Flags Fly Forever Fantasy Baseball

What to talk about as the MLB season rounds the first-month post? Well, Mike and Jon text regularly about many things--and a good portion of those are baseball-related. So we looked at a few text exchanges we've had over the last couple of weeks and continued the conversation "in person," as it were.Topics included:- how can we "plant flags" for early-round players that we value when we are inundated by the groupthink of ADP? (or, should Zack Wheeler have been a first-round pick?)- why does the three-week sample at the beginning of the season hold sway over our minds and player evalutions long after those hot or cold starts have ended? (or, why do you still feel bad about Francisco Lindor when you should feel bad about Matt Olson?)- it's a wacky ERA leaderboard! Is this small-sample nonsense or is the SP landscape changing?It's a freewheeling grab-bag of a conversation, hope you enjoy!Flags Fly Forever is a Baseball Prospectus podcast. For more fantasy baseball information, visit baseballprospectus.com and cl

We kick the ass of April doldrums with the help of our Very Special Guest, the one and only Grey Albright of Razzball and ostentatious eyewear fame.After some desultory baseball discussion we talk about New Jersey's favorite defunct libertarian tourist attraction and torture park--I speak, of course, of Action Park! (If you want to know more about this hell/heaven on earth, please watch the HBO documentary, Class Action Park.)Other topics we cover:Awkward middle-aged man goodbye hugsWhat Grey's ReadingInternet: net gain or loss for humanity?Why none of us are eager to travel to FloridaAnd many other topicsLook, if you've listened to Grey before, you know this is a chaotic shitshow, but it's also a lot of fun.Flags Fly Forever is a Baseball Prospectus podcast. For more fantasy baseball information, visit baseballprospectus.com and click on "Fantasy" or visit our Twitter feed @baseballpro. You can find Flags Fly Forever on Twitter @FlagsFlyBP. The hosts of Flags Fly Forever are Mike Gianella(@mikegianella.bsky.

We're getting all T.S. Eliot on you, because for us, and for fantasy basebal content, April is kind of a dead zone. Rather than overreact to fast and slow starts, we discuss some process points in evaluating your early-season roster and negotiating FAAB at this time of year. We do this through the lens of our own underperforming Main Event team (at what point does "underperforming" just become "bad"? hopefully we won't have to answer this!). Also, find out who the player is that was inexplicably dropped in our league and our approach to FAABing for him. That's a tease, my friends!Flags Fly Forever is a Baseball Prospectus podcast. For more fantasy baseball information, visit baseballprospectus.com and click on "Fantasy" or visit our Twitter feed @baseballpro. You can find Flags Fly Forever on Twitter @FlagsFlyBP. The hosts of Flags Fly Forever are Mike Gianella(@mikegianella.bsky.social) and Jon Hegglund(@jonhegglund.bsky.social). The producer of Flags Fly Forever is Jon Hegglund. Special thanks to the awesom

Hey, it's actual baseball season! After the whirlwind of positional previews and draft discussion, we put a cap on the 2024 draft season by discussing the NFBC Main Event team that Mike and Jon drafted. It was the first time either of us had participated in a Main Event, and we talk about our decision to ante up, our overall strategy, our focused strategy once we knew where we were drafting (7th), and our experience in the draft (fast and furious). While our team is off to a, ahem, slow start, we remain optimistic that good things will happen! (Watch this space for updates.)Before our Main Event discussion, we discuss a couple of players who could prove disappointments--Esteury Ruiz, having been sent down, and Evan Carter, having not yet learned how to hit left-handed pitching (and thus in danger of losing playing time). Beyond these specific players, we are reminded that sometimes real baseball can influence fantasy baseball in unpredictable and inconvenient ways.Flags Fly Forever is a Baseball Prospectus po

