Episode 5: Hoggchat

In today’s podcast, Jon and Liam talk about the Yusei Kikuchi signing, by far the biggest of the offseason, and what the Angels have been up to. We also highlight some interesting non-tenders, what the non-tender process is like, and check in on the latest Juan Soto updates.

Yes, the podcast still exists. After a hiatus, Jon and Liam are joined by our producer, Will Stevens, to make predictions for which free agents will land where. Our picks will be almost entirely wrong.

Jon and Liam chat about the trade deadline, why huge moves didn’t get made, teams that should’ve sold but didn’t, and which teams did the best and worst.

Jon and Liam are joined by Baseball America prospect writer Geoff Pontes to discuss the state of the minor leagues, the widening gap between Triple-A and the majors, technological advancements in college up through the pros, and much more. Daniel Schneemann.

Jon is once again joined by Pat Ellington Jr. (@tangible_uno) to discuss and remember Willie Mays, what he meant to both Negro League and Major League Baseball, and lesser-known pieces of his legacy.

Jon and The Washington Post’s Andrew Golden (@andrewcgolden) shoot the shit on the Nationals’ 2024 and beyond including Sean Doolittle’s role, when James Wood will be up, and how Nasim Nuñez has dealt with barely playing despite being on the roster and healthy all season.

Jon and Liam are joined by Jarrett Seidler (@jaseidler), Robert Orr (@NotTheBobbyOrr), and Thomas Nestico (@TJStats) to discuss Stacast’s new bat tracking metrics, how we like to use them, and what other data points we’re looking forward to having.

Jon talks with Pat Ellington Jr. (@tangible_uno) about how Black baseball isn’t just African-American baseball, what the league needs to do to better accommodate different all cultures, and the economic factors driving a decline in working class youth participation.

Jon is joined by Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel to talk Pat Murphy, Craig Counsell, the Brewers’ many early-season run-ins with other teams and umpires, and Walker McKinven’s Catching Lab.

After a hiatus, Jon and Liam return to discuss how data the public doesn’t have access to is used for hyper-specific in-game approaches. They also talk about some early-season trends, the aesthetics of today’s game, and minor league consolidation. Jon promises to release these weekly