Ben and Carlos talk about Baseball America’s recently updated draft rankings. There’s plenty of movement on the board, but perhaps the most notable prospect moving up is former Vanderbilt star Kumar Rocker. The two talk about how he looked in his debut outing for the Tri-City ValleyCats and then try and figure out how he fits into the 2022 class. After that, the two touch on other notable risers and discuss how the class is shaping up before transitioning to notable movers on the Top 100 prospects list, and minor league players to know. The two discuss righthanders Eury Perez and Daniel Espino and how they could be the next wave of elite pitching prospects, before talking about Ezequiel Tovar, Jackson Chourio and others. Finally they take listener questions.

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Ben and Carlos talk about the improved pace of play in the minor leagues thanks to implementing a pitch clock and enforcing it. The two give their thoughts on the rule change and talk about a few potential ramifications, before talking about Ben’s International Review series. Ben gives some insight into a few players who have stood out throughout the process and also talks about some teams who have done well in the international space. Following that, the two walk through a recent Baseball America staff draft, where writers made picks for each team in the first round. They give their thoughts on each pick, what their thought processes were for their own picks, and then talk through how the 2022 first round could potentially shape up this July. Finally, the two take a few listener questions. 

Links

• Staff Draft V 1.0
• Ben’s International Reviews for every team
• JJ’s initial story on minor league pace of play
• JJ’s expanded story on minor league pace of play
• JJ’s Q&A on pace of play questions

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Ben and Carlos talk about the first week or so of the professional season kicking off, including a scorching start for Guardians fifth round pick and outfielder Steven Kwan—who literally cannot miss. After that, the two touch on more rookies who have impressed, including Mariners righthander Matt Brash, Reds righthander Hunter Green, Cubs outfielder Seiya Suzuki and Braves righthander Spencer Strider, among others. The two then talk about a few fast moving minor league prospects (including righthanders Jack Leiter and Eury Perez) and reflect on the hot start of the 2021 prep shortstop quartet: Marcelo Mayer, Jordan Lawlar, Brady House and Kahlil Watson. Finally, the two talk about players who popped at the 2022 NHSI (hello Dylan Lesko and let us introduce you to 2024 outfielder Derek Curiel) before taking listener questions.

Links:

• Updated Top 30s for every team
• Youngest players in each league
• 5 reasons so many elite prospects made opening day rosters
• 20 players to know from the 2022 NHSI
• Scouting pitching prospects from week one

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With spring training currently underway, Ben and Carlos talk about how valuable it is when it comes to evaluating players. We touch on a few players who have gotten some buzz early this spring, like Marlins shortstop Kahlil Watson, and then touch on another Blue Jays trade that Ben is a big fan of. After that, the two talk about how stacked the field of American League rookie of the year candidates is, and also discuss how the Pirates should handle Oneil Cruz. Following that, the two go over some of their 2022 season predictions. Then they pivot to the amateur game and talk about a big (literally) 2024 high school prospect who re-classed to 2023 and talk about why 2022 lefthander Noah Schultz is trending up in a big way for this year’s draft. Finally, we get into a few listener questions.

Links

• Josh’s story on prospects scouts identified entering the 2021 season
• Ben’s story on the Blue Jays/Rockies trade that included Adrian Pinto
• Ben’s story on George Wolkow reclassifying for 2023
• Carlos’s draft stock watch on Noah Schultz + others
• Josh’s spring training notebook on Jarlin Susana + more
• Geoff’s spring training notebook on Kahlil Watson + more
• Geoff’s spring training notebook on Gordon Graceffo/Matthew Liberatore + more
• Top 50 2023 college draft prospects

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On today’s episode, Ben and Carlos react to many of the moves that have been made around the big leagues over the past week including: Freddie Freeman signing with the Dodgers; the Matt Olson deal that sent Christian Pache, Shea Langeliers and two others to the As; the Matt Chapman deal which brought Gunnar Hoglund and three more to Oakland; and others. The two discuss high-octane arms like Chase Petty and JT Ginn getting dealt and also touch on a flamethrowing pitcher from the 2023 high school class who is next in line and already touching triple digits—Texas righthander Travis Sykora. The two marvel about a Marcelo Mayer card being sold for more than $130,000 and then talk about the oddly-dubbed ‘Kumar Rocker Rule’ in the new CBA.

Links

• Top 40s for every team
• The Matt Olson trade
• The Matt Chapman trade
• The Sonny Gray trade
• The Chris Bassitt trade
• Top 200 Draft Prospects
• 14 Notable Up/Down Draft Prospects

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Ben and Carlos are briefly joined by JJ to talk about MLB and the MLBPA agreeing to a new CBA after a lockout that lasted 99 days. The three give their immediate impressions on what this means for the game. JJ talks about the chaos that will ensue shortly and Ben explains why no one should be surprised about the international draft after MLB has been trying to make it a reality for years. After that, Ben and Carlos talk about the group of center field prospects we currently have in the minors and how strong or weak that group is compared to a normal year, and where a player like Druw Jones would slot in with Riley Greene, Brennen Davis, Corbin Carroll, Robert Hassell III and others. The two then talk about how much ‘big league bloodlines’ really matters before talking a bit about Ben’s process with our underclass high school rankings and how teams will need to shift their scouting practices given the current draft schedule.

