2021 Disappointments, 2022 Bouncebacks: Hitter Edition

Eno, Trevor and DVR discuss Christian Scott ahead of his debut against the Rays, and four surprising starting pitchers that have put up great numbers over the first month-plus of the season. They also examine the unique challenges of hitting in Seattle -- and try to determine why the park consistently boosts strikeouts -- before building a game plan to pitch to Elly De La Cruz. Rundown 1:10 Christian Scott Debuting Saturday 3:45 Jack Flaherty: Career-Best K%, BB% & SwStr%! 14:07 Spencer Turnbull: Can He Maintain the Elevated K%? 21:48 Tanner Houck’s Breakout 29:38 Is Zack Littell’s Approach Meshing Well in Tampa? 35:42 What Makes Hitting in Seattle So Difficult? 55:15 Building a Game Plan: Elly De La Cruz Follow Eno on Twitter: @enosarris Follow Trevor on Twitter: @IamTrevorMay Follow DVR on Twitter: @DerekVanRiper e-mail: [email protected] Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/FyBa9f3wFe Join us on Fridays at 1p ET/10a PT for our livestream episodes! Subscribe to The Athletic: theathletic.com/ratesandbarrels Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Eno and DVR discuss several news items including a trip to the IL for Grayson Rodriguez, the return of two other Baltimore starters, more knee trouble for Byron Buxton, and several rehabbing pitchers. Plus, they examine the missing power from Ronald Acuña Jr. this season, strength of schedule considerations, and several players to consider as waiver-wire targets as the weekend approaches. Rundown 4:53 News & Notes: Grayson Rodriguez, John Means, Byron Buxton 12:48 Suspensions & Rehab Updates: Shane Baz, Taj Bradley & Walker Buehler 20:11 Ronald Acuña Jr.'s Currently Missing Power 25:13 Factors to Consider in Strength of Schedule 30:52 Fluctuations in Lineup Quality Due to Absences 35:08 Toughest Stuff+ Faced This Season 41:57 Project Prospect: Tyler Black, Jordan Beck, Jackson Jobe, Paul Skenes & Heston Kjerstad 57:24 Weekend Waiver Preview: Wenceel Pérez, Nick Senzel, Jacob Young & Pitching Darts/Matchup Plays Follow Eno on Twitter: @enosarris Follow DVR on Twitter: @DerekVanRiper e-mail: [email protected] Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/FyBa9f3wFe Join us on Fridays at 1p ET/10a PT for our livestream episodes! Subscribe to The Athletic: theathletic.com/ratesandbarrels Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Eno, DVR and Britt discuss Mike Trout's knee injury, José Abreu's demotion to West Palm Beach, the Twins' unusual home-run celebration, and the newest additions to the City Connect uniform lineup, before taking a look at the Nationals' current rebuilding efforts.  Rundown 1:12 Mike Trout Has a Torn Meniscus; Looked Like He Was 'Back'. Before Injury 9:46 José Abreu Optioned to rookie-level West Palm Beach 18:09 Bring Food to Home-Run Celebrations? 22:22 Thoughts on Mets, Rays City Connects 29:49 How Far Along Is the Nats' Rebuild? 45:21 Early-Season Series of Note: O's-Yankees, Rays-Brewers & Dodgers-D-backs Follow Eno on Twitter: @enosarris Follow DVR on Twitter: @DerekVanRiper Follow Britt on Twitter: @Britt_Ghroli e-mail: [email protected] Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/FyBa9f3wFe Join us on Fridays at 1p ET/10a PT for our livestream episodes! Subscribe to The Athletic: theathletic.com/ratesandbarrels Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Eno and DVR discuss promotions for Joey Loperfido and Pete Crow-Armstrong, the impact of the ABS strike zone and Triple-A, big movers among top hitters in DVR's upcoming hitter rankings, concern about Corbin Carroll's power outage, and fallout from another weekend of waiver-wire adds and drops. Rundown 2:33 Joey Loperfido Promoted to Houston 7:35 The Impact of Triple-A ABS Strike Zone on Strikeouts and Walks 17:32 Injury Updates: Kyle Bradish, Vaughn Grissom & Taj Bradley 25:55 Elly De La Cruz Moving Up Redraft Rankings 33:11 Concern Level About Corbin Carroll's Shoulder, Lack