This Week in Fantasy Baseball · Lee Keller, John Ke

TWF 140 - The First Injury Report of 2026

·1 hr 8 min·4 clips

Cody Ponce posted a 1.89 ERA and 12.55 K/9 in Korea, and Patrick Fitzgerald wants him in the rotation.

1. This Week in Fantasy Baseball centers on spring-training injury news and fantasy replacements after Pablo López, Buster Schwellenbach, Hurston Waldrep, Reese Olson, Shane Bieber, Blake Snell, and Tommy Edman run into problems. 2. Jon Hough hosts with Patrick Fitzgerald, and both matter because they turn each injury into a draft and waiver-wire decision. 3. The episode asks which injured players are still worth drafting and which replacements deserve fantasy attention. 4. Pablo López is described as having a “significant tear in his UCL,” and the Twins have not yet said he will have Tommy John surgery. 5. Todge Bradley and Zebby Matthews are discussed as Minnesota rotation options, with David Festa also mentioned as a possible fill-in. 6. Bradley’s larger major-league sample and Matthews’s smaller sample are compared against their strikeout-minus-walk profiles and pitch mixes. 7. Atlanta’s rotation is next, where bone spurs push Buster Schwellenbach and Hurston Waldrep out of the picture for the foreseeable future. 8. Bryce Elder is discussed as the current number five starter, while Grant Holmes, Didier Fuentes, Martin Perez, Carlos Carrasco, and J.R. Ritchie are named as depth options. 9. Reese Olson’s season-ending shoulder surgery leads to Justin Verlander becoming more important for the Tigers’ rotation. 10. Verlander’s 2.99 ERA in the second half, 1.3 WHIP, and 13.5 K-BB% are cited as reasons he still matters in drafts. 11. Shane Bieber’s forearm fatigue opens Toronto innings for José Berríos and Cody Ponce, and Ponce’s overseas record becomes the more interesting case. 12. Cody Ponce is noted for a 1.89 ERA, 12.55 K/9, and 180 innings in Korea, which the hosts contrast with the lower level of competition there. 13. Blake Snell’s nagging injuries keep the Dodgers’ six-man rotation in focus and strengthen the cases for Emmet Sheehan and Roki Sasaki. 14. Sheehan’s price moves inside the top 120 in online championships, while Sasaki sits around pick 230 and still needs to prove himself as a starter. 15. Tommy Edman’s absence also helps Hyeseong Kim, who is discussed as a number nine hitter behind Shohei Ohtani and Mookie Betts. 16. Kim’s value is framed mostly as steals and batting average, with the hosts saying his BABIP propped up some of the offense in Korea. 17. The tone is practical and draft-focused, with the hosts moving from injury reports to roster-resource implications and ADP ranges. 18. The format mixes news analysis, player comparisons, and a mailbag that pauses the injury rundown for strategy questions. 19. Best for fantasy baseball managers tracking spring injuries, rotation battles, and late-round pitchers. 20. Not for listeners wanting entertainment-first sports talk or non-fantasy coverage.

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