Zach Crizer
@zcrizer.bsky.social
Baseball, culture + fandom at The Bandwagon.
Subscribe: Bandwagon.substack.com
More of my work: https://linktr.ee/zach.crizer
Subscribe: Bandwagon.substack.com
More of my work: https://linktr.ee/zach.crizer
Reposted by Zach Crizer
The Rangers' best prospect is likely out for the season. Just before that, they shipped five interesting ones to Washington. So what exactly is left on the farm, and who could be called upon this season?
@zcrizer.bsky.social has the answers. You may not like them.
www.dmagazine.com/sports/2026/...
@zcrizer.bsky.social has the answers. You may not like them.
www.dmagazine.com/sports/2026/...
What’s Left to Call Upon in the Rangers’ Depleted Farm System?
A big trade cost them depth. Now their best prospect will likely miss the season. Are any reinforcements on hand?
www.dmagazine.com
February 13, 2026 at 4:16 PM
The Rangers' best prospect is likely out for the season. Just before that, they shipped five interesting ones to Washington. So what exactly is left on the farm, and who could be called upon this season?
@zcrizer.bsky.social has the answers. You may not like them.
www.dmagazine.com/sports/2026/...
@zcrizer.bsky.social has the answers. You may not like them.
www.dmagazine.com/sports/2026/...
Reposted by Zach Crizer
oh brother
February 12, 2026 at 9:03 PM
oh brother
Nick Castellanos is an incredible character. I made him the (lightly) fictionalized central character in my @baseballprospectus.com Annual essay about the Phillies and feelings of collapse.
Buy the book, give it a read. www.baseballprospectus.com/baseball-pro...
Buy the book, give it a read. www.baseballprospectus.com/baseball-pro...
Order the 2026 Baseball Prospectus Books! | Baseball Prospectus
Baseball Prospectus 2026 Click here to order the paperback edition directly from our distributor Click here to order the paperback edition from Bookshop.org Click here to order the paperback edition a...
www.baseballprospectus.com
February 12, 2026 at 7:42 PM
Nick Castellanos is an incredible character. I made him the (lightly) fictionalized central character in my @baseballprospectus.com Annual essay about the Phillies and feelings of collapse.
Buy the book, give it a read. www.baseballprospectus.com/baseball-pro...
Buy the book, give it a read. www.baseballprospectus.com/baseball-pro...
Reposted by Zach Crizer
@zcrizer.bsky.social wrote one of my favorite essays in the 2026 Annual, a fictional account (grounded in truth) from the perspective of Nick Castellanos, beginning with the season-ending in Los Angeles.
That said, I hate Zach for teaching me, via the essay, Castellanos' preferred meal
That said, I hate Zach for teaching me, via the essay, Castellanos' preferred meal
February 12, 2026 at 7:36 PM
@zcrizer.bsky.social wrote one of my favorite essays in the 2026 Annual, a fictional account (grounded in truth) from the perspective of Nick Castellanos, beginning with the season-ending in Los Angeles.
That said, I hate Zach for teaching me, via the essay, Castellanos' preferred meal
That said, I hate Zach for teaching me, via the essay, Castellanos' preferred meal
Really thorough and rational look from Passan at the salary cap battle ahead.
I think the battle lines and likely escape hatch he sketches at the end are spot on. www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/...
I think the battle lines and likely escape hatch he sketches at the end are spot on. www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/...
What Kyle Tucker's Dodgers contract means for MLB labor peace
MLB fans are angry -- and players and owners are, too. What did this offseason mean for baseball's coming labor strife?
www.espn.com
February 12, 2026 at 2:13 PM
Really thorough and rational look from Passan at the salary cap battle ahead.
I think the battle lines and likely escape hatch he sketches at the end are spot on. www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/...
I think the battle lines and likely escape hatch he sketches at the end are spot on. www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/...
Reposted by Zach Crizer
New Bandwagon: An Olympics-inspired romp in which I break baseball down into some of its most important component skills -- and assign some wonky terminology, of course.
bandwagon.substack.com/p/what-if-ba...
bandwagon.substack.com/p/what-if-ba...
February 11, 2026 at 4:25 PM
New Bandwagon: An Olympics-inspired romp in which I break baseball down into some of its most important component skills -- and assign some wonky terminology, of course.
bandwagon.substack.com/p/what-if-ba...
bandwagon.substack.com/p/what-if-ba...
Reposted by Zach Crizer
You can help fans find the sport’s vital beat writers — wherever they do their work — by contributing to the database I’m building here. docs.google.com/spreadsheets...
February 11, 2026 at 5:03 PM
You can help fans find the sport’s vital beat writers — wherever they do their work — by contributing to the database I’m building here. docs.google.com/spreadsheets...
You can help fans find the sport’s vital beat writers — wherever they do their work — by contributing to the database I’m building here. docs.google.com/spreadsheets...
February 11, 2026 at 5:03 PM
You can help fans find the sport’s vital beat writers — wherever they do their work — by contributing to the database I’m building here. docs.google.com/spreadsheets...
New Bandwagon: An Olympics-inspired romp in which I break baseball down into some of its most important component skills -- and assign some wonky terminology, of course.
bandwagon.substack.com/p/what-if-ba...
bandwagon.substack.com/p/what-if-ba...
February 11, 2026 at 4:25 PM
New Bandwagon: An Olympics-inspired romp in which I break baseball down into some of its most important component skills -- and assign some wonky terminology, of course.
bandwagon.substack.com/p/what-if-ba...
bandwagon.substack.com/p/what-if-ba...
Reposted by Zach Crizer
I have rebranded my free newsletter as By Jesse Dougherty.
Consider it an open-ended thing, going with the post-layoff winds, starting ... uh ... now?
More on that here. I'd love it if you subscribed (or stuck with it if you already do): collegesportsmoney.substack.com/p/rebrand
Consider it an open-ended thing, going with the post-layoff winds, starting ... uh ... now?
More on that here. I'd love it if you subscribed (or stuck with it if you already do): collegesportsmoney.substack.com/p/rebrand
Rebrand
This is the same newsletter except for the ways in which it is now different.
collegesportsmoney.substack.com
February 10, 2026 at 5:44 PM
I have rebranded my free newsletter as By Jesse Dougherty.
Consider it an open-ended thing, going with the post-layoff winds, starting ... uh ... now?
More on that here. I'd love it if you subscribed (or stuck with it if you already do): collegesportsmoney.substack.com/p/rebrand
Consider it an open-ended thing, going with the post-layoff winds, starting ... uh ... now?
More on that here. I'd love it if you subscribed (or stuck with it if you already do): collegesportsmoney.substack.com/p/rebrand
Chaim Bloom does love to recreate seismic baseball moments from the late 1910s. 😬
February 10, 2026 at 6:04 PM
Chaim Bloom does love to recreate seismic baseball moments from the late 1910s. 😬
Reposted by Zach Crizer
Washington #Nationals president of baseball operations opened a video call with media bemoaning the loss of the Post sports department and ball writers Andrew Golden, Spencer Nusbaum, Chelsea Janes and Barry Svrluga, while noting the San Francisco Chronicle's role in shaping him as a youth.
February 10, 2026 at 5:48 PM
Washington #Nationals president of baseball operations opened a video call with media bemoaning the loss of the Post sports department and ball writers Andrew Golden, Spencer Nusbaum, Chelsea Janes and Barry Svrluga, while noting the San Francisco Chronicle's role in shaping him as a youth.
It's PECOTA time at @baseballprospectus.com.
Initial gut reaction:
- OK, it likes the Royals now!
- The East divisions are going to be wild.
- The Mariners are the AL favorites.
www.baseballprospectus.com/standings/
Initial gut reaction:
- OK, it likes the Royals now!
- The East divisions are going to be wild.
- The Mariners are the AL favorites.
www.baseballprospectus.com/standings/
PECOTA Standings from Baseball Prospectus
www.baseballprospectus.com
February 10, 2026 at 3:23 PM
It's PECOTA time at @baseballprospectus.com.
Initial gut reaction:
- OK, it likes the Royals now!
- The East divisions are going to be wild.
- The Mariners are the AL favorites.
www.baseballprospectus.com/standings/
Initial gut reaction:
- OK, it likes the Royals now!
- The East divisions are going to be wild.
- The Mariners are the AL favorites.
www.baseballprospectus.com/standings/
The Rafael Devers trade tree is a terrifying invasive weed.
Jose Bello is the only piece of the return remaining with the Red Sox.
Jose Bello is the only piece of the return remaining with the Red Sox.
