SoxProspects.com Red Sox Podcast

Chris, Jon, Ian, and, eventually, Matt thought it time to get to your emails, so that could mean one thing: mailbag podcast. You asked about first-timers in MLB camp, Steven Wright's place on the 40-man roster, trading with the Cubs, Garin Cecchini's chances of forcing his way into the Majors, and whether the Sox can continue to stay near the top of the farm system rankings, and we talked about al...

We continued our offseason rankings conversations by chatting with ESPN's Keith Law. We asked Keith about how the Sox system compares to other top systems, how Garin Cecchini compares to Bill Mueller, who might be breaking into the top 10 in the future, and more! Who needs a Valentine's day date when you can listen to Chris, Matt, and Ian?

No guest this week, but an action-packed episode nonetheless! Chris and Matt play some audio from interviews with Blake Swihart , Mookie Betts , and Drake Britton from New Stars for Young Stars, and along with Ian, get back to the inbox with more than a month of emails to answer. Questions hit on players changing positions, how the current crop of pitching prospects compares to past groups, the Ro...

We've hit 50 episodes! To celebrate, Chris and Ian had a chat about Baseball Prospectus 's Red Sox Top 10 list with BP 's Jason Parks and our very own Chris Mellen. Discussion hit on Jason and the BP prospect team's process for making their lists, a rundown of the Parks vocabulary, and, put simply, every nook and cranny of BP's Red Sox list and beyond.

It's ranking season! With the release of Baseball America 's Red Sox Top 10 prospects list, we were joined by Alex Speier, also of WEEI.com, to talk about the list. We discussed his process for researching and writing the scouting reports and ranking the players, the tiers that developed at the top of the list and... well, too much stuff to recount here, but trust us, we talked about a lot of stuf...

There may not be much going on, but Chris, Matt, and Jon still got up from their Thanksgiving naps to answer some reader questions. Among the subjects on tap were how contracts are calculated against the Competitive Balance Tax, how the Sox plan to use Cuban pitcher Dalier Hinojosa, what to make of Brian Johnson's 2013 season, and a lightning round of quick player questions. Inspired by a listener...

After shaking off their World Series hangovers, Chris, Matt, and Ian pulled themselves together to set up the offseason. Listener e-mails covered which upper-level pitchers might move to the bullpen, a review of who the heck Devern Hansack was, and how players get picked for the Arizona Fall League. The offseason preview covered the rest of the winter leagues, the Rule 5 draft, free agency, and ev...

During a lull before the World Series, Chris, Jon, and Ian got together to answer a bunch of your questions. Bogaerts and Workman on baseball's biggest stage! What players have made the biggest improvements this year? Who's everyone's next prospect binkie going to be? Just how ridiculous of a dboule-entendre can Chris use to describe his beard? All this and much more await. Listen now!

Mike Andrews makes his triumphant return to the podcast to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the website with Chris. We tried our hardest not to make this a back-slapping, hey-remember-when yuk-fest, but did we succeed? Who knows? Stories from the site's inception and growth abound.

Chris, Jon, and Ian (showing some #want by checking in from England) come dangerously close to the two-hour mark as they put a bow on the 2013 minor league season. Nearly no stone is left unturned as the guys go through the SoxProspects.com award winners and All-Stars. And as you might expect with an episode this long, things get a bit punchy. Dropped computers! WWE entrance music! LISTEN NOW!

Chris, Matt, Jon, and Ian got together for a super-size episode, leading off with their reaction to the call-up and usage of Xander Bogaerts in Boston. They also discussed some of the system's hottest players in Mookie Betts, Henry Owens, and Manuel Margot; the announcement of the Arizonal Fall League rosters; the past month's promotions; and who might get the call to Boston in September. Plus Jon...

The podcast returns, as Chris chats with Matt and Ian about the three-team trade that brought Jake Peavy and Brayan Villarreal in exchange for Jose Iglesias, Frank Montas, Cleuluis Rondon, and JB Wendelken, including the players involved and repercussions going forward for the Red Sox. Plus, the guys gabbed a bit about the promotions of Anthony Ranaudo and Henry Owens.

Chris is joined by Matt Huegel and Ian Cundall to talk about... well... everything that's happened since last episode, and that happens to be a lot of stuff. We hit the draft signing deadline. We hit the opening of the international signing season. We talk about the promotions of Brandon Workman, Drake Britton, and Mookie Betts. We talk about Brandon Jacobs getting traded to Chicago. We talk about...

Well, a little over a year after the "forgot to hit record" incident, Chris screwed up and deleted the audio from part 2 of last week's podcast. However, he made up for it by recording a new episode with Ian Cundall, going over the news--including Will Middlebrooks' demotion, Garin Cecchini's promotion, and Trey Ball's signing--before delving into the players to watch in Lowell and the GCL this ye...

With Chris Mellen back from his yearly southern swing, the two unofficial members of SoxProspects South, Chris Hatfield and Jon Meoli, hit him with some questions about the players he saw at the two full-season A-ball affiliates. The guys also talked about Xander Bogaerts's promotion to Pawtucket, Jon Denney signing for way less than we thought he would, and the rest of the news.

After a big week for the Red Sox, Chris Hatfield, Matt Huegel, and Ian Cundall reviewed the results from the Red Sox' 2013 draft. They speculate on which of the highly-ranked high school players might sign, discuss their new draft binkies, and answer reader questions. Plus, the guys got to some news on the farm, including Xander Bogaerts's hot streak and potential to be promoted soon, Brandon Work...

With the Sox's selections of Trey Ball and Teddy Stankiewicz in the books, Chris Hatfield, Jon Meoli, and Ian Cundall evaluated the selections and speculated about the organization's potential strategy in its remaining picks.

DRAFT PREVIEW EDITION! Chris Hatfield, Ian Cundall, and Jon Meoli preview this week's draft. With the Sox picking at number 7 overall, excitement is high for the highest pick the club has had in years. The guys talk about the draft as a whole (not good), the Sox' recent draft history and strategy, and look at the players who may be the pick at number 7. Also, Chris chases a fly around his apartmen...

Back on schedule, Chris Hatfield, Matt Huegel, and Ian Cundall got together to discuss the news of the week, including what depth there is at third base in Pawtucket given Jose Iglesias's move over and why Greenville's lineup is a bit lacking in prospect power. Listener questions included inquiries on Garin Cecchini, Brandon Workman, and Brandon Jacobs. Finally, we hit on what Jackie Bradley, Jr....

After a short haitus, the guys are back. Chris, Matt, and Jon talk about the goings on in Pawtucket, Portland, and Salem, discussing players like Rubby De La Rosa, Xander Bogaerts, and Garin Cecchini, and also hit on what Mookie Betts is doing down in Greenville. Also Jon's roommate walks in and can be heard in the background at one point.

After a week off, Chris Hatfield, Matt Huegel, and Ian Cundall gabbed about the players who've had the best starts to the season, and what conclusions we can draw (hint: not many) from one month of data.

The minor league season is just over a week old, and the SoxProspects team is already out there reporting from the field. On this episode, Chris gets on the horn with Jon Meoli, who was at Salem's season-opening series in Frederick, and Chris Mellen, who caught Portland's opener and hadn't been on yet to talk about Spring Training. Per Jon's request, we opened with some Justin Timberlake; forgive...

On this episode, the guys review what we learned at Spring Training (which you can also catch up on at news.soxprospects.com), and analyze the season-opening rosters at the four full-season affiliates. Also discussed: Jon Meoli's hair.

Chris H. and Matt talk about the big stories of spring training so far, which in a happy coincidence are almost entirely prospect related. Jackie Bradley, Allen Webster, Xander Bogaerts and more are on the agenda. Plus, the fellas talk about battles for major league roster spots and discuss which projected 2013 roster is most intriguing to them.

With some fresh audio from the Jimmy Fund's New Stars for Young Stars event, the guys discuss five players and their upcoming seasons.