We take the occasion of the recent Tout Wars auction weekend to do a deep dive on auctions--what we prefer, how we prepare, and some strategies and advice for those new to the format. We love auctions!In this episode we discuss:Why in-person auctions are so fun and rewardingHow preparation and strategy are different than a draftWhy you should have a Plan A and a Plan B (and possibly a Plan C)The risks and rewards of price enforcementHow to handle the endgameThat One Time Mike Had a Perfect AuctionWe also talk about the Tout Wars NL-Only League, where friend of the show Grey Albright of Razzball completely avoided starting pitchers (a gambit attributed to Mike and Doug Dennis that in fact goes back to the early days of fantasy baseball).We conclude with a discussion of how Mike reallocates values in his bid limits when players get injured (Gerrit Cole, Devin Williams) or suspended (Noelvi Marte). All in all, a pretty nerdy episode. You'll love it.Flags Fly Forever is a Baseball Prospectus podcast. For more fan

Bit of a mixed bag this week:We review Mike's Tout Wars Mixed League draft from earlier in the week. (You can see the draft board here: https://www.fantrax.com/fantasy/league/1ojcq64zltc8i9la/draft-results)We talk (again) about your strategy for drafting starting pitchers, and why Mike generally avoids the "blob" of mid-tier starters. We also introduce Mike's auction bid limits and discuss how to use them, and how not to use them.Finally, we talk about the risk of players who have not yet made their MLB debut, focusing in on three names for this draft season: Jackson Chourio, Wyatt Langford, and Jackson Holliday.Flags Fly Forever is a Baseball Prospectus podcast. For more fantasy baseball information, visit baseballprospectus.com and click on "Fantasy" or visit our Twitter feed @baseballpro.You can find Flags Fly Forever on Twitter @FlagsFlyBP. The hosts of Flags Fly Forever are Mike Gianella(@mikegianella.bsky.social) and Jon Hegglund(@jonhegglund.bsky.social). The producer of Flags Fly Forever is Jon Hegglu

We talk outfielders this week, and given the size of the position, we did more of a strategy overview than deep dives on indivdual players. It's an interesting year at the position--great, five-category options up top but a fairly long tail of useful players deep into the 200s, and beyond. Flags Fly Forever is a Baseball Prospectus podcast. For more fantasy baseball information, visit baseballprospectus.com and click on "Fantasy" or visit our Twitter feed @baseballpro. You can find Flags Fly Forever on Twitter @FlagsFlyBP. The hosts of Flags Fly Forever are Mike Gianella(@mikegianella.bsky.social) and Jon Hegglund(@jonhegglund.bsky.social). The producer of Flags Fly Forever is Jon Hegglund. Special thanks to Petite League for permission to use their track "Mets" for the intro and break music. Find their sweet lo-fi indie-pop sounds at petiteleague.com.

We step away from our positional previews to discuss the LABR Mixed League draft, which Mike took part in on Tuesday, February 20. We talk about the difference between stand-alone leagues and larger multi-league competitions, strategies for the first four rounds, how to respond to early spring training injury news, building drafts around your starting pitching strategy, what to do when closers get pushed up, and so much more. (I would like to apologize to Nick Martinez for my unkind comment around the 39-minute mark. I'm sure you're a fun guy.)(And I would also like to apologize for my sound quality. My microphone decided to go on holiday just before recording.)The LABR Mixed League draft board can be found here: https://www.rtsports.com/labr-mixed-draftFlags Fly Forever is a Baseball Prospectus podcast. For more fantasy baseball information, visit baseballprospectus.com and click on "Fantasy" or visit our Twitter feed @baseballpro. You can find Flags Fly Forever on Twitter @FlagsFlyBP. The hosts of Flags Fly