Links

• Kyle’s story on the lockout ending
• Ben’s 2019 story on the international draft
• JJ’s story on the chaos that is coming post CBA
• Top 30s for every team
• Center field prospect position rankings
• MLB Draft hub
• 2023 Top 50 HS rankings
• 2024 Top 50 HS rankings
• Dynasty 1000

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There’s finally real, live baseball happening around the country. On this episode, Ben and Carlos talk about a lot of it, including 103 mph fastballs thrown by Tennessee righthander Ben Joyce and North Carolina State first baseman Tommy White’s home run binge to start the season. The two discuss Carlos’s trip to Florida, where he got looks on potential first rounders, including high school outfielder Elijah Green, high school lefthanders Jackson Ferris and Brandon Barriera, and college prospects including outfielder Chase DeLauter and Florida State southpaws Parker Messick and Bryce Hubbart. After talking through some specific players, the two discuss their favorite swings from current major leaguers and current prospects, as well as think about how swings that don’t look as aesthetically pleasing can impact how we view players. Finally the two take listener questions. This episode’s Q&A includes: “What is the difference between control and command for pitchers?” “Would teams avoid a position in the draft because of the current system?” and “Who is an under the radar college player we are keeping a close eye on?”

Links

• Carlos’s live looks stock watch
• Stock watch on 10 performers around the country
• Ben Joyce’s 103 mph FB

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Ben and Carlos discuss the best tools results from our survey with major league scouting departments. We wind up talking about just how impressive Georgia righthander Dylan Lesko is for quite a while, before getting into all kinds of tools on both the high school and college side of things. We talk about sleeper hitting prospects who could push up boards, how this class seems particularly strong on changeups and also look ahead to some toolsy prospects in the 2023 class—Dylan Crews and Max Clark. After that we wonder whether or not Robert Moore could be a fit for the Royals at No. 9 in the draft and then talk about the tools that, in general, excite us the most on the baseball field.

Time Stamps

• Intro/banter (0:00:01)
• Best tools convo starts (0:08:31)
• Dylan Lesko tooled up across the board (0:11:11)
• Concerns about pitchers who lack breaking ball feel (0:24:21)
• Good class for changeups (0:29:15)
• Other high school pitching tools that stand out (0:40:35)
• Druw Jones’s elite defense ability (47:21:03)
• Hitters not named Termarr Johnson with good hit tools (0:52:27)
• Best hitter in the college class (0:59:18)
• Looking ahead at Dylan Crews & Max Clark (1:02:46)
• Thoughts on Robert Moore and whether he’s a fit for the Royals at No. 9 (1:17:40)
• The tools that excite us the most (1:31:24)

Links

• Mock Draft V 1.0
• 2022 High School Preseason All-America Teams
• 2022 College Preseason All-America Teams
• High School Best Tools
• College Best Tools
• Draft Stock Watch: A Depleted College Pitching Class

Future Projection on Apple (please rate and review the show!)

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Ben and Carlos are joined by Geoff Pontes, who makes his debut appearance on the podcast! The majority of the show is spent breaking down our recently released farm system rankings, where the Mariners checked into the top spot for the first time ever. We talk about the top farms, and whether or not the separation between the Mariners and the next group (Rays, Pirates, Orioles) is significant or marginal. After each person talks about a few organizations they are excited about as we move into the 2022 season the group discusses the bottom of the list and why those farms are behind at the moment. Following the farm system conversation, the group takes listener emails including… “What’s your philosophy on challenging players with aggressive assignments?… “Who has better Hall of Fame chances: Cole Hamels or Jacob deGrom?”… “What are your thoughts on Giants catching prospect Patrick Bailey?”

Time Stamps

• Intro/Banter (0:00:01)
• Geoff’s background and getting into baseball (0:03:17)
• Talking farm system rankings (0:11:10)
• Top end talent vs. depth (0:38:27)
• Teams poised to climb & teams we are personally higher on (0:49:22)
• The bottom of the list (1:04:30)
• Sleeper orgs in the 20-30 range (1:14:37)
• Mailbag! (1:26:03)

Links

• Org talent rankings
• Kyle’s story on five systems that could rise in 2022
• All-time No. 1 farm systems
• Geoff’s new podcast: The 90th Percentile

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Ben and Carlos bounce all over the baseball world in today’s episode, going from junior college kicking off, to the Hall of Fame results, to international draft talk and conversations about the upcoming 2022 draft class. We start by talking about how impressive it is that Cam Collier homered in his junior college debut with Chipola (Fla.) JC and then pivot to some big league news. The two discuss the Tampa/Montreal split season proposal getting shut down and offer thoughts on that idea in general, and then get into a long conversation on the big MLB news of the week: Hall of Fame results. Ben and Carlos talk about who they would vote for, who they wouldn’t vote for and their thought on the voting process and how it will have to continue to evolve to evaluate modern players in the future. Following that, we lament recent injuries in the 2022 college pitching class—specifically Arkansas RHP Peyton Pallette and Tennessee RHP Blade Tidwell—and discuss how this impacts an already weak group. Then, the two talk about the 2022 NHSI and touch on a few more top 100 players—Astros SS Jeremy Peña and Rays RHP Taj Bradley—before getting into this week’s mailbag, which touches on how the BA Grades work in our prospect handbook and how that system has changed over the years.

Time Stamps

• Intro/Banter (0:00:01)
• Cam Collier’s juco debut (0:00:50)
• The Tampa/Montreal situation (0:04:25)
• Hall of Fame thoughts (0:06:17)
• Injuries crushing the 2022 college pitching class (0:47:25)
• An opportunity for high school pitchers? (0:56:42)
• 2022 National High School Invitational (1:00:48)
• Thoughts on Taj Bradley and Jeremy Peña (1:10:48)
• How writing helps us think deeper about players (1:16:01)
• Mailbag! (1:21:32)

Links

• Teddy and Joe’s College Preview Content
• Cam Collier’s juco homer
• Peyton Pallette injury news
• Blade Tidwell injury news
• BA’s Top 100 list
• Hall of Fame Voting results

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