[SPEAKER_02]: Hello, and welcome to future projection, this episode 154 of the show.

[SPEAKER_02]: I am Carlos Clauseo joined by Ben Badler as usual, and we are in a new year.

[SPEAKER_02]: The fifth year that we have done this podcast, Ben, we're coming up on our four-year anniversary of the show.

[SPEAKER_02]: But we've put out podcasts in five distinct years as of this episode.

[SPEAKER_02]: So happy new year.

[SPEAKER_02]: How you doing?

[SPEAKER_02]: I didn't get you anything for our anniversary Carlos, I'm sorry.

[SPEAKER_02]: I didn't either, I guess we're not really a powerhouse because do a sense we forgot to do that.

[SPEAKER_02]: But I think actually in February is our official, that'll be the fourth year anniversary of the show.

[SPEAKER_02]: I think February 2021.

[SPEAKER_02]: or is that five, February 2021 was our first show.

[SPEAKER_02]: So it's been a few years now.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, that's good, man.

[SPEAKER_00]: It's a, it's all we've got a lot going on in January.

[SPEAKER_00]: People who don't work, just like friends I have outside of baseball who don't work in the game, [SPEAKER_00]: who I said, oh, I guess this must be like a slow time a year before you're right.

[SPEAKER_00]: It's like, no, no, no, January's where we get our top 100.

[SPEAKER_00]: We got our top 30s going up.

[SPEAKER_00]: We got January 15th, the international signing period starts.

[SPEAKER_00]: We got like our busiest on far busiest month of the year.

[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, that playing terms of like what's going on this site, it's busy.

[SPEAKER_02]: I think for you Ben is probably even more busy than everyone because it's basically like if the draft for me was in January where it's like this is a huge day for you and obviously there's a ton of work that goes into January 15th that you've been working on.

[SPEAKER_02]: It feels like you'd never really get a true holiday season because of the timing of prospect handbook in December.

[SPEAKER_02]: I get similar questions to people in November December sale.

[SPEAKER_02]: you cover baseball so you're not doing anything in the winter right and for handbooks season for me October to December that's not true.

[SPEAKER_02]: I feel like I get a little bit more of a breather in early January just because my hands aren't in the international market quite as much as yours or at all, basically [SPEAKER_02]: it's just me talking with you about international players in this podcast.

[SPEAKER_02]: It's kind of the extent of my specific coverage of it.

[SPEAKER_02]: But I do like January on the draft in the amateur side because it's a lot of like anticipation, looking ahead to the season, planning things we want to do this year, trying to level up our coverage every year.

[SPEAKER_02]: There is some of that like new year, refresh, revitalize scheduling stuff that really gets me energized and it's it's been [SPEAKER_02]: We've had a down period of no baseball games that I've been able to see that I'm like [SPEAKER_02]: really itching to get out there and see game.

[SPEAKER_02]: So it's a fun time.

[SPEAKER_02]: It's a good time to be back on the podcast with you.

[SPEAKER_02]: It's been a few weeks.

[SPEAKER_02]: Maybe a little bit less on the actual feed since we did have that Paul Davis interview that went out which we got some good comments and feedback on that show.

[SPEAKER_02]: So appreciate you guys just letting us know that you like those sorts of interviews.

[SPEAKER_00]: I guess the people what they really want on this podcast is less of me [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, maybe the solution is just we should be asking smarter people things about baseball and the audience will be stated.

[SPEAKER_02]: But now we did get some good comments, good reviews and I just say, if you do listen to the show and you enjoy it and you want to review it, you want to help it get out to more people, leaving a review wherever you listen to the podcast, always does help us just push it to more people.

[SPEAKER_02]: It's good for the show.

[SPEAKER_02]: We're trying to kind of slowly improve it.

[SPEAKER_02]: add some things we're starting to do more mailbox segments to get some more interaction with listeners and just keep you guys a little bit more content more frequently.

[SPEAKER_02]: I'd also say just in the sort of housekeeping section here at the beginning of the show.

[SPEAKER_02]: Still check out the Prospect Handbook.

[SPEAKER_02]: If you guys have not purchased that directly through us, we do have top 30s live on the site now.

[SPEAKER_02]: So if you've been wanting to see like what the full expanded rankings are.

[SPEAKER_02]: Those came out a few days ago as a recording this episode.

[SPEAKER_02]: I believe it's the earliest that we've ever in the history of baseball America released top 30s.

[SPEAKER_02]: So that's fun.

[SPEAKER_02]: But if you want to get the actual Prospect Handbook in your hands.

[SPEAKER_02]: Definitely check that out.

[SPEAKER_02]: I think.

[SPEAKER_02]: typically start shipping around March, if I'm remembering it correctly, but if you order directly through us, you will get a digital PDF, the next business day, which I don't know what year preferred reading format has been, but I just love the fact that I can just command F search for players, bounce around really quickly, because it is a pretty meaty book and accessing it on the computer does make it easy to hop around wherever.

[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, yeah, definitely.

[SPEAKER_00]: I like I like having the book still in my hands just like pick it up and flip through a quick but having the digital version is a big plus to have too.

[SPEAKER_02]: There's something cool and just tangible obviously about a physical print product in the year 26 and the fact that we have multiple print products that we continue to push out and that continue to be viable for us I think is very cool so I'm a shiny kind of [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, and even like looking forward to the college preview edition of the magazine, we've got some changes coming for how the magazine is going to look in our next issue.

[SPEAKER_02]: I'm excited to get my hands on that.

[SPEAKER_02]: So it's just a cool to have in your hand, cool to actually flip open and read through.

[SPEAKER_02]: But yeah, any other housekeeping, any other notes before we hop into some prospect talk today, Ben.

[SPEAKER_00]: No, just the latest news is Cated McCarthy, who was in the 2027 high school class, high school picture from the hotbed state of Vermont reclassifying to the 2026 class.

[SPEAKER_00]: Sounds like there was a decision that came on pretty.

[SPEAKER_00]: pretty quick for him, just talking to him, said it basically happened over, over winter break last month, and then boom, now he's going to be joined in this pretty loaded 2026 high school class that we've been [SPEAKER_00]: really excited about for years.

[SPEAKER_00]: I think the pitching is really good and I add McCarthy, who's was the number 15 high school player overall in the 2027 class.

[SPEAKER_00]: And I believe it was the number five pitcher overall in that class.

[SPEAKER_00]: The pitching is pretty good in 2027.

[SPEAKER_00]: Position players are all right.

[SPEAKER_00]: Certainly after Dylan Seward is pretty special with the top.

[SPEAKER_00]: But yeah, I mean, McCarthy's up to [SPEAKER_00]: 97, six foot right hand or really athletic, good delivery.

[SPEAKER_00]: There was a lot of strikes, like a ton of, ton of movement on his two seamer, a good change-up.

[SPEAKER_00]: So just adds another arm to a group of high school pitching who [SPEAKER_00]: I mean, seeing it myself, I'm very impressed just with the overall quality, both of the top and the depth of arms.

[SPEAKER_00]: In the 26 high school draft class and talking to, you know, scouting directors, other higher-ups in organizations, we're gonna be making decisions on picks.

[SPEAKER_00]: They're pretty excited about this high school pitching class ahead, which is [SPEAKER_00]: Interesting, especially because teams don't really like to draft high school pitching, right?

[SPEAKER_00]: In the, not at least down in the first round anymore.

[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, we were talking about this kind of as a staff of our Slack just.

[SPEAKER_02]: thinking through how talented this pitching class is.

