High Hopes: A Phillies Podcast - Waiting for a Manager and AFL Updates with Alec Bohm, Spencer Howard and Mickey Moniak!

Episode Date: October 17, 2019

James Seltzer and Jack Fritz are back with new episode of High Hopes talking about the Phils managerial search and bring on prospects, Alec Bohm, Spencer Howard and Mickey Moniak! See omnystudio.com/policies/listener for privacy information. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Conditions apply. Details at freedommobile.ca. Hi, this is Bryson Stott, first-round draft pick of the Philadelphia Phillies, and you're listening to the High Hopes Podcast with James Seltzer and Jack Fritz. This is the High Hopes Podcast. High Hopes! It's a bunch of baseball nerds talking about the Philadelphia Phillies on Radio.com and Sports Radio 94 WIP.

Yo! It is another edition of the High Hopes Podcast. Why wouldn't I when we have such monster guests on this podcast? What else is the O for, Jack? That is true. We do have monster guests. People doubt the IOPs podcast, but we got some pull over here. Listen, when we talk about these prospects, I mean, sometimes you got to deliver.

Well, the funny thing is, is for this specific podcast, more excited to talk to these guys than the players on the actual major league roster. Yeah, we don't care about the actual team. No. I'm strictly a future guy. I know. We've learned. We know.

Arizona Fall League is your playoffs. Yeah. Got it. Yeah, and our boys down there, man, they're doing it. So we're going to, coming up, talk to Mickey Moniak, Alec Boehm, and Spencer Howard, and you can watch the Fall League Championship game on MLB.com on October 26th at 2 p.m. Eastern. Their website is MLB.com slash AFL for all information about the league. Literally what I did on Saturday.

Pretty awesome. Very cool that you can watch this stuff. Oh, thank God. Very cool that we got to talk to these guys. Yeah. Well, Saturday night. Pretty awesome. Saturday night. So, take you through my riveting Saturday. Oh, thank God. Very cool that we got to talk to these guys. Yeah. Well, Saturday night. It's pretty awesome. Saturday night.

So, taking you through my riveting Saturday. Oh, I can't wait. It was- That's why I'm here. I watched the six hours of cricket on Saturday afternoon. What? Yeah. So, my friend from high school is in a cricket league.

Ah, yes. And I was like, I haven't seen him in a while. It's like within walking distance of my apartment. So, I was like, I'll go watch him, support him. Awful sport. Just a totally awful sport. don't understand it it's like thank god baseball is invented imagine imagine having to watch cricket it's so bad like so much is going for five days yeah it's horrible anyway so i was watching cricket then i went to tire dance oops i ended up tire chance again

and then when i get home flip on what, what is it, NLCS? I think it was NLCS. Have that on. And then on my computer is the Arizona Fall League. Look at you. And Alec Baum put together in that bat that I was like drooling over. I was drooling. It was like nine pitches.

He fouled off a bunch. He was kept in contact. And then he freaking laced a single right over the second baseman's head on a 2-2 count. It's like, this guy is just everything. He's such a good hitter. Alec Baum is such a good hitter. Alec Baum is going to be a freaking 330 home run guy. Wow.

330 home runs. Wow. Legitimately. He's going to be that. As sure as I was, quote unquote, about Pavetta, I am just as confident in Alec Baum. Oh, no. Why would you say that? I would like to officiallyhm. Oh, no. Why would you say that? I would like to officially apologize to Alex Boehm.

Why would you say it like that? I don't care. I don't. Listen, he's going to be a freaking machine. I'm not going to get him out. Oh, Alec, I'm so sorry. No, Alec's fine. Yeah.

He's a professional. Oh, I'm so sorry, buddy. If we had not already recorded the interview with Alec Boehm that we're going to play for you later, I would apologize to him in the interview for what you just did. But Alec, know that I'm sorry because I'm sure he's going to listen to the podcast. Yeah, definitely. I'm definitely going to do that. Like who?

What? Oh, yeah. He said what? He compared me to Pavetta? Well, there goes my career. No, but Alec Bohm is a monster. I can't wait. I can't wait to look at him.

I love it. I'm excited. I don't know what position he's going to play. He thinks he's going to play third base. That's what they do. He thinks he's going to play third base. A lot of people disagree. But just stand there and feel the ball. Not that hard, man. It's just baseball. As long as you can hit, we're good.

We said that about Reese. We saw Reese play left field. Boehm would be a better left fielder than Reese. But then I don't know what you do with McCutcheon. Yeah, I think Boehm more likely a better first baseman than Reese. Yeah, but even like Boehm, we don't know if he's a good first baseman either. I think you just keep him at third for now and make sure he can't work there. Okay.

That's what they did with Brown when he got called up, right? Yeah. Look, remember Chris Bryant wasn't going to be a third baseman. He's an okay third baseman. He's a really good third baseman. He's a good third baseman. I wouldn't say a great third baseman, but people didn't Bryant wasn't going to be a third baseman? He's an okay third baseman. Bryant's a really good third baseman. He's a good third baseman. I wouldn't say a great third baseman, but people didn't think he was going to stick. It should be Troy Gloss.

Troy Gloss was a good third baseman. Yeah. Yeah. I think eventually he's going to be in left field. Hopefully he's a better hitter than Troy. Troy Gloss was a great power hitter. You said average. Sorry.

Troy Gloss never hit 300, did he? I don't think so. Troy Gloss is. Troy Gloss is a great hitter. I didn't mean to say hopefully a better hitter. I meant to say hopefully he has a better average because you just whet my appetite with the 300, and Troy Gloss was never a 300 hitter, I don't think.

You looking it up? Yeah. Oh, he's a career 254 hitter. That was more my point, and I didn't mean to say a better. If he's Troy Gloss, I'll be incredibly happy. His best season was a 284 batting average with a 400 OEP and 47 home runs. I was going to say he hit a bunch of home runs. Troy Gloss, that was phrased poorly.

I meant to say a better average hitter because you got me all excited. Well, I just think he's going to be a rare combination of both contact and power. That's what he is. He's like a J.D. Martinez kind of hitter. Yes. How much more do you need me to go? Do you need me to go deeper? I can't believe we're still doing it. Yeah, I mean, he's got

a better bat to ball skills than Chris Bryant. How much more do you need? Do you need more? I can keep going. How much time do you got? Alright, so we'll get to those guys in a second. Yeah, Mickey Moniak, by the way.

A phenomenal talker. Like a really great talker. I actually wish we could have just talked to him for 30 minutes. It would have been great. Mickey Moniak's a very interesting talker. I hope he gets up here and I hope he does well. I'm excited. The interview with Mickey Moniak actually made me, I was already rooting for him harder. I'm very in on Mickey Moniak.

Welcome, welcome to the club. We are in tandem now. We have not talked to Spencer Howard yet. No. We're looking forward to it though. Yeah, but here's the club. We are in tandem now. We have not talked to Spencer Howard yet. No. We're looking forward to it, though. Yeah, but here's the thing. When it comes up, it will have already. Like, yeah, we're really messing with time right now.

It's a real weird thing that we got going on. Yeah, it's whatever. Things that are happening already, that happen already, will be happening later in this podcast. And something that hasn't happened yet will also be happening later in this podcast. Whoa, dude. Yeah, it's the government, man. You had a Milton take you wanted to get out there. Yeah, so I was in a really dark place after the—

As we all were, my friend. And guess what? It's about to get even darker. Oh, no. Because what I realized— I was expecting it to flip it the other way. What I realized about John Middleton is that he's late. He is late to everything.

They are not, like, all right, here's the case. Here's the case, right? Started off with Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez, the Cuban pitcher that unfortunately passed away. It was during the time when it was like, oh, you got to sign, you got to spend big money in the Cuban market. It was when Jonas Cespedes came up. It was Jorge Soler was around that time. It was like, oh, that's the new rage.

You got to go spend the money there. Boom. We spend the money there, but it's late. You got to spend big money on international prospects. Go sign Jalen Ortiz to a million plus contract in the same year as Vlad Guerrero and Juan Soto. So you've got to spend big money. The next trend is you've got to spend money in the international market. Analytics?

Now he's the big analytics guy. Four years too late? Got to hire an Ivy League GM four years too late. Got to hire a forward-thinking manager three years too late. Late, late, late, late. Yeah. Not forward-thinking, not aggressive, not cutting edge, ultimately gets on something.

And listen, same thing with their actual makeup of their team. Like the freaking shifts last year. Like we talked about it. Yeah, we talked. Yeah, literally. Yeah. So, like, it's just, it's, oh, another one. You've got to sign legacy players, right?

We signed Miguel Tejada Jr. Now, I have no idea if Miguel Tejada Jr. is going to be good. I hope he's good. But, like, now that's a little rage. Now we're just signing the guys. I'm with you. Look, it's crazy. You were the one who was optimistic about Middleton last pot.

I was not. That is like seven or eight instances of them being late. And again, not only are they late, but then they are making the wrong decisions in those arenas. It'd be one thing if they were late to signing in the Latin market, but they signed Soto, or they signed Flagler Jr. Like, not only are they late to these things, it'd be one thing if they were late to analytics,

but applying these analytics correctly. They are both late and flawed. Yeah. Like, that's a really bad combo, Jack. Yeah, they're late, and then when they get there, they don't know what to do with it. They do it wrong.

And I think this quote is just where the Phillies are at as an organization. This is from Matt Klintek from that disaster of a press conference. I can't necessarily walk into their room and point out to their formulas and find the flaws in them if they exist. So that's a challenge for everybody. But I think we do a lot of benchmarking. You look around the league and you can observe how other successful teams are operating, the types of decisions that they're making.

You can kind of back into how they're arriving at some of their decisions. Oh, God. And we can test what we're doing against what they're doing. Backing into decisions? Matt, how about you freaking have an idea as to what you are doing rather than, oh, that's a cool, trendy idea. Let's jump on that and then be late to that. Well, that's the problem. That's what he's saying.

He's saying that they're essentially looking at what other teams are doing and trying to mimic it. What do you do here? Yeah. What does any of these guys do here? I don't know. I got nothing, man. And again, I keep coming back to the more I think about the press conference. And again, I keep coming back to the more I think about the press conference, the fact that they were willing to over and over and over again throughout the press conference in many different ways.

And with each of them saying things to the same effect, just air to the world that they were all completely in disagreement about this whole process is is crazy to me. You're telling everybody, yeah, Middleton's telling everyone, I don't trust these guys who work for me. Just so you know, I don't trust them. And Klintak and McPhail are saying, yeah, well, we didn't think it was a good move, but our owner won't let us do our job. It's epic, epic fail type stuff there jack and they broadcast it to the mcphail good job they broke us the world it's not like they just kept this internally and we're like yeah all right we disagree but you know what for the good of the franchise we're

gonna come to as collaborative a decision as we can but we're gonna keep it in house to not let the world know the dysfunction that we have they just put it all on the table and said, look at this. Look at how messed up it is. And not put it on the table like John Middleton did when he signed Bryce Harper. The wrong kind of put it on the table. Yeah. I forget that guy. I don't even know that guy.

Yeah. I mean, and you got to deal with the freaking Nats going to the World Series. There's nothing I, like if, a Yankees-Nats World Series I'm not watching. I'm just shutting it down. That's not true. But. I am not going to watch. I'll shut it down.

No, you, of course you'll watch. You've got to see them do, shark do do do do do. Have you played the Baby Shark song yet for Zoe? No, I have not. Good. It's a very big song. Boycotted. No one's allowed to play it.

Honestly, I watched it last night. 3.6 billion views on YouTube?. It is a very big song. Good. Boycott it. No one's allowed to play it. Honestly, I watched it last night. 3.6 billion views on YouTube? Oh, it's a big thing. What a joke. It's not great. I mean, stupid baby songs. Figure out something else to sing. Sing American Pie. That's good. God.

Teach the Beatles. God, they're frauds. Such frauds. Oh my god, you have the guy today like, when did you become a Nationals fan? Today! Think about the freaking song. Beatles. God, they're frauds. Such frauds. Oh, my God. You have the guy today like, when did you become a Nationals fan? Today. Think about the freaking 1883 two-world championships. Yeah. So the Nationals are in the World Series. The Braves are light years ahead of the Phillies. All is great.

But we got money. All is great. No, honestly, they're going to be fine. Why not? Why not? Here's the thing. Here's the case. Here honestly, they're going to be fine. Oh, man. Why not? Why not? Here's the thing. Here's the case. Here's the case.

The case is easy, but it's a case for this year and the next year. No, no, no. It's not. That's not true. A long-term case is a lot harder to make. No, it's not. Okay, make it. It's not a hard case to make at all.

