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, Carlos and Peter each pick a player in each quadrant of the draft board who interests them for one reason or another—there’s top of the draft talk, day two draft talk, and sleeper names to know for potentially the third day of the draft as well. 

It’s not too late to get your primer on the 2023 draft class and today’s podcast serves as a brief audio version of that!

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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. Carlos makes the case that Wander Franco is in the midst of a breakout season and Ben makes the case that he’s already the superstar player we all expected and hoped he would be. Then they get into the depth of the Rays system and talk about some of their impressive upper-level bats.

The duo then discuss how electric Orioles shortstop Jackson Holliday has continued to be, and compare and contrast him with another 2022 first-round shortstop who has similarly done nothing but produce in his professional time so far: Mariners No. 2 prospect Cole Young. 

After that, the two talk about D-backs prospect Druw Jones and his fantastic catch, and try to think about how they would place Jones with the current 2023 high school outfield duo of Walker Jenkins and Max Clark.

At the end of the podcast, the two take a few listener questions, including complex league talk, a rising prep prospect in the 2023 class and how they would tier break the top of the 2023 draft class.

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Do you  have a question you want us to answer? Email us: [email protected]  

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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, Carlos recounts his trip to see Paul Skenes and Dylan Crews in Baton Rouge, and the two wonder how the two LSU stars compare with some of the better pitching and hitting prospects in the minors. Where would they place on a top 100 prospect list, for instance?

Lastly they discuss the recent minor league CBA and the various pros and cons that come with it for the players. 

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Do you have a question you want us to answer? Email us: [email protected]  

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Today Ben and Carlos have an interview with Hudson Belinsky. Belinsky led Baseball America’s draft coverage from 2015-2017 and then joined the Arizona Diamondbacks as a Georgia area scout, where he worked for the team for five years. He is the signing scout for 2022 first-round outfielder Druw Jones, 2021 ninth-round lefthander Jake Rice, 2019 13th-round second baseman Cam Coursey, 2019 third-round first baseman Tristin English and 2018 NDFA lefthander Trevor McKenna. He’s currently an agent with Kares Sports Management.

The three talk about his background with Baseball America and his experiences as a scout with the D-backs. The conversation goes in plenty of directions, in classic Future Projection fashion, and the trio touch on topics including:

• The process of transitioning from writer to scout
• The different tools at your disposal on the team side
• The value of data and analytics
• What it was like to scout and sign Druw Jones in 2022
• How he handled disagreements in evaluations on players with other scouts
• Lessons he learned about player evaluation over the years
• Some of the pitfalls of the current youth baseball scene
• His experience dealing with agents and now becoming one
• And more

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Ben and Carlos give their final thoughts on the World Baseball Classic, including Ben’s victory lap on splitter usage and thoughts on how we talk about high-energy vs. low-energy players—including the fact that we might just have it backwards most of the time.

The two discuss how the WBC impacts our anticipation for Opening Day and touch on a few more spring training players of note, including: Reds third baseman Christian Encarnacion-Strand, Blue Jays lefthander Ricky Tiedemann, Angels righthander Ben Joyce and Yankees outfielder Jasson Dominguez. How concerned are we about Encarnacion-Strand’s approach and contact? How does Tiedemann’s amateur path pave the way for others? Will Joyce be a lockdown big league reliever? And will the Dominguez expectations ever be fair? All that and more.

The two then talk about how tricky it can be to scout elite high school hitters during their spring seasons when they are getting pitched around and then take a few listener questions, including:

“Should we attempt to quantify certainty with individual tool grades?”

“Is a batter’s eye part of the hit tool or something else entirely?”

“What are our favorite non-MLB venues?”

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Do you  have a question you want us to answer? Email us: [email protected]  

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Ben and Carlos talk about the latest in the World Baseball Classic—the good, the bad and the ugly—before breaking down the contract extensions recently signed by Corbin Carroll and Keibert Ruiz.

After that the two discuss the Nationals rebuild and the state of their farm system in the wake of the news that righthander Cade Cavalli will miss the 2023 season with a UCL injury. The two talk about the excitement about the top of the system but wonder a bit more about the depth, while acknowledging that the team is in a good position to address that this year thanks to early draft capital and what’s looking like a strong 2023 draft class.