[SPEAKER_02]: I think the McCarthy reclassification was a good kind of kick start to that conversation.

[SPEAKER_02]: It's funny too because last year, Steel Hall reclassified from 2026 into 2025.

[SPEAKER_02]: And we were talking about that class as being a really deep and talented high school shortstop class.

[SPEAKER_02]: Now, McCarthy does the same thing a year later into a very deep and strong high school pitching class.

[SPEAKER_02]: But by the way, you're talking about the 2027 class.

[SPEAKER_02]: It sounds like, [SPEAKER_02]: regardless of what class he was in, there were going to be a lot of really good pictures that he was going to be competing against in a sense.

[SPEAKER_02]: But yeah, we're getting some feedback each year we do for the last five years since 2021.

[SPEAKER_02]: We've sent out, I mean, we've done our pre-season all America polling for scanning directors.

[SPEAKER_02]: I think ever since we've done those teams, those have always been voted on by scanning directors, but in recent years, we've added on kind of a draft [SPEAKER_02]: like basically having scouting directors grade each draft class like how they're viewing it, answering the year.

[SPEAKER_02]: And we're already getting the biggest grades on this high school pitching demographic, then we've ever gotten in the five year history of us doing those grades.

[SPEAKER_02]: We've gotten 80 grade reviews on this high school pitching class.

[SPEAKER_02]: And I think that is the, actually, I don't think, I mean, I looked ahead of this podcast.

[SPEAKER_02]: We've not gotten a single 80 grade review from a respondent on any of the four major demographics.

[SPEAKER_02]: Those would be high school pitchers and hitters and college hitters and pitchers is kind of we break it up.

[SPEAKER_02]: We've never gotten a single 80 grade piece of feedback on any of those major demographics at this stage in the class.

[SPEAKER_02]: So I think [SPEAKER_02]: It's obviously very strong.

[SPEAKER_02]: It's also interesting, too, to maybe compare it to some classes that we've had in the past, where the high school pitchers ranked respectively, may be seemed a little bit more impressive.

[SPEAKER_02]: And I think part of that is because [SPEAKER_02]: Like you said, teams don't really like drafting high school pictures in general.

[SPEAKER_02]: I think they become more hesitant to push those players to the top of the board.

[SPEAKER_02]: And also, I think there was a period in like 2014 to 2018-19 where we were probably just a little too hot on our evaluations of high school players in general compared to the college players.

[SPEAKER_02]: And I think we've gotten some feedback at the time that like we valued high school players a little bit more than the industry did.

[SPEAKER_02]: And so we've kind of, [SPEAKER_02]: I think course corrected that in a way that is in line with the industry again maybe I'm throwing a lot into this conversation but I think part of that too is just the fact that there's just fewer spots for high school players to land in pro ball and get multiple years to develop because of the the restructuring of the minor league so there are a lot of reasons why [SPEAKER_02]: high school pitchers in general have kind of fall and down draft boards as a collective, as a demographic.

[SPEAKER_02]: I'll be curious to see how many high school pitchers go in the first round this year, because it's a loaded class, but it's also a very good class for hitters, both on the college and high school hitting side.

[SPEAKER_02]: So like if you had this collection of high school pitchers in a draft like last year where there was just [SPEAKER_02]: There were there are fewer college best that people were excited about their draft like 2021 maybe is another one where you could point to like in another draft last year probably looking yeah you're probably looking at [SPEAKER_02]: guys like Gio Rojas, Carson Bowlem and not being middle of the first round, but like top 10 at this stage.

[SPEAKER_02]: And I think the only reason they're not is because this class is just very good overall.

[SPEAKER_02]: I'm guessing it's going to have some of the biggest grades we've gotten on a class of this stage again since that 2021 year, where we started out asking sky directors to put quantifiable grades on a draft class.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, yeah, I think the carries is because so this year, this year we had two high school pitchers drafted in the first round.

[SPEAKER_00]: One of them was Seth Hernandez, who goes to the Pirates, one of the better, just one of the best high school pitching prospects who've come around in recent years, and then the other one was six foot eight left-handed pitcher, cruise schoolcraft two, went to the podries in the back of the first round.

[SPEAKER_00]: I do think the pitching in this year's class on the high school side is superior to what we saw last year or certainly in 2024, but also, like you said, there's a lot of good, a really good.

[SPEAKER_00]: high school hitters.

[SPEAKER_00]: I'm sure there will be some of these guys who will get paid pretty well and like the comp round, the second round, the third round, maybe some guys who fall into later rounds who are well over slot type guys because yeah, I think compared to one of the reasons were, you [SPEAKER_00]: some of the high school pitchers were ranked higher, maybe in previous years is not necessarily that or a reflection of where the pitchers are today compared to the pitchers of say 2018 or 2014 or whatever year.

[SPEAKER_00]: It's just that the [SPEAKER_00]: You know, whether it's us or the industry at large, maybe both way overvalued high school pitching.

[SPEAKER_00]: Right.

[SPEAKER_00]: I think there's still even an overvaluing of pitching.

[SPEAKER_00]: Once these guys sound like whether it's high school pitching, college pitching in our national pitching forever, like once they're into the minor leagues, I think like historically if you look, [SPEAKER_00]: at our top 100 prospects list, even in recent years, probably the guys we end up regretting being very high up that list, the most tend to be the pitchers.

[SPEAKER_00]: Like if we have a guy ranked in the top 25 prospects in baseball and he's a position player, [SPEAKER_00]: Occasionally they don't work out like there's some very prominent busts in that group too But for the most part those guys are pretty Safe and pretty obvious to pick out to like it's not because we're all that smart It's just kind of obvious how good these guys are and there's a lot less risk with them were as you can have pictures who You know are doing great and even dominating up through double a triple a even guys of big league time [SPEAKER_00]: and even sometimes those guys end up just flatlining and not being what you expect.

[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, so a couple things here to when comparing this year's class to last year's class only the just the difference in college hitter hitters throughout the first round I think is going to be significant we didn't have our first college hitter selected last year until the marlins took I've our kit number seven overall and we had only seven college hitters taken inside the first 30 picks which is unusually low for any draft class and I think this year's class the 26 group.

[SPEAKER_02]: is just strong, like stronger than average, on the college hitting side.

[SPEAKER_02]: Right now, we have 15 of the top 30 players in the class.

[SPEAKER_02]: The college hitting demographic are half of the top 30 players.

[SPEAKER_02]: Five of the top 10 prospects we currently have are college hitters.

[SPEAKER_02]: And that is also a demographic where the number that we typically have preseason is lighter at college hitting than [SPEAKER_02]: at the time of the draft.

[SPEAKER_02]: I think there are more college hitters move up the board more often then the group moves down the board.

[SPEAKER_02]: As players just get opportunities to continue to approve, change their profile.

[SPEAKER_02]: I think they have greater levers to pull with their draft stock.

[SPEAKER_02]: I say that every year.

[SPEAKER_02]: The other thing too is [SPEAKER_02]: You mentioned the increased risk of pitchers versus hitters and how we tend to regret pitchers in our rankings more than some of the hitters.

[SPEAKER_02]: I went back as part of this conversation looked at the 2018 class.

[SPEAKER_02]: Because I think the 2018 draft, I remember as being probably the most [SPEAKER_02]: deep high school pitching class, I think I've covered in my time at B and 2018 was the first year where I had a full cycle doing it.

[SPEAKER_02]: But I don't know that there's been a deeper high school pitching class than that group in the last few years.

