Baseball America

This week on the Prospect Podcast, Geoff Pontes and JJ Cooper discuss which organizations stood out in our Hit+ and Stuff+ metrics. We have sourced the pitch and hit tracking data from all levels of the minors to put together the overall organization rankings from 1 to 30. (00:00) Explaining Hit+ and Stuff+ (13:35) Why the Dodgers rank so well (21:30) The Orioles rank very high in pitching stuff (...

Baseball America national college reporter Jacob Rudner and national writer Peter Flaherty recap an impressive weekend at the WWBA World Championship in Jupiter, Florida, including their takeaways from watching 16-year-old phenom Striker Pence. Rudner and Flaherty also breakdown the latest intel from college fall workouts across the country. (4:30) Breaking down Striker Pence (10:55) Vanderbilt co...

On this week's Hot Sheet Show, J.J. Cooper, Geoff Pontes and Scott Braun welcome Twins prospect Brandon Winokur to the show. We also dive into BA's recent farm system Statcast rankings. Can you guess which organization sits atop both the hitting and pitching lists? We stream the Hot Sheet Show every Monday at 3:30 p.m. ET  on YouTube . Time Stamps (0:00) Introduction (0:30) Statcast farm system ra...

Carlos picks Peter’s brain on what it’s been like so far at the 2025 Perfect Game WWBA World Championship in Jupiter, Fla. Peter breaks down Canadian lefthander Sean Duncan, and then gushes about the look he got from 2028 flamethrowing righthander Striker Pence. Peter then highlights a few other notable players he’s looking forward to seeing — Time Stamps (0:00) Intro (3:00) How do you scout Jupit...

This week on the Baseball America Fantasy Podcast JJ Cooper stands in for Dylan White, as our Canadian Co-Host recovers from the Jays victory party in Toronto. JJ and Geoff talk through a host of big name pitching prospects that impressed in their MLB debuts in 2025. We talk through Cam Schlittler, Trey Yesavage and others. In the second half of the show we discuss some 2025 breakout hitters in ML...

On this week's Prospect Podcast, Geoff Pontes and JJ Cooper talk a whole lot about pitcher's velocity. We discuss why it's the key to MLB success, and we look at which MiLB pitchers throw the hardest and have the nastiest stuff. (00:00) Why we love velocity (05:00) A new study finds MLB SPs who throw harder not only have more success, they also have longer careers (20:00) Looking at which MiLB pit...

On this week's Hot Sheet Show, J.J. Cooper, Carlos Collazo and Scott Braun take an early look at the 2026 MLB Draft. We discuss Roch Cholowsky's 1-1 exciting profile, lottery odds and where Grady Emerson fits in. Plus, we answer a fan question about the Arizona Fall League. We stream the Hot Sheet Show every Monday at 3:30 p.m. ET  on YouTube . Time Stamps (0:00) Introduction (1:00) 2026 draft's h...

This week on the Baseball America Fantasy Podcast hosts Geoff Pontes and Dylan White dig into a host of underrated prospects. We talk about some hitters and pitchers with traits to target in fantasy baseball. We use their underlying data and our internal models to identify some sleepers for your offseason target lists. (1:00) Recapping our 2025 Fantasy Seasons (5:00) Playoffs under way (12:00) Eth...

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' man...

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 Monday at 3:30 p...

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. But in today's Prospect Podcast, Geoff Pontes, Josh Norris and JJ Cooper try to explain what stands out about Konnor Griffin, and why he's the best prospect in baseball. (00:00) How fortunate we were to see Konnor Griffin play (02:45) How tough a decision was it? (08:45) What made K...

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 YouTube ....

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 BA subscribers. O...

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 Dom...

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 the...

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 wat...

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 . Time Stamps (0:...

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://surfs...

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 velocity se...