Tablesetters: A Baseball Podcast

Welcome to Episode 151 of Tablesetters, where we cover everything happening across the world of baseball. Tonight’s WBC special focuses on the dramatic end of pool play in the 2026 World Baseball Classic, where Italy finished a perfect 4–0 in Pool B, Mexico was eliminated, and Team USA advanced to the knockout stage as the quarterfinal bracket was finally set. Italy clinched the group with a 9–1 v...

Welcome to Episode 150 of Tablesetters, where we continue our division preview series by turning our attention to the American League West heading into the 2026 season. For nearly a decade, the AL West belonged to the Houston Astros. From 2017 through 2024, Houston captured seven full-season division titles and established one of the most sustained competitive runs in modern baseball. That streak...

Welcome to Episode 149 of Tablesetters, where we continue our division preview series by turning to the National League West heading into the 2026 season. For most of the past decade, the division has revolved around one simple reality: everyone is chasing the Los Angeles Dodgers. That hasn’t changed. Los Angeles has won 12 of the last 13 division titles and enters 2026 as the two-time defending W...

Welcome to Episode 148 of Tablesetters, where we cover everything happening across the world of baseball. Tonight’s WBC special focuses on one of the biggest surprises of the 2026 World Baseball Classic so far — Italy’s 8–6 upset of Team USA in Houston, a result that completely reshapes the race in Pool B. For most of the night, Italy controlled the game from the start. The breakthrough came in th...

Welcome to Episode 147 of Tablesetters, where we cover everything happening across the world of baseball. Tonight’s WBC special continues our coverage of the 2026 World Baseball Classic as the pool stage moves into its decisive stretch and the knockout picture begins to take shape. We’re recording after Team USA’s 5–3 victory over Mexico in Houston, a win that pushed the Americans to 3–0 in Pool B...

Welcome to Episode 146 of Tablesetters, where we cover everything happening across the world of baseball. Tonight’s LIVE special follows the opening matchup between Team USA and Brazil as Pool B play begins in Houston at the 2026 World Baseball Classic. We’re recording immediately after the final out, breaking down Team USA’s 15–5 victory over Brazil — examining pitching usage, lineup construction...

Welcome to Tablesetters, where early-season baseball storylines are evaluated through context, projection, and structural impact rather than isolated spring highlights. As camps begin to stabilize, several early narratives are beginning to shape the broader landscape of the 2026 season — from international competition to emerging prospects and roster uncertainty around the league. We begin with th...

Welcome to Tablesetters University, the college baseball edition of Tablesetters: A Baseball Podcast — where early-season performance is evaluated through context, projection, and structural analysis rather than isolated box scores. As February data begins to stabilize, real indicators are starting to appear. Some teams are revealing sustainable identity. Others are simply riding early momentum. T...

Welcome to Rotosetters, the fantasy baseball edition of Tablesetters, where draft strategy is treated as portfolio construction rather than guesswork. Episode 143 focuses on one foundational reality of 2026 drafts: championships are not won in the first three rounds — they are separated in the middle rounds, where recency bias, injury noise, role uncertainty, and surface-level regression distort p...

Welcome to Tablesetters University, the college baseball edition of Tablesetters: A Baseball Podcast — where early-season performance is evaluated through context, projection, and structural analysis, not surface-level box scores. Two weeks into the season, real indicators are beginning to separate from February noise. We open with the national shortstop discussion centered on Roch Cholowsky at UC...

Welcome to Episode 141 of Tablesetters! With the 2026 World Baseball Classic just 17 days away, we’re joined by one of the most trusted and consistent voices covering the tournament — Shawn Spradling. Shawn is an international baseball writer and content creator who has built a passionate following through his detailed roster projections, commitment tracking, and in-depth breakdowns of global stor...

Welcome to Episode 140 of Tablesetters. Devin is joined by Chris Welsh, Host and Analyst for FantasyPros and BettingPros, co-owner of In This League, and the creator of The Prospect One Podcast. With fantasy baseball draft season fully underway, this conversation is about stripping things back to what actually matters. Chris joins the show to discuss how he’s approaching drafts in 2026, how prepar...

Welcome to Episode 139 of Tablesetters. Steve and Devin are joined by Jim Martin, the first-year head coach of Stony Brook Baseball and just the second Division I head coach in program history. Jim steps into the role following the retirement of Matt Senk, who led the program for 35 seasons and helped establish Stony Brook as a national name, highlighted by the historic 2012 College World Series r...

