Future Projection

Ben and Carlos break down the second annual draft lottery and the implications that come from the Guardians and Reds leaping up to secure the top two picks in the 2024 draft. The two discuss how this could impact Cleveland’s draft strategy and whether or not the top players in the class fit their typical MO on prospects, as well as look at some of the draft lottery “losers” including the A’s, Whit...

Ben and Carlos talk about the rumored Jackson Chourio extension with the Brewers and talk through evaluating risk for prospects vs. risk for veteran players.  After that the two talk through Carlos’s updated 2024 draft rankings and discuss the state of a very muddled draft class. Which player would be the No. 1 pick if the draft were today? Is there any separation on the pitching side? Which playe...

Ben and Carlos chat about MLB awards season, despite the fact that most of the winners were unanimous and ultimately not too surprising. After that the two talk about the PPI picks that the D-Backs and Orioles will receive thanks to Corbin Carroll and Gunnar Henderson, and the pros and cons of all of the new rule changes in regards to the draft—and it seems like mostly pros outside of additional h...

Ben and Carlos talk about a number of the managerial moves in the big leagues in recent weeks, and then Ben talks about the traits and skills that he would want to have in a big league manager. It’s hard to quantify the value of big league managers with precision, but Ben breaks down the various hard and soft skills that he thinks might be important for the modern game. The two talk about whether...

Ben and Carlos have a long conversation about speed on today’s episode. How they evaluate it, how much it matters, which players the tool is most important for and how to project it into the future. Rule changes in MLB mean steals are more common than ever, and Diamondbacks rookie Corbin Carroll was a great example of a young player with both elite speed and elite baserunning instincts. Who could...

Ben and Carlos hop on the podcast and talk about the Marlins and Kim Ng splitting up—or more accurately Kim Ng deciding that she wanted no part in the Marlins hiring someone above her after one of the organization’s most successful seasons in recent memory.  The two talk about the state of the Marlins and whether or not the team has an optimistic future outlook, look at the state of the farm syste...

Ben Badler and Carlos Collazo recap their trip to Jupiter and break down some of the most interesting players they saw. They also talk about the value of scouting an event like Jupiter, which has so much going on at once.  After that, the two pivot to big league talk and discuss the postseason. The two give their thoughts on the many blowout series we have had so far, lament the brutal start from...

The postseason field is set and October baseball is here. Ben and Carlos talk about the field and think through which teams are well-positioned to advance to the World Series as much as possible given the randomness of playoff baseball. The two talk about styles of play, which teams have the toughest and easiest paths, and then try and figure out which playoff teams are best positioned for success...

Ben and Carlos dig into some of the more interesting prospects to know from the Arizona Fall League rosters, including a few well-known players with a chance to make up for lost time, and a few lesser known names who could jump on the scene. Players include Guardians outfielder Chase DeLauter, Tigers righthander Jackson Jobe and Blue Jays lefthander Ricky Tiedemann, among others. After that, the t...

Carlos and Ben briefly talk about Corbin Carroll’s historic rookie season and the rare company that he has joined with his power/speed combination. Then, they look at the NL MVP race that is heating up between Ronald Acuña Jr. and Mookie Betts and try and figure out who, if either, has the edge.  That leads to a conversation about stolen base and base running value in the game today before diving...

Ben and Carlos talk about a few recent high-profile front office moves, led by the Red Sox decision to fire chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom, as well as the Mets hiring of David Stearns and an extension for Mike Rizzo with the Nationals. The two talk about Bloom’s tenure with Boston and try to assess the job he did with the organization, before looking ahead to how the Mets could look with Stear...

Ben and Carlos talk about Jordan Lawlar’s big league promotion and what to expect from him, then look back at the 2021 draft class and debate who they would take early in the draft with the benefit of a few years of hindsight. They then talk about the odd pro debut and shutdown of 2023 No. 1 overall pick Paul Skenes and what we can take away from that—if anything. After that, the two talk about th...

Ben and Carlos talk about the most disappointing teams in the big leagues this year, and then follow up on a 90th Percentile Podcast conversation from Geoff Pontes about how many games the 2023 Louisiana State team could win against the 2023 Oakland A’s.  The two then move into a few notable prospect promotions that have happened recently, including Padres catcher Ethan Salas moving to Double-A as...

Ben and Carlos get back on the podcast train after a month of busy travel watching some of the top high school players in the country. First on the docket in today’s episode is the surprise announcement that the Angels are calling up 2023 first rounder Nolan Schanuel. After that, the two start with a conversation about our midseason farm system rankings. How much separation is there at the top wit...

Ben and Carlos review the 2023 draft and talk through some of their favorite picks and draft classes, as well as talk about surprising bonuses and look through a couple of over slot players drafted later who are names to keep in mind. The two discuss the 2024 draft class and talk about how the class currently has a number of question marks, and then talk about a few prominent movers on the top 100...

Carlos and Ben have a deep draft preview, going pick by pick through the first round to cover the potential picks for all 30 teams. They walk through different scenarios, player/team connections for each club, the players who could potentially go earlier than expected on under-slot deals and the players who might end up sliding down the board.  ​​— Do you have a question you want us to answer? Ema...

Ben and Carlos chat briefly about Ben’s updated top 100 2024 prospect list, and then the two discuss the start of the summer showcase season. What are their preferred events? Which are the big events to know on the calendar? After that, the two talk about Paul Skenes and his recent 124-pitch outing in the regionals for LSU. How many pitches is too many pitches for a college player with big-time dr...

Ben and Carlos talk through our most recent draft update, which was the release of the BA 500—always a fun milestone to reach on the draft calendar. The two talk through a few players of note on the list, including Arizona outfielder Chase Davis and a prominent pop-up player in Southern California, among others. After that, the two talk about the value of team workouts. What sort of information ar...

Today Ben and Carlos talk about the potential benefits of replacing extended spring training with a full-season league in the minors, and then get into a conversation about the pros and cons of scouting history and getting fresh-eyed looks on players from others. The two talk about players they have different history or personal experiences with and also dive into a couple prospects who they eithe...

Ben and Carlos talk about how impressive Orioles shortstop Jackson Holliday has been since he was drafted and make the case for him as the No. 1 prospect in baseball. The 19-year-old shortstop has an extremely well-rounded game with few, if any, holes to speak of—who else is in the conversation and competing with him right now? After that, the two discuss a few other players who were taken with th...

Ben and Carlos open with some draft talk, where the two discuss the most recent Baseball America mock draft and talk about why they are still so high on the depth of the 2023 draft class. After that, the two break down a few notable movers on the most recent update to the top 100 prospect list—headlined by Rangers outfielder Evan Carter, who was a surprise draft pick at the time and is now looking...

Ben and Carlos talk about Ben’s trip to the Dominican Republic and get into a few players who stood out, and Ben gives some insight on the difficulty of contextualizing the current IFA class to previous ones at this point in the calendar. The two talk about Kyle Glaser’s story on the ‘Enhanced Grip’ baseball that is being tested in the Double-A Southern League, and try and think through the ramifi...

Carlos is joined by Peter Flaherty to discuss the current state of the 2023 draft class and our recently updated top 400 draft list.  The two talk about the first round and the players getting a lot of buzz at the top of the class, talk through some of the strengths and weaknesses of the group as we see it today, and then get into a few of the biggest rising players on the draft board.  After that...

Ben and Carlos chat about their varying levels of disdain for the phrases “have a catch,” “off the charts,” and new pitch classification trends before getting into a conversation about why evaluating younger players is so exciting—and difficult!—at times. The two talk about how excellent the Rays have been early this season, starting the year 13-0, and seemingly winning every trade they make. Carl...

Ben and Carlos talk about how impressive Padres catching prospect Ethan Salas has been, and the two try to contextualize how good he is compared to recent top international prospects. After that, the two pivot to the big leagues, where they talk about a trio of Brewers hitters who have come out of the gates hot, as well as a few pitching debuts and prospects from the Dodgers and A’s.  After that,...