Ben and Carlos talk through all kinds of early-season performances to start the season, but before getting into minor leaguers they start off with how red hot Michael Busch has been for the Cubs. Does this change our evaluations of the Dodgers-Cubs trade and how have minor leaguers Zyhir Hope and Jackson Ferris been so far in the 2024 season? After that the two talk about the odd situation in Florida where the Marlins have sent their best performing pitcher—Max Meyer—back to the minors. Is it...

Carlos and Ben talk about Jackson Holliday’s big league promotion and what to expect of him from the jump with the Orioles. The two debate the validity of jersey retirements but otherwise agree on many of the topics of today’s episode which includes… The much-talked about pitcher injury epidemic. Velocity and max effort throwing certainly seems like a factor, but what about others like the pitch clock? New pitching development and pitch design? Managing workloads too critically or not...

Ben and Carlos hop on the show to talk about the top of the 2024 draft class and notable minor league prospect assignments.  Before getting into the show the two talk about the news that the A’s will be relocating to Sacramento’s Triple-A stadium after the 2024 season. It’s just the latest of a shocking number of relocation gaffes from the franchise.  After that the two talk about how dynamic both Charlie Condon and Travis Bazzana have been halfway through the college season. Where do their...

Happy (day after) Opening Day! Ben and Carlos hop back on the podcast to talk about Opening Day of the big league season and some of the main storylines of the year. The two talk about their World Series picks and talk through some of the more interesting divisions to keep tabs on then debate the most disappointing offseason in the league. The two also give their thoughts on the Shohei Ohtani-Ippei Mizuhara situation before turning their eyes to the amateur space.  Ben breaks down his recent...

Ben and Carlos chat about spring training standouts in big league camp, headlined by two players in the very elite tier of baseball prospects who have a case to start the year in the majors: Jackson Holliday and Wyatt Langford. Ben and Carlos talk about the cases for and against those two being pushed aggressively and then the two talk about a number of other spring training performances including Padres outfielder Jackson Merrill, Pirates righthander Jared Jones, Cardinals shortstop Thomas...

Ben and Carlos talk about the first two weeks of college baseball action including scorching offensive starts from Georgia’s Charlie Condon and Oregon State’s Travis Bazzana. Are they more in the mix to be the No. 1 pick in a still unsettled draft class? And what are the early changes beyond just strong production? The two then move on to pitching and break down early-season outings from Arkansas lefthander Hagen Smith and Wake Forest righthander Chase Burns. The two have solid cases as...

Ben and Carlos are joined by Peter Flaherty in a special edition of the show, where the three look ahead to the 2024 amateur season by drafting teams of 2024 class prospects. The three writers go back and forth in an attempt to create the best team possible from the 2024 class.  Here are the rules: Each drafter must fill the following positions and select at least six high school players and at least six college players: 1 catcher2 corner infielders2 middle infielders3 outfielders4 pitchers1...

Carlos and Ben banter about the announced Netflix documentary following the Red Sox and think about what their ideal baseball documentary looks like. After that the two talk through the Royals mega-extension of franchise shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. and how the deal is a win for all parties involved.  Then the two talk through Matt Eddy’s PPI eligible players piece and think about the ramifications of the program and whether or not it’s good for the game—spoiler: it is. The two think about the...

Ben and Carlos hop on the show and talk through a few major league news items, including the Tigers extension of Colt Keith, the Twins-Mariners Jorge Polanco trade and the news that the Orioles are being sold to (hopefully) new and improved owners. After that, the two get into Carlos’s big draft update ahead of the college baseball season. The list expands from 100 to 200, with a new name up top and plenty of new reports to consume. Ben peppers Carlos with plenty of questions about the state...

Ben and Carlos talk about the week’s Hall of Fame results and debate the various cases for some of the players who were on this year’s ballot before looking ahead to future candidates and looking at the surprisingly strong track record of No. 1 overall picks making the Hall of Fame.  After that the two open up the listener mailbag and get into your prospect questions.  Those involve plenty of topics including: are the Padres too trade-happy with their prospects? Is Coby Mayo more valuable for...

Ben and Carlos spend most of the episode getting into the weeds on our recently released 2024 Top 100 Prospects list. Before that conversation starts, Ben breaks down his January 15 experience and how it compared to previous years. Padres prospect Leodalis De Vries serves as the bridge from international signing day to our Top 100, as the lone member of the 2024 class to land on the list. What makes him deserving and why is this a profile to get excited about? Ben tells you all you need to...

Today’s episode is spent entirely on international prospects, as we are just days away from January 15. In this episode, Carlos grills Ben on all things international: Who are the top prospects to know? What’s the current state of the international signing system? What are the pros and cons of signing day coming in January compared to July? Which teams are doing the best on the international market? Which teams have taken significant steps forward on this front in the last five years or...

