Top 50 people in baseball you need to know for 2026, Opening Day starters draft & big prospects make the roster cut

Baseball season has officially arrived! The 2026 season will kick off tonight in California when the New York Yankees take on the San Francisco Giants. As part of the start of the grind that is the regular season, we tell you about some of the most important names you need to know in baseball for this year.

On this episode of Baseball Bar-B-Cast, Jake Mintz and Jordan Shusterman discuss the top 50 most notable names, including four important members of the Los Angeles Dodgers who aren’t named Shohei Ohtani and one very large presence in the Bronx looking to make history. They also discuss which umpire you should be aware of with ABS becoming a part of the league, and why we need to see Vladimir Guerrero Jr. have a more impactful season.

Later, Jake and Jordan try to determine which starting pitchers will fare the best on the first game of the season with their annual starters draft. The guys then discuss the Chicago Cubs extending Pete Crow-Armstrong, the Detroit Tigers breaking camp with Kevin McGonigle, and why the Netflix broadcast for the first game of the season is going to be a wild experience.

1:49 - The Opener: 50 notable names
5:14 - Dodgers you need to know
17:09 - Vlad Guerrero Jr. needs an MVP season
25:14 - ABS joins the league
32:12 - Aaron Judge goes for three in a row
36:36 - Opening Day starters draft
58:58 - Around the League: Cubs-PCA extension
1:03:57 - McGonigle breaks camp
1:09:44 - Netflix hosts Yankees-Giants

Subscribe to Baseball Bar-B-Cast on your favorite podcast app:

🎧 Apple Podcasts

🎧 Spotify

🖥️ YouTube

📢 Check out the Yahoo Sports podcast network or yahoosports.tv

And check out Jake, Jordan & the show on X or Instagram:

🌤️ @CespedesBBQ: https://bsky.app/profile/cespedesbbq.bsky.social

🐦 @CespedesBBQ: https://x.com/CespedesBBQ

📷 @CespedesBBQ: https://www.instagram.com/cespedesbbq

⚾ @Jake_Mintz: https://x.com/Jake_Mintz

🧢 @J_Shusterman: https://x.com/j_shusterman_