Ben and Carlos talk about Jac Caglianone’s return to the mound in the 2025 season and how they view him as a two-way player moving forward, as well as why people should stop referencing Shohei Ohtani as a comp for him—or any other player.

After that the two continue their organizational overview series with the National League West, starting with a pair of strong farm systems with the Dodgers and Rockies, and then with a trio of more questionable groups with the Padres, D-Backs and Giants.

The two open up the listener mailbag at the end of the show with question that include: sleeper bats in the 2025 draft class, international signing tax implications, potential issues with international players coming to the states and how the nitty gritty of international signings happens.

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Time Stamps

• (0:01) Opening Banter
• (5:00) Jac Caglianone
• (14:00) NL West Overviews
• (14:30) Dodgers
• (17:30) Dalton Rushing
• (22:00) Zyhir Hope
• (28:00) Eduardo Quintero
• (30:00) Kellon Lindsey
• (32:00) Rockies
• (34:00) Chase Dollander
• (36:00) Charlie Condon
• (41:20) Adael Amador
• (43:00) Zac Veen & Robert Calaz
• (47:30) Padres
• (49:00) Don’t jump ship on Ethan Salas
• (52:00) Ethan Salas vs. Leo De Vries
• (55:00) Deeper Padres names
• (1:02:00) D-backs
• (1:05:30) Slade Caldwell
• (1:08:00) Adrian Del Castillo
• (1:12:00) Druw Jones
• (1:15:15) Giants
• (1:18:00) Dakota Jordan
• (1:21:00) Solid international moves for San Francisco
• (1:23:00) Carson Whisenhunt
• (1:25:00) Listener Mailbag

Do you have a question you want us to answer? Email us: futureprojection@baseballamerica.com

Ben's Twitter: @BenBadler

Carlos's Twitter: @CarlosACollazo

Baseball America Website

Ben and Carlos talk about all things Roki Sasaki for the first ~30 minutes of today’s episode. How would we line up the pitching trio of Roki, Paul Skenes and Yoshinobu Yamamoto? What do we think about Sasaki’s pitch mix? He’s the best pitching prospect since… who? And how is Sasaki going to create chaos for the 2025 international signing class?

After that the two continue their organization overviews with the NL Central.

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Time Stamps

• (0:00) Opening Banter
• (1:50) Roki Sasaki convo begins
• (4:30) Sasaki vs. Paul Skenes and Yoshinobu Yamamoto
• (6:30) Sasaki’s arsenal
• (13:00) A pitching-heavy top 100 list
• (16:00) When will Sasaki sign?
• (23:00) What happens to the international players of the team Roki signs with?
• (28:30) Where do we want Sasaki to sign?
• (30:30) NL Central Org Overviews
• (33:30) Cubs
• (46:00) Reds
• (1:06:00) Brewers
• (1:24:00) Pirates vs. Cardinals

Do you have a question you want us to answer? Email us: futureprojection@baseballamerica.com

Ben's Twitter: @BenBadler

Carlos's Twitter: @CarlosACollazo

Baseball America Website

Ben and Carlos talk about the Cesar Altagracia age fraud story and Ben gives more information about the state of the international mark as well as details of MLB’s expanded investigations into players falsifying ages.

After that, the two start their organization overview series, beginning with the National League East. With updated top 10s now live at Baseball America for each team in the division, Ben and Carlos talk through each team and try to get a feel for the state of the farm.

At the end of the show the two take listener questions with topics that include a power-armed 2026 college name to know, whether or not Billy Carlson will be a top-five pick next year and a question about 2024 Latin American signees with the best usable in-game power.

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Time Stamps

• (0:00) Opening banter
• (5:00) Cesar Altagracia story (link Ben’s in the show notes)
• (10:00) Is an international draft the answer?
• (19:00) NL East Org Overviews
• (21:00) Nationals
• (39:00) Phillies
• (57:00) Mets
• (1:12:00) Marlins
• (1:28:30) Braves
• (1:41:00) Listener Questions

Do you have a question you want us to answer? Email us: futureprojection@baseballamerica.com

Ben's Twitter: @BenBadler

Carlos's Twitter: @CarlosACollazo

Baseball America Website

Ben and Carlos give their thoughts on the conclusion of the 2024 World Series. The two talk about Gerrit Cole’s pitching efforts throughout the postseason, the disappointing efforts from superstars Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani, talk through early sleeper teams for the 2025 season and wonder about the coming Juan Soto sweepstakes.

The two then talk through the future for the Dodgers and Yankees after this matchup, and touch on a few impressive prospects like Dalton Rushing and Zyhir Hope and also about young established big leaguers like Anthony Volpe and Austin Wells.

After that the two pivot to the 2025 high school recruiting class and a few big moves on that beat, including flipped commitments from Billy Carlson and Kayson Cunningham and dig into Ben’s piece looking into the rate at which elite high school players make it to campus.

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Time Stamps

• (0:00) World Series thoughts
• (7:00) Gerrit Cole
• (11:00) Shohei Ohtani & Aaron Judge
• (19:00) Early sleeper teams for 2025
• (21:00) Juan Soto sweepstakes
• (30:00) Dalton Rushing
• (35:00) Zyhir Hope
• (45:00) The Yankees outlook
• (52:30) Billy Carlson & HS recruits
• (57:00) How often do HS players get to college campuses?

Do you have a question you want us to answer? Email us: futureprojection@baseballamerica.com

Ben's Twitter: @BenBadler

Carlos's Twitter: @CarlosACollazo

Baseball America Website

Ben and Carlos record a milestone episode of the Future Projection podcast and reminisce on the origins of the show that started back in 2021.

The two then move into World Series mode and talk through a highly-anticipated and star-laden Dodgers-Yankees matchup. The two talk about Giancarlo Stanton’s consistent great performance in the postseason and then contrast the results that Juan Soto and Aaron Judge have had to this point in their postseason careers. Which would you rather face in crunch time?

Then the talk turns to pitching and whether or not starters or relievers will wind up being more impactful in this series before the two debate whether or not the Dodgers are a dynasty. How do the Dodgers from 2013 to now compare to the Braves team that won 14-straight divisions in the 90s and 2000s but managed just one championship?

After that the conversation turns to Andrew Painter’s re-emergence in the Arizona Fall League and talk about his prospect status at the moment, briefly discuss Noble Meyer’s control struggles in 2024 and then get into a surprisingly thorough conversation about MLB’s new experiment in the league: a checked-swing challenge system.

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Time Stamps

• (1:00) The origins of Future Projection
• (10:30) The start of World Series talk
• (16:00) Giancarlo Stanton in the playoffs
• (18:00) Juan Soto’s consistency in the postseason
• (24:00) Aaron Judge vs. Juan Soto as postseason hitters
• (28:00) The pitching of this World Series matchup
• (33:00) 90s Braves vs. this Dodgers “dynasty”?
• (40:00) What exactly counts as being a dynasty?
• (43:00) Shohei Ohtani’s multi-million dollar 50-50 ball
• (45:00) Andrew Painter in the AFL
• (50:00) Noble Meyer’s control struggles in 2024
• (57:00) The new checked-swing challenge system

—

Do you have a question you want us to answer? Email us: futureprojection@baseballamerica.com

Ben's Twitter: @BenBadler

Carlos's Twitter: @CarlosACollazo

Baseball America Website

Ben and Carlos hop on the show to talk about the four teams standing this postseason and think through the scouting and player development lessons that can be learned from them.

The two talk about Cleveland’s ability to identify and develop domestic pitchers which helped lead to one of the best bullpens in the game, how the Dodgers’ investments on and off the field have led to sustained success, examine a strong up-the-middle position player core that the Yankees have developed and then use the Mets as an example of why you need to be patient with international prospects.

Other topics include postseason pitching strategy, Austin Wells’ going from catching question mark to defensive standout, the tremendous offense from Mark Vientos, and a listener question about international prospects who Ben expects big things from in 2025.