[SPEAKER_02]: If there's another one that stands out to you, let me know.

[SPEAKER_02]: But just here, like I filtered our list, here are some of the high school pitching [SPEAKER_02]: like bring home the point you're making about the hit rate.

[SPEAKER_02]: But we had a ton and in our top 100, just to compare, our top 120, 18, we had 25 of the top 100 were high school pitchers right now that's 17 of the top 100.

[SPEAKER_02]: And it feels very deep.

[SPEAKER_02]: But [SPEAKER_02]: that high school pigeon class in 2018 was just so deep and I think this was also maybe the peak years where we are really stuffing those profiles.

[SPEAKER_02]: But to go through some of the top names, Matthew Libre tour, Carter Stewart, Cole Win, Kamar Rocker, [SPEAKER_02]: Ryan Weathers, Ethan Hankens, Mason Dennerberg, Grayson Rodriguez.

[SPEAKER_02]: Those are all the pictures that we had ranked inside the top 30 at the end of the process, and then you still had guys like Adam Kloffenstein, Cole Will Cox, JT again, JT again actually going inside the top 30, Lenny Torres.

[SPEAKER_02]: Like how many of those names now are you like dang those are really good draft picks.

[SPEAKER_02]: But at the time we were really excited about them.

[SPEAKER_02]: Like the talent was really impressive.

[SPEAKER_02]: It was a class that was very lauded for the high school pitching death.

[SPEAKER_02]: And then you look at some of the top high school hitters in this class.

[SPEAKER_02]: Jared Kelnik, Bryce Terang, Nolan Gorman, Noah Nailer, [SPEAKER_02]: Connor Scott, Tristan Cassis, Nandard de Sades.

[SPEAKER_02]: I mean, with the exception of a couple of names, most of those hitters are big leagueers, either regulars, and some who still have a chance to be like above average regulars.

[SPEAKER_02]: The hit rate of the hitters is definitely more impressive and maybe speaks to how risky just pitching in general can be.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, and I'll probably build what he had in the Cooper's Town from that pitching group.

[SPEAKER_00]: I would say.

[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, the class is definitely not age as well as we thought it could have at the time.

[SPEAKER_02]: And I think maybe it's also just a good reminder that really no matter what we're talking about for a draft class at the time, you never really know how it's going to pan out.

[SPEAKER_02]: There have been classes that were [SPEAKER_02]: really critiqued and nitpicked that find it being way better than expected and there have been classes that everyone's like, oh, this is super deep.

[SPEAKER_02]: This is really talented.

[SPEAKER_02]: There's going to be a lot of good players and then everyone kind of just bus and doesn't live up to expectations.

[SPEAKER_02]: So still a long time before we're going to know really was this a good draft class, but it certainly looks like it now.

[SPEAKER_00]: 23 high school class definitely live in up to expectations right now.

[SPEAKER_00]: I would say [SPEAKER_00]: So you can kind of compare the classes maybe on a relative basis, but also just on an absolute basis like players.

[SPEAKER_00]: Look, like, players today are better than they were 10 years ago.

[SPEAKER_00]: They're better than they were 20 years ago.

[SPEAKER_00]: They're better than they were 30 years ago.

[SPEAKER_00]: Like, it's obvious unless your brain is stuffed somewhere else.

[SPEAKER_00]: But it's, you know, guys are just getting, guys are just much better today than they were even five years ago, five to 10 years ago, there, you see so much more, [SPEAKER_00]: So you see so much more velocity now.

[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, it's so prevalent everywhere you go.

[SPEAKER_00]: Like there's tons of guys in this class who can throw 94, 95 miles an hour.

[SPEAKER_02]: Like when you're talking about what Kate and McCarthy does up to 97, does it pretty easily and smoothly?

[SPEAKER_02]: It was like that in previous years that would have been a separator involved into like the very top tier.

[SPEAKER_02]: And now it's like he's just one of many pictures who's getting up to velocity that high.

[SPEAKER_02]: And what stood out to me when watching these guys last summer is like, not only is just mid-90s velocity commonplace now, the quality of just your baseline breaking ball for some of these top pitchers is so much better than what it was when I started.

[SPEAKER_02]: I mean, it was very common to have a lot of slurvy in between breaking balls that just like power and by and there were so many like the eighties, banger breaking balls and [SPEAKER_02]: Just the training these days, the access to information, the access to technology, the feedback loops for pitch design, everything is just so much more advanced these days.

[SPEAKER_02]: On top of just the natural progression of athletes, we get in sports across the board.

[SPEAKER_02]: It was very apparent to me last summer at both East Coast Pro and Erie code games.

[SPEAKER_02]: It's like, man, there's just a, [SPEAKER_02]: like a factory line of pictures one after another who just throw hard and can snap off a breaking ball.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, the velocity is pretty obvious to see.

[SPEAKER_00]: There are also, I mean, there are just guys, there's this guy, guys, you throw like 97, 98 in this class where I'm like, [SPEAKER_00]: I don't know, I don't really really love this guy like I think he's a reliever.

[SPEAKER_00]: It's a ton of effort.

[SPEAKER_00]: I don't love the strikes like, you know, not a top 100 high school player for me.

[SPEAKER_00]: You know, again, in a deep class, but that speaks to the death when you get guys who can throw, you know, 97, 98 miles an hour.

[SPEAKER_00]: We don't even think of the top 100 high school player in the class, but perhaps players get much [SPEAKER_00]: Now, in high school, then they did five to 10 years ago, and certainly before then, you have better coaching, you have more facilities, even remote training where you get more access to better coaching and better information at home.

[SPEAKER_00]: that they have right now even in high school before they get into pro ball because they're working with you know they're they're working around other other working around professional players in these facilities the guys who are you know same guys were coaching a lot of the pro guys these independent facilities are are making an impact on these guys in high school players are just smarter now than they were even.

[SPEAKER_00]: five to 10 years ago, as much as it hurts older people to somehow hear that sometimes, but it's true, you just see it and look like there's still plenty of guys who are super raw and include players still, but just the overall talent and the depth of talent, especially on the pitching style.

[SPEAKER_00]: You can see it.

[SPEAKER_00]: I think this class sticks out more so than the 25, the 24.

[SPEAKER_00]: high school class.

[SPEAKER_00]: So maybe this just happens to be a great year for high school pitching.

[SPEAKER_00]: I don't think it's going to be like this every year.

[SPEAKER_00]: But the 27 arms, the 27 high school arms are pretty good to especially relative to the, I would say the 27 high school bats.

[SPEAKER_00]: So we're just seeing [SPEAKER_00]: better pitching than we used to and I think we're also hopefully and I think we probably are just better at analyzing these guys today than we were five ten years ago too just with better access to information more video more [SPEAKER_00]: uh, readily available tools to quantify the pitches that are coming out of these guys hands and their deliveries and everything else that, um, that goes into the, the, the, the, the measurables, but also the some of the subjective stuff too to be able to, to line these guys up and stack them up against each other too.

[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, I think Paul mentioned this in our podcast on pitching in our last episode, which again, if you didn't hear it, I would definitely check it out, but our our just ability to evaluate [SPEAKER_02]: more granular and like specific than five years ago.

[SPEAKER_02]: I mean, doing some of these redress, we did over the off season, we redrafted the [SPEAKER_02]: twenty twenty one draft and the twenty eleven draft and like just the way that we wrote about pictures stuff in those years is so different than what we'd write about today.

[SPEAKER_02]: Like there was a time where pictures who had shorter release points and didn't have downhill plane on their fastballs was talked about like blanketly as a pejorative as a negative.

