Baseball America

This week on the Prospect Podcast, Jesús Cano and JJ Cooper talk about the Bridge League and the Instructional League, where MLB draft picks and top international prospects get intense instruction in a more relaxed environment. Jesús has been working the back fields for several months, and he highlights some of the prospects who have stood out. (00:00) Explaining Instructs and Bridge League (11:00...

Baseball America national college reporter Jacob Rudner and national writer Peter Flaherty went back and forth to draft 2026 college baseball fantasy teams with four hitters, two starting pitchers and a reliever. Rudner and Flaherty also offered their analysis and insight on recent reporting that Tennessee head coach Tony Vitello could be a wild-card candidate to fill the San Francisco Giants'...

On this week's Hot Sheet Show, J.J. Cooper, Jesús Cano and Scott Braun are joined by Diamondbacks prospect Ryan Waldschmidt , who ranks fourth in the team's Top 30 prospects list and was Arizona's MiLB Player of the Year . We also discuss the D-back's farm system grade and rookie pitchers getting ready for the bright lights of the MLB postseason. We stream the Hot Sheet Show every...

Carlos and Peter spend the entire podcast getting into the weeds on UCLA shortstop Roch Cholowsky. He’s the No. 1 player in the class and both Peter and college writer Jacob Rudner picked Cholowsky as the “way too early” favorite to be the player of the year next season. How does he stack up with recent college prospects? Is he in a tier of his own for college shortstops? And are there any real ho...

This week on the Baseball America podcast Geoff Pontes is joined by Jacob Rudner to chat about Arizona Fall League rosters. We open the show covering the big names before diving into 10 prospects we think could breakout in AFL play. (4:00) Kevin McGonigle the best hitter in the AFL. (9:00) Josue De Paula (15:00) Karson Milbrandt (18:00) Marco Dinges (20:00) Sean Linan (23:00) Parks Harber (25:00)...

Pirates SS Konnor Griffin is Baseball America's 2025 MiLB Player of the Year, as we announced on the Hot Sheet show. In today's Prospect Podcast, Geoff Pontes, Josh Norris and J.J. Cooper try to explain what stands out about Konnor Griffin, and why he's the best prospect in baseball. Time Stamps (00:00) How fortunate we were to see Konnor Griffin play (02:45) How tough a decision was i...

On this week's Hot Sheet Show, J.J. Cooper, Geoff Pontes and and Scott Braun are joined by a very special guest: 2025 Baseball America Minor League Player of the Year Konnor Griffin . We talk to the Pirates shortstop about his breakout 2025 campaign, swing changes, the potential for future success in Pittsburgh and a lot more. We stream the Hot Sheet Show every Monday at 3:30 p.m. ET  on YouTu...

2025 Bowman Chrome drops next Tuesday. To celebrate, J.J. Cooper and Seth Mates joined WeTheHobby's latest podcast to break down this year's card set ranging from our favorite prospects to target, potential future DSL stars and our favorite teams in the checklist. You can check out the full show here . Looking to go even deeper? Here's BA's Bowman Chrome preview , exclusively for B...

This week on the Baseball America Fantasy Podcast Geoff Pontes, Dylan White and Jacob Rudner dive into the 2025 Rookie class with an eye toward next year and beyond. We go through some of the top names and discuss their potential value in 2026 leagues. (3:30) How high should Nick Kurtz go in a 16 team dynasty startup? (9:30) Roman Anthony vs Nick Kurtz the next five years. (13:00) Jacob Misiorowsk...

Carlos Collazo and JJ Cooper are just back from the 2025 Under Armour Next All-American Game at Camden Yards. They take a look at some of the 2026 draft prospects who stood out at the event. (00:00) The capper on the summer showcase circuit (06:00) Genson Veras (10:00) Landon Thome (12:00) Jaxon Matthews (15:15) Ty Burnham (16:15) Coleton Brady (19:30) Mickey Gilligan (20:15) Sean Dunlap (23:45 Do...

Thankfully the vast majority of top players in the majors these days were Top 100 Prospects when they were minor leaguers, but not everyone was. Today on the Prospect Podcast, Jacob Rudner and JJ Cooper are taking a look at four prospects who didn't rank in the Top 100, but we wish had. We try to see what we missed and what lessons can be learned from each one. (00:00) Where BA staffers are on...

Baseball America college writer Jacob Rudner and national reporter Peter Flaherty break down underrated transfer portal classes, particularly at the mid-major level, and take a look ahead at the 2026 season with notable players to keep an eye on. (2:45) Underrated portal classes (11:45) How a portal class can change a mid-major's outlook (18:28) Incoming freshmen to watch (27:01) Sophomores to...

On this week's Hot Sheet Show, J.J. Cooper, Geoff Pontes and Jesús Cano discuss some exciting recent callups in the Blue Jays' Trey Yesavage and the Giants' Bryce Eldridge . We also discuss rookies that have stood out this season. Who are the rookie of the year candidates ? Which rookies will succeed long term? We stream the Hot Sheet Show every Monday at 3:30 p.m. ET  on YouTube . Tim...

Carlos, Jacob and Peter review our preseason draft teams for the 2025 class. Who did well, who did poorly, which picks do we love and which do we regret with the benefit of hindsight? Perhaps more importantly, what are the lessons we can learn from this exercise and put towards the 2026 class? You can see each of the three teams drafted below, as well as the “best of the rest” of the highest draft...

Josh Norris and JJ Cooper analyze the just announced Arizona Fall League rosters. Who are the names to know and who is a surprise addition? We break it down. (00:00) Why we are excited (01:30) Who we are most excited to see (06:15) Which team has the best/most interesting roster (10:00) Why Kevin McGonigle's inclusion is unusual (17:30) Non-Top 100 Prospects in the AFL to watch Go to https://s...

The Baseball America Fantasy Podcast returns this week with an in-depth discussion centered around how to target pitching prospects in fantasy. We dig into some of the recent promotions of pitching prospects and how late season promotions can propel you in deeper leagues down the stretch. In the second half of the show we dig into a handful of pitchers who added stuff and a few who saw diminished...

This week on the Prospect Podcast, Geoff Pontes and JJ Cooper take a look at some pitching myths that have been busted, and what teams know nowadays. (00:00) Geoff is working on a pitching project (06:00) Velocity can be taught and developed (16:00) JJ goes on a rant about how pitchers are throwing harder. It's not just the radar guns. (27:30) With changeups movement matters as much as velocit...

On this week's Hot Sheet Show, J.J. Cooper, Geoff Pontes, Jacob Rudner and Scott Braun discuss a number of pitching prospects, including the Phillies' Andrew Painter and his struggles and the rise of arms in the Marlins' system. We also break down the transfer portal conundrum faced by today’s college baseball coaches. We stream the Hot Sheet Show every Monday at 3:30 p.m. ET  on YouTu...

On this week's Prospect Podcast, Josh Norris and JJ Cooper discuss Josh's travels to the Arizona, Florida and Dominican Summer Leagues. We try to explain what to look for in the lowest levels of the minors, but more importantly we talk about prospects who stood out at those levels. (00:00) Explaining the differences between the Complex Leagues and the upper levels (03:30) Why fans should c...

On this week's Hot Sheet Show, J.J. Cooper, Jacob Rudner and Scott Braun kick things off by chatting about some recent impact callups, including the Reds' Sal Stewart and the Mariners' Harry Ford . We also discuss young pitchers being thrown into the playoff push, such as Payton Tolle of the Red Sox and and Cam Schlittler of the Yankees. We stream the Hot Sheet Show every Monday at 3:3...

On this episode of the Baseball America College Baseball Podcast, national college reporter Jacob Rudner and national writer Peter Flaherty take a look ahead at fall ball, breaking down teams to follow, possible breakout players and more. Rudner and Flaherty also revisit the topic of tampering, examine what to look for when finding fall breakout players and touch on the college baseball calendar....

Carlos and Peter hop on the draft podcast to talk about some standout Area Code Games performances—but before that the two break down Peter and Jacob’s top 25 college baseball jersey rankings. What makes a good jersey in the first place? Which were the hard calls? After that the two get a bit more serious and talk about a number of standout hitters and pitchers from the summer, think through separ...

This week on the Baseball America fantasy podcast we're talking prospects who have surged in the second half of the season. Host Geoff Pontes and Dylan White talk through a handful of standouts that Roboscout has identified as top names to know. (2:30) Jonah Tong called up. What are your expectations? (7:00) McLean continues to dominate. (12:00) Rank them for 2026 Jacob Misiorowski, Chase Burn...

September callup season is almost upon us, so on this week’s prospect podcast, Geoff Pontes and Mark Chiarelli dive into their wish list of potential callups that could impact the 2025 postseason. The guys start with Tuesday’s news that the Mets are adding Jonah Tong into their rotation, then springboard into other coveted prospects they’d love to see, however unlikely it may be. The guys close ou...

On this week's Hot Sheet Show, J.J. Cooper, Geoff Pontes and Jacob Rudner welcome Rays No. 5 prospect Brody Hopkins . We also discuss which pitching prospects excite us ahead of possible September callups ad why Orioles prospect Samuel Basallo’s extension is a possible loophole MLB teams are exploiting. We stream the Hot Sheet Show every Monday at 3:30 p.m. ET  on YouTube . Time Stamps (0:00)...