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Time Stamps

• (2:30) Where are the starters?
• (6:00) Financials of the final four teams
• (10:30) The Guardians
• (25:10) Cleveland’s still-strong farm
• (27:00) The Dodgers
• (33:00) LA’s reputation for player development
• (39:00) The Yankees
• (42:00) Austin Wells’ defensive transformation—or misevaluation?
• (53:00) The Mets
• (54:00) Being patient with international prospects
• (1:02:20) David Stearns' impact
• (1:07:30) An international listener question

—

Do you have a question you want us to answer? Email us: futureprojection@baseballamerica.com

Ben's Twitter: @BenBadler

Carlos's Twitter: @CarlosACollazo

Baseball America Website

Ben and Carlos hop on the show and talk about new leadership moves for both the Giants and the Cardinals organizations. Ben wonders if Giants fans should be wary about Buster Posey taking charge in San Francisco given lack of extensive front office experience and the two also discuss the changes that could be coming for the Cardinals in the future with Chaim Bloom set to become president of baseball operations in 2026.

Where do both orgs stand with their current farm systems? How has each team drafted and done on the international signing market in recent years?

After that the two talk about Quinn Mathews and his development as a pitcher, compare him with some of the best lefthanded pitching prospects in the game, including Marlins southpaw Thomas White, and move onto a conversation about Paul Skenes and the state of the Pirates.

Was anyone particularly close to Skenes in our Rookie of the Year race? And what about those Yoshinobu Yamamoto debates before the 2024 season got started? The two then talk about the draft lottery odds being set, praise the new system that no longer incentivizes tanking and get into a trio of listener questions including: the biggest adjustments from Triple-A to the majors, thoughts on Phillies prospect Eduardo Tait and the rarity of big leaguers who perform better in the majors than the minors.

—

Time Stamps

• (2:00) Buster Posey taking charge in San Francisco
• (11:00) State of the Giants system
• (21:00) Chaim Bloom as the Pobo in waiting in St. Louis
• (27:00) State of the Cardinals system
• (31:00) Cardinals draft history
• (38:00) Quinn Mathews development
• (44:00) Thomas White vs. Quinn Mathews
• (49:00) Paul Skenes 2024 season
• (58:00) The Pirates system
• (1:08:00) Pittsburgh’s of international players
• (1:12:00) Draft lottery talk
• (1:22:00) Listener questions

—

Do you have a question you want us to answer? Email us: futureprojection@baseballamerica.com

Ben's Twitter: @BenBadler

Carlos's Twitter: @CarlosACollazo

Baseball America Website

With Arizona Fall League rosters announced, Ben and Carlos talk through some of the prospects they are most looking forward to seeing. From obvious Top 100 names like Colt Emerson, Ethan Salas and Leo De Vries, to players coming off of injury riddled seasons like Chase DeLauter and Jett Williams, and other players with huge tools like Zyhir Hope and Jac Caglianone.

After that the two talk about Kristian Campbell being named the 2024 BA Minor League Player of the Year and trace his history as a prospect. What are the lessons we can learn from his player development path and who are other prospects with similar skill sets or untapped potential who might be able to follow that path?

At the end of the show the two take listener questions about Jackson Jobe, offensive prospects to know for fantasy purposes in the 2025 and 2026 draft classes and Top 100 prospects poised to leap forward on the list in the future.

—

Time Stamps

• (1:30) Arizona Fall League overview
• (3:30) AFL players we’re most excited to see
• (7:00) Chase DeLauter
• (12:00) Zyhir Hope
• (21:00) Colt Emerson & Cole Young
• (28:00) Jett Williams
• (33:00) Jac Caglianone
• (45:00) Kristian Campbell
• (59:30) Players who could follow his path
• (1:00:00) Jacob Wilson & Nolan Schanuel
• (1:03:00) Jaison Chourio
• (1:05:00) Cooper Pratt
• (1:07:00) Joshua Kuroda-Grauer
• (1:09:00) Henry Mendez & Mike Boeve
• (1:13:00) Nacho Alvarez & Chase Meidroth
• (1:15:00) Deep Sleepers From The DSL
• (1:19:00) Listener Questions

—

Do you have a question you want us to answer? Email us: futureprojection@baseballamerica.com

Ben's Twitter: @BenBadler

Carlos's Twitter: @CarlosACollazo

Baseball America Website