Okay. Literally, it's not a hard case to make at all if they were smart. But, like, okay, so you have Boehm. You have Spencer Howard coming up. Hopefully, you have Mickey Moniak coming up, right? You have the younger players. Boehm and Spencer Howard are obviously integral to whatever plan they have, right? Those guys need to be legit.

You need Spencer Howard to be a legit two, right? Legit two or three. You need Alec Boehm to be your four-hitter so you can move Reese down the lineup, right? So, which is fine. But like, the Nationals were competing, and they just went out and spent a lot of money on Juan Soto. So the case is, if you can't, you're not going to have high draft picks. Well, even if you have... The point is you're going to make...

The point is... Again, this is all they need to... Yes, yes, yes. The plan is they need to draft and develop well and sign well in the international market. No crap, Jack. Figure it out. Yes!

The Dodgers picked Gavin Lux like 18-0 for 18th overall. I'm with you. You have to figure that crap out. That is everything. The future of the franchise is dependent upon it. So they have money. They can compete this year, next year, whatever. If they go get Garrett Cole, if they revamp the bullpen a bit,

if they spend some money, spend money, they can compete immediately. For sure. But it's the spending money. See, they have the financial flexibility, which is great. They just need to figure out their crap when it comes to scouting and developing and all of that because that's the only way it's going to work. Yes. They just need to figure out the most important thing in this sport

and do it well. Because they're not bad enough to where they're going to be picking at the top of the draft. Right. They're not that bad. Yeah. So you need to hit on the mid-round picks. Cody Bellinger in the second round. You're preaching, man.

I know, but just figure that. That's the case. That's the case. It's not like dire doom and gloom. They can compete on the surface level and also be able to figure other stuff out. Well, it's not doom and gloom until they hire Mike Koploff to be their scouting director. We should probably get into that.

Listen, they hire an Angels or Orioles guy to be their freaking scouting director. What happened? I am going to lose my mind. Get ready. I spent Monday and Tuesday morning, all morning, after I was done prepping for the show, looking at Brian Barber and Scott Meany from the Cleveland Indians.

Watching them dissect the Yankees' war room, and you got Brian Barber, who was the second-in-command, their national cross-sector, the guy that went and checked out Aaron Judge, is like the second in command their national cross-sector the guy that went and checked out aaron judge the guy that is like literally second in command to the leader of their amateur scouting that guy's just sitting there he's just sitting there just hire him from a team that is a big market team that is scouted and developed well why would you hire mike koplov? I don't know. I got nothing, Jack. Obviously, none of us really know Mike Koplov and whatever their internal candidates are. But for the love of God, the guy's right there.

Just hire that guy. That's what we've been saying, Jack. He's a big market guy that has helped scout and develop the Yankees. It should not be that hard. They're going to hire internally. Yes. It's going to drive me crazy. They're going to hire internally.

The Indians are at the- I know, and have been for years at the forefront of it. They're so good at drafting. I know. All the time. It's how they compete every year with no money. For the love of God, please. Please.

Please. All right. Let's go from a- Well, should we talk? I mean, we should talk with the managerial candidates too that are interviewing, please. Please. Please. All right. Let's go from a- Well, should we talk- I mean, we should talk with the managerial candidates too that are interviewing this week. Sure. I mean, what else do we have to say about Dusty Baker, Buck Showalter, and Joe Girardi? I'm in on Buck, man.

Yeah? Yeah. I think you'd make them legitimately good next year. I think we both agree. It goes Joe, Buck, Dusty. But honestly, good with all three. Yeah. Look, I-

They all have their- Dusty is the one, good with all three. Yeah, look. They all have their... Dusty is the one I want the least substantially, but I would be fine. I'll take an adult. I'm good. I don't want Dusty. I would prefer it's not Dusty. But even the bad part about Dusty's are... Even the bad parts about Dusty aren't that bad.

Yeah, okay. I mean, he's a player's coach. Yeah. Accountable. Has zero idea how to use both like, he's a players coach. Yeah. Accountable. Has zero idea how to use a bullfinch. And wears wristbands. Zero. Zero idea.

Be super fun. 70 years old. Would he be that fun? Yeah, no, I love, I like Dusty Baker a lot. I'm fine with Dusty. I would love Joe Girardi. I would be happy with Buck Showalter. Buck Showalter, according to Dan Connolly.

I actually really like Dan Connolly. Did you read that article? I heard his interview on The Morning Show with Andrew, and it was really good. Let me just say the reason why I'm very pro-Buck is because of one sentence in that Dan Connolly piece, and it was that Buck Showalter managed circles around Joe Girardi in the bullpen in the old AL East matchups.

Until he did the Zach Britton thing. Yeah, that's the one that does come back to haunt you. It's a tough one to get past. I'm legitimately excited to see what an old school manager's going to do. Look, me too. And again, I do think that there can be real hope for this upcoming season. Like, if they go

they have to spend. I mean, don't get me wrong, they have to add to this team substantially. But a legitimate manager and they add to the team, and you get McCutcheon back. There's hope. Some hope. Get a bullpen? All right.

No, but like Dusty Baker turned, and not Dusty Baker, Buck Showalter turned like Zach Britton a failed starter, Brian Maddox a failed starter, Michael Givens, Darren O'Day, like all those guys into one of the best bullpens in the AL for a couple years. Imagine what he could do with Pavetta. Oh, man. You'd give him that arm? I should have seen that.

Yeah. I should have realized why you were selling on Buck. It's great. I did honestly talk myself into Pavetta. Not surprising. If they give him, I'd... Don't trade him. There's like a 50% chance. I. There's like a 50% chance.

I think there's like a 50% chance he's gone. That was good. Just don't trade him. Okay. Don't trade him. What's the harm? Is he really that bad of a guy? Maybe.

All right, let's do it. Let's get to them. We have won the only, the three. That was bad. Yeah, what are you doing? I don't know. I was trying to get to the guy, Mickey Moniak and Alec Boehm.

You're like, let's get to the guys. Get to the guys. All right, all right. We're going to, what James is trying to say is that we're going to throw it to our interviews with Mickey Moniak, Alec Boehm, and the future number two of the Philadelphia Phillies.

Actually, no, Spencer Howard's going to be the number three because Garrett Cole's going to be the one. Aaron Ola, too. Spencer Howard, the three. Oh, I love this. Number four, Zach Eflin. Number five, Jake Arrieta. No.

