Baseball America

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)...

Carlos and Peter take an early—perhaps too early—look at who’s making noise in their pro debuts from the 2025 draft class.  — Time Stamps (0:00) Intro (2:00) Lack of playing time for debut players (6:15) Marek Houston (9:00) Devin Taylor (14:50) Other hitters off to hot starts (24:00) Joey Volini and other arms Our Sponsors: * Check out BetterHelp and use my code betterhelp.com for a great deal: h...

This week on the Fantasy Podcast we welcome Jacob Rudner as our cohost with Dylan White on vacation. Don't worry, we put Jacob's college knowledge to good use looking forward to 2026 rookies from the last two college draft classes. (2:30) Bubba Chandler called up and the concerns we have. (16:00) Are there any 2025 draftees who could debut in 2026? Who are the potential difference makers?...

On this week's Prospect Podcast, Geoff Pontes, JJ Cooper and Mark Chiarelli take a look at some Top 100 hitting prospects who are extremely low risk, and some who have a flaw that could trip them up. And Mark takes a look at what's going on with Pirates RHP Bubba Chandler. Plus Prospect Soapboxes. (00:00) When we talk about risk with hitting prospects, what are we looking at? How Has It Ch...

Baseball America national college reporter Jacob Rudner and national writer Peter Flaherty review the best of summer ball action with players returning to campus from their summer assignments. Rudner and Flaherty also look ahead at some big fall storylines to follow. (2:42) The challenges of summer ball (9:50) Incoming freshmen summer standouts (15:02) Is summer performance a good predictor for sp...

On this week's Hot Sheet Show, J.J. Cooper, Mark Chiarelli, Jacob Rudner and Scott Braun discuss Samuel Basallo’s big league debut. Just how good can the Orioles' top prospect be? We also break down the dominant start from Nolan McLean with the Mets this past weekend, explore BA's midseason farm system talent rankings and Konnor Griffin's promotion to Double-A. We stream the Hot Sh...

Carlos and Peter hop on the draft podcast to talk about the Cape Cod League and how it has evolved over the years. The two then talk about some of the up arrow college names to know from the summer and Carlos hits on a handful of high school names who impressed at the Area Code Games.  — Time Stamps (0:00) Intro (2:30) Cape talk (7:30) What is the utility of the Cape these days? (12:30) Up arrow c...

We are a day late this week, but it's for a good reason. We waited to see could talk about the newly updated Top 100 Prospects rankings, Team Top 30 Prospect rankings and most importantly for this podcast/video, the farm system rankings based on those updated rankings. (00:00) Why JJ Wetherholt moved up? (07:30) What makes Jesus Made special (13:15) Why the Brewers are the No. 1 farm system (2...

On this week's Hot Sheet Show, Ben Badler, Geoff Pontes and Scott Braun discuss the latest updates to the Top 100 prospects list, including which big names rose and fell in the last major update during the 2025 season. We also dive into seeing 16-year-olds pitching with upper-90s velos and question the direction of pitching health in the sport before talking about the Mets' recent promotio...

With the dust of the trade deadline long since past we return with a new episode of the Baseball America fantasy podcast. Host Geoff Pontes and Dylan White breakdown how all of the recent moves have impacted the upcoming Top 500 dynasty ranking. We dive into some players moving way up the list as well. (4:00) Nick Kurtz keeps climbing. (7:00) Kyle Stowers the breakout player of 2025. (10:00) Agust...

On this week's Prospect Podcast, Geoff Pontes and JJ Cooper look at three teams that sold at the deadline. We peer into the crystal ball to look at their hopes for 2026 and beyond. (00:00) Analyzing The Baltimore Orioles (15:50) Analyzing The Minnesota Twins (31:30) Analyzing The Pittsburgh Pirates (46:00) Geoff's Prospect Soapbox (Victor Arias) (49:45) JJ's Prospect Soapbox (Bo Davids...

Baseball America national college reporter Jacob Rudner and national writer Peter Flaherty tackle one of the biggest issues in college baseball: tampering. Rudner and Flaherty break down what exactly tampering involves, possible solutions and how it's impacting the mid-major level. They also explore what it takes to be successful in roster building and the evolution of the offseason coaching c...

On this week's Hot Sheet Show, J.J. Cooper, Geoff Pontes and Scott Braun discuss our favorite and most puzzling trade deadline hauls now that the dust has settled. That includes why the Padres, A's and Twins all did well, and two big-market contenders who didn't do enough. The guys then close by specifically dive deep on the A's and Giants' performances at the deadline, and the...

Carlos and Peter talk about the completion of the 2025 draft with the passing of this year’s signing deadline. The two talk about the picks that surprised us, the bonuses that stood out to us and the draft classes that made us think. After putting a bow on the 2025 class, the two give their general thoughts on the 2026 class as we look ahead to next year’s draft. — Time Stamps (2:30) Signing deadl...

Baseball America managing editor JJ Cooper, prospect writer Geoff Pontes and national college reporter Jacob Rudner recap a thrilling 2025 MLB trade deadline. They talk winners and losers, react to the Padres-A's blockbuster that saw A's closer Mason Miller and San Diego top prospect Leodalis De Vries, among others, change uniforms, and much more. Our Sponsors: * Check out BetterHelp and u...

AJ Preller has done it again. The Padres landed A's closer Mason Miller and LHP JP Sears for a package of prospects headlined by Leo De Vries, the No. 5 prospect in baseball. J.J. Cooper, Geoff Pontes, Josh Norris and Jesús Cano jumped on YouTube to discuss the ramifications of the deal, including whether this was the best possible package De Vries could've netted, plus answered some fan q...

Using the Baseball America Top 500 Draft Rankings, Carlos Collazo and JJ Cooper take a look at what teams got great draft values with their picks, and which teams went in very different directions. Full story: https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/the-best-worst-values-of-the-2025-mlb-draft/ Our Sponsors: * Check out BetterHelp and use my code betterhelp.com for a great deal: https://www.betterh...