. You're great. Keep up your stuff. Go check him out. Everybody on his TikTok channel. It is some of the best baseball content out there. We'd love to see it. Steven, thank you so much for joining me. We appreciate you. I appreciate it. Thanks for having me and go baseball. And now this is the moment you've all been waiting for. We all live on the charity strike podcast

51:10with your host, Alex, Josh, and yeah. The maps app that came with your phone, it's fine. If you enjoy waiting and guessing and inefficient routes, or you could use MapQuest, MapQuest is back with live directions, real-time traffic, and faster routes. It moves when you move. Best of all, no prints are needed, no paper, no more misterns, just you and the app. Get there fast with MapQuest. Download the MapQuest app on the app store or visit MapQuest.com. MapQuest, still getting you there. Hey, it's Howie Mandel and I am inviting you to witness history as me and my Howie do a gaming team take on Gilly DeKing and wallow $267 million gaming in an epic global gaming league video game showdown, four rounds, multiple games, one winner, plus a half-time performance by multi-platonomartis, Traviemekoi. Watch all the action and see who wins and advances

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