PCA vs. Shohei, Closer Pockets, Post-Break Stats

Fred Zinkie and Jeff Erickson discuss the NL MVP race, closer pockets from 2026 drafts and one month outliers after the All-Star Break. --- 00:00 MLB Pod 8-18-26 00:15 News: 00:30 PCA is the first (and possibly only) 30-30 player this season, as he homered twice (and so did NL MVP challenger Shohei Ohtani)….. 08:00 Cutting Kyle Tucker 16:15 Jacob Wilson was scratched due to a sore shoulder 19:00 Max Fried is back on the IL, which makes him a drop 20:00 Monday was a big day for player returns: Oneil Cruz, Maikel Garcia, Shane McClanahan, Jordan Lawlar, Vinnie Pasquantino, Justin Martinez, Carlos Rodon, AJ Smith-Shawver 21:45 Ketel Marte is away from the team due to a personal matter, then flew back to AZ for knee 25:00 Bobby Witt Jr. had a big game in an otherwise unremarkable (for him) season 28:45 Circa 29:50 Bridge topic: Closer review from 2026 drafts. 31:00 Edwin Diaz to the IL 33:30 Spend Up on Closers Nevertheless 36:00 Second Tier Disasters 39:45 Next Tier Questionable 49:50 BlueWire 49:55 Main Topic: One month since ASB. Article coming for reference. 50:00 Brandon Pfaadt 54:00 Ty France 55:45 Alec Bohm 57:00 Abimelec Ortiz 58:35 Walbert Ureña 1:02:00 Mason Montgomery --- Circa (All episodes) Cash in this football season in Las Vegas with 3 Circa Sports Contests! $30 Million in guaranteed prizes! Visit CircaSports for details. (hyperlink: https://www.circasports.com/contests) Get the latest fantasy sports insights, expert analysis, and premium tools at RotoWire.com—enter promo code PODCAST at checkout to receive 15% off any product. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.