It's time to wrap up the first half of the baseball season, and there's no better guest to do it with than Ken Rosenthal. This week, Jayson and Doug are joined by their longtime Starkville friend to break down the season's biggest surprises and disappointments, make their midseason MVP picks, and discuss whether Tigers ace Tarik Skubal could actually be moved before the trade deadline—and why that might be a mistake.
Rundown:
1:45 Ken Rosenthal Joins the Show
4:02 Most Surprising Team of 1st Half
9:10 Most Disappointing Team of 1st Half
13:02 First Half MVPs
17:51 MLB Trade Deadline
21:04 Should the Tigers Trade Tarik Skubal?
28:20 Teams to Watch in 2nd Half
31:17 One Surprise Playoff Contender
35:54 Strange But True w/ Yordan Alvarez
Follow Jayson on Bluesky: @jaysonst.bsky.social
Follow Doug on Bluesky: @dougglanville.bsky.social
Follow Ken on Bluesky: @ken-rosenthal.bsky.social
E-mail: starkville@theathletic.com
Starkville Hotline: (347) 313-8371
Subscribe to The Athletic: theathletic.com/ratesandbarrels
Hosts: Jayson Stark & Doug Glanville
With: Ken Rosenthal
Producer: Jason Potere
","author_name":"The Athletic"}