We continue our march through the positions, spending this episode on the somewhat top-heavy position of shortstop. We go through our ADP tiers, discoursing on the following players:Bobby Witt Jr.Trea TurnerFrancisco LindorCorey SeagerElly De La CruzGunnar Henderson Bo BichetteCJ AbramsOneil CruzXander BogaertsDansby SwansonAnthony VolpeTrevor Story (A Very Short Story, or Five Seconds of Regret for Jon)Willy AdamesEzequiel TovarVaughn GrissomCarlos CorreaZach NetoExtremely quick hits on Tim Anderson, Javier Báez, and Marco LucianoAt some point, we Remembered Adalberto MondesiThen we take some time to discuss some overall tips and strategies for your draft (aka ADP can be a dangerous thing).Mike's article, "How to Use ADP," can be found here: https://www.baseballprospectus.com/fantasy/article/79732/fantasy-freestyle-how-to-use-adp/. Mike's Tiered Shortstop Rankings are here: https://www.baseballprospectus.com/fantasy/article/88281/shortstop-tiered-rankings-for-2024/Flags Fly Forever is a Baseball Prospectus p

Our corners, we like them hot. Mike and Jon discuss just about every third baseman under the sun as we motor along with our positional previews. Featuring:José RamírezAustin RileyRafael DeversRoyce LewisManny MachadoAlex BregmanNolan ArenadoJosh Jung (with appropriately bad puns)Spencer SteerJake Burger Ke'Bryan HayesNoelvi MarteAlec BohmIsaac ParedesMax MuncyMaikel GarcíaJeimer CandelarioJunior CamineroEugenio SuárezMatt ChapmanColt KeithWilmer FloresTyler BlackIsiah...Kiner-Falefa, really Mike?Flags Fly Forever is a Baseball Prospectus podcast. For more fantasy baseball information, visit baseballprospectus.com and click on "Fantasy" or visit our Twitter feed @baseballpro. You can find Flags Fly Forever on Twitter @FlagsFlyBP. The hosts of Flags Fly Forever are Mike Gianella(@mikegianella.bsky.social) and Jon Hegglund(@jonhegglund.bsky.social). The producer of Flags Fly Forever is Jon Hegglund. Special thanks to Petite League for permission to use their track "Mets" for the intro and break music. Find their

Hey friends, it's keystone time, and also stick around to find out why Mike utters the sentence, "second base is our kids." Before we go full Dadcast, however, we do discuss the following players:Mookie BettsOzzie AlbiesMarcus SemienJosé AltuveNico Hoerner (and the Problem of Stolen Bases)Matt McLainHa-Seong KimGleyber TorresGroup of Spidermen Pointing at Each Other (Stott, Giménez, Gelof, Estrada, Edman)Luis ArráezNolan GormanRyan McMahonJonathan IndiaLuis RengifoJorge PolancoBrice TurangJake CronenworthBrendan RodgersDavis SchneiderLiover PegueroMauricio DubónOur Beloved Drama-Free ChildrenFlags Fly Forever is a Baseball Prospectus podcast. For more fantasy baseball information, visit baseballprospectus.com and click on "Fantasy" or visit our Twitter feed @baseballpro. You can find Flags Fly Forever on Twitter @FlagsFlyBP. The hosts of Flags Fly Forever are Mike Gianella(@mikegianella.bsky.social) and Jon Hegglund(@jonhegglund.bsky.social). The producer of Flags Fly Forever is Jon Hegglund. Special thanks t

New year, new producer, but your same old hosts are back. Mike and Jon talk first basemen for the upcoming 2024 season. We go through tiers of NFBC average draft position, and discuss the following players:Freddie FreemanShohei Ohtani (UT)Bryce HarperMatt OlsonPete AlonsoVladimir Guerrero, Jr.Cody BellingerPaul GoldschmidtTriston CasasSpencer TorkelsonJosh NaylorYandy DiazVinnie PasquantinoRhys HoskinsAndrew VaughnRyan MountcastleJustin TurnerAnthony RizzoJosh BellTy FranceRowdy TellezPhew! That's a lotta dudes at the cold corner. And I probably missed one or two that we mentioned in passing. Flags Fly Forever is a Baseball Prospectus podcast. For more fantasy baseball information, visit baseballprospectus.com and click on "Fantasy" or visit our Twitter feed @baseballpro. You can find Flags Fly Forever on Twitter @FlagsFlyBP. The hosts of Flags Fly Forever are Mike Gianella(@mikegianella.bsky.social) and Jon Hegglund(@jonhegglund.bsky.social). The producer of Flags Fly Forever is Jon Hegglund. Special thanks