Welcome to Episode 138 of Tablesetters. Steve and Devin break down a trio of offseason moves that quietly say a lot about where teams believe they are—and where they’re trying to go. We open with one of the most consequential pitching signings of the winter: the Tigers landing Framber Valdez on a three-year, $115 million deal. We dig into why this isn’t just about dollars, but about organizational...

Episode 137 of Tablesetters introduces a brand-new live concept: the MLB Royal Rumble — a stat-based elimination format designed to test how different types of baseball careers hold up when the rules never change and the criteria never stop shifting. This isn’t an argument about eras or a shortcut to crowning a “greatest” player. The structure is the point. The ring fills to five players with no e...

Welcome to Episode 136 of Tablesetters! Steve and Devin are back as we continue our deep dive into all things baseball, and today we’re thrilled to welcome back Ben Upton, co-founder and host of 11Point7, one of the most trusted voices covering the college baseball landscape. Ben last joined us on Episode 59 in February 2025, when college baseball felt like it was standing on the edge of something...

Episode 135 of Tablesetters focuses on a fantasy baseball mock draft on CBS Sports, recorded Wednesday night at 8 p.m. ET in a 12-team head-to-head categories format. This was a full-length, 23-round mock that ran close to 90 minutes and featured a room of experienced fantasy managers from across the fantasy baseball landscape. The draft included Scott White of CBS Sports alongside Sean Martin and...

Episode 134 of Tablesetters is a live reaction episode examining how teams across Major League Baseball are balancing urgency, flexibility, and long-term thinking. We open in Queens, where the New York Mets respond to missing out on Kyle Tucker by leaning into short-term upside. That approach begins with the signing of Bo Bichette to a three year, $126 million contract and continues with the trade...

This is not a numbered Tablesetters episode and not our standard show format. What you’re hearing here is our segment from a recent guest appearance on Refuse to Lose, the Seattle Mariners–focused podcast hosted by Brady Farkas. Brady was kind enough to allow us to share this portion of the discussion. Listeners should check out the full episode of Refuse to Lose for the complete conversation and...

Episode 133 of Tablesetters is a live, solo emergency reaction to the New York Mets signing Bo Bichette to a three-year, $126 million contract, a deal that immediately reframes the Mets’ offseason after missing on Kyle Tucker. This episode focuses on why this was not a fallback move. We break down the structure of the contract, the $42 million AAV, the opt-outs, and the absence of deferrals, and e...

Episode 132 of Tablesetters is an emergency reaction pod centered on a market-shifting decision, as Kyle Tucker agrees to a four-year, $240 million deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers, immediately resetting both the top of the free-agent market and the competitive landscape heading into 2026. We open with the deal itself, breaking down how a $60 million AAV contract represents a decisive pivot away...

Episode 131 of Tablesetters is a reaction pod focused on a pivotal stretch of the offseason, as a major pitching commitment in Boston, a franchise-defining signing in Chicago, a stalled superstar market, and a rare ballpark adjustment collectively show how teams are adapting to risk, scarcity, and roster timing heading into 2026. We open in Boston, where the Red Sox are set to sign left-handed pit...

Episode 130 of Tablesetters is a concept-driven mini episode built around roster construction, positional value, and decision-making under real constraints, as Steve and Devin each attempt to build a complete MLB lineup using nothing but a random team generator. The episode opens with a straightforward but demanding premise. Each host takes turns hitting a random MLB team generator. When a team co...

Episode 129 of Tablesetters is a mini reaction episode focused on two developments that highlight how teams are navigating an offseason where certainty has become increasingly expensive. The episode opens in Chicago, where the Cubs land right-hander Edward Cabrera in a trade with the Marlins, sending outfielder Owen Caissie and infield prospects Cristian Hernandez and Edgardo De Leon to Miami. Whi...

Episode 128 of Tablesetters is a mini reaction pod focused on a pivotal stretch of the offseason where one signing, one trade market, and one free agent begin to reshape how teams are positioning themselves for 2026. We open in Toronto, where the Blue Jays officially make their long-anticipated breakthrough in the Japanese market by signing Kazuma Okamoto to a four-year, $60 million contract just...