You excited? It's going to be Jason Vargas instead of Arias. Should I start printing playoff tickets? Yes. With Jake Arrieta as my number five? No. Vargas, Arieta. Okay.

Arieta out of the bullpen. Super. I'm sure he'll love that. All right. Let's go back in time. Well, backetta out of the bullpen. Super. I'm sure he'll love that. All right. Let's go back in time. Well, back in time for the first two and then into the future for Spencer Howard. All right. We're coming right back.

And it is our distinct pleasure, as Jack Fritz is literally fist pumping next to me, to welcome in a man who we have talked about many times here on the High Ops podcast. Our favorite son. We like to think of him as. I don't think he thinks of us that way. Maybe at the end of this podcast he will. That's what we're hoping for. Right now, yeah.

There it is. Let's welcome in the one, the only, former number one overall pick, Mr. Mickey Moniag. Mickey, what's up, brother? Not much. Just hanging out here in Arizona, enjoying myself. How are you guys? Good, man. Mickey, have you come off that high from that diving catch last night?

That was awesome. Yeah, no, it felt good. You know, anytime you can make a play like that with the bases loaded, two outs up by one run is, like you said, definitely a high. So I'm feeling good. I have the day off today, so I'm just going to be sitting on the bench cheering on my teammates and just enjoying a game of baseball.

Would you say that you are, in fact, clutch? Do you have the clutch gene? Is that what you're trying to tell us? Not only do you have that diving catch, but in the Reading playoff game, you came up clutch there. Are you the clutchest minor league Philly? That's definitely up in the air. If you ask me, I'm going to say yeah. If you ask

Boehm, I hope he says yeah. If you ask Josh, I hope he says yeah. So I hope, yeah, we all like to think we're the best. It's a good, friendly competition, but we have fun. And so, yeah, I'll say yeah to that one for sure. That's the the correct answer mickey we would have said yes as well so uh you might not know this uh but jack fritz has some history with you and he actually has something he'd like to apologize yeah so uh mickey um i'd like to just first off apologize hand up you know this is on me um he actually put his hand at the end so i would like to personally take responsibility for the the bit of slow to the season before you really picked it up. You were in my Twitter bio. It read, Life, Liberty, and Mickey Moniac second half splits.

And my Twitter bio was absolutely cursed. And the second it came out of my Twitter bio, you went on a tear. So I'd just like to apologize for the slow start to the season. It was not you. It was all me. That was you, guys. Now it all makes sense. You're like, why is this happening?

I'm doing everything right. Yeah, I just figured I had to come clean. I had to come clean and say I'm sorry. I have kept everyone else out of the bio. So congrats on the great second half of the season. It was awesome to see you from afar. But my other quibble is, I mean, you followed me on Twitter for like a week, and then you gave me the unfollow, and I just want to know what's up.

Wow. Asking the hard questions here. If I'm going to be completely honest with you, I have zero recollection of that. No, it's all good. But I will definitely, if I don't already follow you, I will throw you the follow for sure. Mickey, don't give him the pander follow. He's going to earn it. To my defense, I like to try to block out all of the, just any media on Twitter.

And that's just from the first year in Lakewood on, because you know how that can get a little overwhelming at times. Yeah, it's a cesspool, Mickey. Yeah, that's my defense, but I will definitely throw you the follow back as soon as we get done here. Mickey, you're the man. Thank you for taking Jack seriously there. He talks about it way too much.

All right, how's the Arizona Fall League going? We just talked about the catch you made. What's it like to be down there with some of the top prospects in the game and getting the opportunity to show off what you can do? It's good, man. It's fun playing with all these guys, just being surrounded by, like you said, the top talent in the minor leagues and getting to build relationships with these guys that will one day hopefully carry over into the big leagues.

And just being around these guys, pushing each other, it's been fun. And going into it, we like to think of it like a developmental league and just trying to work on things, trying to fine-tune some things, going into the offseason, trying to figure out things that maybe I need to work on things, trying to fine-tune some things going into the offseason, trying to figure out things that maybe I need to work on or something that would be beneficial to me going into spring training next year. Just looking to finish out this next week and a half strong, get better, and then go into the offseason, have a healthy, successful offseason. Looking forward to 2020 and going out there, going out there and, you know,

continuing to get better and just see what I can or, you know, prove what I can do. Mickey, taking a step back and looking backwards, coming out of high school, you're the number one overall pick in the draft. What was that like? I mean, at the age of, you know, what were you, 17 at the time? I mean, when I was 17, I was trying to figure out how big an asshole I could be, essentially. And you're getting picked number one in the draft. What's that like for a kid that age and such a big thing? It was a whirlwind. At first, I would say it didn't really sink in.

I'd say my first half season in the GCL, it happened. You got to go out and play pro ball for the first time. Draft day, you're the number one pick. It was a huge celebration for me and my family. We were just very grateful. There's a lot that comes with it. I think a lot of it started to settle in and sink in that first full season. The good and the bad, obviously there's a lot of mostly good that comes with it, but

there is some bad stuff. There's a little bit more of an eye on you, so to speak. I think that first full season was me learning how to deal with the pressures and learning how to deal with that title. Every year I like to say that every year I've gotten better, and every year that I've played pro ball, it's gotten easier. I just look to continue to do that. It's been fun, dude.

I've enjoyed every second of it, even the highs and the lows. I'm just looking forward to getting up to Philly one day and helping the team win. Now, is it true that in high school school you only struck out once your senior year? Honestly, I couldn't even tell you. Close to that. I don't know. Close to that. It was around one.

Close to one. It was around one. That is amazing. It's Southern California. It's not like Southeastern PA. It's a little more serious. It's good competition. Yeah, for sure.

How would you say your game has changed since since being picked number one overall i mean i think it's just learning to adapt with the game you know you got a lot of guys going out there uh pitchers throwing you different i know from my first season all the way till now the game has changed uh you know uh drastically and um you know going into at bats you know getting uh you know the scouting reports are out there they've gotten better but they've also gotten better on you. So just kind of knowing what the pitcher is going to try to do to you. You're not going out there with a 2-0 count expecting a fastball right down the middle.

Most of the time it's 50-50. They might throw you a breaking ball to try to keep you off balance. But the game is changing, and I think for me, just the biggest thing that has changed is just trying to learn, you know, what pitchers are doing to me and staying true to my approach, finding out who I am as a baseball player. And, you know, I think I've made big strides this past year and the year before that. And, you know, looking to continue to do that next year. You talk about finding out who you are as a baseball player.

