Future Projection

Ben and Carlos talk about the World Baseball Classic and the drama surrounding team USA. After that, they compare and contrast some of the top college outfielders in the 2026 draft class. Why is Ben so high on Virginia’s AJ Gracia? And why can Carlos not quit on LSU’s Derek Curiel? Those two, plus thoughts on Sawyer Strosnider and Drew Burress—plus a few comments on his Georgia Tech teammate Vahn...

Ben and Carlos answer listener questions about how we know when to re-adjust expectations for prospects and the difference in value between center fielders and shortstops. — Time Stamps: (3:00) How do you know if a player is hitting a high percentile outcome vs. adjusting possible expectations? (8:00) Why it’s hard to deal with specific percentile projections (16:00) Why approach changes are incre...

Ben and Carlos talk about a double first base bag dilemma that surfaced in college baseball, then get into some spring training prospect talk. Should Kevin McGonigle and JJ Wetherholt make opening day rosters? Is Orioles outfielder Vance Honeycutt starting to figure something out? They talk about other names like Payton Tolle and Connelly Early, Charlie Condon, Sam Antonacci, Justin Crawford, JR R...

Ben and Carlos open up the listener mailbag and take questions on a number of draft topics including: prep sleepers who could be first rounders; Ace Reese’s defensive profile; Konnor Griffin’s impact on scouting; who our favorite prospect in the class is after Roch Cholowsky and Grady Emerson; Derek Curiel’s lack of power; and whether or not teams care about the pick order when they are picking ba...

Ben and Carlos talk about a few pitchers who have them excited from early spring training outings, then get into one of the most exciting pitching prospects in the country, Oregon State righthander Dax Whitney. The two talk about whether or not he’s the best pitching prospect since Paul Skenes, and then kickstart a conversation about the top prospects from each of the next two draft classes, headl...

Ben and Carlos take listener questions on whether pitchers with deep arsenals and good command are overrated, about players who aren’t ranked top 100 who could jump into top-10 territory with a good season, and about whether or not recent Duke commit James Clark has a chance to make it to campus. — Time Stamps: (1:25) Do you think pitchers with deeper arsenals get undervalued? (11:30) Who is someo...

Ben and Carlos talk about the challenges of scouting players in the early portions of a baseball season, and discuss the differences in evaluating hitters and pitchers in those time periods. The two talk about a number of standouts from Carlos’s week one Texas trip, including Grady Emerson, Lucas Franco, Cam Johnson and more. After that the two talk about Noah Franco’s two way status, why they dis...

Ben, Carlos and Jacob conduct the fourth annual amateur player draft. The name of the game is simple: select the most talented team you can among 2026 draft-eligible prospects.  Each drafter has to fill out a roster as follows: one catcher, two corner infielders, two middle infielders, three outfielders, four pitchers and one utility spot. Each team needs to have at least six high school players a...

Ben and Carlos answer listener questions about how bat tracking technology and athletic testing metrics have changed high school scouting, how multi-sport athletes are valued and where some of the top 2027 draft prospects would slot into the 2026 class.  — Time Stamps: (0:30) How has technology like bat tracking and force plates changed high school scouting? (14:20) Do multi-sport athletes project...

Ben and Carlos talk through the new Baseball America farm system rankings. How close are the top teams and what separates them? Which farm systems are our picks to take big steps forward a year from now? After farm system talk, the two discuss the new Top 200 draft rankings for the 2026 class.  — Time Stamps: (0:00) WBC excitement (6:30) Updated farm system rankings (9:00) Are the Pirates a clear...

Ben and Carlos take some questions from last week’s draft chat and expand on them in the podcast. The two discuss their favorite college pitchers in the class, talk about the questions with Jacob Lombard’s contact ability and also talk about the changes they would make to the MLB draft.  — Time Stamps: (0:45) Our favorite college pitcher in the class (9:55) Concerns with Jacob Lombard’s contact ab...

Ben and Carlos talk briefly about the demographics and depth of the 2026 draft class, before getting into a conversation about high school recruiting and the power dynamics and changes in the space over the last few years. After that they break down some of the top PPI eligible prospects and discuss which players might be best-positioned to help their clubs add extra picks with strong 2026 perform...

Ben and Carlos open up the Future Projection listener mailbag and talk about some of their favorite prospects who didn’t make the top 100 but could be there shortly. They also hit on a handful of Braves prospects who could be in the same camp, plus talk about potential IFA signing day implications that could come (or not come) from a lockout after the 2026 season.  — Time Stamps (1:00) Favorite pr...

Ben and Carlos discuss the recently released Top 100 prospects list for the 2026 season. The two work their way down the list and discuss players they like at every stage, as well as players they are split on, players who are more polarizing and players who they are more skeptical of. The two also give their reactions to the Freddy Peralta trade, and at the end of the show react live to the MacKen...

Ben and Carlos hop on the podcast for a Jan. 15 focused edition of the show where Ben provides all the details on every team in the league. If you want to know about your team’s 2026 international signing class, this is the podcast for you.  — Time Stamps: (2:30) Guardians (7:40) Tigers (11:05) Royals (16:25) Twins (19:25) White Sox (23:30) Brewers (27:30) Cubs (29:45) Reds (32:45) Cardinals (36:4...

Ben and Carlos open the mailbag in today’s episode. The two answer a handful of questions including: how do prep pitchers change their stock during the spring? Which prospects do we like to the same level as Trey Yesavage? Whether or not Roch Cholowsky and Grady Emerson are the clear 1-2 players in the class. And where Wandy Asigen and other top international signees would fit if they were draft e...

Ben and Carlos talk about how deep and talented the high school pitching crop is for the 2026 draft class. The two try to contextualize where this class of prep arms stacks up with some of the best in recent memory, and then discuss why pitchers across the board seem better today than they were five, 10, 15 years ago. The two talk about the general risk of pitching prospects vs. hitting prospects,...

Ben and Carlos have a conversation about pitching development with Paul Davis. Davis has spent years in the game and was most recently the Braves director of pitching. He’s also spent time with both the Cardinals and Mariners organizations, and coached and played baseball in college.  Davis talks about what it’s like to be a pitching director and how pitching development has changed over the years...

Ben and Carlos break open the listener mailbag after talking briefly about MLB’s new tech limitations that are coming to baseball. Today’s listener topics include Dominican Summer League breakout candidates, the comps on 2026 high school shortstop Tyler Spangler, the rarity of 60-grade hit/power prospects and players outside the top 100 with the biggest upside potential.  — Time Stamps:  (0:00) In...

Ben and Carlos complete their divisional prospect breakdown with the AL West. The two analyze each team’s farm system, talk about the strengths and weaknesses, get into some of the top players and more. — Time Stamps: (0:00) Intro & Prospect Handbook Talk (4:45) Mariners (31:30) Athletics (59:30) Rangers (1:19:00) Astros (1:33:30) Angels Do you have feedback for the show or want to ask us a qu...

Let’s open the listener mailbag. To get into all of your questions, Ben and Carlos shake up the Future Projection formula and give you a 30-minute episode exclusively with listener questions. Where would Roch Cholowsky slot onto the top 100 prospects list right now? Who are our favorite pure hitters in the 2026 class? What do we think about Texas catcher Carson Tinney and his summer struggles? And...

Ben and Carlos continue their divisional prospect breakdown with the AL Central. The two analyze each team’s farm system, talk about the strengths and weaknesses, get into some of the top players and more. — Time Stamps: (0:00) Intro (2:00) Draft lottery (9:20) AL Central talk (10:45) Tigers (40:40) Guardians (1:03:10) Twins (1:24:30) White Sox  (1:50:00) Royals Do you have feedback for the show o...

Ben and Carlos continue their divisional prospect breakdown with the AL East. The two analyze each team’s farm system, talk about the strengths and weaknesses, get into some of the top players and more. — Time Stamps: (0:00) Intro (5:30) AL East overview (8:00) Red Sox (33:30) Orioles (58:00) Blue Jays (1:16:00) Rays (1:36:00) Yankees Do you have feedback for the show or want to ask us a question?...

Ben and Carlos throw the mailbag wide open and take a variety of listener questions ahead of Thanksgiving. The two put grades on Thanksgiving dishes and also spend plenty of time talking about prospects, scouting, baseball jargon, sleepers, potential position switches, draft busts, personal cheeseballs and more.  — Time Stamps: (0:00) Intro (3:00) Thanksgiving food grades (14:00) What do we mean b...

Ben and Carlos continue their divisional prospect breakdown with the NL West. The two analyze each team’s farm system, talk about the strengths and weaknesses, get into some of the top players and more. — Time Stamps: (0:00) Intro (5:30) Dodgers (31:40) Giants (56:30) D-backs (1:18:00) Rockies (1:41:10) Padres Do you have feedback for the show or want to ask us a question? Email us: futureprojecti...