[SPEAKER_02]: So this like the exact opposite [SPEAKER_02]: flat approach angle, high ride fastballs.

[SPEAKER_02]: We're getting critiqued back then before we knew what VAA was, before we knew what IVB was, before we could track it with precision from all these tracking technologies, like short pitchers would be critiqued because they couldn't create enough angle or plane.

[SPEAKER_02]: And I feel like now it's almost a 180 today, like you're not really looking for [SPEAKER_02]: pitchers who are getting great downhill playing because hitters have adjusted to that and a lot of the the bat pass for hitters.

[SPEAKER_02]: For hitters, it succeeds me just naturally are more well equipped to penalize pitchers.

[SPEAKER_02]: It's not saying like if you're a pitcher who gets crazy playing that can't be effective, it's still can.

[SPEAKER_02]: I think for certain pitchers and pitch types, and if you're locating in certain situations, but just the way we talk about amateur pitchers, [SPEAKER_02]: Today compared to even like 2018, 2019 is significantly advanced, I think, and then.

[SPEAKER_02]: One point that J.J.

mentioned, and we've kind of been talking about it as well, but he said that the biggest difference for him in how we're thinking about high school pictures today versus 10 years ago is velocity is now the baseline, not the different shader.

[SPEAKER_02]: And I'm curious if you think a guy like Savion Sims in this 206 draft class, six [SPEAKER_02]: has been up to 100 miles per hour, sits regularly in the bid 90s.

[SPEAKER_02]: Like if he was coming out as a draft prospect in 2010, [SPEAKER_02]: is he going to be talked about in the same way that Tyler Coleck and Riley Pine who were similar, just like flame throwing high school players and I'm not trying to knock save them.

[SPEAKER_02]: I'm more trying to make the point that like save on Sims we have currently ranked outside of the first round.

[SPEAKER_02]: He throws that hard and is such a freak on the mound and has these super long limbs and has again a mid 80 slider that looks like it can be a really good pitch.

[SPEAKER_02]: Like he's a very good pitcher.

[SPEAKER_02]: I mostly am just saying like [SPEAKER_02]: Throwing hard now alone is not enough and I think there've been enough pictures who simply throw hard but maybe don't do a lot of the other things you want [SPEAKER_02]: that it's just more risky today.

[SPEAKER_02]: So I'm curious if you think Savion Sims a decade ago is like a no doubt, top five, top 10 player in this class.

[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, I think there's a lot of pictures who we have ranked in like the 30 to 70 range who would have first round picks in 10 years, just not just the high school arms alone.

[SPEAKER_00]: But yeah, I mean, and that's the thing too with this high school class.

[SPEAKER_00]: Like there's all different types of arms, like no matter what your flavor is or what you're looking for.

[SPEAKER_00]: Like there's somebody for you, like as we're trying to figure out, okay, Kaden McCarthy, he belongs, you know, we need to put him somewhere now into our [SPEAKER_00]: into our 2026 draft rankings like where should he go?

[SPEAKER_00]: Let's stack him up relative to these other high school pitchers.

[SPEAKER_00]: All right, well, you got a six foot athletic right hand a pitcher who's going to be 17 on draft days.

[SPEAKER_00]: So he's young for the class up to 97.

[SPEAKER_00]: Good movement on his two seam or good changeup.

[SPEAKER_00]: So some feel for a knuckle curve that he's throwing.

[SPEAKER_00]: Okay, do you want him?

[SPEAKER_00]: Do you like saving on sims who's six foot eight throwing a hundred miles an hour with like ultra long arms looks like he has a chance to be the hardest throwing human being maybe ever because there's like still more physical upside there like he's a total freak of of an athlete and an arm on the mound.

[SPEAKER_00]: Um, do you want like the, you know, the easy lefty, like G.O.

[SPEAKER_00]: Row, Ha, six foot for like buttery smooth deliveries up to, what does he up to 97, 98, like Carson Bowlem on?

[SPEAKER_00]: Uh, I don't even want to call him a pitchability lefty because he does have great, like phenomenal pitchability, but he also is like strong kid who's up to, you know, fastball's crept up to 96 to ridiculous breaking balls that he can [SPEAKER_00]: Like as good as anybody I think that I've ever seen like Logan Schmidt like another like an a little lefty young for the class Jensen Hirsch corn like six foot seven like him Denton Lord six foot eight very more six foot eight or whatever he is now like you know Cooper side Sean dunking like [SPEAKER_00]: All these guys are just, you know, tray rangel, these throw in, you know, again, like you're, I don't know, small or like six foot one like ultra fast arms minute, 3000 plus RPM, breaking balls like there's just so many different.

[SPEAKER_00]: types of arms where like I could see, I don't know.

[SPEAKER_00]: I don't want to say first rounds again.

[SPEAKER_00]: We just had two high school pitchers go in the first round last year and there's, you know, that's how many are going to get first round of equivalent money or grow this over there taking?

[SPEAKER_00]: Or I've got guys who, you know, have that kind of upside at least to go in the first round.

[SPEAKER_00]: Guys, guys, what I really like, although like all those guys, I just named are really [SPEAKER_00]: really good and teams will be pumped to have.

[SPEAKER_00]: And there's just so many of them this year.

[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, it's really as overflowing with talent.

[SPEAKER_02]: I'll be very curious to see if it'll be a situation where we do just see a little bit more, a little fewer.

[SPEAKER_02]: a few more names inside the first round.

[SPEAKER_02]: How many of these guys are going to get to campus?

[SPEAKER_02]: College, like, there've been a lot of these players who just said, you know, like, if I'm not going to be one of the first two, three high school pitchers out the board, or if I'm not getting, like, if I think I've got the talent stuff to be the...

[SPEAKER_02]: the top picture of this class and I'm not going to get it this year.

[SPEAKER_02]: I'll go bet on myself, go to college, do it in the ACC, the ACC when these are big prior conferences, out west, or in St.

UCLA, wherever it is.

[SPEAKER_02]: I mean, clearly if you're going to go through the college process and show that you can start for two, three years of void injury, continue to improve as a pitcher.

[SPEAKER_02]: It's going to pay off because seems just going to be much more [SPEAKER_00]: Excited about getting a college arm with all that same stuff that just looks more track record get the college arms this year You could say the same thing about Lee and Peter say in a Florida when he was in high school camp fluky You know kind of more of a later riser, but like he was definitely a prominent name [SPEAKER_00]: He has to do some as a top 100 high school guy for us and Tegan Cunes at Tennessee.

[SPEAKER_00]: He's going to be first two rounds pick.

[SPEAKER_00]: I love him.

[SPEAKER_00]: And while doing high school, well, I can just as much right now, kind of the same boat.

[SPEAKER_00]: So yeah, college baseball.

[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, [SPEAKER_00]: These guys aren't all going to sign, like we talk to, these guys are going to have understandably, and a lot of these cases, very high price tags, just sign, and there is only so much money teams have in their bonus pools, and a lot of them are going to put them into the bats first still.

[SPEAKER_02]: What do you think of the gap between Seth Hernandez and the top tier arms in this class right now because I do think Seth Hernandez for me is in sort of that elite high school pitching tier, like the best high school arms I've ever seen which again for me personally would include McKinsey Goer and Dylan Lescoe.

[SPEAKER_02]: I think those are like the three for me that are kind of separated from all the other high school pitchers I've seen from 2017 to now.

[SPEAKER_02]: How far off do you think guys like Gio Rojas or Carson Bowlemon or Logan Schmatter, whoever maybe is your preferred top arm in this class from Seth Hernandez?

[SPEAKER_02]: Because I do think there is a different sort of tier still, not saying that any of these guys can't come out this spring and maybe join that tier.

[SPEAKER_02]: But I think there is just a different level of power with the same sort of polish that you get from Bowlemon.

[SPEAKER_02]: I think Seth just had the complete [SPEAKER_02]: from each of these other players in their profiles to maybe not quite put them in that elite elite high school tier for me.

[SPEAKER_02]: But I'm curious if you see it differently.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I still have her nandes, a top-tech group, just the comedy, just everything he does.

[SPEAKER_00]: And it only changed up to, and you know, breaking ball that's good, it just kind of doesn't get as much attention because he was throwing 100 miles an hour in high school and had like a plus plus change up.

[SPEAKER_00]: Pretty good athlete and explosive and powerful and you know six foot four Just checked a lot of things that you were looking for, but yeah, I mean all these other guys a Coleman fourth week too I don't even mention him.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, we didn't mention for you like you know enormous human beings who are six foot six and 250 plus pounds who also are is a really good athlete And there was a ton of strikes and is into the bend 90s and as a good slider if you know if you like that if you like that [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, the other one.

[SPEAKER_02]: I don't know if you mentioned you typically do, but Joseph Contreras.

[SPEAKER_02]: I don't remember if you did.

[SPEAKER_02]: Oh, yeah, they're on his name out there because he could easily be a first rounder and he's got the Ben Badler splitter.

[SPEAKER_02]: So [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.

[SPEAKER_00]: Contreras, you know, son of Jose, contreras to obviously some big league bloodlines there.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.

[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, that's the other thing too.

[SPEAKER_00]: It's like you see guys throwing more pitch types now than you used to, which obviously, you know, you're seeing in the major leagues, you're saying throughout the minor leagues, the way teams are developing.

[SPEAKER_00]: players now like we like Travis Cicora in high school with don't know a splitter contraris throwing a splitter or fork ball or whatever you know he's he's calling it obviously I'm sure his dad had a lot of influence in that one but you know guys throwing like kick change up other other kinds of pitches other things that they're were learning through [SPEAKER_00]: You know, through their coaches at these, at these facilities and also just like the strength and conditioning that these guys have access to aside from the pitching specific coaching and instruction that they're getting like.

[SPEAKER_00]: Got, I mean, guys were bigger stronger faster in 2018 than they were in 2008.

[SPEAKER_00]: and it's just going to continue to be that way.

[SPEAKER_00]: Like I'm sure we'll be talking on this podcast in 2032 about like, wow, these guys are so much better than they were in 2025.

[SPEAKER_00]: Lane, 2020's next.

[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, I'm kind of as we're talking about this.

[SPEAKER_02]: I'm just curious like how the people who [SPEAKER_02]: Like always try to knock the current era and think that their the era of their youth was the best like at what point do you get off the train and get on to that because I feel like it's very obvious to see it happening in real time here, so I'm not sure exactly how people get so wrapped up and like the nostalgia of their youth and locked into like what seems very obvious to a [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, well, when you're a child, if it's a childhood thing, yeah, if when you're a child, I'm sure I think a lot of it now is a good former former players.

[SPEAKER_02]: I was going to say if you've been worse than children, more and more embarrassing, I'd say.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I think it's easy to get wrapped up to and that mindset was okay.

[SPEAKER_00]: Well, when I played, it was like this.

[SPEAKER_00]: The best.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.

[SPEAKER_00]: This is how I learned things.

[SPEAKER_00]: Even if you're not like a former player, it's easy to get wrapped up.

[SPEAKER_00]: Like just the older you get like I can see it myself and I can feel it as I've been, you know, I started at baseball American 2007, like hopefully I'm not doing things.

[SPEAKER_00]: The same way, yeah, that I was in 2010 or 2012 or 2022, that the way that we're, the lens that you're viewing through, players and evaluating players and writing about players, the same way it doesn't make.

[SPEAKER_00]: And he says, I mean, hopefully you have the perspective to zoom out and see the changes that are recurring and try to like stay, you know, stay on top of everything that's going on in, in the game in terms of the evolution of the game not that everything that changes is necessary like.

[SPEAKER_00]: a positive, like I definitely think there are some things that tend to be fattish almost like in like fitness where it's like, oh, this is the flavor of the month.

[SPEAKER_00]: Everyone who's doing typo or whatever, like, no, like everybody's on the peloton.

[SPEAKER_00]: No, not so much anymore.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.

[SPEAKER_00]: So, you know, I think there's things like back that come ago in terms of like, oh, like which pitch type is, [SPEAKER_00]: involved right now only want to get a lot of ground balls everybody should throw two seamers well maybe maybe not like I don't know just not everybody's a cookie cutter I should take that kind of approach so but yeah I think it's if you're not able to see how much better players are across the board today compared to I mean certainly like 20 years ago but even 10 years ago five years ago [SPEAKER_00]: I don't know.

[SPEAKER_00]: I don't know.

[SPEAKER_00]: It's sad too.

[SPEAKER_00]: And I see guys who were like, I don't know, younger than me, who were like 30.

[SPEAKER_00]: Even they're like in their 20s sometimes, we can already see that like bitterness come out where it's like, oh, like back.

[SPEAKER_00]: These guys are dealing things wrong.

[SPEAKER_00]: Like back in my day, we used to do this.

[SPEAKER_00]: And it's like, yeah, man, you're too young to be fine in like that.

[SPEAKER_02]: Okay.

[SPEAKER_02]: Well, I'm sure we're going to have a lot more time to talk through these high school pictures as we progress through the year.

[SPEAKER_02]: I'm sure they're going to be some guys who make some leaps up.

[SPEAKER_02]: Maybe some names we haven't even talked about.

[SPEAKER_02]: We'll be talking about us potential first round guys.

[SPEAKER_02]: It seems like they're always a few names where that happens each season.

[SPEAKER_02]: But I wanted to at least broach the international topic with you today.

[SPEAKER_00]: Ben, obviously, [SPEAKER_02]: So that's coming up.

[SPEAKER_02]: Want to just kind of pick your brain.

[SPEAKER_02]: We are going to have another podcast prior to January 15th next week where we'll get even more in depth on this topic and get you guys prepped and ready to go for signing day.

[SPEAKER_02]: But how are you feeling about the international class?

[SPEAKER_02]: at this point today, point people to the big board you have on the site.

[SPEAKER_02]: There's a lot of content that's going to be rolling out as we get closer and on that day.

[SPEAKER_02]: But yeah, just general thoughts on this huge class, maybe relative to other years, or any standout players, or interesting players you want to talk through, definitely wanted to hit on that at least briefly.

[SPEAKER_00]: It's pretty solid.

[SPEAKER_00]: It's always hard to say, right, because these guys are doing [SPEAKER_00]: You know, you're going to have players who sign on January 15th who've had agreements to sign in place since I mean, you'll back like four years in some cases.

[SPEAKER_00]: So obviously, when you're when you're reaching an agreement with a team, [SPEAKER_00]: you don't really stop going to like tryouts and work out for other clubs so other clubs are not really seeing you play anymore.

[SPEAKER_00]: Riley, so you might have an area scout who goes to the field that the guy trains to see some other players in that program that they're looking at and I might catch that guy taking some BP or taking some ground balls or [SPEAKER_00]: You know, maybe you happen to catch them in a game because, you know, these teams still want their players playing or their committed players playing in games to develop because, if you don't, it's hard to get better at baseball, especially at 13, 14, 15, 16 years old, if you're not playing baseball games.

[SPEAKER_00]: So, [SPEAKER_00]: You might run into guys that way, but generally speaking, like, you could call an international scouting director or a supervisor in a country, oh, what do you think of this guy who's signing with that team?

[SPEAKER_00]: Well, here's what I thought last time I saw him was two years ago, or I never saw that guy, which is like, [SPEAKER_00]: You know, you would never say, you know, there's no scouting director who'd be like, oh yeah, I never saw Seth Hernandez.

[SPEAKER_00]: I never saw that first one.

[SPEAKER_02]: I never saw Drew Burst.

[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, it just doesn't happen.

[SPEAKER_00]: So it's, it's always hard to say with a ton of certitude, definitely feel like a much better sense of it by the end of the DSL season once you get these guys in games.

[SPEAKER_00]: But, um, [SPEAKER_00]: You know, looking at it right now, I think there's some good players certainly at the top of the class.

[SPEAKER_00]: I think Venezuela has a handful of pretty high-end talents this year, you know, Luis Hernandez, the shortstop who's going to be signing with the Giants Hill, he'll be the top bonus player.

[SPEAKER_00]: this year.

[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, again, barring, barring some change from, you know, somebody gets a raise somewhere else, which is a little bit of a theme.

[SPEAKER_00]: I think this year, I think I've heard this year more than ever, a lot of.

[SPEAKER_00]: altered deals where players or agents are asking for more money from the teams that they have agreements with if they've trained it positively and in some cases have gotten that money either from that team or from a different club.

[SPEAKER_02]: Is there any reason why that's becoming more common this here?

[SPEAKER_00]: Uh, I think part of it is like, you know, with these deals are being reached so early on right in the process.

[SPEAKER_00]: So, you know, you have a deal and it could be for a guy who, you know, agreed for a lot of money could be a million or two million.

[SPEAKER_00]: It could be a smaller.

[SPEAKER_00]: You know, it could be $100,000 bonus guy or you're like, oh, now this picture went from throw in 86 89 with like, you know, a nice delivery.

[SPEAKER_00]: Good curve ball.

[SPEAKER_00]: Now he's 90 94 and he's 16 years old and he's still got the same pitchability and all the other traits.

[SPEAKER_00]: That you like and it's like, oh, he's worth a lot more money than this like, hey, like, what can you do for us?

[SPEAKER_00]: And then team teams have also have a lot more bonus pool money to spend than they used to before.

[SPEAKER_00]: So there are teams that say, aren't well.

[SPEAKER_00]: We have the bonus pool money or there's another team that comes along and says, hmm, we have the bonus pool money, but are how locked into you into that deal?

[SPEAKER_01]: Right.

[SPEAKER_00]: Are you?

[SPEAKER_00]: And then I think there's also just a history of teams lowering bonuses for players that are backing out of agreements that they have with players.

[SPEAKER_00]: So there's a lot of agents that are like, [SPEAKER_00]: Hey man, I got to get paid like you know relationships are are important and that's one thing.

[SPEAKER_00]: But if these teams are going to do this, you know, it's my other players will forget it.

[SPEAKER_00]: I'm going to do it back to to them.

[SPEAKER_00]: Even if it's not the same team.

[SPEAKER_00]: They might just have that same attitude.

[SPEAKER_00]: So, uh, somewhat understandable.

[SPEAKER_00]: And then I think, you know, you think back to last year right with Roki Sasaki and everything that was going on with him where you had like, [SPEAKER_00]: At one point, I don't know what's six.

[SPEAKER_02]: When I asked you this question initially, I was really wondering if like all the river effects from the Roki Sasaki hunt from every team.

[SPEAKER_02]: It was just like reaffirmed to agents that these teams really don't care.

[SPEAKER_02]: So they should just go get as much as they can and this year they went full on for that.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, you had at least half a dozen teams at a one point thought they were in the mix for Sasaki who were telling [SPEAKER_00]: Either we're telling or we're not telling players until very later in the process like you're going to have to hold because we have something is higher priority than you even though we've had this deal in place for for many years which.

[SPEAKER_00]: You know, it's not the international director making that call.

[SPEAKER_00]: That's the GM team president saying, no, no, if we can sign Rokie Sasaki, like you tell all these agents to you handle it, we're not, we're not, we're not, it's not our primary concern here.

[SPEAKER_00]: So right.

[SPEAKER_00]: And then you saw, you know, the Dodgers ended up losing a few players.

[SPEAKER_00]: And other teams came over the top and signed those guys for bigger money.

[SPEAKER_00]: We're ended up working out for those players anyway.

[SPEAKER_00]: They got paid more.

[SPEAKER_00]: But yeah, I think all of that had some influence on that happening now.

[SPEAKER_00]: So I think it's, you hear a lot about teams back and out of deals with players.

[SPEAKER_00]: That's there's truth to that.

[SPEAKER_00]: I think obviously the teams hold a lot more power than than the player side does, but it does work the other way and it's not like totally new to this year But I think it's I've been hearing about it more and more this year of players actually getting paid more money that way.

[UNKNOWN]: Yeah [SPEAKER_02]: I feel like I ask you this every single year we talk about the international signed in the international class but if you heard any more movement or rumblings on potential shakeups to the system, either tied to that coming CBA discussions or just general noise maybe related to an international draft or just something to course correct for a lot of these issues in the market that we talk about every year.

[SPEAKER_00]: The, yeah, the upcoming CBA MLB is going to push for an international draft just like they did in the CBA before that and the CBA negotiation before that and the CBA negotiation before that and MLB is going to come out and say publicly about or.

[SPEAKER_00]: laundry through other people in the media.

[SPEAKER_00]: Oh, we need this to slow down the process and for more competitive balance and transparency and blah blah blah.

[SPEAKER_00]: All right.

[SPEAKER_00]: You've had this system like we wrote about this like over 10 years ago.

[SPEAKER_00]: This is going on.

[SPEAKER_00]: This is not new.

[SPEAKER_00]: You have to collectively bargain a draft with the union.

[SPEAKER_00]: So either it's important to the owners to get a draft and you give up more to the union in exchange to get that draft, which they don't want to do, because the union doesn't really care about these amateur players and it will be knows that and that's this weird negotiation of two sides [SPEAKER_00]: amateur players or have a plan B.

[SPEAKER_00]: All right, you didn't get a draft.

[SPEAKER_00]: Where are you going to do to try to slow things down and have teams not reaching agreements with players who were 13 years old or 12 years old sometimes?

[SPEAKER_00]: I don't know, they don't seem to really do anything.

[SPEAKER_00]: So I'm sure they'll push again for an international draft.

[SPEAKER_00]: But if they wanted to do something about it, [SPEAKER_00]: they could do something about it.

[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, she's not to something doesn't seem to be at the top of their priority list by any means, but I just would whatever the system is, it would be nice if we [SPEAKER_02]: weren't talking about 14, 15-year-olds, even younger than that signed deals.

[SPEAKER_02]: And just the amount of uncertainty about the players themselves just feels like a bad process for everyone involved.

[SPEAKER_02]: I would like to be able to just know more about all the players who were about to sign before they got into a field at a ball and start playing in the DSL.

[SPEAKER_02]: It should be something that's a lot less of a mystery and a lot more excitement about like who the players are.

[SPEAKER_02]: Like just more attention on these players from the public eye, like people clearly love prospects and want to get excited about the future.

[SPEAKER_02]: some sort of tweaks to allow these players to get a little bit or older for they're making these decisions.

[SPEAKER_00]: So yeah, I don't think generally the international scouts don't want the current system to continue either.

[SPEAKER_02]: It seems like no one wants the current system.

[SPEAKER_02]: We're talking about a year after year after year.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, like there's a, I think generally they like the freedom to go out and compete on a somewhat even playing field.

[SPEAKER_00]: you know, like the top bonus this year is five million dollars.

[SPEAKER_00]: Anybody any any team has the bonus pool to give a guy five million dollars.

[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, some teams obviously will be more going all in at that price point, but if you can beat the competition to the punch on a player, you can do that internationally.

[SPEAKER_00]: You can't do like, hey, like, we're in on rock Chalowski or greedy Emerson, you know, you have no chance of signing that player in the draft if you're drafting like, [SPEAKER_00]: maybe 5th overall or certainly like 10th or 20th.

[SPEAKER_00]: Like all right, wait your turn and wait hopefully your guy is there and then wait your turn again or for another pick hopefully nobody takes the guy you like, make your pick.

[SPEAKER_00]: So there's a lot more freedom that's great about the international signing process, but I don't know that anybody loves [SPEAKER_00]: the idea of their job being predicting the future of what a 13-year-old player is going to be 10 years down the road when hopefully he's making his major league debut.

[SPEAKER_02]: Well, on some ways, the fact that your job is based on that may be seems kind of scary for your job security, because it's like who knows, but at the same time, it does feel like international [SPEAKER_02]: more job security and are more valuable in their specific avenue of player acquisition than any other scout because you can't exactly scout them up on a trackman unit and with synergy and with stats or video at the international level at that age compared to college players.

[SPEAKER_02]: Like if you wanted to have no scouts on the ground for any college games, you technically could have a lot of information [SPEAKER_02]: And so there is a lot more seemingly it seems like there's a lot more certain to like you actually need to go have scouts on the ground looking at the players evaluating them in person to make an informed decision on them in the international market.

[SPEAKER_00]: And you can sign or agree to a deal with a player 365 days a year.

[SPEAKER_00]: So like especially for pitching I think you can [SPEAKER_00]: I think the quality of pitching in the state of pitching and especially in the Dominican or public overall right now at like the minor league level in the amateur level is underwhelming to me especially relative just how great the position prospects are but there are like there are some good arms still [SPEAKER_00]: coming out of the Latin American coming out of the Dominican Republic, that you can find for you know, $20,000, $30,000, $10,000, you know, when they're 16 years old.

[SPEAKER_02]: Like senior signed money in the draft if you're just not as tuned into the music market.

[SPEAKER_00]: Because you're going out and you might not even go to go into Scout, the picture that you [SPEAKER_00]: reaching a deal with that day, you're going to just to a tryout, mainly to see some position players.

[SPEAKER_00]: Well somebody's got a throw to them, so they bring in some tryout arm and you're like, hey, who's this guy?

[SPEAKER_00]: Well, like a super fast arm, touching, you know, 94, spin in a break in ball.

[SPEAKER_00]: You know, it's a sign-um-right here today or bringing back to our academy one day, get them in or, you know, facility, get them on the trackman, get the data from him there, like see how it looks there.

[SPEAKER_00]: Might just sign-um-right there, like if you're, if you have good scouts who are out at the fields constantly seeing players and who know what they're looking at, who know to, hey, let's flag that guy and like, you know, [SPEAKER_00]: bring them raise up, raise them up the ladder to, you know, to my boss and show him this guy like that's that's how you can sign some great great pictures in Latin America just doesn't and you can find good late round arms too obviously in the states and non-drafted free agents, but it's just a lot more freedom to beat other teams to those guys when you're working internationally.

[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah.

[SPEAKER_02]: Okay.

[SPEAKER_02]: Any other thoughts on international stuff before we wrap today?

[SPEAKER_02]: It's going to be maybe a little bit shorter than our typical episode.

[SPEAKER_02]: But we got a lot of plan content for you in the feed.

[SPEAKER_00]: So yeah, I can mention a handful of players too.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I mentioned him in Luis Hernandez, shortstop from Venezuela going to sign with the giants.

[SPEAKER_00]: You know, ask a lot of people like who's who's your favorite prospect for this year.

[SPEAKER_00]: answer.

[SPEAKER_00]: He played in this like Venezuela in professional league.

[SPEAKER_00]: It's not the winner league there.

[SPEAKER_00]: It plays during the summer.

[SPEAKER_00]: You got like a lot of X minor league players in there.

[SPEAKER_00]: So like a lot of like blast from the past names that you probably remember from like a 2017 prospect handbook or something like that, right?

[SPEAKER_00]: And he went out and he had 346 in that league and like you [SPEAKER_00]: Swing, like, it's just like a really quality sound professional looking swing.

[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, he's not that big, or he's not that tall, at least he's 510, but it's, it's a very sound swing really mature approach, like he recognizes spin makes it ton of contact.

[SPEAKER_00]: He squares it up for pretty hard contact too.

[SPEAKER_00]: Like he's not a huge power guy, but I think you could end up seeing him and like a glabber Torres mold, like maybe it's 20, 25, plus home runs one year, like not a big runner, but plays pretty good defense where he is, like, you know, does he stay at shortstop or not?

[SPEAKER_00]: I don't know, maybe he's, I mean, he just turned 17 a few weeks ago.

[SPEAKER_00]: So we'll see, like overall, like he defends his position pretty well, and like one of the higher confidence bats in this class.

[SPEAKER_00]: So I can invent as well.

[SPEAKER_00]: You got, you know, a guy like him or and Jibel Gomez, who's [SPEAKER_00]: I mean, he's he's really exciting to me and also to a lot of people.

[SPEAKER_02]: I would say just like got the nice trending up tag on his name in your board.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, yeah.

[SPEAKER_00]: We try to throw that on some guys where it's like, you know, because we just list them in order of the expected signing bonus, which is not much.

[SPEAKER_02]: Every single year, people misinterpret what the board is.

[SPEAKER_02]: So I'm excited for people to.

[SPEAKER_02]: So then, Beth, I ranked this player as the X player in the class.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, not my preferred way of doing it, but it's, it's just, like, I feel like we have, we do have, like, good reports.

[SPEAKER_02]: It's the most transparent solution to what you described in terms of teams not scouting up these players for multiple years in many cases.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I feel confident in the reports that we have on the players it's just that like not as many it's it's not like our draft process and like [SPEAKER_00]: I don't know.

[SPEAKER_00]: If you see another talent ranking out there, like, I don't know.

[SPEAKER_00]: Keep that.

[SPEAKER_00]: Keep that in mind.

[SPEAKER_00]: But it's, yeah, I mean, but Gomez is, I mean, I saw Gomez myself multiple times.

[SPEAKER_00]: He's from Venezuela, but he's been training in the Dominican Republic so some multiple times there, just, I don't know.

[SPEAKER_00]: I don't know whether to start with the offense or the defense with him.

[SPEAKER_00]: I'm not sure which one is.

[SPEAKER_00]: better because he's a really good hitter.

[SPEAKER_00]: He's got a lot of bad speed.

[SPEAKER_00]: He's got a lot of power.

[SPEAKER_00]: It's translated in games and both times I saw he probably made like four combined like really good defensive plays in center field like he can fly.