The season is over, long live the season. Or something. Anyway the lads recorded what ended up being their final episode of the regular season during Game 5 of the World Series. Hear them react to a new champion being crowned. Before that, Mike and Samuel went back and forth on what they feel about this year's playoffs as a whole. It's a thoughtful discussion, which hey is nice!Got a content idea for the show? Shoot us an email at flagsflyforever@baseballprospectus.com or a message at our Twitter feed @FlagsFlyBP.Flags Fly Forever is a Baseball Prospectus podcast. For more fantasy baseball information, visit baseballprospectus.com and click on "Fantasy" or visit our Twitter feed @baseballpro. You can find Flags Fly Forever on Twitter @FlagsFlyBP. The hosts of Flags Fly Forever are Mike Gianella(@mikegianella) and Jon Hegglund(@JonHegglund). The executive producer of Flags Fly Forever is Samuel Hale(@thesamuelhale).This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this po

Oh hi there. How have you been? We've been fine, thanks for asking. If you want to hear about baseball, this is the episode for you. There's a lot of discussion about fantasy off the top, specifically evaluation in hindsight. Real nitty gritty stuff if you're into that. If you're not, fear not! It then diverges into a discussion of the upcoming ALCS...sorta. One member of the team has lost their faith in their club, and wants to publicly opine about it. That splinters off several times. In conclusion, baseball is a land of contrasts. Thank you.Got a content idea for the show? Shoot us an email at flagsflyforever@baseballprospectus.com or a message at our Twitter feed @FlagsFlyBP.Flags Fly Forever is a Baseball Prospectus podcast. For more fantasy baseball information, visit baseballprospectus.com and click on "Fantasy" or visit our Twitter feed @baseballpro. You can find Flags Fly Forever on Twitter @FlagsFlyBP. The hosts of Flags Fly Forever are Mike Gianella(@mikegianella) and Jon Hegglund(@JonHegglund). Th

There's an amount of baseball on this episode that should probably be described as "surprising." In what direction is up to you, the listener, to discover. We start with a game based around the revolving door of mediocrity that is the Los Angeles Angels. We live watch the Alex Cobb almost near no hitter (spoiler alert even though it was 3 days ago?). We also do our best to jinx Jon's TGFBI status,even though there is no such thing as a jinx ever. Got a content idea for the show? Shoot us an email at flagsflyforever@baseballprospectus.com or a message at our Twitter feed @FlagsFlyBP.Flags Fly Forever is a Baseball Prospectus podcast. For more fantasy baseball information, visit baseballprospectus.com and click on "Fantasy" or visit our Twitter feed @baseballpro. You can find Flags Fly Forever on Twitter @FlagsFlyBP. The hosts of Flags Fly Forever are Mike Gianella(@mikegianella) and Jon Hegglund(@JonHegglund). The executive producer of Flags Fly Forever is Samuel Hale(@thesamuelhale).This show is part of the S

Oh hi, dear listener. It's been a moment, we've all been busy and baseball has baseball'ed in 2023. But we do have a show for you that has a...select amount of baseball discussion. We also talk about food a lot, travelling, and Jon ends the show with a wonderful fatherhood based anecdote. We're having fun, so we hope you have fun as well.Got a content idea for the show? Shoot us an email at flagsflyforever@baseballprospectus.com or a message at our Twitter feed @FlagsFlyBP.Flags Fly Forever is a Baseball Prospectus podcast. For more fantasy baseball information, visit baseballprospectus.com and click on "Fantasy" or visit our Twitter feed @baseballpro. You can find Flags Fly Forever on Twitter @FlagsFlyBP. The hosts of Flags Fly Forever are Mike Gianella(@mikegianella) and Jon Hegglund(@JonHegglund). The executive producer of Flags Fly Forever is Samuel Hale(@thesamuelhale).This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker

Oh hi there. You doing alright? Making sure to drink water and take your medicine? Good, good. We're proud of you for that self care. Anyway, so MLB really has the show down again this week because somehow it only seems to be getting worse. Maybe it'll get better soon, who can say? We sure can't, because it all looks awful. As a result, we ended up doing something really odd on this episode. We went through Cameo looking for baseball players to record new intros for us. It turns into a pseudo game, but you'd be forgiven if it's the musings of three relatively depressed people looking for joy in a grayscale morose of sludge passing for a major sports league. We're doing our best starshine, and hope you are too. Got a content idea for the show? Shoot us an email at flagsflyforever@baseballprospectus.com or a message at our Twitter feed @FlagsFlyBP.Flags Fly Forever is a Baseball Prospectus podcast. For more fantasy baseball information, visit baseballprospectus.com and click on "Fantasy" or visit our Twitter fe

And we're back, now that we all are back in houses and assorted other things. There's some fantasy talk, but admittedly the recent events have gotten us a bit sour. So we do the best we can. And we don't scream...that much.Got a content idea for the show? Shoot us an email at flagsflyforever@baseballprospectus.com or a message at our Twitter feed @FlagsFlyBP.Flags Fly Forever is a Baseball Prospectus podcast. For more fantasy baseball information, visit baseballprospectus.com and click on "Fantasy" or visit our Twitter feed @baseballpro. You can find Flags Fly Forever on Twitter @FlagsFlyBP. The hosts of Flags Fly Forever are Mike Gianella(@mikegianella) and Jon Hegglund(@JonHegglund). The executive producer of Flags Fly Forever is Samuel Hale(@thesamuelhale).This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/3387390/advertisement

You'll have to listen to the full episode to understand the title. That's what makes a good title right? Right? Don't answer that actually, just love you. Anyway, I could tell you about all the baseball we talked about on this show. I'd rather tell you though that right after we finished recording, we spent ten minutes discussing our favorite Taylor Swift songs. As men between the ages of 30-55 do. Anyway, enjoy!Got a content idea for the show? Shoot us an email at flagsflyforever@baseballprospectus.com or a message at our Twitter feed @FlagsFlyBP.Flags Fly Forever is a Baseball Prospectus podcast. For more fantasy baseball information, visit baseballprospectus.com and click on "Fantasy" or visit our Twitter feed @baseballpro. You can find Flags Fly Forever on Twitter @FlagsFlyBP. The hosts of Flags Fly Forever are Mike Gianella(@mikegianella) and Jon Hegglund(@JonHegglund). The executive producer of Flags Fly Forever is Samuel Hale(@thesamuelhale).

Oh hey, didn't see you there. It has been a minute hasn't it? How have you been, how's your spouse, your kids? The job still treating you right? No? Well that blows, unionize your workplace and take back the means of production. Anyway this week we're back after illness and tech problems derailed us for the past two weeks. Mike upon review does sound like he's broadcasting in the past, but it's fine all his content is from this time period(largely). Also we lost Jon, dunno where he went. He wandered off from the group. But good news, USA Today's Steve Gardner showed up! So he filled the role of Jon, and we got all sorts of early season discussion topics on the books. Trade questions, early season player and new rule impressions, all sorts of helpful things for players of all experience levels. Check it out. Or don't, we're podcasters not cops. But it'd be cool if you did!Got a content idea for the show? Shoot us an email at flagsflyforever@baseballprospectus.com or a message at our Twitter feed @FlagsFlyBP.Fl