Is there a player that you've emulated your game after or someone you kind of see yourself in? I remember when you were drafted, a lot of people made the Christian Yelich comp, which, of course, that would be, you know, I think you would be very happy to have a Christian Yelich like there. But is there anyone who you either growing up or kind of as you got going, you kind of model yourself after? I mean, you know, I'd love to stick with the Christian Yelich one,

you know, looking at it now. But, you know, I think for me just I tried to kind of put different aspects of other people's games into mind, kind of just, you know, like take different things from certain people. I remember growing up I used to watch, you know, Robinson Cano highlights just to look at his swing and try to, you know, put some stuff into that. And then obviously guys like, you know, back in the day, Jacoby Ellsbury when he was going good with the Red Sox

and just little things like that. I like to think that, you know, I can do everything well. I can play defense. I can hit. I can run. Steal bags. The power's coming. I know it's in there.

I know that, you know, one day it'll be there. So I'm not worried about that too much. I like to think of myself as, you know, a run producer, driving them in, scoring them. Just anything I can do to be the most complete player and help the team win, that's just kind of what I look to do. Now, Nick, you obviously had your best season as a pro stats-wise this year. I mean, a double A at 21 years old. That's awesome. What do you think was the main factor in that?

I think just, like I said, going through every year and picking up little things and improving on those things as I go. You know, like you said, getting thrown into pro ball at 18, you know, some guys are going to take a little bit more time to develop than others. And I like to think that, you know, I didn't take too much time, but I definitely think there's a, you know, a point where, you know, maybe I needed to take a step back and kind of figure out what I needed to do as a baseball player. Just picking up little things, learning how to deal with the 140 games every year, learning how to deal with the outside pressures,

learning how to deal with the slump. Starting the year off, hitting 195 in AA, there's never a panic button. If you would have told me that I would have started my first year in Lakewood off hitting 195, I think that, you know, everything would be set on fire and, you know, people would be running around in my head just, you know, going crazy. But, you know, just like I said, learning that, you know, you're going to have some struggles.

It's just baseball and just trusting in yourself, being confident in yourself to know that you're good enough to pull yourself out of it and, you know, ultimately have a productive ultimately have a productive year and ultimately help the team win. Well, we already established that the slow start was all my fault. Right, right, right. There's no excuse this year. You're no longer in the bio, so we can't use that anymore. Now, Mickey, we are a very pro Jason O'Chart podcast.

How would you say that he has kind of helped you develop him this year? Any tips? Like what did he kind of do to help you kind of along the way this year? I think my favorite thing about O'Chart is just, you know, him being so knowledgeable about the new style of hitting and all the new analytics that go into it nowadays. I think that, you know, just being a guy where, you know, we do use some, you know, technologies that, you know, I haven't used in the past,

and just being able to use that and then going to him and kind of getting, you know, the full rundown of what that means and how I can implement it into my game. You know, I like to think of myself as more of an old school way of thinking, just like hitting wise. You know, I tend to work well with, you know, maybe thinking line drive up the like hitting wise um you know i tend to to work well with you know maybe thinking line drive up the middle instead of you know connecting your back hip with your whatever it may be so i think just going to him and having him there as a resource has been huge

for me um i like to you know i'm trying to learn the new way of of how we do things you know hitting and baseball and all that stuff so i think just for him being there and having a guy like that in the organization where you can turn to and, you know, is only going to help my game that much more. And I've only gotten to spend, you know, a year with O-Chart, and he's roving around, you know, going to everyone around the organization. But I think the more time I get to spend with him is only going to be beneficial to me and, you know, everyone else in the Phillies organization. I feel like we and our listeners have gotten to know

Mickey Moniak, the baseball player here. Very excited about Mickey Moniak, the baseball player. But what about Mickey Moniak, the guy? What does Mickey like to do for fun when you're not playing baseball, which I know pretty much takes up the vast majority of your time. But what else does he like to do for fun, Mick? Well, if we're talking during the season you know i i've room with uh luke williams the past two years josh you know we like to hang out

you know we keep it pretty mellow um you know off days you know usually kick it on the couch watch some tv watch some movies but um you know we'll have our days where you know i know out here we went to sedona and you out there, went ATVing. I like to get a little adventurous sometimes, but I like to keep a good balance between going and doing fun things and keeping it mellow. Back home, I like to go to the beach a bunch, pick up basketball, whatever it may be, but I like to enjoy myself. That's awesome, man.

Mickey, we can't tell you how much we appreciate you taking the time for us. I mean, Jack is literally grinning ear to ear. I'm not even kidding. The smile is – and he's not someone who smiles very often. No, that's not true. That's not true. Yeah, Mickey, thank you so much, man. We really appreciate you taking the time.

Absolutely. Thank you, guys. And it is our pleasure to introduce the top prospect in the Philadelphia Phillies organization. We like to call him the future. We like him very much on this podcast. We've talked about him quite a few times. One and the only, Mr. Alec Baum. Alec, thanks for joining us, brother.

No problem. I mean, this is, like, my co-host is grinning ear to ear right now. He is very excited to have you on. He is a quite a fan. You can't even talk. He was just silent. I mean, I was trying to spit out a word and it didn't come out. I wish you could have seen his face. Cause he literally just clammed up.

You made me look like an idiot. You know, we're talking to the bone here and I look like a moron. Alec, what's the Arizona Fall League been like for you down there with the top prospects in the game and getting to show off what you can do? It's been a blast. I've been able to come out here and play alongside a lot of guys

that we played against throughout the whole year. Just to get to know them and pick up a few things from them and watch them play. Vice versa, it's been a good experience. Are you getting worn down at all? You played a whole... know them and, you know, pick up a few things from them and watch them play and, you know, vice versa. It's been a good experience. Are you getting worn down at all? I mean, you played a whole, you know, you moved three levels this year, which is crazy.

You get up to double A and then you just rake everywhere. Then you get to the Arizona Fall League. You continue to rake there. Are you getting worn down at all or are you just a machine? No, I mean, they do a pretty good job of keeping us fresh here. So, I mean, not too often do you play, you know, a lot of games in a row. So, you know, you play a couple days, you know, get a day off, and then we have a full team off day.

So, they do a pretty good job here with the league and the manager here to, you know, keep everybody fresh. Alec, we all know you can rake. I mean, that is what we love. But how's the defense been coming along? Do you see yourself as a third baseman long term? Is we love, but how's the defense been coming along? Do you see yourself as a third baseman long-term? Is that your ideal position? How's that been coming along?

Yeah, I feel like I can do that. I feel like out here, I've done well. The only thing I've done out here is just gotten errors on throwing balls that I just shouldn't have even thrown, but that's the reason I'm here, is to find out what plays I can make and what plays I need to just hold on to the ball

and not make the throw. That's really interesting, actually. So you're kind of learning, like, not just, you know, how to play the position, but also learning about what decisions to make more than anything. Yeah, that's a big thing is just making the smart decision. And, you know, there's times where, you times where you go and you barehand a ball and the guy's going to be safe, but you throw it anyway and you end up throwing it away and there's no need to make the throw.

Just things like that to take care of the ball. Obviously, you want to get everybody out, but there's times where you need to just hold on to it and go from there. Now one of the things that I thought was really cool when the Phillies drafted you was how much you talked about how you hate striking out, and it's bored out in the minor leagues. You don't have big strikeout numbers. What is it about?

Why do you hate striking out so much is mainly my question. To me, it's just always been, through college and everything, it's just been thought of as a useless out. I just... Whether there's nobody on, there's somebody on, if you put the ball in play, there's at least a chance.

Maybe at least just get on base. Might not get a hit, but put the pressure on the defense. Maybe they make an error. Who knows? For me, I want to at least give myself a chance to get a hit, but, you know, put the pressure on the defense. Maybe they make an error. You know, who knows? But, you know, for me, I want to at least give myself a chance to get a hit. All right, Alec, I've got to ask you the tough question. My co-host here, Jack Fritz, fancies himself a pitcher. Yeah. A 6'1", overweight, slightly overweight, we'll say.

Yes. Never lost in the high school playoffs. I'm 2-0. 2-0. And he ranked by perfect game. Is it the 45th in the state? 45th in the state school playoffs. I'm 2-0. 2-0. And he ranked by perfect game. Is it the 45th in the state? 45th in the state of Pennsylvania. So do you think you'd get a hit off Jack Fritz?

I don't know. The answer is absolutely. You would murder him. You would get many hits off him. I don't know. I mean, my high school cutter was my bread and butter. I was a cutter guy. That's perfect.

Alec, you're from Omaha, Nebraska. What's there that's fun to do in Omaha? What does one do for fun when they go to Omaha? The College World Series. Oh, yeah, good call. That was always a big thing that came around every year. Growing up, you went out there every year. Ever since I can remember growing up in Omaha,

it was that College World Series games. Now, I saw that your alma mater made a big coaching change. Now, are you excited for the Eric Wedge era at Wichita State? Yeah, definitely. I mean, I've talked to a lot of guys that I still know that are still playing there, and they said that they like him, and they can see that he's going to be good for them. Alec, a lot of at least fans have watched you hit, have seen the numbers, and feel like we're pretty much ready for you to be a part of the Major League roster.

Do you still feel like you have a lot to prove at the Minor League roster? And do you feel like you're ready for that leap? That's not for me to decide. You know, I go where they tell me to, and when they feel that I'm ready, then that's when I'm ready. And how did you feel that the addition of Jason Ochart to the staff kind of helped your development this year? I love Jason.

You know, people on the outside looking in think, like, he's this driveline guy, like, forcing all this new stuff on us with the technology and everything. But that's not at all what he does. You know, he's a really smart hitting coach, and he sees every guy with what they have, and he works with your swing. He doesn't try to just make this cookie-cutter thing. That's what makes him really good.

He just, with what you've got,, he puts together a plan for you, and you go out and try to execute it. Did you like, because I guess one of the things he kind of implemented with you was trying to pull the ball in the air more. Did you like that change? Was it an adjustment? And did he work on, like, your load at all, like trying to get your hands in a strong position to hit?

There wasn't a lot of mechanical changes, but pulling the ball in the air was one focus. You know, when you look at the numbers and everything, the pull side in the air is where the majority of damage is done in baseball. And so, for me, my first year, I don't think I hit, like like one ball pull side in the air in that short sample. And we just wanted to work on, you know, getting to that. And for me, once I opened up that side of the field and started pulling more balls in the air,

more doubles and homers came and and the power started to show, and I still had the opposite field to go to as well. Alex, so Jack and I have a way of celebrating your home runs. Yeah. We're a big fan of calling them a bomer. Yeah. Have you ever done this, and should this be our fan group for you's name, the Bomers?

You guys, that's you guys call i'll support whatever i love it listen because back in the day like when howard and utley and all those guys are coming up like they'll have their fan groups like there was the the howards homers there was the uh padillas flatias uh the wolf pack for randy wolf this is like way back in the day and we want to bring them back and we just want to be the Bomers because it just flows off the tongue. Yeah, it does come off pretty easy. Yeah, I love it. I love it.

Alec, last question. Is there a player that you kind of grew up loving and emulate? Like is there a player that you kind of emulate your game after or want to kind of emulate? I'd say, I mean, there's a few. Growing up, some of the older players, I really watched Derek Jeter a lot. I just really enjoyed watching him. And then more like modern nowadays, I'm a big fan of Bryant and Arenado,

watching them, same position, and, you know, watching them, same position, and watching how things they do on defense, things they do hitting, all that stuff. Awesome. Phillies top prospect. Really a pleasure for us. Thank you, Alec. We really appreciate it. No problem. No problem.

And it is our pleasure to welcome in the number one pitching prospect in the Philadelphia Phillies organization, a man who I know myself and I speak for many Phillies fans are very excited to see pitching in the Philadelphia Phillies rotation someday soon. The one, the only Mr. Spencer Howard. Spencer, thanks for joining us, man. Thanks for having me. It's a pleasure. Yeah, it is actually our distinct pleasure. I know that I speak. I'm not kidding, man. This past run here in September, even in August,

there was a large chorus of Philadelphia Phillies fans, not even just saying, yelling, bring up Spencer Howard. What do you think about that like is that something do you feel like you're you're ready to make the jump are you are you almost there yeah it's pretty cool and i think especially knowing that my body can handle such a long season now um yeah i do feel ready yeah how big was that for you because you had the the shoulder injury to begin the season um and now have you kind of felt like you've proven to yourself that you can stay healthy and and pitch throughout an entire season i mean you pitch this this well for the most part of the season and now in the arizona fall league it's been a long run

everything holding up well you feel healthy you feel strong yeah for sure i think it was a nice little nice to be able to take a step back and realize that i'm not superhuman as much as i wish to be but um to kind of get that into my routine and then to be able to hopefully prevent anything else from happening. How's the experience down in the Arizona Fall League been facing some of the top prospects in the sport? What's it been like down there? Yeah, it's great.

Obviously the competition is better, which makes it more fun. You got to know what you're doing and try to just be guys not only physically but mentally. So it's definitely been a good experience. Yeah, has it kind of taught yourself anything more about you? You're facing some of the best competition in the sport, and from what we've seen and from videos on Twitter and just looking at your stats, you're pitching really well.

Has that been important to you? videos on Twitter and just looking at your stats, like you're pitching really well. Has that been important to you? Um, yeah, I, I guess I came in with a mindset of just trying to get better and get a little bit more consistent with everything. And so I personally have seen some steps in the right direction. There's still a long way to go, but, um, yeah, I definitely feel like it's been productive for me. You talked a little bit about the mental side of the game. Obviously, you have all the physical tools. How hard is that as you keep going up in levels and facing better and better hitters? How much does the mental part of it change as you go?

I think that's the biggest thing. For me especially, it has been, especially from last year. It was outing to outing. I was like, oh, am I going to have my stuff this outing or not? And then you'll go through stretches of not and stretches of having it. And then this year just trying to make that more consistent, like routine-based. And so I know everything that I've done every day and just trying to write it all down and make that as consistent as possible in the preparation aspect

and then having that overflow into games. Yeah, and when you came out of college, you were like 92 to 94, and now you're up to like 98 we've seen from down the Arizona Fall League. Where's the VLO jump come from? I'm not really sure. Probably just learning how to throw a baseball. That's awesome. That must be a pretty cool thing. I guess I'll just figure learning how to throw a baseball that's awesome that must be a pretty cool thing you're like it's like oh i guess i'll just figure out how to throw harder

yeah just trying to throw it harder that's a good way to go about things are there any uh pictures that you kind of model yourself after or you know someone you do you see a certain pitch someone has and say oh i want i want to do that? Are there any that stick out to you? Well, as of late, it's been watching Garrett Cole do his thing. That's a pretty good guy. Of all that guy's stuff and being able to command everything and just completely overpower hitters at that

level in the playoffs. It's unbelievable, honestly. Yeah, we're hoping future Philly Garrett Cole. He might not be able to comment on that, but I'm sure all of Philadelphia would love to see that guy here. I'm with you, man. Yeah, we're hoping future Philly Garrett Cole. He might not be able to comment on that, but I'm sure all of Philadelphia would love to see that guy here. I'm with you, man. He's been a workhorse. Now, Spencer, your mechanics have changed a little bit since college.

It feels like since you've gotten to the big leagues, you've gotten to the Phillies minor league system, they've put more emphasis on creating more downhill momentum. How have your mechanics changed from college? In college, I was super stiff and started preset on the rubber. I was cross-body, and every pitch I felt like I was trying to throw as hard as I can. It's kind of shifted more towards just learning how to use my legs athletically and not being as robotic with mechanics

and kind of just discovering what feels good for me and trying to roll with that spencer what do you like to do for fun outside of baseball i know that you know when you're grinding through the minor leagues and all that it can kind of become baseball as your whole life but but what does spencer howard like to do for a good time when you're not playing? We have a pool at our Airbnb out here, and I bought, I think it was like an $18 pink flamingo, and I've been floating on that just about every day. That is awesome.

Nice, relaxing hang sesh, huh? Yeah, exactly. That is awesome. Spencer, are there any other things that stick out from your journey through the minor leagues? We talked a little bit before about being ready. Do you think that there's anything that you've learned the last year or so that you feel makes you ready to make the jump to the majors?

I think it's just trying to see how much better hitters get at every level and making the adjustment. So, I mean, I haven't been to AAA yet, but I'd imagine the hitters get at every level and making the adjustment. So, I mean, I haven't been to AAA yet, but I'd imagine the hitters are better, and it's just a matter of finding out how much better you can get to keep up with that. Are you excited to pitch with those AAA balls? Yeah.

I've heard they get baby powdered up, so they're extra slippery. Would you say that your repertoire is kind of complete? I mean, you have the fastball. It's obviously legit change up i think is just taking a huge step forward i think your curveball has a nice depth to it do you feel like your repertoire is kind of complete are you trying to hone in those pitches are you looking to add more um i'm not sure i think i have a long way to go until i master all of my pitches right now um but maybe in the future, add a couple more.

So you never know. There's always room to improve. What do you think is the biggest difference from Cal Poly Spencer Howard to now being legit number one Phillies prospect Spencer Howard? Probably learning myself a little bit more, a little bit more mature, just by a hair, and just bit more, a little bit more mature, just by a hair, and just getting more into a routine and becoming an actual pitcher versus just I'm going to go check this ball and see how it goes. Who's the toughest hitter you've ever faced?

Is there someone you've faced and he just really just is such a tough out? Yeah, I don't know if he's still playing, but remember facing eric philia he was at ucla at the time and i remember watching him in the game before and just being like wow this guy is super legit and then i came in and i think he hit a double laser line drive right back at me and kind of just asserted his dominance over me so uh all right so this is i'm asking to look into the future a little bit but we all know as we said you know here in philly we are we are eagerly awaiting your arrival what do you think it'll be like for you to step on a major league mound for the first time knowing the ball is in your hand and you've achieved that ultimate goal?

Obviously, it'd be super, super exciting, and I'd probably be a little bit amped up. I know the fans in Philly are great, and just to be able to feel that energy from them would be incredible. It'd certainly be a lot better than here. We get like 200 fans a game, so it's a little bit dull. But, yeah, I think it would be incredible. It would certainly be a lot better than here. We get like 200 fans a game, so it's a little bit dull. But, yeah, I think it would be incredible. What have you heard from the Philly fans?

Have you kind of heard the tenor and heard the tone? Because a lot of people have been calling for your name, man. No, I haven't really heard much other than in interviews. But I hope it's all good stuff. It is, man. It's definitely all good stuff. It's passion. It's excitement. And we are dying for a pitcher,

a young pitcher to come up. And, you know, we're excited, man. Yeah, and Spencer, it's been like eight years since we've been to the playoffs. You know, we see the Nationals go to the World Series yesterday. Oh, my God, it's killing us.