of Pop 39:24 Nolan Jones Struggles + IL Stint 41:53 Where the Money Went: Jo Adell & Pete Crow-Armstrong 51:26 Tempering In-Season Bids w/Streamers vs. Players That Might Stick 58:03 Frequently Dropped Players From the Weekend Follow Eno on Twitter: @enosarris Follow DVR on Twitter: @DerekVanRiper e-mail: [email protected] Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/FyBa9f3wFe Join us on Fridays at 1p ET/10a PT for our livestream episodes! https://www.youtube.com/c/ratesbarrels Subscribe to The Athletic for just $2/month for the first year: theathletic.com/ratesandbarrels Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Eno and DVR are joined by Mets pitcher Adam Ottavino to discuss sweepers, pitch design and development, and the success he had during a long run in Colorado. Plus, they examine the quick demotion for Jackson Holliday, several surprising starting pitchers, and hitting metrics that move the needle despite limited samples from the first month of the season. Rundown 0:21Adam Ottavino Joins the Show! 8:44 How Adam Throws His Sweeper 16:35 Citi Field's Unique Park Factors Based on Game Time 21:22 Players Entering the Game with More Pitches, Even as Relievers 27:11 Jackson Holliday Sent Back to Triple-A 36:57 Erick Fedde's Successful Return to MLB from a One-Year Stint in the KBO 43:01 Ranger Suárez's Early K% Jump 47:37 Graham Ashcraft: Casey Mize in Reverse? Ks Preceding Better Ratios? 51:24 What Matters for Hitters in Smaller Samples? Follow Eno on Twitter: @enosarris Follow DVR on Twitter: @DerekVanRiper e-mail: [email protected] -Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/FyBa9f3wFe -Join us on Fridays at 1p ET/10a PT for our livestream episodes! youtube.com/ratesbarrels -Subscribe to The Athletic for just $2/month for the first year: theathletic.com/ratesandbarrels Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Eno, Trevor and DVR discuss Jordan Walker's demotion, the Pirates' plan for building up Paul Skenes' workload while trying to backload his innings, and the key ingredients to building an elite bullpen. Rundown 0:43 Make It Make Sense: Jordan Walker's Demotion to Triple-A 6:31 Falling Between Organizational and Individual Coaching 15:34 Tracking Workloads: The Pirates' Plan for Paul Skenes 21:41 In-Game Monitoring Technology 29:51 Building an Elite Bullpen 30:17 What Traits Do You Want In a Closer? 35:03 How Many Defined Roles Do You Want? 46:13 Unintended Consequences with Limited Pitcher Availability? 56:19 Command Thresholds For Elite Relievers Follow Eno on Twitter: @enosarris Follow DVR on Twitter: @DerekVanRiper Follow Trevor on Twitter: @IamTrevorMay e-mail: [email protected] Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/FyBa9f3wFe Join us on Fridays at 1p ET/10a PT for our livestream episodes! https://www.youtube.com/c/rates&barrels Subscribe to The Athletic for just $2/month for the first year: theathletic.com/ratesandbarrels  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Eno, DVR and Britt discuss another excellent showing from Jared Jones and an impressive outing from Mason Milller in the Bronx on Monday afternoon. With teams having greater incentives to bring prospects up when they are ready, the new challenge is having a plan to change course if they struggle. Plus, is there legitimate reason to worry about the slow start of the Astros (7-16 entering play Tuesday) or the Cardinals (10-13)? And, is Blake Snell's bumpy start in San Francisco the byproduct of a late-spring signing? Rundown 4:10 Jared Jones & Mason Miller Continue to Impress 13:50 An Ump Show in the Bronx 17:52 Jackson Holliday's Early Struggles & When to Adjust a Plan 28:45 Having Defensive Value to Fall Back On 36:53 What's Different About the 2024 Astros? 49:35 The Cardinals' Offense is Going to Wake Up (Right?) 58:01 Is Blake Snell Struggling Because of Signing Delay? Follow Eno on Twitter: @enosarris Follow DVR on Twitter: @DerekVanRiper Follow Britt on Twitter: @Britt_Ghroli e-mail: [email protected] Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/FyBa9f3wFe Join us on Fridays at 1p ET/10a PT for our livestream episodes! https://www.youtube.com/c/ratesbarrels Subscribe to The Athletic for just $2/month for the first year: theathletic.com/ratesandbarrels Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Eno and DVR discuss news and notes from the weekend including an encouraging diagnosis for Spencer Strider before examining several risers from Eno's first in-season update of his 2024 starting pitcher rankings.  Rundown 4:20 Underwent Internal Brace Procedure Rather Than Second Tommy John Surgery 7:28 Another SP Injury for Arizona: Merrill Kelly 13:10 Francisco Àlvarez: Out 6-8 Weeks 21:46 Eno's Updated Starting Pitcher Rankings ($) https://theathletic.com/5426812 27:31 Reid Detmers' Early Success 32:22 Casey Mize: Will Strikeouts Show Up With His New Arsenal? 38:09 Javier Assad: What Eno Likes About Him 40:51 Brady Singer: Moves Up Slightly! 44:21 Zack Littell: LODEM Goodness? 48:56 Paul Skenes: Callup Coming Shortly? 53:47 Where the Money Went: Looking Back at Weekend Pickups Follow Eno on Twitter: @enosarris Follow DVR on Twitter: @DerekVanRiper e-mail: [email protected] Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/FyBa9f3wFe Join us on Fridays at 1p ET/10a PT for our livestream episodes! https://www.youtube.com/c/ratesbarrels Subscribe to The Athletic for just $2/month for the first year: theathletic.com/ratesandbarrels Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Eno and DVR discuss Tanner Houck's excellent start to 2024 on the heels of a 'Maddux' against the Guardians on Wednesday. Plus, they look at the ongoing health struggles for Kris Bryant in Colorado, Yu Darvish's move to the IL, hitters with a path to develop more power over time, and a few recent callups including Jack Leiter, Andy Pages, and Landon Knapp.  Rundown 1:45 Tanner Houck and Buying High on Surging Starting Pitchers 9:35 Ryan Weathers Makes DVR Look Dumb 15:02 Yu Darvish & Kris Bryant Land on the IL 27:25 Finding Power that Follows Contact Skills 37:08 Jack Leiter Gets the Call 40:31 Andy Pages & Landon Knack Join the Dodgers 47:02 Jonatan Clase Lands in Seattle 51:16 A Very Quick Look Ahead at Weekend Waiver Consideration Follow Eno on Twitter: @enosarris Follow DVR on Twitter: @DerekVanRiper e-mail: [email protected] Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/FyBa9f3wFe Join us on Fridays at 1p ET/10a PT for our livestream episodes! Subscribe to The Athletic for just $2/month for the first year: theathletic.com/ratesandbarrels Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Eno, DVR and Britt discuss John Sterling's abrupt retirement after 36 years with the Yankees, the Marlins' surprising decision to send Max Meyer back to Triple-A, the current state of baseball rivalries including a few potential new feuds that could develop. Plus, they discuss the Cubs as a potential top-five team for the next five years, before a round of 'Buy, Sell, Hold'.  Rundown 1:07 John Sterling Abruptly Announces Retirement 6:03 The Changing Role of Baseball Broadcasters 11:25 Why Did the Marlins Option Max Meyer to Triple-A? 17:50 Baseball's Rivalry Heat Check 24:20 New Rivalries On the Horizon? 29:30 The Case for the Cubs as a Top-Five Team for the Next Five Years 43:46 Buy, Sell, Hold: Tyler O'Neill's Excellent Start in Boston 47:29 Buy, Sell, Hold: Francisco Lindor's Quiet Bat, When to Actually Worry About Early-Season Slumps 56:21 Buy, Sell, Hold: Joe Musgrove Follow Eno on Twitter: @enosarris Follow DVR on Twitter: @DerekVanRiper Follow Britt on Twitter: @Britt_Ghroli e-mail: [email protected] Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/FyBa9f3wFe Join us on Fridays at 1p ET/10a PT for our livestream episodes! Subscribe to The Athletic for just $2/month for the first year: theathletic.com/ratesandbarrels Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices