Locked On MLB Prospects - Daily Podcast on Minor League Baseball

On today's show, we're talking to Evan Drellich, national baseball writer for The Athletic, as well as author of the new book "Winning Fixes Everything: How Baseball's Brightest Minds Created Sports' Biggest Mess", out now! We discuss what the Houston Astros did in the 2017 season with stealing signs, if major league baseball has instituted enough safeguards in place to prevent it from happening a...

On today's show, we're taking your questions! Do the Los Angeles Angels have the pieces to potentially trade for Milwaukee Brewers SP Corbin Burnes? And if they don't, who does?  We look at Angels INF Livan Soto, Reds OF Ariel Almonte, and Mariners 3B Tyler Locklear, and then we discuss what to think when your favorite prospect drops out of a Top 100 prospects list.  Join the NEW Locked On MLB Pro...

On today's farm preview, we're looking at the Oakland A's! They've traded away a lot of big leaguers, and are left with some homegrown position players and a LOT of higher-minors arms that are going to contend for the rotation relatively soon. 1B/C Tyler Soderstrom and infielder Zack Gelof are both getting close to the bigs, while the pitching is LOADED with both draftees (RHP Mason Miller) and tr...

On today's show, we're previewing the Texas Rangers farm system. 3B Josh Jung will be at the hot corner this season, but when are all these pitchers joining him? RHP Owen White might be late this year, but Jack Leiter and Kumar Rocker will be a bit farther behind. For Superlatives, the breakout prospect is OF Yeison Morrobel while the best OF Defender is top prospect Evan Carter.  Join the NEW Loc...

On today's show, we're looking at the Los Angeles Angels! Catchers Logan O'Hoppe and Edgar Quero give this system TWO top catching prospects, and O'Hoppe *should* break spring training as the starter. RHP Chase Silseth led a deep pitching rotation at AA Rocket City last year - will he and LHP Ky Bush and RHP Sam Bachman get starts next to Shohei Ohtani this year? For Superlatives, the breakout pro...

On today's show, we're talking about the Seattle Mariners! The top prospects have great bats - Catcher Harry Ford could legitimately play 2nd or 3rd, and SS Cole Young is surprisingly polished for a prepster. RHP Bryce Miller looks to be the real deal, with a big fastball, while OF Gabriel Gonzalez has plenty of game power but needs to make cut down on the swing and miss to utilize it. There's qui...

We kick off the final week of farm previews with the AL West champion Houston Astros! RHP Hunter Brown has big shoes to fill, but his fastball is just as big and possibly up to the task. There's a pair of top prospects in outfielders Drew Gilbert and Jacob Melton, but our breakout pick Justin Dirden might be right behind them. The arms in this system are interesting, with Spencer Arrighetti and Mi...

On today's show, we're taking YOUR questions! We look at this weekend's trade between the Marlins and Athletics, where Miami sent OF JJ Bleday for Oakland's LHP AJ Puk - seems like a classic "change of scenery" trade, right? We discuss whether 2021 NL Rookie of the Year Jonathan India will rebound this season, and if White Sox OF Oscar Colas can win the 2023 AL Rookie of the Year, as well as updat...

Let's talk about the Colorado Rockies. The top prospects have the defense solidified up the middle, with SS Ezequiel Tovar being one of the best shortstop defenders in the minors and joined by OF Zac Veen, C Drew Romo, and SS Adael Amador. The Rockies have gone after two types of pitchers in the draft recently: cold-weather guys (like RHP Gabriel Hughes) and pitchers with power stuff like RHP Jade...

Looking at the Arizona Diamondbacks, there's a TON of talent in this system. The top of the farm includes top outfielder Corbin Carroll, the favorite for NL ROTY, catcher Gabriel Moreno, the trade acquisition from Toronto that technically isn't a prospect, SS Jordan Lawlar and OF Druw Jones. There's a ton of interesting arms, including two that debuted to great results last season in RHPs Ryne Nel...

Let's look at the San Francisco Giants! Kyle Harrison's an absolute stud, while 3B Casey Schmitt's exceptional defense makes it easier to have a less-rangy shortstop (either Marco Luciano or Aeverson Arteaga) next to him. The pitching's full of guys that steadily improve one big thing each year, with RHP Mason Black getting extra sweep on his slider and RHP Eric Silva iadding a 2-seamer (but still...

On today's show, we're looking at the San Diego Padres. The big-league team has been aggressive in free agency to augment the roster, and it's because there's not much help coming from the minors due to age. Most of the top prospects, like SS Jackson Merrill, RHPs Dylan Lesko and Adam Lizarraga, OF Samuel Zavala and LHP Robby Snelling are all prepsters or recent IFA, while RHP Adam Mazur is a coll...

On today's show, we're looking at the deepest farm system in baseball in the Los Angeles Dodgers. The top ten is as deep as any organization in the game, led by C Diego Cartaya, RHP Bobby Miller, and infielders Miguel Vargas and Michael Busch. The state of the pitching is quite healthy, with RHPs Ryan Pepiot, the criminally underrated Gavin Stone, and Nick Nastrini working their way up. The "Your...

On today's mailbag, we're answering YOUR questions! We got lots of questions about the Braves taking Max Fried to arbitration over a measly $1.5M (and winning). We also discuss Mets pitchers Calvin Ziegler and Bryce Montes de Oca, go through a list of recent draftees/IFAs for Matt to figure out who has the best odds of making it to the bigs (we like Cardinals catcher Jimmy Crooks, Padres OF Jacob...

On the final AL Central farm preview, we're looking at the Kansas City Royals. The top prospects are all position players, just like almost all of last year's rookies. 1st rounder OF Gavin Cross is already the best power-hitter in the system, while 3B Cayden Wallace looks to be Bobby Witt's running mate in two or three years. The State of the Pitching is...well, complicated. You're running out of...

On today's show, we're looking at the Detroit Tigers and imagining "What if?" RHP Jackson Jobe looks to be the real deal, but this new player development staff can prove their chops by developing RHPs Wilmer Flores, Ty Madden, and Reese Olson. Colt Keith and Peyton Graham are going to compete for the 3B job in a few years, while Jace Jung is starting his path towards 2nd Base in Detroit. OF Kerry...

On today's Minnesota Twins farm preview, we're looking at what happens in the Twins infield now that Carlos Correa is back and Luis Arraez is a member of the Miami Marlins. Royce Lewis probably heads back to the outfield when he's healthy, and SS Brooks Lee is destined for 3B. Does the Canadian Prospect God of Walks, Edouard Julien, take over 1B if something happens to Alex Kirilloff?  The State o...

On today's farm preview, we're looking at the Chicago White Sox: A year after "Project Birmingham", where do the farm system stand? SS Colson Montgomery has proven he can stay at SS, while OF Oscar Colas continues the tradition of standout Cuban players to play in Chicago. LHP Noah Schultz has ridiculous size - he's 6'9 - as well as ridiculous stuff. Behind him are plenty of other intriguing pitch...

On today's show, we're previewing the Cleveland Guardians farm system! RHPs Daniel Espino and Gavin Williams provide a legitimate 1-2 punch, while C Bo Naylor and OF George Valera should both be able to provide some pop in Cleveland. The State of the Pitching is as good as anybody's in baseball, with this excellent player development system able to take almost any good college pitcher with four pi...

On today's show, we're taking YOUR questions. We were asked to rank the five NL pitchers that debuted last year but retained rookie eligibility: Arizona's Drey Jameson and Ryne Nelson, Cardinals LHP Matthew Liberatore, Cubs righty Hayden Wesneski, and Atlanta's Bryce Elder. Then, we answer listener questions about guys we couldn't fit into their farm previews over the last few weeks: OF Owen Cassi...

On today's Cincinnati Reds farm preview, we're looking at the plethora of infield talent in this farm system. SS Elly De La Cruz is oozing with 70 grades, but his future position might depend on the outcomes of SSs Noelvi Marte and Edwin Arroyo. The pitching in intriguing, with some questions to be answered about LHP Brandon Williamson (why did the stuff back up?), RHP Chase Petty (can he go deepe...

On today's show, we're looking at the Pittsburgh Pirates. Despite graduating SS Oneil Cruz and SP Roansy Contreras last year, you've still got some top prospects in the system, led by catchers Endy Rodriguez and Henry Davis. Termarr Johnson went in the top ten despite being short and limited to 2nd base - it's because he's THAT good of a hitter. Lots of pitchers in here, including fastball machine...

On today's farm preview, we're looking at the Chicago Cubs. Pete Crow-Armstrong might be the best defender in the minor leagues, while fellow outfield prospects Brennen Davis and Kevin Alcantra work to polish their offense. 1B Matt Mervis led the minors in several hitting categories yet might not have a starting role in Chicago this year. There's tons of pitchers in the minors, with the projected...

On today's show, we're looking at the Milwaukee Brewers! Top prospect Jackson Chourio had a phenomenal 2022 and is already being proclaimed as one of the best prospects in all of baseball. Is the praise warranted? How does Milwaukee find playing time for all these outfielders (Joey Weimer and Sal Frelick are both in AAA)? The state of the pitching is urgent, as four of the five starters are all at...

On today's show, we kick off our NL Central previews with the defending division champ, the St. Louis Cardinals. Jordan Walker lives to crush baseballs and should be a plus addition to the outfield as soon as they can find room for him, while the state of the pitching is GOOD. Tink Hence and Matthew Liberatore are in the Top Four, while Gordon Graceffo is this year's breakout and Michael McGreevy...