Circling the Bases – Fantasy Baseball

(05:00) – AL Division Champions: Rays and Yankees in the East, White Sox and Guardians in the Central, Astros vs Mariners out West(15:30) – NL Division Champions: Braves as the East favorite and Cardinals in the Central, Dodgers vs Padres in the West(21:50) – World Series Predictions: Braves over the Rays and Yankees over the Braves(27:00) – MVP Picks: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Shohei Ohtani in the AL, Ronald Acuna Jr. and Austin Riley for the Braves in the NL(31:00) – Cy Young Winners: Shane McClanahan and Luis Castillo as AL candidates, Corbin Burnes and Zac Gallen as NL Candidates(39:20) – Rookie of the Year: Anthony Volpe and Masataka Yoshida as AL favorites, as well as Miguel Vargas, Corbin Carroll and Jordan Walker in the NL(46:30) – Players outside the Top 200 ADP we think will finish inside the Top 100: Seth Brown and Anthony Rendon

D.J. (@djshort) and Scott Pianowski (@scott_pianowski) of Yahoo discuss Jordan Walker making the Cardinals and Anthony Volpe securing a spot with the Yankees and where they should each be drafted in fantasy leagues this week. They also break down some players who have been on the rise this month, including Hayden Wesneski, Graham Ashcraft, Mitch Keller, Yusei Kikuchi, Darick Hall, and others.(02:50) – Grayson Rodriguez surprisingly fails to make Orioles Opening Day roster(07:00) – Impact of Jordan Walker making the Cardinals Opening Day roster(12:10) – Stock up on Anthony Volpe in the Bronx(18:00) – Spring Risers: Hayden Wesneski, Will Benson and Gabriel Moreno(28:15) – More players trending up this Spring: Yusei Kukuchi, Graham Ashcraft, Darick Hall, Mitch Keller, Clarke Schmidt and Michael Massey

(04:00) – Tigers over/under 69.5(06:30) – Pirates over/under 67.5(09:00) – Mariners over/under 86.5(12:55) – Rays over/under 89.5(16:25) – White Sox over/under 83.5(20:40) – Reds over/under 65.5(24:00) – Mets over/under 91.5(28:00) – Diamondbacks over/under 75.5(31:40) – Guardians over/under 86.5

(04:30) – Revisiting 2nd Base Rankings: Why Elvis Andrus will be a sneaky add, Jose Altuve’s injury(09:50) – More injury analysis: Edwin Diaz goes down in World Baseball Classic and breaking down WBC injury risk vs Spring Training(16:45) – Why there is cause for concern with Vaughn Grissom in Atlanta(19:45) – Reshuffling #12-#6 Rankings at 2nd Base: Jonathan India, Max Muncy, Brandon Lowe and Jose Altuve among the names analyzed(21:50) – Reshuffling #5-#1 Rankings at 2nd Base: Tommy Edman, Ozzie Albies, Jazz Chisholm, Marcus Semien and Mookie Betts(26:15) – 2nd baseman to target late in drafts: Brendan Donovan, Brandon Drury, Ryan McMahon and Nico Hoerner(29:45) – Making sense of the Mets bullpen after losing Edwin Diaz(35:10) – Weekend Headlines: Brandon Nimmo sprains his knee, Diamondbacks send down prospect Brandon Pfaadt, Juan Soto’s strained oblique and Rockies sign Jurickson Profar

(00:00) – What is the true definition of a “fade”?(05:00) – Why Scott is exercising caution with Bobby Witt Jr.(08:25) – Projecting realistic expectations for Michael Harris II in his Sophomore season(11:30) – Examining the current ADP of Rafael Devers(20:15) – D.J. explains why the hype train should slow down with Dylan Cease(25:45) – Analyzing if you can trust Jacob deGrom’s health this season(38:00) – How D.J. and Scott are handling Bryce Harper in drafts

(00:00) - World Baseball Classic observations: Team USA pitching is not a strength.(09:45) - Recent long term extensions: Arizona OFer Corbin Carroll & Nationals C Keibert Ruiz.(16:00) - Injury scares: Jordan Walker and Kodai Senga.(22:00) - Anthony Volpe making noise with the Yankees:  Battling for a roster spot in a crowded NY infield.(33:00) -Late ADP favorites: Brendan Donovan & Avisail Garcia.     

Draft Order:1) Connor Rogers - NBC Sports2) Matthew Pouliot - NBC Sports3) Scott Pianowski - Yahoo4) Howard Bender - Fantasy Alarm5) Dave Shovein - NBC Sports6) Vaughn Dalzell - NBC Sports7) Christopher Torres - Triple Play Fantasy Podcast8) Andy Behrens - Yahoo9) George Bissell - NBC Sports10) RotoPat - NBC Sports11) Jen Piacenti - Sports Illustrated12) D.J. Short - NBC Sports

(2:30) – Top Headlines: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Yordan Alvarez injuries, Juan Soto mashing this spring, Alex Cobb rebounds from a rough start, Mike Clevinger avoids suspension, Mike Moustakas lands with Rockies and more(16:15) – Snap Fantasy Draft Scenarios: Prioritizing when to select Jordan Walker, Jarred Kelenic, Kodai Senga and Corbin Carroll(27:40) – NL-only LABR Auction Draft Takeaways: D.J.’s “stars and scrubs” draft strategy, Justin Verlander’s expensive price tag, drafting Seth Lugo and Tylor Megill late and Auction Draft pieces of advise

(07:30) – Former Reds that with ADPs over 200: Jesse Winker and Tyler Mahle(11:25) – Hitters primed for a big year: Wander Franco and Max Muncy(19:30) – Why Lucas Giolito should give you a nice return on current ADP.(28:25) – Analyzing Kris Bryant’s ability to return to pre-injury form in Colorado(39:20) – The case for Trevor Rogers returning to his play during the 2021 season after a subpar 2022

(02:00) – Impressions of newly implemented pitch clock(10:20) – Reaction to Manny Machado’s 11-year, $350 Million extension with the Padres(16:45) – Notable weekend performances: Jordan Walker, Jarred Kelenic, Sean Manaea, MacKenzie Gore and Anthony Rendon(36:35) – Lineup updates: Masataka Yoshida slides down the Red Sox lineup, Kolton Wong leads off for the Cardinals(42:30) – Injury news: Seiya Suzuki, Yordan Alvarez and Miguel Vargas