The Show Before the Show: Episode 441
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other podcast-listening apps. This episode can also be found on Minor League Baseball's official YouTube page. Send questions or feedback to podcast@milb.com, and follow hosts Sam Dykstra (@SamDykstraMiLB) and Benjamin Hill (@bensbiz) on X.
Intro/Ben's Biz Banter (0:00)
Ben, Sam and Tyler open up this week's show by looking back at the Minor League careers of the newest inductees into the Baseball Hall of Fame and share their excitement for Somerset's Jersey Diners identity coming in 2024. You can subscribe to the Ben's Biz Beat newsletter here.
Jim Holland interview (38:15)
Former Princeton general manager Jim Holland talks to Ben about his book My Fortunate Detour and how it takes a community to help run a local baseball team.
Top 10 talk (1:08:08)
Sam and Tyler discuss MLB Pipeline's Top 10 shortstop and outfield prospect rankings. The full Top 100 will be revealed as part of MLB Network's coverage beginning at 7 p.m. ET on Friday.
Ghosts of the Minors/Wrapping up (1:25:50)
Before the show concludes for another week, Josh yammers on in the latest edition of Ghosts of the Minors.
The Show Before the Show: Episode 487
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
Here are the Top 10 first base prospects for 2025
MLB Pipeline will reveal its 2025 Top 100 Prospects list at 7 p.m. ET on Friday, Jan. 24, with a one-hour show on MLB Network and MLB.com. Leading up to the release of the Top 100, we'll examine baseball's top 10 prospects at each position.
Here are the Top 10 catching prospects for 2025
The Dodgers understand the importance of a top catcher. While superstars Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman grab plenty of headlines, Will Smith remains one of the pillars of Los Angeles’ success. Since he debuted in 2019, Smith ranks second among all Major League catchers with an 18.5 fWAR,
In honor of National Hat Day, here are 10 of MiLB's most popular caps of '24
We are celebrating the small yet mighty canvas that is the Minor League cap for National Hat Day. Clubs across the Minors utilize them as a fun way to represent their teams, regions and sometimes even their parent organizations. Not to mention they also look pretty sweet. Here's a close
Did you see the wildest Minor League games of 2024?
Benjamin Hill travels the nation collecting stories about what makes Minor League Baseball unique. This excerpt from his newsletter is a mere taste of the smorgasbord of delights he offers every week. Read the full newsletter here, and subscribe to his newsletter here.
The Show Before the Show: Episode 486
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
Execs prospect poll: Top system? Best at drafting? Best at trading for prospects?
In the final installment of the MLB Pipeline Executives Poll, we’re pulling back from the granular and taking a more organizational perspective. After exploring individual players and tools, we’re using a wider lens to see what front offices think about … each other’s operations. All of the questions in Part
11 of the best bobbleheads from the '24 MiLB season
Benjamin Hill travels the nation collecting stories about what makes Minor League Baseball unique. This excerpt from his newsletter is a mere taste of the smorgasbord of delights he offers every week. Read the full newsletter here, and subscribe to his newsletter here.
Which prospects have the best tools? Front office execs weigh in
Let’s keep drilling down, shall we? In the first two parts of our MLB Pipeline Executive Poll, we asked front offices about who they thought the Rookies of the Year will be in 2025, who the top prospects are, and of course, some Roki Sasaki questions. In Part III, we
Execs prospects poll: No. 1 prospect, top hitter, pitcher and more
Our 2025 MLB Pipeline Poll kicked off with a look at Rookie of the Year favorites. In Part II, we take a deeper dive into what executives across all 30 MLB organizations think about the top prospects in the game. Who do executives think is the best overall prospect in
One potential breakout prospect for each organization in 2025
Every year as the calendar flips, we at MLB Pipeline gaze into crystal balls and turn our collective attention to potential breakout prospects for the coming season. Last year in this space, we listed Josue De Paula (Dodgers), Bryce Eldridge (Giants), Kevin McGonigle (Tigers), Jacob Melton (Astros), Lazaro Montes (Mariners),
One prospect to watch for each team in 2025
A new season brings new opportunities for every player in a team’s system. This is especially true for a team’s Minor League prospects, who look to build on the previous season’s accomplishments and continue to make a name for themselves as they forge a path to the Majors. Here’s a
These 9 clubs improved their farm system most in 2024
There is no singular established path to farm system improvement. The best organizations do it internally. They take the players already in the pipeline and help them get the most out of their tools or, in a best-case scenario, improve the tools already in their profiles. That takes a good
Each team's prospect whose stock improved most in '24
Kristian Campbell entered 2024 as a supplemental fourth-round pick the previous July who had fashioned a nice pro debut. He ended it as the No. 10 prospect on MLB Pipeline's Top 100 Prospects list, not to mention its Hitting Prospect of the Year and the MiLB Breakout Player of the
Prospect stats of the year -- each team’s best of 2024
We don’t only deal in tools around here. Performance (i.e. what players do with those tools) matters, too. Stats form much of baseball's vocabulary. It’s part of how we tell the stories of the game. Look no further than the 2024 Major League season, when Shohei Ohtani recorded the first
The Show Before the Show: Episode 484
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
You've got to hear the High-A Greensboro broadcaster's outrageous calls
Benjamin Hill travels the nation collecting stories about what makes Minor League Baseball unique. This excerpt from his newsletter -- which he reported on from Greensboro, N.C., on July 28 -- is one of those stories. Read the full newsletter here, and subscribe to his newsletter here. Get up, get
How the Rule 5 Draft impacted teams' Top 30 Prospects lists
MLB Pipeline gives our organizational Top 30 prospect rankings complete refreshes twice per calendar year (once in spring, once in-season) and provides other live updates as graduations and other transactions necessitate them. In the latter category, two dates in particular are our busiest for Top 30 updates: the Trade Deadline
Every 2024 Rule 5 Draft pick, plus 1st-round analysis
DALLAS -- Arms were on the menu during Wednesday afternoon’s Rule 5 Draft at the Winter Meetings. A total of 15 players were taken in the Major League phase of this year’s Rule 5 and 11 of them were pitchers. It started when the White Sox took right-hander Shane Smith
Complete results of 2025 Draft Lottery
DALLAS – In the 2009 and ‘10 MLB Drafts, the Washington Nationals had the No. 1 pick and turned those selections into a pair of franchise-changing players, Stephen Strasburg and Bryce Harper. At Tuesday’s Draft Lottery during the 2024 Winter Meetings, Washington earned another shot at the very top of
Red Sox Ferreira, Royals Cadahia win Bender, Coolbaugh Awards
Minor League Baseball announced the selection of Boston Red Sox Executive Vice President and Assistant General Manager Raquel Ferreira as the 16th winner of the Sheldon “Chief” Bender Award and Kansas City Royals Special Assistant to the General Manager/Player Development Chino Cadahia as the recipient of the 16th annual Mike