Ben and Carlos kick off the new year with the final installment of their division-by-division breakdown of farm systems, saving the worst (?) group of teams for last. Before that the two talk through Ben’s international board for the 2024 class, which is lined up based on the expected bonuses for the top 50 players in the class. Ben breaks down a few of the top names, including Braves shortstop signee Jose Perdomo and Padres shortstop signee Leodalis De Vries before getting into some overall...

Ben and Carlos celebrate the fact that the 2024 Prospect Handbook has been shipped by breaking down AL Central prospect talent. Without much happening on the major league front, the two get straight into prospect talk, starting with a strong Tigers system. The two talk about their excitement for No. 1 prospect Max Clark and wonder about his power potential for the future, and then discuss whether or not righthander Jackson Jobe has a case to be made as the top pitching prospect in baseball....

Ben and Carlos discuss their caffeine of choice during the busy December prospect season, then react a bit to Shohei Ohtani’s historic contract with the Dodgers.  After that, the two get straight into prospect talk and analyze the farm systems of the AL East, which includes four good to great systems—including the Orioles, who have the easy No. 1 group in the league—and one that’s maybe a bit less exciting. The two discuss how close Marcelo Mayer and Roman Anthony are in terms of overall...

Ben and Carlos break down the second annual draft lottery and the implications that come from the Guardians and Reds leaping up to secure the top two picks in the 2024 draft. The two discuss how this could impact Cleveland’s draft strategy and whether or not the top players in the class fit their typical MO on prospects, as well as look at some of the draft lottery “losers” including the A’s, White Sox and Nationals. Is the draft lottery system working as intended? Are Ben and Carlos fans of...

Ben and Carlos talk about the rumored Jackson Chourio extension with the Brewers and talk through evaluating risk for prospects vs. risk for veteran players.  After that the two talk through Carlos’s updated 2024 draft rankings and discuss the state of a very muddled draft class. Which player would be the No. 1 pick if the draft were today? Is there any separation on the pitching side? Which players made the most notable jumps up the board? The two find themselves liking the depth of pitching...

Ben and Carlos chat about MLB awards season, despite the fact that most of the winners were unanimous and ultimately not too surprising. After that the two talk about the PPI picks that the D-Backs and Orioles will receive thanks to Corbin Carroll and Gunnar Henderson, and the pros and cons of all of the new rule changes in regards to the draft—and it seems like mostly pros outside of additional headaches that Carlos has to deal with.  The two briefly talk about the Braves-White Sox trade...

Ben and Carlos talk about a number of the managerial moves in the big leagues in recent weeks, and then Ben talks about the traits and skills that he would want to have in a big league manager. It’s hard to quantify the value of big league managers with precision, but Ben breaks down the various hard and soft skills that he thinks might be important for the modern game. The two talk about whether or not playing backgrounds are important or necessary for big league managers, the value of...

Ben and Carlos have a long conversation about speed on today’s episode. How they evaluate it, how much it matters, which players the tool is most important for and how to project it into the future. Rule changes in MLB mean steals are more common than ever, and Diamondbacks rookie Corbin Carroll was a great example of a young player with both elite speed and elite baserunning instincts. Who could be the next Carroll? The two talk through a number of minor league candidates who are speed...

Ben and Carlos hop on the podcast and talk about the Marlins and Kim Ng splitting up—or more accurately Kim Ng deciding that she wanted no part in the Marlins hiring someone above her after one of the organization’s most successful seasons in recent memory.  The two talk about the state of the Marlins and whether or not the team has an optimistic future outlook, look at the state of the farm system and the team’s recent draft history and then attempt to line up the various states of the NL...

Ben Badler and Carlos Collazo recap their trip to Jupiter and break down some of the most interesting players they saw. They also talk about the value of scouting an event like Jupiter, which has so much going on at once.  After that, the two pivot to big league talk and discuss the postseason. The two give their thoughts on the many blowout series we have had so far, lament the brutal start from Clayton Kershaw and talk about the randomness of the playoffs in general, and especially the...

The postseason field is set and October baseball is here. Ben and Carlos talk about the field and think through which teams are well-positioned to advance to the World Series as much as possible given the randomness of playoff baseball. The two talk about styles of play, which teams have the toughest and easiest paths, and then try and figure out which playoff teams are best positioned for success in the next five years. After that the two discuss the careers of four big league legends:...

Ben and Carlos dig into some of the more interesting prospects to know from the Arizona Fall League rosters, including a few well-known players with a chance to make up for lost time, and a few lesser known names who could jump on the scene. Players include Guardians outfielder Chase DeLauter, Tigers righthander Jackson Jobe and Blue Jays lefthander Ricky Tiedemann, among others. After that, the two talk about more big league call-ups, led by Phillies righthander Orion Kerkering, who went...