Ben and Carlos break open the listener mailbag to answer prospect questions about Rays shortstop Carson Williams and outfielder Slater De Brun; how we view teams’ track records in trading for players; how we handle the information handover from one draft class to another (and how teams do the same); and what the CBA ramifications could be for the 2027 Dominican Summer League. 

—

Time Stamps: 

• (0:55) What happened to Rays SS Carson Williams?
• (3:00) Rays pro scouting
• (9:00) How we handle information sharing and handoffs for different classes
• (16:00) How will the CBA impact the signing period and 2027 DSL season?
• (20:40) What are our thoughts on Rays OF Slater De Brun’s power upside? 

—

Do you have feedback for the show or want to ask us a question? Email us: futureprojection@baseballamerica.com.

Future Projection Twitter: @FutureProPod

Ben's Twitter: @BenBadler

Carlos's Twitter: @CarlosACollazo

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Ben lets Carlos vent about the position player pitching epidemic in the majors before the two turn to more serious discussions about the $4 billion sale of the Los Angeles Angels. The two discuss what could be changing for the organization and the ramifications, then pivot to prospect talk. They talk about the promotions of notable prospects like Walker Jenkins, Ethan Salas, Lazaro Montes and Kade Anderson, then check in on some of the top 2026 draftees who have made official debuts. 

—

Time Stamps: 

• (0:00) Carlos vents about position player pitching
• (11:30) Angels sale
• (22:00) Does this have any CBA implications?
• (30:00) Notable big league callups
• (50:00) Kade Anderson
• (59:00) Elliot Lascelles
• (1:01:30) Jacob Lombard
• (1:06:00) A tough time for scouts

—

Do you have feedback for the show or want to ask us a question? Email us: futureprojection@baseballamerica.com.

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After a few weeks off, Ben and Carlos reconvene to talk about the state of the 2027 high school draft class. How are we viewing the class with the bulk of the summer showcase circuit behind us, and who are the players who have stood out and improved their stock? Has No. 1 prospect Dylan Seward lived up to expectations? What’s the value of All-America games in 2026? And did we see anything close to this kind of performance coming with Pete Crow-Armstrong?

—

Time Stamps: 

• (0:00) Intro/Banter
• (5:00) Thoughts on the 2027 class
• (12:30) Malachi Butler
• (18:00) The depth of HS shortstops
• (20:00) Dylan Seward’s summer
• (28:30) Leo Nockley & Max Hemenway
• (33:00) Drake Hawpe
• (37:30) Chase Fuller
• (44:00) George Ferguson
• (51:00) Lubin Rincon
• (53:40) How much importance is there for All-American games?
• (1:03:00) Pete Crow-Armstrong 

—

Do you have feedback for the show or want to ask us a question? Email us: futureprojection@baseballamerica.com.

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Ben and Carlos open up the listener mailbag to take questions on Caden Bodine’s data, whether or not a Yankees outfielder will be an up-arrow name, general thoughts on Andrew Fischer and comparing and contrasting three up-the-middle college draftees.

—

Time Stamps: 

• (0:45) How much does the data support Caden Bodine’s season?
• (7:10) Will Yankees outfielder Yostin Pena be a significant riser?
• (9:15) Andrew Fischer?
• (16:30) Drew Burress, Derek Curiel and Tyler Bell upside, ETA and career questions

—

Do you have feedback for the show or want to ask us a question? Email us: futureprojection@baseballamerica.com.

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Ben and Carlos talk about the 2026 draft signing deadline and spend a lot of time analyzing the Logan Schmidt situation. What went wrong and what comes next for one of the most talented southpaws available? The two talk about some of their favorite and least favorite deals of this year’s draft, then turn their eyes towards 2027, 2028 and the ongoing summer showcase circuit.

—

Time Stamps: 

• (0:00) Intro
• (1:45) Logan Schmidt
• (15:30) Where would Schmidt stack up in the 2027 class?
• (22:30) Signing bonus talk
• (35:00) Deals we love
• (42:00) Record-breaking deals up top 
• (46:00) East Coast Pro & Area Code Games
• (53:00) Players we’re excited to see

—

Do you have feedback for the show or want to ask us a  question? Email us: futureprojection@baseballamerica.com.

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Baseball America Website

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Ben and Carlos open the listener mailbag to tackle a handful of 2026 draft questions including: where does Vahn Lackey stack up with other top 100 catching prospects; what was our favorite player/org pairing from the draft; does Kevin Roberts Jr. have the same hitting questions as Quentin Young; and how would we compare the elite defensive shortstops from 2026 to the elite defensive shortstops from 2025. 

