The Trade Deadline Recap episode of the Beat the Shift Podcast – a baseball podcast for fantasy baseball players.

Injury Guru’s Trivia of the Week

Trade Deadline Recap

• A review of the major league talent acquired by each team
• Player value shifts
• Closer speculations

Injury Update

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The Pre-Trade Deadline episode of the Beat the Shift Podcast – a baseball podcast for fantasy baseball players.

Guest: Greg Jewett

Strategy Section

• Pre-Trade Deadline – Closers
  • Trading to and for perspective closers prior to the trade deadline
  • Trading for closers vs. acquiring saves on the waiver wire
  • What to look for when speculating for potential closer candidates?
  • How much should you spend on the waiver wire for closer speculations?
  • Relievers who may gain save opportunities
  • Closers who may lose their job
• Closer situations
  • Padres
  • Mets
  • Giants
  • Angels
  • Tigers
  • Dodgers

Injury Guru’s Trivia of the Week

Waiver Wire

Pitcher Preview

Injury Update

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The State of Baseball episode of the Beat the Shift Podcast – a baseball podcast for fantasy baseball players.

Guest: Zack Scott

Analytics in Baseball

• The biggest revelations in baseball analtyics over the past few years
• What is new in basbeall analytics in 2026?
• Who makes the day to day lineup in baseball – the manager or the front office?
• For player evaluation – How much do analytics factor in vs. scouting reports vs. actual production?
• Why don’t major league teams pay enough (salary) for analysts?
• The best sabermetric stats to use for hitters and for pitchers
• Is baseball too analytically driven today?

State of Baseball

• Thoughts on the addition of the extra wildcard teams in baseball
• Thoughts on moving back the MLB trade deadline
• Will there be baseball in 2027?
• Thoughts on a potential salary cap
• Thoughts on contract deferrals

State of the New York Mets

• Can the Mets win in the short term?
• Who is to blame more for the current Mets failure (in 2026) – the manager or the GM?
• How much does a major league GM consider the fanbase when making signing decisions?
• Looking at the Nimmo trade, the non-signing of Alonso, yet spending $760m+ on Juan Soto.
• The greatness of Francisco Lindor
• What will the Mets do in the offseason?

Waiver Wire

Pitcher Preview

Injury Update

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[DISCLAIMER – The latter half of the show comtains a few audio issues.]

The Mid-Season episode of the Beat the Shift Podcast – a baseball podcast for fantasy baseball players.

Guest: Fred Zinkie

Tout Wars Champions League

• Format
• Draft strategy
• In-season strategy
• What plays in this league and format?
• Trading

First Half Heroes and Zeroes

• Fantasy MVP
• Fantasy Cy Young
• Fantasy Busts

Injury Guru’s Trivia of the Week

Strategy Section

• Second Half Strategy
  • How to determine if first half risers will continue to soar, and if first half fallers will continue to drop?
  • Are there any roto categories you should protect more than others?
  • Is it too early to punt categories at this point in the season at the all-star break?
  • Is it better to pick up a closer in waiting now, or trade for one in order to acquire saves?
  • Other second half strategies

Waiver Wire

Pitcher Preview

Injury Update

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The Hometown episode of the Beat the Shift Podcast – a baseball podcast for fantasy baseball players.

Guest: Sara Sanchez

Strategy Section

• Hometown teams
  • How we started rooting for our hometown teams
  • How do you juggle rooting for your hometown team and playing fantasty baseball?
  • How does rooting for your hometown team bias you?
  • How can you use other players’ hometown teams to your advantage?
  • Other advantages and disadvantages

Injury Guru’s Trivia of the Week

Buy/Sell/Hold/Drop

• Hot Players
  • Matt Chapman
  • Jake Bauers
  • Reid Detmers
  • Foster Griffin
• Cold Players
  • Trea Turner
  • Rafael Devers
  • Zach Neto
  • Kyle Bradish
• Injured Players
  • Ronald Acuña Jr.
  • Spencer Strider
  • Cole Ragans
  • Giancarlo Stanton

Injury Update

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The Prospects Part II episode of the Beat the Shift Podcast – a baseball podcast for fantasy baseball players.

Guest: James Anderson

Strategy Section

• Prospects
  • Which matters more – projections or in-season minor league statistics?
  • Drafting prospects pre-season
  • How to know when to sit/start a prospect during the season?
  • How to know when to keep/drop a prospect during the season?
  • General trade advice for dynasty leagues

Prospects

• Prospects to know for 2026
• Prospects to know for 2027

Injury Guru’s Trivia of the Week

Buy/Sell/Hold/Drop

• Hot Players
  • Travis Bazzana
  • Blaze Alexander 
  • Casey Schmitt
  • Michael Soroka 
  • Spencer Arrighetti
  • Max Meyer 
• Cold Players
  • Kazuma Okamoto
  • Jorge Soler
  • Lucas Erceg
  • Jared Jones
  • Trevor Rogers

Injury Update

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The Prospects Part I episode of the Beat the Shift Podcast – a baseball podcast for fantasy baseball players.

Guest: Chris Welsh

Strategy Section

• Prospects
  • What is the difference between early season prospects vs. later season prospects?
  • Return on Investment for prospects
  • How to know when to draft a prospect pre-season ?
  • How to know when to pick up a prosect in-season?
    • Before they come up?
    • After they come up?
  • How much FAAB should you spend on prospects?
    • Keep honest bids

Buy/Sell/Hold/Drop

• Hot Players
  • JJ Bleday
  • Luke Raley
  • Carson Benge
  • David Martin
  • Kyle Harrison
  • Michael McGreevy
• Injury Guru’s Trivia of the Week
• Cold Players
  • Fernando Tatis Jr.
  • Mike Trout
  • Aaron Nola

Injury Update

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The Trading episode of the Beat the Shift Podcast – a baseball podcast for fantasy baseball players.

Guest: Jason Collette

Strategy Section

• Trading
  • Why have there been fewer trades made in the past few years in fantasy baseball leagues?
  • When is it too late to make a meaningful trade?
  • How do you know when you should make a trade vs. picking up players off of the waiver wire?
  • What is the best way to approach other leagues managers to make a trade?

Buy/Sell/Hold/Drop

• Hot Players
  • Jake McCarthy
  • Curtis Mead
  • Spencer Steer
  • Ben Brown
  • Luis Severino
  • Gregory Soto
• Cold Players
  • Mauricio Dubón
  • Brenton Doyle
  • Kyle Manzardo
  • Luis Castillo
  • David Peterson
  • Brandon Sproat

Injury Guru’s Trivia of the Week

Injury Update

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The Is It Too Early episode of the Beat the Shift Podcast – a baseball podcast for fantasy baseball players.

Guest: Clay Link

Strategy Section

• Is it too early to?
  • Give up if you are in last place?
  • To punt specific roto categories?
  • To make a big trade?
  • To force a big trade?
  • To spend considerable FAAB on a key player?
  • To drop a high valued player?
    • Edwin Díaz
  • To sit high valued players (who aren’t performing)?
  • To stop looking at pre-season projections?

Buy/Sell/Hold/Drop

• Hot Players
  • Jose Caballero
  • Josh Jung
  • Colson Montgomery
  • Justin Wrobleski
  • Will Warren
• Injury Guru’s Trivia of the Week
• Cold Players
  • Giancarlo Stanton
  • Rafael Devers
  • Willy Adames
  • Teoscar Hernández
  • Jack Flaherty
  • Andrew Abbott

Injury Update

Keep honest bids

• Travis Bazzana

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The First Two Weeks episode of the Beat the Shift Podcast – a baseball podcast for fantasy baseball players.

Guest: Sky Dombroske

Softball Season started !

Tout Wars Check-in

Strategy Section

• What metrics do you use to evaluate hot/cold player starts?
• How long into the season do you still use pre-season projections and evaluations?
• How quickly should you act on picking up hot players off of the waiver wire?
  • Mow much FAAB should you spent at the most on acquiring hot players?
    • Hitters vs. Starting Pitchers vs. Closers
• How long should you continue to play hot players off of the waiver wire in your starting lineup?
• How many poor outings in a row would it take to sit cold pitchers?
• When to bench pitchers for poor upcoming matchups?
• Have patience

Injury Guru’s Trivia of the Week

Buy/Sell/Hold/Drop

• Dropable Pitchers?
  • Brandon Pfaadt
  • Kodai Senga
  • Roki Sasaki
  • Luis Severino
  • Griffin Jax
  • Dennis Santana
• Hot Pitchers – Keep for the long haul?
  • José Soriano
  • Sandy Alcantara
  • Emerson Hancock
  • Taj Bradley
  • MacKenzie Gore
• Are we buying these hot hitting starts?
  • Oneil Cruz
  • Christian Walker
  • Chase DeLauter
  • Jordan Walker
  • Josh Bell
  • Chandler Simpson
  • Max Muncy (LAD)
  • Max Muncy (ATH)
• How long until you bench, how long until you drop?
  • Pete Alonso
  • Francisco Lindor
  • Josh Naylor
  • Ketel Marte
  • Addison Barger
  • Sal Frelick
  • Caleb Durbin
  • Isaac Paredes
  • Trent Grisham
  • Colton Cowser

Injury Update

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