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MLB Pipeline

MLB.comwww.mlb.com
Find out about the stars of tomorrow, from the guys who know today. Jim Callis (@jimcallisMLB) and Jonathan Mayo (@JonathanMayo) are your tour guides for this ride through the unfolding stories & breaking news in Minor League Baseball. From top prospects to scouting executives to farm directors, the MLB Pipeline is jam-packed with exclusive coverage of the minors you can't get anywhere else.
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Episodes

The Worst Episode Ever

In an episode that Jim Callis dubs the worst in MLB Pipeline Podcast history, he, Jonathan Mayo and Jason Ratliff break down the first of the 2023 organizational Top 30 Prospects lists. Against Jim's will, they do an impromptu -- and guaranteed-to-be-terrible -- ranking of the AL East and NL East farm systems, with the Orioles the clear No. 1 and the Nationals cited as the most improved. Jonathan has an interview with D-backs outfielder Druw Jones, the No. 2 pick in the 2022 Draft and the son of...

Mar 01, 202355 min

College Season Gets Underway

The latest edition of the Pipeline Podcast with Jim Callis, Jonathan Mayo and Jason Ratliff centers around the start of the college season. They recap top prospects who performed well at MLB's Desert Invitational in Arizona, including Tennessee right-hander Chase Dollander and Grand Canyon shortstop Jacob Wilson, and other stars who got off to strong starts, such as LSU righty Paul Skenes. The top pitching prospect in this year's Draft, Dollander also sat down for an interview with Jim the day a...

Feb 21, 20231 hr 6 min

Back To School

The 2023 college baseball season starts this weekend and Jim Callis, Jonathan Mayo and Jason Ratliff are all about it on this episode of the MLB Pipeline Podcast. The trio previews the start of the season by looking at Major League Baseball's Desert Invitational, which is stacked with Top 100 Draft prospects, and by welcoming LSU ace Paul Skenes to the pod. From there, talk turns to the pro game with a discussion of who will be their organization's top prospects in 2025 before going back to the ...

Feb 15, 202352 min

Nearly Top 100

In this week's episode of the MLB Pipeline Podcast, Jim Callis, Jonathan Mayo and Jason Ratliff dig into 10 of the best prospects who just missed the Top 100. Jonathan tals with Rockies pitching prospect Riley Pint and his decision to leave baseball before coming back. The guys review 2021 predictions about who would be the top prospects for each team in 2023 and how prescient (or not) we were and also discussed the Draft Combine, which will take place at Chase Field in June. They remembered lon...

Feb 07, 20231 hr 10 min

The Top 100 is here! The Top 100 is here!

This week's MLB Pipeline Podcast is all about celebrating the release of our new Top 100 prospects list. Sam Dykstra, Jonathan Mayo and Jason Ratliff talk all things Top 100, breaking down the list in a number of ways, most notably with a draft of Top 100 players, with Sam, Jonathan, Jason and Jim Callis all picking players from the list at each position, based on long-term value. Jim talked with Astros right-hander Hunter Brown, a Top 100 prospect with a World Series ring! And the gang finished...

Jan 31, 20231 hr 17 min

Building Up To The Top 100

With just a couple of days until the new Top 100 prospects list is unveiled, Jim Callis, Jonathan Mayo and Jason Ratliff build more excitement for that list by continuing their breakdown of the Top 10 by position lists. This week, they look closely at all the position player lists: catcher, first, second, third base, shortstop and the outfield. They also interview the No. 1 prospect in the international class, Ethan Salas, who recently signed with the Padres, while finishing, as always, with a q...

Jan 25, 20231 hr 7 min

List Season Has Begun!

MLB Pipeline's prospect lists are starting to arrive, so Jim Callis, Jonathan Mayo and Jason Ratliff kick off the latest Pipeline Podcast by breaking down the 10 best lefty and righty pitching prospects in the game. Jonathan discusses the time he spent at MLB's Dream Series and interviews former big league reliever LaTroy Hawkins, one of MLB's instructors at the event. The guys also recap where the top international prospects signed and answered a listener mailbag question about which righty wil...

Jan 17, 20231 hr 5 min

International Intrigue, Survey Says & More

The latest Pipeline Podcast is jam-packed with plenty of prospect talk from Jim Callis, Jonathan Mayo and Jason Ratliff. First, they bring on international expert Jesse Sanchez to discuss this year's class of amateur talent that can begin signing with teams starting on Sunday. Then they delve into Jonathan's survey of club executives on a wide array of prospect-related topics, from Rookie of the Year picks (Corbin Carroll and Gunnar Henderson) to top pitching prospect (Andrew Painter). After tha...

Jan 11, 20231 hr 10 min

Predictions for 2023

In the first MLB Pipeline Podcast of the new year, Jim Callis, Jonathan Mayo and Jason Ratliff look into their crystal balls to make predictions for the 2023 season. The prognosticators make their picks on everything from Rookies of the Year to Pipeline Hitter and Pitcher of the Year to which team will have the top farm system at the end of '23. Who will be the No. 1 prospect in baseball at the end of the year? Which prospect will make the biggest rise up the Top 100? Who will be this year's Jac...

Jan 04, 202353 min

Best Draft prospects of the decade, plus Max Clark

In the final MLB Pipeline Podcast episode of the year, Jonathan Mayo and Jason Ratliff stay focused on the Draft -- past, present and future. First they pick a Draft Team of the Decade, looking at the top player at each position based on their stock as Draft prospects, as well as which draftees from those classes have performed best in the big leagues, and projecting who might surpass them in the future. Then Max Clark, the top high school player in the 2023 Draft class, joins the pod before the...

Dec 21, 20221 hr 16 min

The Top 100 Draft Prospects list is out!

Who are the top players in the 2023 Draft class? Jim Callis, Jonathan Mayo and Jason Ratliff dig into the new Top 100 list on this week's MLB Pipeline Podcast. They discuss the class as a whole (a 55 on the 20-80 scouting scale), the top 10 players on the list, a couple of two-way prospects and two intriguing names from the bottom half of the list. Then they break down the big three-team, nine-player trade that sent Sean Murphy to Atlanta, William Contreras to Milwaukee and a bevy of prospects t...

Dec 14, 20221 hr 9 min

That's a wrap on the Winter Meetings

With the Winter Meetings in San Diego coming to a close, Jim Callis, Jonathan Mayo and Jason Ratliff recap all of the news that was in this week's MLB Pipeline Podcast. They discuss the first-ever Draft Lottery, with the Pirates getting the No. 1 overall pick. Then they broke down the other Draft -- the Rule 5 -- which took place on Wednesday and was highlighted by the Nationals taking Thad Ward with the No. 1 pick before analyzing the two trades of the week involving prospects. Jonathan talked ...

Dec 08, 202256 min

Winter Meetings preview

The baseball world will descend on San Diego for the Winter Meetings next week and Jim Callis, Jonathan Mayo and Jason Ratliff have you covered with everything you need to know to be ready from a prospect perspective. First, they look at some of the biggest prospect hauls in trades from past Winter Meetings, with Jim and Jonathan declaring a winner for each deal. After touching on the first-ever Draft Lottery, the trio previews the Rule 5 Draft by looking at the best picks made over the past dec...

Nov 29, 20221 hr 3 min

Rookies & Rosters

On the latest edition of the Pipeline Podcast, Jim Callis, Jonathan Mayo and Jason Ratliff begin looking ahead to 2023 and trying to project next season's top rookies. Jim and Jonathan draft five prospects each based on where they think they'll finish in Rookie of the Year balloting, and they have Orioles infielder Gunnar Henderson and Diamondbacks outfielder Corbin Carroll as the favorites in each league. Next up is a discussion of the decisions teams had to make finalizing their 40-man rosters...

Nov 22, 20221 hr 5 min

Putting a bow on the AFL

On this week's MLB Pipeline Podcast, Jim Callis, Jonathan Mayo and Jason Ratliff wrap up coverage of the Arizona Fall League by recapping the Championship game and analyzing the league's award winners and top performers before Jim sits down for an interview with Fall League MVP Heston Kjerstad of the Orioles. From there, the trio looked at Julio Rodriguez and Michael Harris II, the 2022 Rookies of the Year, and tough 40-man roster decisions facing each team before finishing up, as always, with a...

Nov 16, 20221 hr 22 min

Postseason heroes and AFL standouts

With another exciting Major League season in the books, Jim Callis, Jonathan Mayo and Jason Ratliff examine the postseason through a prospect lens on this week's MLB Pipeline Podcast. That means a deep dive into the work of ALCS and World Series MVP Jeremy Peña, providing some historical perspective in terms of where his postseason measures up against other rookies and examining where he lands in terms of long-term value of the 2022 rookie class. The rest of the episode looks at the Arizona Fall...

Nov 08, 20221 hr 15 min

Fall League, Fall Classic

Jim Callis, Sam Dykstra & Jason Ratliff discuss the ongoing Arizona Fall League and upcoming World Series in the latest Pipeline Podcast. AFL talk includes the recent top performers of the week (Blue Jays outfielder Zach Britton, Cardinals left-hander Connor Thomas), every game now being streamed live, the ball/strike challenge system that has been well received and an interview with Cubs first baseman Matt Mervis. Then the guys discuss how the Astros and Phillies built their World Series cl...

Oct 25, 20221 hr 6 min

An Inside Job

On the latest Pipeline Podcast, Jim Callis, Jonathan Mayo and Jason Ratliff focus on the Arizona Fall League. The developmental circuit featured a game Monday with a team hitting not one but two inside-the-park home runs, something that hasn't happened in the Majors since 1986. The guys discuss the prospects involved (Braves infielder Cal Conley, Orioles outfielder Heston Kjerstad) as well as the AFL's Hitter of the Week, Twins shortstop Austin Martin, and the Pitcher of the Week, Tigers left-ha...

Oct 19, 20221 hr 4 min

First Week In The Fall League

Jim Callis and Jason Ratliff just returned from the Arizona Fall League and Jonathan Mayo just got there, so the latest Pipeline Podcast centers on what transpired in the developmental circuit's first week. They discuss the first two starts by Rangers right-hander Kumar Rocker and delve into several other prospects, including Orioles outfielder Heston Kjerstad, Giants outfielder Luis Matos and Brewers catcher Jeferson Quero. There's more AFL talk with an interview with Tigers outfielder Parker M...

Oct 12, 202256 min

Arizona Fall League opener, haboobs, a Painter and more

Jason Ratliff and Jim Callis are on location during the opening week of the Arizona Fall League season and they're joined by Jonathan Mayo in discussing the start of the AFL's 30th year, including top performances and dust storms (haboobs). They then shift to talking about the top prospects from the 2022 season, as Jonathan interviewed the Phillies' Andrew Painter, MLB Pipeline's Pitching Prospect of the Year. Gunnar Henderson, our Hitting Prospect of the Year, was discussed along with some of t...

Oct 04, 20221 hr 4 min

Arizona Fall League Sleepers

With the Arizona Fall League season ready to start on Oct. 3, the latest Pipeline Podcast identifies several non-Top 100 Prospects who could make a name for themselves in the developmental circuit. Among the players tabbed by Jim Callis, Jonathan Mayo and Jason Ratliff: Athletics right-hander Ryan Cusick, Brewers right-hander Logan Henderson, Cubs first baseman Matt Mervis, Pirates catcher/outfielder Blake Sabol and Rangers outfielder Aaron Zavala. They also discuss candidates for MLB Pipeline's...

Sep 27, 202257 min

All in on the Arizona Fall League

It's all Arizona Fall League, all the time on this week's episode of the MLB Pipeline Podcast. With AFL rosters released late last week, Jim Callis, Jonathan Mayo and Jason Ratliff do a deep dive into the prospects who will be in action in a couple of weeks. The highest-ranked prospect headed to the desert, Cardinals slugger Jordan Walker, joins the show, and then Jim and Jonathan pick the player from each AFL team that they're most excited to see. The episode wraps up, as always, with a questio...