The two try to compare the strength of the top of the 2023 class compared to recent years, talk a bit about Carlos’s first mock draft of the year and then revisit the Walker Jenkins vs. Max Clark debate. They close with listener questions and a breakdown of another former MLB all-star with a son who is making a name for himself as a prospect to watch.

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Do you  have a question you want us to answer? Email us: [email protected]  

Follow us on Twitter: @FutureProPod

Ben's Twitter: @BenBadler

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Ben and Carlos talk about the World Baseball Classic! Who are the favorites in the competition itself and then who are the most interesting prospects to keep an eye on at the event? 

Roki Sasaki is certainly the No. 1 name to keep an eye on thanks to his immense stuff, but don’t forget about another Japanese righthander Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who might get into the big leagues much sooner.

After talking about those electric Japanese pitchers, Ben and Carlos dive into the most interesting affiliated prospects in the event, including a few top 100 prospects and some names further down teams’ lists who maybe aren’t as highly regarded but should still be fun to see in action.

Following that, Ben talks about a few countries he thinks could be on the rise over the next 15-30 years on the international stage and the two discuss which states would be the favorites in a hypothetical “American Baseball Classic.”

Finally the two take listener questions including:

“Do you feel the travel ball influence on baseball has been a good thing?”

“Are there any non-D1 players to know in the 2023 draft class?”

And a question about an interesting Gunnar Henderson comparison.

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Do you  have a question you want us to answer? Email us: [email protected]  

Follow us on Twitter: @FutureProPod

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Ben and Carlos chat about how the pitch clock has looked so far in spring training and then dive into our recently published farm system rankings. Just how good are the Orioles in the No. 1 spot and how do they compare to some of the best No. 1 systems we’ve had in the past?

What’s the tier break to the next group and how many teams are included? The two then talk about a few systems throughout the top 30 that they like and wind up getting into a conversation about who should actually count as “prospects.”

That’s followed by a conversation about spring training, what you can actually take away from it and dive into a few early standout players, including Garrett Mitchell, Heston Kjerstad, Ronny Mauricio, Edouard Julien, Brett Baty, Triston Casas, Jackson Merrill, Brooks Lee, Kyle Muller and Hayden Wesneski, among others.

Finally they take a few listener questions including:

“How do teams go deeper than just strikeouts and walks for control and command?”

“Should Anthony Volpe start the year in the majors?”

“Is Jarlin Susana a starter or a reliever?”

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Do you  have a question you want us to answer? Email us: [email protected]  

Follow us on Twitter: @FutureProPod

Ben's Twitter: @BenBadler

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Baseball America Website

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Ben and Carlos open the show by discussing the recent injuries to Guardians prospects Daniel Espino and Chase DeLauter before getting into the opening weekend of college baseball action. 

The two discuss the players who stood out for Carlos at the College Baseball Showdown in Arlington, including Texas Christian third baseman Brayden Taylor, Arkansas lefthander Hagen Smith and Arkansas second baseman Roc Riggio, among others. They spend some time discussing the standout efforts around the country, including Louisiana State righthander Paul Skenes before getting into some farm system talk.

Which organizations have the deepest farm systems? Which orgs surprised with less depth than expected? 

After that the duo takes a few listener questions, including: 

“Who benefits more from the pitch clock?”

“What impacts player development most?” 

“What skills can MLB teams most consistently improve with players?”

—

Do you  have a question you want us to answer? Email us: [email protected]  

Follow us on Twitter: @FutureProPod

Ben's Twitter: @BenBadler

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Baseball America Website

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Ben and Carlos start the show by talking about a few of the new rule changes that were announced for the big leagues in 2023. Both generally agree on the limitations of position players pitching, but there are some different thoughts on the extra-inning rule to put a runner on second base.

Following that, the two talk through a number of different players who have yet to make their full-season debuts who they are excited about: either as potential sleepers, pop-up prospects or simply players they are excited to get more information on. This includes players with the Mariners, Cardinals, D-Backs, Reds, Phillies, Brewers, Dodgers, Yankees, Pirates, Twins and Rays, among a few other clubs.

To round out the show, Ben and Carlos answer a few listener questions—and Ben even invents his own question to answer on the spot—including:

“Who are your helium prospects for the 2023 draft class?”

“Who is the best amateur player you’ve seen who didn’t have the career you expected?”

“What are biases you have to fight against when evaluating a player?”

—

Follow us on Twitter: @FutureProPod

Ben's Twitter: @BenBadler

Carlos's Twitter: @CarlosACollazo

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