February 9, 2026 at 2:32 PM
The Rafael Devers trade tree is a terrifying invasive weed.
Jose Bello is the only piece of the return remaining with the Red Sox.
Jose Bello is the only piece of the return remaining with the Red Sox.
This new Ratboys record rocks as much as everyone says.
Let yourself rage to some guitars. open.spotify.com/track/1XRzX7...
Let yourself rage to some guitars. open.spotify.com/track/1XRzX7...
Burn It Down
open.spotify.com
February 6, 2026 at 4:56 PM
This new Ratboys record rocks as much as everyone says.
Let yourself rage to some guitars. open.spotify.com/track/1XRzX7...
Let yourself rage to some guitars. open.spotify.com/track/1XRzX7...
Reposted by Zach Crizer
Devastated to see what’s happening at a place that I loved because it was the writing home of so many people I loved. what a gutting week
Should You Buy a Newspaper or a Yacht?
Advice for Jeff Bezos
www.theatlantic.com
February 6, 2026 at 12:33 AM
Devastated to see what’s happening at a place that I loved because it was the writing home of so many people I loved. what a gutting week
Reposted by Zach Crizer
The Pirates are about to add the No. 1 prospect in baseball, something like a beefed up Bobby Witt Jr., to a team that already includes Paul Skenes.
Yet the promise of playoff baseball in Pittsburgh is still in doubt. I wade through it in The Bandwagon. bandwagon.substack.com/p/the-pirate...
Yet the promise of playoff baseball in Pittsburgh is still in doubt. I wade through it in The Bandwagon. bandwagon.substack.com/p/the-pirate...
The Pirates of promise
The No. 1 prospect in baseball is about to join Paul Skenes in Pittsburgh. Will it matter? Plus: Framber Valdez, bidets and ... insurance?
bandwagon.substack.com
February 5, 2026 at 4:40 PM
The Pirates are about to add the No. 1 prospect in baseball, something like a beefed up Bobby Witt Jr., to a team that already includes Paul Skenes.
Yet the promise of playoff baseball in Pittsburgh is still in doubt. I wade through it in The Bandwagon. bandwagon.substack.com/p/the-pirate...
Yet the promise of playoff baseball in Pittsburgh is still in doubt. I wade through it in The Bandwagon. bandwagon.substack.com/p/the-pirate...
The Pirates are about to add the No. 1 prospect in baseball, something like a beefed up Bobby Witt Jr., to a team that already includes Paul Skenes.
Yet the promise of playoff baseball in Pittsburgh is still in doubt. I wade through it in The Bandwagon. bandwagon.substack.com/p/the-pirate...
Yet the promise of playoff baseball in Pittsburgh is still in doubt. I wade through it in The Bandwagon. bandwagon.substack.com/p/the-pirate...
The Pirates of promise
The No. 1 prospect in baseball is about to join Paul Skenes in Pittsburgh. Will it matter? Plus: Framber Valdez, bidets and ... insurance?
bandwagon.substack.com
February 5, 2026 at 4:40 PM
The Pirates are about to add the No. 1 prospect in baseball, something like a beefed up Bobby Witt Jr., to a team that already includes Paul Skenes.
Yet the promise of playoff baseball in Pittsburgh is still in doubt. I wade through it in The Bandwagon. bandwagon.substack.com/p/the-pirate...
Yet the promise of playoff baseball in Pittsburgh is still in doubt. I wade through it in The Bandwagon. bandwagon.substack.com/p/the-pirate...
Reposted by Zach Crizer
A) Very fun move for the Tigers to solidify contender status.
B) Count that one as another trampoline deal. bandwagon.substack.com/p/a-brief-hi...
B) Count that one as another trampoline deal. bandwagon.substack.com/p/a-brief-hi...
February 5, 2026 at 2:04 AM
A) Very fun move for the Tigers to solidify contender status.
B) Count that one as another trampoline deal. bandwagon.substack.com/p/a-brief-hi...
B) Count that one as another trampoline deal. bandwagon.substack.com/p/a-brief-hi...
A) Very fun move for the Tigers to solidify contender status.
B) Count that one as another trampoline deal. bandwagon.substack.com/p/a-brief-hi...
B) Count that one as another trampoline deal. bandwagon.substack.com/p/a-brief-hi...
February 5, 2026 at 2:04 AM
A) Very fun move for the Tigers to solidify contender status.
B) Count that one as another trampoline deal. bandwagon.substack.com/p/a-brief-hi...
B) Count that one as another trampoline deal. bandwagon.substack.com/p/a-brief-hi...
Really good story on Kerkering and the aftermath of the error here.
What happens after a season-ending error? Orion Kerkering did not run from it this offseason. "It's going to affect me for the rest of my life," he said. "No matter where I go."
He knows the challenge that awaits him: www.nytimes.com/athletic/700...
He knows the challenge that awaits him: www.nytimes.com/athletic/700...
A season-ending error changed Orion Kerkering. Now, he’s embracing the challenges ahead
He looks different now. He's in better shape, the result of a diligent winter. He sounds different. He is clear-eyed about what lies ahead.
www.nytimes.com
February 4, 2026 at 4:39 PM
Really good story on Kerkering and the aftermath of the error here.
Reposted by Zach Crizer
Please don't report this as a straightforward business story; it's a story about coercive social transformation being imposed by people so rich they've ceased to see the rest of us as legitimate stakeholders in our own lives
February 4, 2026 at 2:29 PM
Please don't report this as a straightforward business story; it's a story about coercive social transformation being imposed by people so rich they've ceased to see the rest of us as legitimate stakeholders in our own lives
Reposted by Zach Crizer
The Mariners ponied up to solidify their AL contender status.
At @optaanalystus.optajoe.com, I wrote about 4 other MLB clubs that could really use One More Move. theanalyst.com/articles/mlb...
At @optaanalystus.optajoe.com, I wrote about 4 other MLB clubs that could really use One More Move. theanalyst.com/articles/mlb...
Four MLB Teams That Need Another Move to Change Their 2026 Outlook | Opta Analyst
The Yankees, Royals, Diamondbacks and Athletics have designs on a 2026 MLB playoff appearance. But a roster addition feels much needed.
theanalyst.com
February 4, 2026 at 12:02 AM
The Mariners ponied up to solidify their AL contender status.
At @optaanalystus.optajoe.com, I wrote about 4 other MLB clubs that could really use One More Move. theanalyst.com/articles/mlb...
At @optaanalystus.optajoe.com, I wrote about 4 other MLB clubs that could really use One More Move. theanalyst.com/articles/mlb...
The Mariners ponied up to solidify their AL contender status.
At @optaanalystus.optajoe.com, I wrote about 4 other MLB clubs that could really use One More Move. theanalyst.com/articles/mlb...
At @optaanalystus.optajoe.com, I wrote about 4 other MLB clubs that could really use One More Move. theanalyst.com/articles/mlb...
Four MLB Teams That Need Another Move to Change Their 2026 Outlook | Opta Analyst
The Yankees, Royals, Diamondbacks and Athletics have designs on a 2026 MLB playoff appearance. But a roster addition feels much needed.
theanalyst.com
February 4, 2026 at 12:02 AM
The Mariners ponied up to solidify their AL contender status.
At @optaanalystus.optajoe.com, I wrote about 4 other MLB clubs that could really use One More Move. theanalyst.com/articles/mlb...
At @optaanalystus.optajoe.com, I wrote about 4 other MLB clubs that could really use One More Move. theanalyst.com/articles/mlb...
Reposted by Zach Crizer
Believe it or not, pitchers and catchers start to report to spring training in just a week. But the offseason work of roster building shouldn't be done for some.
@zcrizer.bsky.social four clubs that need to make another move to change their 2026 outlook.
theanalyst.com/articles/mlb-...
@zcrizer.bsky.social four clubs that need to make another move to change their 2026 outlook.
theanalyst.com/articles/mlb-...
Four MLB Teams That Need Another Move to Change Their 2026 Outlook | Opta Analyst
The Yankees, Royals, Diamondbacks and Athletics have designs on a 2026 MLB playoff appearance. But a roster addition feels much needed.
theanalyst.com
February 3, 2026 at 9:54 PM
Believe it or not, pitchers and catchers start to report to spring training in just a week. But the offseason work of roster building shouldn't be done for some.
@zcrizer.bsky.social four clubs that need to make another move to change their 2026 outlook.
theanalyst.com/articles/mlb-...
@zcrizer.bsky.social four clubs that need to make another move to change their 2026 outlook.
theanalyst.com/articles/mlb-...