Episode 142: Question Marks & Sleepers In The 2026 Draft Class

Ben and Carlos talk about Trey Yesavage’s lights out start in the World Series and think back to draft day when he fell further than expected to the Blue Jays at 20. The two talk about how medical questions impact the decision-making process for signing players and then turn to the AFL. Which high-performing hitters from the league are we buying and which are we selling? The two then briefly touch on some of the managerial hires around the league and answer a listener question about scouting shortstop defense.—Time Stamps:(0:00) Intro(3:00) Trey Yesavage’s slide on draft day(13:00) Where will Yesavage rank on the 100(14:30) Do doctors have too much say in the draft room?(22:00) Who’s running the room on signing decisions?(31:30) AFL standouts(32:00) Esmerlyn Valdez(36:30) Josh Adamczewski(42:00) Luke Adams(51:00) Seaver King(58:00) Max Anderson(1:00:30) Kevin McGonigle(1:03:30) MLB managerial hires(1:12:30) What are the “three” things we look for with shortstops? Do you have feedback for the show or want to ask us a question? Email us: [email protected]'s Twitter: @BenBadlerCarlos's Newsletter: Fringe AverageBaseball America WebsiteSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/future-projection-a-baseball-america-podcast/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Ben and Carlos talk about the official news that Tennessee coach Tony Vitello is moving to the majors and discuss some of the strategic managerial lessons that can be learned from this year’s postseason. The two then talk about our October draft update and explore some of the question marks in the 2026 class beyond Roch Cholowsky and Grady Emerson. The two discuss a handful of their favorite sleeper candidates to move into the first round and then take a listener question about batter handedness. —Time Stamps:(0:30) Tony Vitello news(6:15) Implications for the Giants(13:00) Strategic lessons to learn from the ALCS(20:00) More thoughts on MLB bullpen management(28:00) Draft class talk(35:00) Justin Lebron & Tyler Bell(39:00) College pitching (44:00) High school pitching(53:30) Players who have a chance to jump into the first round(1:06:00) Valuing lefty hitters and righty hittersDo you have feedback for the show or want to ask us a question? Email us: [email protected]'s Twitter: @BenBadlerCarlos's Newsletter: Fringe AverageBaseball America WebsiteSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/future-projection-a-baseball-america-podcast/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Ben and Carlos talk about the finalists for the 2025 gold glove awards and talk about the players’ defensive backgrounds leading up to now. Who were the no-brainer gold glove winners as amateurs, and who are the players who surprise us now that they are? After that the two talk about some of the top minor league candidates to win future gold glove awards. They also talk about 2027 high school catcher Will Brick jumping into the 2026 class and wonder where all the high school catching talent has gone in recent years. Finally they tackle a few listener questions. —Time Stamps(0:00) Intro(2:00) Gold glove nominees(4:30) Catchers (Alejandro Kirk and Patrick Bailey)(15:20) First base (Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Bryce Harper)(21:00) Second base (Brice Turang, Xavier Edwards)(24:40) Third base (Matt Shaw, Ke’Bryan Hayes, Ryan McMahon)(32:00) Shortstop (Corey Seager, Mookie Betts, Bobby Witt Jr.)(48:00) Left field (Wyatt Langford, Tyler Soderstrom)(52:00) Center field (Pete Crow Armstrong, Ceddanne Rafaela, Jacob Young, Julio Rodriguez)(1:02:00) Right field (Fernando Tatis Jr., Sal Frelick, Corbin Carroll)(1:07:00) Will Brick and high school catchers(1:22:00) Minor league gold glove candidates(1:37:00) Grady Emerson & Jacob Lombard vs. Max Clark & Walker Jenkins(1:42:00) LSU and Tennessee 2027 recruiting classesDo you have feedback for the show or want to ask us a question? Email us: [email protected]'s Twitter: @BenBadlerCarlos's Newsletter: Fringe AverageBaseball America WebsiteSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/future-projection-a-baseball-america-podcast/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Ben and Carlos talk about the Arizona Fall League and the degree to which it matters. The two pick out a few players they are excited about in the league, then turn to Ben’s piece on hitting standouts in the Dominican Summer League. The two compare and contrast top prospects like Josuar Gonzalez and Elian Peña to draftees like Ethan Holliday and Eli Willits, then take listener questions including: should we give Angel Genao and Cam Collier mulligans? Is Joshua Baez’s breakout legit? And what do we look for when trying to find out if a prospect is breaking out? —Time Stamps(0:00) Intro(3:30) Arizona Fall League(14:00) Statcast data in the fall league(15:30) Names we are excited about in the AFL(22:10) Dominican Summer League Standouts(24:00) Josuar Gonzalez(27:00) Josuar Gonzalez vs. Eli Willits(31:20) Juan Sanchez(34:00) Diego Tornes(39:00) Diego Tornes vs. Tate Southisene(45:00) Elian Pena vs. 2025 drafted shortstops(50:00) Angel Genao & Cam Collier’s stock(57:00) Joshua Baez(1:04:00) How do we identify huge prospect jumps like Cam Schlittler’s?Do you have feedback for the show or want to ask us a question? Email us: [email protected]'s Twitter: @BenBadlerCarlos's Newsletter: Fringe AverageBaseball America WebsiteSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/future-projection-a-baseball-america-podcast/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Ben and Carlos talk about the Tony Vitello to the majors rumors and think about the skills that would or wouldn’t translate from the college game to the majors. Should MLB teams be looking for more managers from the college ranks? And why don’t we see more MLB/college coaching crossover in general? The two then discuss which of the current MLB manager vacancies would be the most and least appealing.—Time Stamps(0:00) Cam Schlittler(10:30) Tony Vitello, big league manager?(17:00) The value of college head coaches vs. MLB managers(25:00) Lifestyle of college jobs vs. MLB managers(37:30) The media scrutiny of an MLB manager(40:00) Should major league teams recruit college coaches more frequently?(51:00) Pat Murphy as a successful example(55:00) Which MLB manager jobs are the most/least appealing?(1:02:00) The Rockies & the Coors Field problem(1:09:30) A question about MLB ball adjustmentsDo you have feedback for the show or want to ask us a question? Email us: [email protected]'s Twitter: @BenBadlerCarlos's Newsletter: Fringe AverageBaseball America WebsiteSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/future-projection-a-baseball-america-podcast/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Ben and Carlos talk about Konnor Griffin’s Minor League Player of the Year season. The two then think through how long it will take for the Pirates to become competitive, and wonder which last place team in the league is best-positioned for future success. The two talk about the upcoming draft lottery and its implications and also discuss the automated ball-strike challenge system that is heading to MLB in 2026. Ben also tackles a listener question about the state of the Rays international scouting operation. —Time Stamps(0:00) Intro(5:00) Konnor Griffin PotY(10:25) State of the Pirates(20:30) Last place teams(40:30) Draft lottery odds(50:00) Which team would Roch Cholowsky impact the most(1:04:15) ABS challenge system(1:29:20) Rays international scouting questionDo you have feedback for the show or want to ask us a question? Email us: [email protected]'s Twitter: @BenBadlerCarlos's Newsletter: Fringe AverageBaseball America WebsiteSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/future-projection-a-baseball-america-podcast/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Ben and Carlos talk about MLB’s new mandated dead period for scouting domestic players and then talk about the Nationals GM search and the state of the organization. After that the two talk about a number of 2025 draftees who are off to slow starts in their pro debuts—plus a handful of strong debuts—then briefly talk about some of the more impressive minor league seasons.—Time Stamps(0:00) Intro(5:00) MLB’s Dead Period For Draft-Eligible Players(23:00) The state of the Nationals(37:30) 2025 debut results(39:00) Ethan Holliday(43:00) Tate Southisene(45:00) Kayson Cunningham(49:30) Eli Willits(52:30) Ike Irish(55:10) Aiva Arquette(57:50) Dax Kilby(1:00:20) Brendan Summerhill(1:03:00) Andrew Fischer(1:05:30) Kane Kepley(1:08:00) Devin Taylor(1:11:08) Konnor Griffin, Kevin McGonigle(1:20:00) Cam Caminiti(1:24:00) David Shields(1:27:55) Kendry Chourio(1:31:30) Rainiel RodriguezDo you have feedback for the show or want to ask us a question? Email us: [email protected]'s Twitter: @BenBadlerCarlos's Newsletter: Fringe AverageBaseball America WebsiteSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/future-projection-a-baseball-america-podcast/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Ben and Carlos talk through some of the notable movers on the August Top 100 prospects update and then get into a few standouts from Carlos’ trip out West for the 2025 Area Code Games. The two discuss Konnor Griffin vs. Kevin McGonigle for No. 1 status, talk about JJ Wetherholt’s pure hitting ability and wonder if Walker Jenkins is now a bit underrated. After that Ben makes a case for Thomas White as the best pitching prospect in the minors. The two talk through a few players in the 50-100 range for the Mets and Orioles, then Carlos highlights a few 2026 and 2027 draft standouts from one of the biggest showcase events on the calendar. We also take a listener question about shortstops sticking at the position.—Time Stamps(1:00) Top 100 update(4:30) JJ Wetherholt(11:00) Konnor Griffin vs. Kevin McGonigle(15:00) Walker Jenkins(25:00) Thomas White(31:30) Carson Benge (36:30) Elian Pena(40:10) Dylan Beavers(45:00) Nate George(50:00) Area Code Games(1:18:00) Listener Shortstop QuestionDo you have feedback for the show or want to ask us a question? Email us: [email protected]'s Twitter: @BenBadlerCarlos's Newsletter: Fringe AverageBaseball America WebsiteSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/future-projection-a-baseball-america-podcast/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Ben and Carlos talk about the 2025 East Coast Pro showcase. The two break down some of the standout players who Carlos saw at this year’s event, featuring a full lineup’s worth of players to dig into. Ben also picks out a projection sleeper he’s excited about who could potentially take a big step forward.—Time Stamps(0:00) Intro(6:30) Conner Salerno(11:00) Coleman Borthwick(16:30) Gio Rojas (24:00) Phinn Waters(32:30) Mickey Gilligan(34:00) Aiden Ruiz(39:00) Keon Johnson(45:00) John Lindsey(47:30) Christian Serrano(51:00) EJ Booth(58:00) Trevor Condon(1:02:00) Malachi Washington(1:08:00) Drew Christine(1:17:00) The advancement of stuff for HS pitchersDo you have feedback for the show or want to ask us a question? Email us: [email protected]'s Twitter: @BenBadlerCarlos's Newsletter: Fringe AverageBaseball America WebsiteSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/future-projection-a-baseball-america-podcast/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Ben and Carlos talk about the Leo De Vries trade and a few other notable transactions at the signing deadline, then move into a conversation about the summer showcase circuit which gets started in earnest this week with the East Coast Pro and next week with the Area Code Games. —Time Stamps:(3:00) The Leo De Vries Trade(17:00) Other trades we're intrigued by(20:00) A sneaky add for the Twins(26:00) East Coast Pro & Area Code Games(39:00) The value of summer performance(44:00) The players who miss the summer(48:30) Rocco Maniscalco and youth at the draft(1:00:00) outro banterDo you have a question or feedback for the show? Email us: [email protected]  Ben's Twitter: @BenBadlerCarlos's Newsletter: Fringe AverageBaseball America WebsiteSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/future-projection-a-baseball-america-podcast/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy