{"podcast":{"title":"Flippin' Bats with Ben Verlander","slug":"flippin-bats-with-ben-verlander-3663614","podcast_index_feed_id":3663614,"rss_url":"https://feeds.megaphone.fm/CAD8627571361","website_url":"https://www.foxsports.com/shows/flippin-bats-with-ben-verlander","image_url":"https://megaphone.imgix.net/podcasts/698d0a92-8c57-11eb-830c-3fed562f4edf/image/c75c2bbbc54749c5247f20252b383480.jpeg?ixlib=rails-4.3.1&max-w=3000&max-h=3000&fit=crop&auto=format,compress","author":"FOX Sports","episode_count":732,"summary":"Flippin' Bats is a fun baseball podcast bringing you everything you want from around the league! You'll hear from Hall of Famer John Smoltz every week, you'll hear from the game's best players, and you'll be up to date on everything around the league! Baseball. Is. Fun. And so is Flippin' Bats!","last_synced_at":"2026-06-28T20:20:11.167672+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/flippin-bats-with-ben-verlander-3663614"},"episode":{"title":"Cubs Are Legit World Series Contenders! Astros Injury Nightmare + Junior Caminero is a STAR","slug":"cubs-are-legit-world-series-contenders-astros-injury-nightmare-junior-caminero-is-a-star","published_at":"2026-05-12T19:16:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/flippin-bats-with-ben-verlander-3663614/cubs-are-legit-world-series-contenders-astros-injury-nightmare-junior-caminero-is-a-star","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/flippin-bats-with-ben-verlander-3663614","url":"https://pdst.fm/e/pscrb.fm/rss/p/traffic.megaphone.fm/RLDER1507123259.mp3","audio_url":"https://pdst.fm/e/pscrb.fm/rss/p/traffic.megaphone.fm/RLDER1507123259.mp3","summary":"The Chicago Cubs are off to one of the best starts in franchise history — multiple 10-game win streaks, leading MLB in OBP, wRC+, and WAR, and the best defense in baseball. Are they real World Series contenders who can beat the Dodgers and Braves? Plus, we break down why Junior Caminero is already a superstar at just 22 years old — 45 HR last season, 10 HR already in 2026, and looking like a future MVP. And the Houston Astros continue to be the most unlucky team in baseball — 16 players on the IL this year after setting the record for most injured team in MLB history in 2025. What’s going on with this injury curse? Full MLB Power Rankings + Team of the Week breakdown included. Chapters: 0:00 Intro 1:39 Are the Cubs World Series contenders? 5:20 Junior Caminero is a superstar 8:46 Bad luck Houston Astros 13:04 MLB Power Rankings 22:44 Team of the Week 27:43 Outro Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices","meta_description":"The Chicago Cubs are off to one of the best starts in franchise history — multiple 10-game win streaks, leading MLB in OBP, wRC+, and WAR, and the best de…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":1845,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/flippin-bats-with-ben-verlander-3663614/episodes/cubs-are-legit-world-series-contenders-astros-injury-nightmare-junior-caminero-is-a-star/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/flippin-bats-with-ben-verlander-3663614/cubs-are-legit-world-series-contenders-astros-injury-nightmare-junior-caminero-is-a-star.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}