Projections Are a Liar Sometimes!

Eno, Jed, and DVR discuss a few spring news items including Gerrit Cole's return to game action with his first outing for the spring, plus updates on Seiya Suzuki, José Ramírez, and Zach Neto.

Plus, they host their ever 'Plus-Minus Draft', selecting their favorite hitters primed to exceed their projections during the upcoming season.

Rundown

2:31 Gerrit Cole Makes Spring Debut

5:41 Seiya Suzuki: PCL Strain; Opening Day Status TBD

9:50 Updates: José Ramírez & Zach Neto

10:33 The 2026 Hitter Projections Draft

13:02 DVR Takes Acuña at 1.1; Was That a Mistake?

28:04 Jed’s Case for Wyatt Langford Being Underprojected

31:52 Mike Trout?! In This Economy?

40:15 Banking Heavily on Youth

43:51 Andy Pages & Jed’s Emphasis on Defensive Value

46:02 Eno Targets Evan Carter & Matt McLain

48:11 Surprised that Jed Added Rafael Devers?

49:53 James Wood & Colton Cowser to DVR

53:37 Have We Underrated Colson Montgomery’s Debut?

56:13 Shopping in the Low WAR Projection Bin: Cam Smith

1:04:29 Notable Omissions From This Draft

Follow Eno on Bluesky: @enosarris.bsky.social

Follow DVR on Bluesky: @DVR.bsky.social

e-mail: ratesandbarrels@gmail.com

Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/FyBa9f3wFe

Subscribe to The Athletic: theathletic.com/ratesandbarrels

Hosts: Derek VanRiper & Eno Sarris

With: Jed Lowrie

Editor: Jason Potere

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.