How Draft Strategy Could Change With Shifting Player Development Timelines

We're going deep on each of the top prospects in the AL Central. We explain how each respective player climbed to No. 1 in their system, run through their scouting reports and lay out what you should expect in 2026.Time Stamps(0:00) — Travis Bazzana, Guardians (9:20) — Noah Schultz, White Sox (17:50) — Kevin McGonigle, Tigers (28:00) — Carter Jensen, Royals (36:05) — Walker Jenkins, TwinsOur Sponsors:* Check out BetterHelp: https://www.betterhelp.com* Check out Progressive: https://progressive.com* Check out Quince: https://quince.com/BA2022Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/baseball-america/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Matt Eddy and JJ Cooper are taking a look at a New York Mets farm system that is loaded in big league ready prospects for the latest Prospect Podcast Deep DIve.(00:00) It's been an interesting offseason(01:45) Breaking down Nolan McLean(05:45) Why the Brewers trade dealt players with tough fits(07:00) How good is Jonah Tong?(09:30) This system is at its peak right now(11:00) The Mets built prospects to the point where they could be traded(13:00) Who is next year's No. 1 prospect?(15:45) Where does Wandy Asigen fit in?(18:00) What is the system good at developing?(22:00) Looking at prospects outside the Top 10Our Sponsors:* Check out BetterHelp: https://www.betterhelp.com* Check out Progressive: https://progressive.com* Check out Quince: https://quince.com/BA2022Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/baseball-america/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Our champion Dylan White makes his triumphant return to the Baseball America Fantasy Podcast this week. To celebrate we roll into the second episode of our division by division prospect breakdown. This week we dive into the AL Central and some absolutely loaded systems.(3:30) Cleveland Guardians(4:00) Chase DeLauter 2026 Contributor.(6:00) Parker Messick 2026 Contributor.(9:00) Ralphy Velazquez Highest Upside(11:00) Jace Laviolette Highest Upside(13:00) Kahlil Watson Most Underrated(15:00) Yorman Gomez Most Underrated(19:00) Detroit Tigers(20:00) Kevin McGonigle 2026 Contributor.(21:00) Trei Cruz 2026 Contributor(23:00) Josue Briceno Highest Upside(25:00) Bryce Rainer Highest Upside(26:00) Hao-Yu Lee Most Underrated(27:00) Andrew Sears Most Underrated(29:00) Jack Penny Most Underrated(32:00) Kansas City Royals(32:30) Carter Jensen 2026 Contributor(33:00) Kendry Chourio Highest Upside(35:00) Josh Hammond Highest Upside(36:00) Luinder Avila Most Underrated(37:00) Carson Roccaforte Most Underrated(39:00) Chicago White Sox(40:00) Hagen Smith 2026 Contributor.(41:00) Braden Montgomery 2026 Contributor.(43:00) Caleb Bonemer Highest Upside(45:00) Billy Carlson Highest Upside(46:00) Javier Mogollon Most Underrated(48:00) Jeral Perez Most Underrated(50:00) Minnesota Twins(51:00) Emmanuel Rodriguez 2026 Contributor(53:00) Walker Jenkins 2026 Contributor.(54:00) Kendry Rojas Highest Upside(55:00) Quentin Young Highest Upside(57:00) Hendry Mendez Most Underrated(59:00) Gabriel Gonzalez Most UnderratedOur Sponsors:* Check out BetterHelp: https://www.betterhelp.com* Check out Progressive: https://progressive.com* Check out Quince: https://quince.com/BA2022Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/baseball-america/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Jon Meoli and JJ Cooper take an in-depth look at the Baltimore Orioles farm system for the lastest Prospect Podcast Deep Dive. This is an Orioles system that still has an elite prospect at the top, but thanks to trades and a massive 2025 draft haul, it also has more depth than before.(00:00) This has been a fascinating offseason.(03:50) Why Samuel Basallo is special(12:10) How is this system better or worse than last year?(16:30) The top prospects are no longer just high draft picks(19:10) Why Nate George stands out(22:15) If it clicks for Esteban Mejia, watch out(24:30) Where does Enrique Bradfield fit?(28:45) Looking at prospects outside the Top 10Our Sponsors:* Check out BetterHelp: https://www.betterhelp.com* Check out Progressive: https://progressive.com* Check out Quince: https://quince.com/BA2022Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/baseball-america/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