Sep 21, 20221 hr 5 min

Top Performers In The Minors

Jim Callis, Jonathan Mayo and Jason Ratliff are all together again for the first time in a while on the MLB Pipeline Podcast, and their focus this edition is on the top Minor League performers of 2022. They discuss a number of prospects who have had huge seasons, including outfielders Vaun Brown (Giants), Corbin Carroll (Diamondbacks) and Jackson Chourio (Brewers) and right-handers Andrew Painter (Phillies), Brandon Pfaadt (Diamondbacks), Gavin Stone (Dodgers) and Gavin Williams (Dodgers). Reds ...

Sep 15, 20221 hr

Let the callups continue

Sam Dykstra and Jonathan Mayo kick off this week's MLB Pipeline podcast breaking down the latest big prospect callups to the Major Leagues, including Top 100 prospects like the Astros' Hunter Brown, the Yankees' Oswald Peraza and the Red Sox's Triston Casas. They then look far off into the future, unveiling who they think will be the top five overall prospects in the game at the start of the 2024 season. They pick out some top performers in the Florida and Arizona Complex Leagues before finishin...

Sep 07, 20221 hr 9 min

Here we come A-Carrolling

On this week's MLB Pipeline Podcast, Sam Dykstra and Jonathan Mayo celebrate the callup and big league debut of No. 3 overall prospect Corbin Carroll of the D-backs. That leads to lots of September callup talk, including the duo participating in a five-player draft of potential impact players in the homestretch of the season. Sam and Jonathan look ahead to potential 2024 No. 1 prospects before finishing up with a question from the mailbag which, you guessed it, has to do with potential callup Gu...

Aug 30, 20221 hr 6 min

Ranking The Systems

In the latest Pipeline Podcast, Jim Callis & Jonathan Mayo delve into MLB Pipeline's newly released farm system rankings. The Orioles retain their No. 1 ranking despite graduating Adley Rutschman to the big leagues, and Baltimore farm director Matt Blood joins the podcast to talk about the waves of talent rising toward Camden Yards. The guys also discuss a number of other systems on the rise (including the Guardians, Reds and Rockies) and the White Sox' ambitious Project Birmingham, plus fie...

Aug 23, 20221 hr 2 min

Re-rank and file

MLB Pipeline just re-ranked all of its prospect lists, from the Top 100 to all 30 team Top 30 lists, and Jim Callis, Jonathan Mayo and Jason Ratliff waste no time digging into the new lists on this week's episode. Breaking down the decision who to put No. 1 overall (the Mets' Francisco Alvarez), looking at the 2022 draftees who made the list and discussing the biggest risers and fallers in and out of the Top 100. Jim and Jonathan highlighted a couple of favorites who are on the cusp of joining t...

Aug 17, 20221 hr 10 min

Impact callups, new Top 100 prospects, No. 1 candidates

As we enter the dog days of August, Jim Callis, Jonathan Mayo and Jason Ratliff look at some top prospects who could help their teams down the stretch, including baseball's No. 1 overall prospect Francisco Alvarez, plus two Rays. two Yankees and two Dodgers. Next, they introduce the four most recent additions to the Top 100 list (Gordon Graceffo, Brandon Pfaadt, Grissom Vaughn and Bo Naylor), and then they turn their attention to the top of the list, discussing some candidates for the No. 1 spot...

Aug 09, 20221 hr 7 min

Reviewing The Trade Deadline

The latest Pipeline Podcast comes on the heels of the Trade Deadline, and Jim Callis, Jonathan Mayo and Jason Ratliff analyze all of the action. They begin by breaking down all of the nuances of the blockbuster deal that sent Juan Soto (and Josh Bell) to the Padres for five talented young players. Then they discuss all of the other deals involving Top 100 Prospects, as well as which farm system improved the most and some smaller moves of note before dipping into the listener mailbag for three tr...

Aug 03, 20221 hr

Deadline Daze

On the latest MLB Pipeline Podcast, Jim Callis and Jason Ratliff discuss a lot of deadlines. First, the impending Aug. 2 Trade Deadline, as they contemplate packages for Juan Soto and which contenders have the most prospect ammunition to swing deals. Then they turn to the upcoming Aug. 1 Draft signing deadline and break down the most notable bonus deals agreed to at this point. Finally, they discussing the ramifications of the MLB & MLBPA failing to agree on the details of an international d...

Jul 26, 202258 min
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