—

Time Stamps: 

• (0:45) How does Vahn Lackey compare to the best catching prospects in the game?
• (5:00) What was your favorite player/org match from the draft?
• (8:15) Does Kevin Roberts Jr. have a similar offensive profile to Quentin Young?
• (13:50) How would you compare the top 2025 and top 2026 shortstop defenders?

—

Do you have feedback for the show or want to ask us a  question? Email us: futureprojection@baseballamerica.com.

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Baseball America Website

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Ben and Carlos talk through the most recent draft proposal from the MLBPA. The two talk about the potential and the ramifications of college sophomore eligibility, thoughts on hard vs. soft slotting, moving the draft from July to June, whether or not draft pick trading is coming and how that could be more exciting for the draft process overall.

—

Time Stamps: 

• (0:00) Intro/Banter
• (5:30) MLBPA draft proposal talk
• (11:00) Why are only older college players eligible?
• (17:00) Is universal eligibility a real compromise?
• (21:00) Do teams need more years of college performance to make decisions?
• (24:30) Thoughts on soft vs. hard slotting?
• (31:00) Small revenue teams getting additional bonus pool to spend
• (35:00) Moving the draft back to June?
• (46:15) Everyone likes draft pick trading

—

Do you have feedback for the show or want to ask us a question? Email us: futureprojection@baseballamerica.com.

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Baseball America Website

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Ben and Carlos break open the listener mailbag to answer questions about a number of topics including: Are teams changing their priorities for pitching stats? How does the 75% bonus minimum work in practice? Why do some players get significant over-slot deals? And which players outside of the top two rounds do we think have superstar potential?

—

Time Stamps: 

• (0:00) Intro
• (2:10) Are teams shifting pitcher draft evaluations from game stats to advanced stats?
• (12:20) How were the Braves and Red Sox able to go below 75%?
• (18:30) Why did the Nationals go so far over slot to sign Luke Williams?
• (24:30) What player outside the top two rounds has superstar potential?

—

Do you have feedback for the show or want to ask us a  question? Email us: futureprojection@baseballamerica.com.

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Baseball America Website

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Episode 196: 2026 Draft Reactions

Ben and Carlos react to the 2026 draft. Which picks surprised them, which draft classes did they like, which are they more skeptical of and what are the big takeaways from how teams worked down the board for this crop of players? 

—

Time Stamps:

• (2:00) Macro takeaways on the draft
• (6:00) Our favorite drafts
• (7:00) The Braves
• (13:30) The Royals
• (19:40) The Red Sox
• (27:40) The Pirates
• (33:00) The Marlins
• (37:40) The Angels
• (44:10) Roch Cholowsky first overall and the top three

—

Do you have feedback for the show or want to ask us a  question? Email us: futureprojection@baseballamerica.com.

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Baseball America Website

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Ben and Carlos are joined by JJ Cooper for a hybrid Future Projection/draft podcast breaking down everything we know or are hearing about the top of the 2026 draft. We talk through possibilities and players for each team’s first pick, talk about org tendencies, system strengths and weaknesses and try to get a better understanding of how the draft could unfold to get you ready for draft day. 

—

Time Stamps:

• (2:30) White Sox
• (10:00) Rays
• (15:15) Twins
• (22:30) Giants
• (31:00) Pirates
• (40:20) Royals
• (44:30) Orioles
• (50:20) Athletics
• (54:20) Braves
• (59:30) Rockies
• (1:03:40) Nationals
• (1:08:30) Angels
• (1:12:00) Cardinals
• (1:15:10) Marlins
• (1:18:30) D-backs 
• (1:21:30) Rangers
• (1:25:00) Astros
• (1:27:10) Reds
• (1:30:20) Guardians
• (1:33:30) Red Sox
• (1:38:40) Padres
• (1:43:20) Tigers
• (1:46:50) Cubs
• (1:50:20) Mariners
• (1:52:10) Brewers
• (1:54:50) Mets
• (1:57:10) Yankees
• (1:59:30) Phillies
• (2:01:00) Blue Jays
• (2:02:50)  Dodgers

—

Do you have feedback for the show or want to ask us a  question? Email us: futureprojection@baseballamerica.com.

Future Projection Twitter: @FutureProPod

Ben's Twitter: @BenBadler

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Baseball America Website

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Ben and Carlos talk through MLB’s proposal to shake up the draft and the international talent acquisition system, working through ramifications for the game, player development, scouting and more. 

—

Time Stamps

• (0:15) Where have we been?
• (2:30) MLB’s player acquisition proposal
• (7:00) MLB’s dishonest messaging
• (9:00) Why high school players are more expensive to scout
• (13:00) Development in pro ball vs. college
• (16:40) This is always how MLB negotiates
• (22:30) Why MLB teams don’t want to compete with each other
• (25:00) The value of creating histories with players
• (29:00) Hypocrisy in the international market
• (33:30) Raising the signing age of international players
• (38:00) The shadow development system in Latin America
• (42:00) This felt like a misstep PR wise
• (45:00) Everyone loves the pick trading idea
• (50:50) Steroids and age issues in the international market
• (55:00) The pulse of international agents on the idea of a draft

—

Do you have feedback for the show or want to ask us a  question? Email us: futureprojection@baseballamerica.com.

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Ben's Twitter: @BenBadler

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Baseball America Website

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Ben and Carlos talk about Baseball America’s new top 500 high school player ranking, as well the new star rating system we are unveiling to help further contextualize high school recruits. The two talk about what separates a five-star, four-star and three-star high school player and then talk through some of the top recruiting classes in the country. After that the two hit on a few notable Top 100 risers and the different ways that UCLA shortstop Roch Cholowsky and Georgia Tech catcher Vahn Lackey ended their 2026 seasons. 

—

Time Stamps

• (2:30) Top 500 High School list and new star system ratings
• (7:30) Why the star system ranking is different from BA grades
• (11:40) What is a BA five-star recruit?
• (18:30) Four-star players are the backbone of premier recruiting classes
• (23:40) What does a three-star prospect entail?
• (29:00) How the star scale applies to underclassmen
• (32:55) The schools with the most exciting recruiting classes
• (40:40) Top 100 talk
• (41:00) Travis Bazzana
• (44:00) Ryan Sloan
• (46:30) Ethan Salas
• (49:30) Theo Gillen
• (51:30) Mike Sirota
• (55:10) Luis Hernandez
• (56:50) Alfredo Duno
• (59:00) Roch Cholowsky vs. Vahn Lackey 

—

Do you have feedback for the show or want to ask us a question? Email us: futureprojection@baseballamerica.com.

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In this week’s listener mailbag, Ben and Carlos take questions like: can you make the case for Jacob Lombard over Grady Emerson? Where would UC Santa Barbara righthander Jackson Flora stack up with other Giants pitching prospects? Who are the top DSL pitchers to watch? Why isn’t Georgia catcher Daniel Jackson ranked even higher? 

—

Time Stamps:

• (0:50) Give me an argument for taking Jacob Lombard over Grady Emerson
• (7:00) Where would Jackson Flora rank among top Giants pitching prospects?
• (12:00) Who are the best arms in the DSL this season?
• (18:00) Why isn’t Daniel Jackson ranked higher? 

—

Do you have feedback for the show or want to ask us a  question? Email us: futureprojection@baseballamerica.com.

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Ben and Carlos talk about the upcoming NCAA tournament and the players, teams and matchups they are looking forward to seeing. The two talk about the state of the college pitching in the 2026 draft class, and wonder who the best candidates are to come off the board after UC Santa Barbara righthander Jackson Flora. 

—

Time Stamps

• (0:00) Opening banter
• (3:50) NCAA regional talk
• (8:30) College pitching talk
• (12:00) Cameron Flukey
• (25:00) Mason Edwards
• (27:00) Cole Carlon
• (29:00) Tegan Kuhns
• (37:00) Cade Townsend
• (46:30) Jack Radel
• (51:30) College pitching depth and draft strategy
• (54:00) Closing Derek Curiel propaganda

—

Do you have feedback for the show or want to ask us a  question? Email us: futureprojection@baseballamerica.com.

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Ben and Carlos answer mailbag questions surrounding Red Sox outfielder Justin Gonzales, Athletics shortstop Johenssy Colome, Royals outfielder Angeibel Gomez and Mets shortstops Wandy Asigen and Elian Peña.

—

Time Stamps:

• (0:30) What are your thoughts on Red Sox outfielder Justin Gonzales?
• (6:00) Where would A’s shortstop Johenssy Colome and Royals outfielder Angeibel Gomez stack up with 2026 high school draft prospects?
• (14:00) Is Wandy Asigen a better prospect than Elian Peña?

—

Do you have feedback for the show or want to ask us a  question? Email us: futureprojection@baseballamerica.com.

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Ben and Carlos focus on up-arrow prospects who are not quite on the top 100, but are tracking up the board on individual Top 30s. The group of names includes a pair of Brewers lefthanded hitter, a trio of Guardians contact bats, A Rangers shortstop to know, even more Dodgers outfield prospects to be aware of and a few young arms with big stuff. They close with a chat about what scouting departments are doing this time of year as the college season winds down and the draft approaches. 

—

Time Stamps

• (4:00) Prospect talk begins
• (4:30) Braylon Payne
• (10:00) Blake Burke
• (17:30) Cooper Ingle
• (23:00) Jasion Chourio & Robert Arias
• (29:40) Yolfran Castillo
• (32:40) Pedro Ramirez
• (36:00) Charles Davalan & Kendall George
• (42:00) Sadbiel Delzine 
• (45:40) Dylan Jordan
• (50:00) How scouting departments operate this time of year

—

Do you have feedback for the show or want to ask us a  question? Email us: futureprojection@baseballamerica.com.

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Ben and Carlos open the mailbag to answer questions about the top defensive shortstop prospects in the minors; where 2027 California high school shortstop Dylan Seward would rank in the 2026 class; the center field likelihood of Derek Curiel, Drew Burress and AJ Gracia; and the odds that Justin Lebron slides out of the first round. 

—

Time Stamps:

• (1:30) Who are the best defensive shortstops in the minors?
• (10:00) Where would Dylan Seward rank if he was in the 2026 class?
• (16:00) CF defense profiles of Derek Curiel, Drew Burress & AJ Gracia
• (20:00) Is there a chance Justin Lebron falls out of the first round?

—

Do you have feedback for the show or want to ask us a question? Email us: futureprojection@baseballamerica.com.

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Ben and Carlos talk about the Mock Draft V 3.0, the most recent projection of the first 40 picks for the 2026 draft. The two talk about the latest rumors up top, whether or not Roch Cholowsky and Grady Emerson are in a tier of their own, and then talk through a number of different teams and picks throughout the first round and beyond. 

—

Time Stamps

• (0:30) Jesus Made as the new top prospect
• (4:15) Where Roch Cholowsky fits in the Top 100
• (7:30) Giants SS Luis Hernandez 
• (9:50) Mock draft talk
• (13:00) Grady Emerson vs. Vahn Lackey
• (19:00) Twins
• (23:55) Giants
• (29:00) Tegan Kuhns
• (31:30) Royals
• (35:00) Jared Grindlinger
• (40:00) Orioles
• (45:00) Why Eric Booth is going high
• (50:00) Braves
• (54:00) Nationals
• (56:40) Reds
• (1:04:00) Guardians
• (1:11:30) Red Sox
• (1:15:00) Padres
• (1:28:00) Coleman Borthwick

—

Do you have feedback for the show or want to ask us a  question? Email us: futureprojection@baseballamerica.com.

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In today’s mailbag episode Ben and Carlos take questions about Braves prospect rankings, how the top of the 2026 draft stacks up with recent classes and which players we are individually higher or lower on in regards to our updated Top 100 prospect list. 

—

Time Stamps:

• (1:05) Why are you guys light/late on Braves prospects?
• (8:30) Where does the 2026 top four compare to the 2025 and 2024 classes?
• (17:10) Are there any players you think are too high or too low on the top 100? 

—

Do you have feedback for the show or want to ask us a  question? Email us: futureprojection@baseballamerica.com.

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Ben and Carlos talk about the first significant in-season update to the 2026 Top 100 list. The two talk about a handful of 2025 draftees who are flipping the switch with strong starts to the season after questionable pro debuts in 2026. They talk about a few notable additions at the back of the list, including a handful of Rays prospects and Royals infielder Josh Hammond. They also talk about how electric Padres catcher Ethan Salas has been, and the consistent offensive production that Mets outfield AJ Ewing provides. 

—

Time Stamps

• (1:00) Top 100 adjustments
• (4:00) Ethan Holliday, Tate Southisene, Kayson Cunningham
• (17:30) Ethan Salas
• (27:45) Josh Hammond 
• (32:00) Rays risers
• (42:00) Emil Morales
• (45:00) AJ Ewing 
• (47:30) Names close to the 100 who aren’t quite there yet

—

Do you have feedback for the show or want to ask us a question? Email us: futureprojection@baseballamerica.com.

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