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, how there are tools today that give us more precision in our pitching evaluations and then hit on a few of the different pitcher archetypes available in the class.

After that Ben gives a rundown and update on the upcoming 2026 international signing period, which opens on January 15. 

Time Stamps:

• (0:00) Intro 
• (5:35) Kaiden McCarthy reclassifies
• (8:00) Contextualizing the 2026 prep pitching class
• (12:00) The additional risk of pitching prospects
• (16:00) Misses from the vaunted 2018 class
• (18:30) Pitchers are better today in absolute terms
• (22:30) Better ability to evaluate pitchers
• (26:00) A variety of pitching styles
• (38:00) 2026 International Class thoughts
• (41:00) Luis Hernandez as the top bonus player
• (45:00) The status of an international draft
• (50:50) The state of international pitching
• (53:00) Notable names to keep in mind

Do you have feedback for the show or want to ask us a question? Email us: [email protected].

Ben's Twitter: @BenBadler

Carlos's Newsletter: Fringe Average

Baseball America Website

Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/future-projection-a-baseball-america-podcast/donations

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy