Future Projection

The importance of scouting and projecting frames is the main portion of the show in today’s episode. Ben wonders whether or not we are too critical of superficial “bad body” players who actually have proven hitting chops, while Carlos talks about how projecting bodies might be more important for defensive profiles than anything that happens in the box. The two discuss early physical developers, hy...

Ben and Carlos hop on the show to talk through our most recent top 100 update that dropped this week, including notable up-arrow moves from a number of Red Sox prospects—most prominently Roman Anthony and Kristian Campbell. The two work through a number of risers on the list, including Chase Dollander, Kumar Rocker, Alejandro Rosario and Tyler Black, then also talk about a couple of players who ha...

Ben and Carlos are back on the mic to talk about their travels and the prospects they’ve seen over the last few weeks and months of the summer showcase circuit.  Ben breaks down a few high-upside pitching prospects from the 2026 class who wowed him this summer and Carlos does the same for two prep righties in the upcoming 2025 high school class. The two wonder if spin rate monsters are becoming in...

It’s almost draft day, and with that Ben and Carlos are joined by Peter Flaherty for a joint draft/Future Projection episode where the team does their best to break down round one for each team in the game.  We go through every team in the first round and talk through their potential options for this year’s draft, talk through draft strategy, debate players, talk through team philosophies and much...

Ben and Carlos talk about what they’ve been up to over the last month. Ben’s been focused on the start of the summer showcase season and provides an early preview of the 2025 and 2026 high school classes, while Carlos breaks down his experience at this year’s MLB Draft combine and talks about some late-process 2024 draft class notes. The two briefly then talk about some of the more prominent up-ar...

Ben and Carlos talk through two significant pillars of content that hit the site this week: the annual BA 500 for the 2024 class and our international reviews that give you all the information you need as the DSL season gets underway. The two talk briefly about the Field of 64 and the NCAA Tournament that kicks off this weekend. Ben asks how much the tournament games can move the needle for scouti...

Ben and Carlos chat about college conference tournaments and briefly get into the dreadful track record of first round first basemen in recent years. Will that impact how teams view players like Nick Kurtz and Jac Caglianone? The two talk about the SEC’s decision to roll out and experiment with a new double first base bag at the SEC tournament and then get into more serious business of prospect pr...

Ben and Carlos spend a lot of time talking through Baseball Savant’s new bat tracking data and how the new information could inform or change how we evaluate players and prospects. The two talk about the importance of bat speed in general, why length of swing is important, think through bat speed vs. bat acceleration and also wonder about the complications that could arise with how bat length is c...

Ben and Carlos hop on the show to primarily break down the big movers on our first in-season Top 100 MLB Prospects update of the 2024 season. Before jumping into that, the two marvel at Georgia slugger Charlie Condon’s continued home run pace and wonder whether or not teams should start giving him the Barry Bonds treatment—if not, will he get to the 40-homer mark? Carlos asks Ben about this year’s...

Ben and Carlos talk about the new draft rankings at Baseball America and briefly touch on the state of the class and how the group is shaping up. Ben brings up the idea of pick trading once again and how that would impact Carlos’s ability to create mock drafts. Ben also talks about how it would be interesting to see teams able to trade domestic draft picks for international draft picks if that is...

Ben and Carlos talk through all kinds of early-season performances to start the season, but before getting into minor leaguers they start off with how red hot Michael Busch has been for the Cubs. Does this change our evaluations of the Dodgers-Cubs trade and how have minor leaguers Zyhir Hope and Jackson Ferris been so far in the 2024 season? After that, the two talk about the odd situation in Flo...

Carlos and Ben talk about Jackson Holliday’s big league promotion and what to expect of him from the jump with the Orioles. The two debate the validity of jersey retirements but otherwise agree on many of the topics of today’s episode which includes… The much-talked about pitcher injury epidemic. Velocity and max effort throwing certainly seems like a factor, but what about others like the pitch c...

Ben and Carlos hop on the show to talk about the top of the 2024 draft class and notable minor league prospect assignments.  Before getting into the show the two talk about the news that the A’s will be relocating to Sacramento’s Triple-A stadium after the 2024 season. It’s just the latest of a shocking number of relocation gaffes from the franchise.  After that the two talk about how dynamic both...

Happy (day after) Opening Day! Ben and Carlos hop back on the podcast to talk about Opening Day of the big league season and some of the main storylines of the year. The two talk about their World Series picks and talk through some of the more interesting divisions to keep tabs on then debate the most disappointing offseason in the league. The two also give their thoughts on the Shohei Ohtani-Ippe...

Ben and Carlos chat about spring training standouts in big league camp, headlined by two players in the very elite tier of baseball prospects who have a case to start the year in the majors: Jackson Holliday and Wyatt Langford. Ben and Carlos talk about the cases for and against those two being pushed aggressively and then the two talk about a number of other spring training performances including...

Ben and Carlos talk about the first two weeks of college baseball action including scorching offensive starts from Georgia’s Charlie Condon and Oregon State’s Travis Bazzana. Are they more in the mix to be the No. 1 pick in a still unsettled draft class? And what are the early changes beyond just strong production? The two then move on to pitching and break down early-season outings from Arkansas...

Ben and Carlos are joined by Peter Flaherty in a special edition of the show, where the three look ahead to the 2024 amateur season by drafting teams of 2024 class prospects. The three writers go back and forth in an attempt to create the best team possible from the 2024 class.  Here are the rules: Each drafter must fill the following positions and select at least six high school players and at le...

Carlos and Ben banter about the announced Netflix documentary following the Red Sox and think about what their ideal baseball documentary looks like. After that the two talk through the Royals mega-extension of franchise shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. and how the deal is a win for all parties involved.  Then the two talk through Matt Eddy’s PPI eligible players piece and think about the ramifications of...

Ben and Carlos hop on the show and talk through a few major league news items, including the Tigers extension of Colt Keith, the Twins-Mariners Jorge Polanco trade and the news that the Orioles are being sold to (hopefully) new and improved owners. After that, the two get into Carlos’s big draft update ahead of the college baseball season. The list expands from 100 to 200, with a new name up top a...

Ben and Carlos talk about the week’s Hall of Fame results and debate the various cases for some of the players who were on this year’s ballot before looking ahead to future candidates and looking at the surprisingly strong track record of No. 1 overall picks making the Hall of Fame.  After that the two open up the listener mailbag and get into your prospect questions.  Those involve plenty of topi...

Ben and Carlos spend most of the episode getting into the weeds on our recently released 2024 Top 100 Prospects list. Before that conversation starts, Ben breaks down his January 15 experience and how it compared to previous years. Padres prospect Leodalis De Vries serves as the bridge from international signing day to our Top 100, as the lone member of the 2024 class to land on the list. What mak...

Today’s episode is spent entirely on international prospects, as we are just days away from January 15. In this episode, Carlos grills Ben on all things international: Who are the top prospects to know? What’s the current state of the international signing system? What are the pros and cons of signing day coming in January compared to July? Which teams are doing the best on the international marke...

Ben and Carlos kick off the new year with the final installment of their division-by-division breakdown of farm systems, saving the worst (?) group of teams for last. Before that the two talk through Ben’s international board for the 2024 class , which is lined up based on the expected bonuses for the top 50 players in the class. Ben breaks down a few of the top names, including Braves shortstop s...

Ben and Carlos celebrate the fact that the 2024 Prospect Handbook has been shipped by breaking down AL Central prospect talent. Without much happening on the major league front, the two get straight into prospect talk, starting with a strong Tigers system. The two talk about their excitement for No. 1 prospect Max Clark and wonder about his power potential for the future, and then discuss whether...

Ben and Carlos discuss their caffeine of choice during the busy December prospect season, then react a bit to Shohei Ohtani’s historic contract with the Dodgers.  After that, the two get straight into prospect talk and analyze the farm systems of the AL East, which includes four good to great systems—including the Orioles, who have the easy No. 1 group in the league—and one that’s maybe a bit less...