It is absolutely killing us. So we just look forward to you getting up here and hopefully helping us get over the top. Yeah, I'm excited. It's killing us. It's absolutely killing us. So we just look forward to you getting up here and hopefully helping us get over the top. Yeah, I'm excited. Thank you so much. Spencer Howard, we really appreciate it, brother. Thank you.

And we're back. We didn't go anywhere. No, still here. It was like a half a second. I just waited and I put a little editing mark. Now we're back. Super. It's good.

All right. That was really cool. Those guys were great. Yeah, shout out to we're back. Super. It's good. All right. That was really cool. Those guys were great. Yeah, and shout out to Daniel Kirsch, who helped set that up from the Arizona Fall League. And again, if you want to watch Arizona Fall League action- Which I will. We know. Trust me.

The Fall League Championship game can be watched on MLB.com, October 26th at 2 p.m. Eastern. Their website is MLB.com slash AFL for more and all information about the league. Fritzy. So that was fun. Yeah. Yeah. Our guys. Our guys.

They're officially our guys now. And now we have actually interviewed Spencer Howard. Yeah, now we actually talked to Spencer Howard. He called us while we were just talking there. Yeah. You don't know, but it happened. Future ace. Future ace Spencer Howard was happy to talk to us.

Yeah. Spencer Howard's great. Yeah. I legitimately. Sounds like a smart dude. Which is very cool. Watching these playoffs, it's like, man, the Phillies need a Spencer Howard. Yeah.

Big time. Like a guy that's. Well. Nola's awesome. Nola's obviously great. I'm very happy with Nola. Just an ace, right? But he's like a 1A ace.

Spencer Howard is a guy that we need to be that power guy that you can kind of just put in the middle of a game and kind of shut it down. Well, how cool is it that now that the interview has happened, as I got confused for a second, but I want to make sure that the audience, you guys have heard the interview now. Yes.

We're somewhere we are in the recording. That's been a whirlwind. But we brought up Garrett Cole. We brought up that guy that we talk about as that's a guy he kind of emulates after. That's been a whirlwind. But he brought up Gary Cole. He brought up that guy that we talk about as that's the guy he kind of emulates after. That was pretty cool.

He may or may not. Wait, they already listened to it. So basically, so basically, so basically he said that he can envision himself being in a rotation

with Gary Cole next year in Philadelphia. At least that's how I took it. That's how I took it too. It's like, Spencer Howard, I already laid it out. Number one,

Gary Cole. Number two, Aaron Nolan it's like Spencer Howard. I already laid it out. Number one, Gary Cole. Number two, Aaron Nolan. Three, Spencer Howard. Yep. Four, Jack Fritz. Five. Oh, man. I can't.

Dude, watching the playoffs sucks. I mean, I love watching the playoffs, but it sucks. It sucks right now. It hurts. It's a killer. And absolutely. I need the Astros to win the World Series with every bone in my body. Yeah, but here's the thing. I like this Yankees

team. Oh, no. I like this Yankees team because I'm jealous. It's like their big market team that knows how to do it. Why can't we do that? Yeah. No. Strong, hard no. Yeah, because you grew up with the old Yankees. I hate the Yankees. So thirsty to hate the Yankees. It's not. What do you grew up with the old Yankees. I hate the Yankees. It's so thirsty to hate the

Yankees. It's not. What do you mean thirsty to hate the Yankees? Ghost Rose. Ghost Rose. Future Philly Garrett Cole. You want to remember that guy? Yeah, let him win a World Series and then come here on a six-year $250 million contract. Boom. God, that's so much money. For a pitcher?

It's crazy. It's crazy. I'm still glad they didn't pitch. I'm still glad they didn't pay Patrick Cor for a pitcher. It's crazy. It's crazy. It's crazy town. Yeah. I'm still glad they didn't pitch. I'm still glad they didn't pay Patrick Corbin. Yeah. Yeah. He's good. Not Gary Cole good. Not Gary Cole.

Gary Cole's going to get a lot more money, though. In my head, they sat up the Patrick Corbin stuff because they knew that a year from now they're signing Gary Cole. Obviously. Yeah. They have a plan. Come on. I trust this.

They have a plan. Yeah. I trust this team. Final thoughts. I don't know. My main thought was the Middleton thing. Yeah, all right. My main thought is that was awesome.

Thank you to Mickey Moniak, Alec Boehm, and Spencer Howard for joining us. It's going to be cool. One day they're going to be stars for the Phillies, and they're going to look back and be like, oh, I knew that. They're going to say to us, I knew those guys won. Well, no, because we're going to be huge by that point. That's what I'm saying. Then we're going to be mano a mano.

They are going to say to us, oh, I knew those guys when, like back when we were just doing it. Come on, Jack. God. Yeah. Yeah. We're going to be peers. We're going to be peers.

We're going to be professional baseball players. No, but we're going to listen. They are officially our guys. They are guys. We have established that. Friends of the podcast. Friends of the podcast. Mickey Moniac said he's going to follow me on Twitter.

He did. He has not followed me on Twitter yet. This is outrageous. I have tweets that go out. I can't believe you asked him to follow you. Well, I just thought it was ridiculous that he unfollowed me. Talk about thirsty.

No, it wasn't that. Talk about thirsty. It was, hey, Mick. When thirst goes wrong. You followed me. No, that's not true. I embrace the thirst. That's goes wrong. You followed me. No, that's not true. I embrace the thirst. That's my policy.

That's disgusting. The playoffs are brutal to watch. I need the Phillies back. I need to, so we can, like, seeing the people freak out about the stupid ass shark doo-doo thing. Just like, Philly is such a better chant town, and we're so much better at everything about being sports fans than Washington. Yeah, well, they're chumps.

No one showed up. They don't have people there. They didn't even sell out NLCS games. That's embarrassing. That is embarrassing. It's gross. Yeah. All right, rate and review the podcast.

Do it for Jack. Do it for me. Do it for Mickey Moniak, Alec Baum, and Spencer Howard, who have been kind enough to go rate and review the podcast for us after we finished. They said they would do it. So do it because they did it. What do you think about that? Follow their lead.

Yeah. Follow their lead. We'll be back next week. Peace, friends. I'm Spencer. All-Star Closer, Kenley Jansen. We have a question. What's the best podcast of all time?

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