Baseball is Back! (And Spencer Strider is Too)

Eno and DVR discuss the Dodgers' season-opening win over the Cubs in Tokyo, which featured five strong frames from Yoshinobu Yamamoto and an excellent showing from the bullpen. They also discuss a great piece from David Adler highlighting Shohei Ohtani's unique contact point as a possible explanation for his excellent all-fields power. Plus, they look at the return of Spencer Strider, who pitched in a game Monday for the first time this spring, Cam Smith's chances of making the Opening Day roster, and big movers from the NFBC Main Event drafts, which Eno recently took part in.Rundown3:22 Dodgers Win Series Opener in Tokyo9:57 Freddie Freeman's Reduced Playing Time Ceiling13:48 Shohei Ohtani's Unique Contact Point(Story from David Adler, MLB.com: https://www.mlb.com/news/shohei-ohtani-contact-point-statcast-analysis)21:42 Concerns About Mookie Betts' Health Beyond Tokyo?26:44 Spencer Strider is Back! (Is the ADP Going to the Moon?)34:34 Cam Smith's Path to the Opening Day Roster in Houston43:45 David Bednar: Still Hasn't Been Named Pirates' Closer48:46 Adjusting to Unique Rooms: The NFBC Main Event55:33 Reframing a 'Necessary' OverpayFollow Eno on Bluesky: @enosarris.bsky.socialFollow DVR on Bluesky: @dvr.bsky.sociale-mail: [email protected] our Discord: https://discord.gg/FyBa9f3wFeSubscribe to The Athletic: theathletic.com/ratesandbarrelsHosts: Derek VanRiper & Eno SarrisProducer: Brian SmithExecutive Producer: Derek VanRiper Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.