Rates & Barrels: A show about Baseball · The Athletic

Team Previews: Rangers, Nationals & White Sox

February 18, 2026·1 hr 22 min·5 clips
Jed Lowrie reveals why this is a make-or-break year for Rangers third baseman Josh Young.
The hosts preview the Texas Rangers, Washington Nationals, and Chicago White Sox, analyzing key players, offseason moves, and win projections. They discuss breakout candidates like Evan Carter and Dylan Cruz, while highlighting injury risks and rebuilding strategies for each team.

As heard by us

A process-first preview that is strongest when it turns Washington's young bats into the central question.

Rates and Barrels uses the Rangers, Nationals, and White Sox as the day's preview slate, but it settles into Washington for the best stretch of the episode. The conversation keeps coming back to the same question: which young hitters are ready to turn talent into production?

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Why you'd press play

You want a preview that gets specific about Washington's young bats and the uncertainty around them.

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