[SPEAKER_00]: He's got a strong arm like [SPEAKER_00]: combination of like tools and scales and like physical body is incredible too.

[SPEAKER_02]: It looks like he's going to absolutely add a ton of mass and strength like it's super pretty.

[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, if you're a great video of him on the site too.

[SPEAKER_02]: So if you like a lot of you guys, you're not going to be able to see but then his video on a number of the top players.

[SPEAKER_02]: And I'm just watching the video now is your breaking down and it's really good stuff.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, he's he's really really talented.

[SPEAKER_00]: Like I imagine.

[SPEAKER_00]: He's probably, I mean, just trying to think, like, I like the Yandelle Ricardo when they signed him, but like, this guy's ahead of him.

[SPEAKER_00]: He's gonna go, he'll, they had a good signing class.

[SPEAKER_00]: Last year, obviously, he had the line by Kendri Cheerio's number two in their system right now.

[SPEAKER_00]: Right hand, a bit right of Venezuela.

[SPEAKER_00]: I think he'll probably be in our top 100.

[SPEAKER_00]: I think he should be in our top 100.

[SPEAKER_00]: But he had this guy's he's he's good and he's going to write pretty high think in the oils farm system as soon as he signs and then, you know, out of the Dominican Republic, he got, you know, Hensi Colome, who, another guy where it's like you ask scouts, hey, who's your favorite guy this year and he's, he's a very popular name for, for that one, whether it's, you know, best play overall or best play or in the Dominican Republic.

[SPEAKER_00]: This year, Big League bloodlines, I mean, his dad is Haseus Colome, his uncle is Alex Colome, two former Major League pitchers.

[SPEAKER_00]: Call me, I mean, he has Armstrong too, but he's definitely a hit or I mean, it's like wippy, bad speed, impact, but also also contact, like he doesn't have to sell out his swing to get to that power, it's a really good looking right hand about with some physicality like [SPEAKER_00]: six three I mean that's like these guys grow like you scout a guy and he's you know you might agree to a deal with a guy and he's five foot nine many grows to six foot six one or he doesn't grow and you're like oh shoot that's that's not what we were right that none yeah with him it's just like keeps keeps ticking up trending up you know junior camon arrow is like a [SPEAKER_00]: comp for him, just like that kind of bat speed impact.

[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, Junior Camaro is a small dollar signing, but like some not talking about the same age with dreaming on like what everything could be if it all comes together.

[SPEAKER_00]: So maybe short stuff, maybe third base to be determined how that shakes out defensively and like who his future teammates are, how his own defense develops, but like certainly tools for left side of the infield was like a [SPEAKER_00]: ton of offensive upside in terms of what I expect will be a very good hitter right away in the DSL to go with pretty big time bumping impact.

[SPEAKER_02]: Nice.

[SPEAKER_02]: There's some interesting names and fun names, some exciting names to keep in mind.

[SPEAKER_02]: Ben, is there anything you want to plug in terms of like international coverage to be on the lookout for or anything to point listeners to on the site if they just want to get more of what you're doing?

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I mean, we've got our top 50 bonus board on the site now.

[SPEAKER_00]: We'll look with reports and the signing teams for each player.

[SPEAKER_00]: We're going to expand that to a hundred players.

[SPEAKER_00]: Next week, we'll have reports on every single teams, signing class, not just, you know, we'll obviously have the tracker updated throughout the day on January 15th with the names of each of the players that each team is [SPEAKER_00]: has in their class, but we'll have scout reports on the top guys for, and it not just like some like a very very top bonus guys, but you know, a lot of the main guys to know, and some of the deeper cut guys to know from each class for all 30 teams as well.

[SPEAKER_02]: It feels like every year there are a number of sleepers that you mentioned in these team write ups that go out to the DSL and pop, and they later make a pretty sizable jump on on team top 30s.

[SPEAKER_02]: So get in early.

[SPEAKER_02]: Ben knows what he's talking about here.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, Kendri Cherio, obviously was a pretty good one for the Royals last year, so yeah should be yeah it's later rising arms to and [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, and most teams too, like I think a lot, I think I think too as I think a lot of people are wondering about like the signings this year, especially from Venezuela, just given everything that has been going on since Saturday.

[SPEAKER_00]: Last week or, you know, even before then, but especially, [SPEAKER_00]: Since then, but yeah, the players are all still like they're going to be able to sign.

[SPEAKER_00]: It's not going to be like, you know, it's not like Cuba, like where I have like an embargo and the Cuban players have to leave the country to be eligible to sign with an ML team.

[SPEAKER_00]: Like the players are all still on track to sign.

[SPEAKER_00]: I just think like, realistically, you went exactly they sign where they sign and teams are still working through that.

[SPEAKER_00]: right now so so usually what you see is you know on January 15th there's a flood of signings happening that day so you're still going to see that and every team is going to have their academy in the Dominican Republic open a couple of teams might do it you know they're signing ceremony after January 15th but you know almost all that I'm going to have their players.

[SPEAKER_00]: into the academy and the DR on the 15th for the signing ceremony with all of their Dominican signings and then a lot of teams are going to fly their Venezuelan players in beforehand so that they're at the the DR academy and there for them to sign their contracts on the 15th so and some of the Venezuelan players have already been [SPEAKER_00]: living in the DR2 for for years.

[SPEAKER_00]: So, so they'll be there as well.

[SPEAKER_00]: So, I think like with that, like right now, teams are still figuring out things with like flights.

[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, it sounds like flights.

[SPEAKER_00]: are still scheduled to leave are the airports from Venezuela to get those players to the DR and some of already left to, but there's just a lot of volatility and uncertainty of like what might change over the next week, but there's a lot of teams who are like, and they do this every year where, you know, they'll have their Venezuelan players sign.

[SPEAKER_00]: In Venezuela, sometimes they, you know, they get those players all together in one setting for a big science ceremony, but it's also, it's also just like a much larger country geographically compared to the Dominican Republic where in the D.R.I.

[SPEAKER_00]: You can drive anywhere within, you know, in the country within a few hours, even like the most more remote location.

[SPEAKER_00]: So Venezuela is more like, I don't know, combined like Texas and Louisiana or like Florida, Georgia, Alabama, something like that.

[SPEAKER_00]: So you just have players who are spread out in a lot of different areas, like the [SPEAKER_00]: those, you know, those signs for those players are even just for one specific player and so I think like I like those signs are still on track to happen, barring something major, changing next week so you'll see a lot of them on the 15th and then some some more almost still kind of trickle in and the days and in some cases weeks after which which is pretty [SPEAKER_02]: Okay, cool.

[SPEAKER_02]: Well, there you go.

[SPEAKER_02]: That's the download from Ben on the Susan International class.

[SPEAKER_02]: Again, we'll be back next week on the show to talk more international players and international prospects.

[SPEAKER_02]: So if you guys have any specific questions you want to throw our way for that in particular, if there's anything else you want to ask about or give us feedback for please do that.

[SPEAKER_02]: There's information in the podcast show notes.

[SPEAKER_02]: Ben has had been [SPEAKER_02]: dot com.

[SPEAKER_02]: But otherwise, thank you guys for listening.

[SPEAKER_02]: Thanks for supporting B.A.

[SPEAKER_02]: Hope y'all had good holidays.

[SPEAKER_02]: Hope you have a good new year.

[SPEAKER_02]: We were excited to be back on the show weekly moving forward, get into some some baseball action here in a few weeks and then I guess we'll all cross our fingers and think about Ben as he is pretty busy over the next week or so.

[SPEAKER_02]: But thank you for