JJ joins the draft podcast with Carlos to talk about his overall thoughts on the 2026 draft class and talk about a number of macro-level strategic topics, including how faster minor league progressions could shift draft strategy and why it’s so valuable to get to the majors as a young player. The two talk about Roch Cholowsky’s early season and why college shortstops so rarely produce stars, and Carlos tries to see who JJ would prefer on the board after top tier shortstops like Cholowsky and Grady Emerson are gone.—Time Stamps:(1:30) JJ’s overall thoughts on the class(3:50) College shortstops don’t normally become stars(6:15) What are Roch’s flaws?(10:20) Why depth is overrated in the draft(23:00) How shifting ETAs impact draft strategy(38:00) Who would JJ take No. 3?(55:00) That value of getting to the majors youngOur Sponsors:* Check out BetterHelp: https://www.betterhelp.com* Check out Progressive: https://progressive.com* Check out Quince: https://quince.com/BA2022Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/baseball-america/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Bill Mitchell and JJ Cooper are taking and in-depth look at the Kansas City Royals farm system for the latest Baseball America Prospect Podcast Deep Dive.(00:00) The Royals are building something around Bobby Witt Jr.(02:00) What happened to help Carter Jensen break out in 2025. Why he's the No. 1 prospect(07:30) How the farm system has improved since last year. It's not just Carter Jensen.(14:00) Looking at the pair of top picks--Josh Hammond and Sean Gamble(17:20) What is the org good at developing?(22:30) Looking at prospects to know outside the top 10Royals Top 30 Prospects: https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/2026-kansas-city-royals-top-mlb-prospects/Our Sponsors:* Check out BetterHelp: https://www.betterhelp.com* Check out Progressive: https://progressive.com* Check out Quince: https://quince.com/BA2022Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/baseball-america/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

JJ Cooper and Bill Mitchell are talking all about the White Sox farm system on the latest Prospect Podcast Deep Dive. Even after graduating Kyle Teel, Edgar Quero, Colson Montgomery and Shane Smith last year, this is a very solid top 10. (00:00) How the White Sox are making strides.(02:00) Why Noah Schultz stood out as the No. 1 prospect and why patience may be required.(09:00) Is the system better or worse than a year ago?(09:45) Looking at the 2025 draft picks(11:15) Other arms to watch(14:25) A pair of shortstops who could vie for No. 1 on this list next year(18:20) What this system is good at developing(23:00) Prospects outside of the top 10 to watchWhite Sox Top 30 Prospects: https://www.baseballamerica.com/teams/2027-chicago-white-sox/prospects/Our Sponsors:* Check out BetterHelp: https://www.betterhelp.com* Check out Progressive: https://progressive.com* Check out Quince: https://quince.com/BA2022Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/baseball-america/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

On this week's Hot Sheet Show, Jacob Rudner, Ben Badler and Geoff Pontes talk about UCLA's dominant start to the season, college names to know and MLB prospects who are worth monitoring in spring training.The Hot Sheet Show airs live on the BA YouTube channel every week on Tuesday at 3 p.m. Give us a sub, and we'll see you then!Time Stamps(0:00) Introduction (0:45) UCLA impresses (4:00) Dax Whitney domination & draft profile (10:50) Can someone push Roch Cholowsky for the 1-1? (13:15) Jackson Flora's profile (15:45) Other college prospects who had stood out (19:30) What we're watching for early in spring training (21:20) Konnor Griffin & Payton Tolle outlooks (24:20) Will Joey Volchko go in the first round?Our Sponsors:* Check out BetterHelp: https://www.betterhelp.com* Check out Progressive: https://progressive.com* Check out Quince: https://quince.com/BA2022Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/baseball-america/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Baseball America college reporter Jacob Rudner and national writer Geoff Pontes look back at the first full week of the season, including the No. 1 UCLA Bruins' sweep of then-No. 8 TCU, Texas and Georgia Tech getting off to hot starts and Oklahoma's fast rise in the Top 25. Rudner and Pontes also dive deeper on five teams with varying levels of concern.(4:09) UCLA dominates TCU(13:33) Texas off to a great start(19:29) Georgia Tech’s historic offensive start(22:34) Oklahoma enters the top 10(30:54) The Fear Index(31:33) TCU’s five-game skid(34:06) Coastal Carolina drops in the poll(38:36) How much should you worry about Florida State?(40:43) Tennessee upset by Kent State(46:17) Oregon State falls from the top 20(54:32) What we’re watching in Week 3Our Sponsors:* Check out BetterHelp: https://www.betterhelp.com* Check out Progressive: https://progressive.com* Check out Quince: https://quince.com/BA2022Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/baseball-america/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

We're going deep on each of the top prospects in the AL East. The guys explain how each respective player climbed to No. 1 in their system, run through their scouting reports and lay out what you should expect in 2026.Time Stamps(0:00) -- Trey Yesavage, Blue Jays(9:35) -- Payton Tolle, Red Sox(17:55) -- George Lombard Jr., Yankees(26:30) -- Samuel Basallo, Orioles(35:00) -- Brody Hopkins, RaysOur Sponsors:* Check out BetterHelp: https://www.betterhelp.com* Check out Progressive: https://progressive.com* Check out Quince: https://quince.com/BA2022Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/baseball-america/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy