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Top 100 Prospects Preview, Preseason College Baseball Top 25 & Crazy NIL Deals | Hot Sheet Show Ep. 90 Jan 19, 2026

Show notes

On this week's Hot Sheet Show, J.J. Cooper, Geoff Pontes and Jacob Rudner discuss a number of exciting topics, including BA's latest Top 100 Prospects list set to drop this week, the new preseason college baseball Top 25 and the biggest NIL deals they've ever heard of.

We stream the Hot Sheet Show every Monday at 3:30 p.m. ET on YouTube.

Time Stamps

(0:00) Introduction
0:30) Previewing the new Top 100 Prospects list
(3:15) Breaking down the preseason Top 25
(5:00) Top players in the 2026 college draft class
(10:15) College NIL deals—strategy & biggest deals
(19:00) Will Shotaro Morii be a two-way player for the A's?
(23:00) Favorite two-way players we've seen

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College Podcast: Inside The Recruitment Of Genei Sato With PSU Coach Mike Gambino Jan 19, 2026

Show notes

Baseball America national college reporter Jacob Rudner is joined by Penn State head coach Mike Gambino to go in-depth on the Nittany Lions' recruitment of Japanese righthander Genei Sato. Sato, whose fastball and splitter consistently drew reviews as plus offerings, is set to play at Penn State in 2027 and carries early first-round buzz.

(2:06) Welcoming in Coach Gambino

(4:52) When did Sato first hit Penn State's radar?

(12:12) The recruiting timeline

(14:54) Scouting Sato

(24:03) Why 2027 instead of right now?

(26:48) The impact of having elite Japanese athletes already on campus

(29:04) What this recruiting win does for Penn State

(33:16) Is Sato a trendsetter?

(34:53) Gambino's favorite moment from Sato's recruitment

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2026 Tampa Bay Rays Top Prospects Deep Dive Jan 19, 2026

Show notes

On the latest Baseball America Prospects Podcast Deep Dive, we're looking at the Tampa Bay Rays system. Coming into the offseason, this looked like a system that had taken a step back, but that was before a series of trades added a massive amount of prospect depth.

(00:00) A whole lot has changed in the Rays farm system

(06:00) What made Brody Hopkins the No. 1 prospect and who else was considered for the top spot?

(15:20) Is the system better or worse than a year ago?

(20:25) Who is our guess to be No. 1 a year from now?

(24:00) What is the organization good at developing?

(29:00) The Rays REALLY loaded up on 2025 draft picks

(32:00) Some lower ranked Rays prospects who are fascinating

(35:00) Where the Rays have prospect depth

(39:00) Looking at Rays catching prospects

Rays Top 30 Prospects: https://www.baseballamerica.com/teams/2021-tampa-bay-rays/prospects/?season=2026&ranking=preseason

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Fantasy Podcast: Breaking Down 2026 First Year Player Draft Rankings Jan 16, 2026

Show notes

We return with another episode of the Baseball America Fantasy Podcast in the midst of lots of action on the free agent and trade market. We open up by discussing Kyle Tucker just minutes before he signed with the Dodgers. We then discuss the Ranger Suarez and Alex Bregman signings. After that we jump into the First Year Player draft rankings, navigating through the first 30 or so picks.

(2:00) Tucker tweets
(7:00) Ranger Suarez signing
(11:00) Alex Bregman signs with the Cubs
(14:00) Tatsuya Imai at 1.1
(19:00) Liam Doyle believer.
(25:00) Dax Kilby buying into the tools
(32:00) Insane prep shortstop group
(40:00) Gage Wood hype machine.

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Drafting The Best College Tools In The Class Jan 16, 2026

Show notes

Carlos and Jacob hop on the podcast and attempt to create the most impressive “build-a-player” possible by drafting the best tools in the college class. The two each attempt to create the best possible hitters by drafting hit, power, run, field and arm tools. On the pitching side they each draft a fastball, curveball, slider, changeup and control.

The ground rules: once a player is picked for any category, that player is no longer eligible for another. Other than that, it’s wide open. Which hitter and pitcher do you prefer?

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Time Stamps:

(3:20) Carlos fielding
(4:40) Jacob control
(7:40) Carlos power
(12:20) Jacob slider
(14:25) Carlos fastball
(17:30) Jacob curveball
(20:10) Carlos run
(23:45) Jacob hitter
(27:20) Carlos changeup
(30:30) Jacob power
(33:35) Carlos arm
(36:30) Jacob fastball
(40:36) Carlos hitter
(45:20) Jacob changeup
(47:00) Carlos slider
(51:30) Jacob fielding
(53:00) Carlos curveball
(54:40) Jacob run
(57:00) Carlos control
(59:45) Jacob arm

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2026 Seattle Mariners Top Prospects Deep Dive Jan 15, 2026

Show notes

JJ Cooper and Jesús Cano are here for another Baseball America Prospects Deep Dive. Today we are looking at the Mariners farm system, led by shortstop Colt Emerson.

(03:00) How difficult was the decision to rank Colt Emerson No. 1?

(09:20) Is this farm system better or worse than last year?

(14:00) Who is the bet to be No. 1 in this system next year?

(16:30) What are the Mariners good at developing?

(22:00) Who are some sleepers to watch

(24:50) Where does the system drop off

(27:30) Talking about Michael Arroyo's position move

Mariners Top 30 Prospects: https://www.baseballamerica.com/teams/2018-seattle-mariners/prospects/?season=2026&ranking=preseason

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2026 Los Angeles Dodgers Prospects Deep Dive Jan 14, 2026

Show notes

On today's Prospect Podcast Deep Dive, Geoff Pontes and Josh Norris take an in-depth look at the World Champions. The Dodgers' farm system had a fascinating quartet who all had cases to be the system's No. 1 prospect.

(00:00) How Good Is The System?

(02:00) How Tough Was The Choice To Pick Eduardo Quintero No. 1?

(06:30) Is This System Better Or Worse Than Last Year?

(10:15) Who Is Your Guess To Be Next Year's No. 1?

(13:20) What Is This Org Good At Developing?

(17:30) A Secret Weapon In The Dodgers Success

(20:00) Are There Future Top 100 Prospects Lurking On The Rankings?

(25:00) Other Names To Know

Dodgers Top 30 Prospects: https://www.baseballamerica.com/teams/2012-los-angeles-dodgers/prospects/?season=2026&ranking=preseason

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2026 San Francisco Giants Top Prospects Deep Dive Jan 13, 2026

Show notes

On the latest of our Prospect Deep Dives, Josh Norris and Geoff Pontes take a look at a much improved Giants farm system. Yes, Bryce Eldridge remains as the No. 1 prospect, but it's what has emerged behind him that has the system on the upswing.

(01:00) Bryce Eldridge Is No. 1. How tough was this decision?

(03:30) Is this system better or worse than last year?

(09:30) Who is the best guess to be No. 1 next year?

(12:45) What is the system good at developing?

(17:00) Other names to know in the Giants system

Giants Top 30: https://www.baseballamerica.com/teams/2019-san-francisco-giants/prospects/?season=2026&ranking=preseason

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Alex Bregman Signing Fallout For The Cubs, Ethan Frey Joins & Fantasy Baseball Talk | Hot Sheet Show Ep. 89 Jan 12, 2026

Show notes

On this week's Hot Sheet Show, J.J. Cooper and Geoff Pontes lead a packed show featuring a breakdown of the fallout for Matt Shaw and the Cubs after the Alex Bregman signing.

We also welcome No. 2 Astros prospect Ethan Frey to the show before discussing our latest FYPD fantasy baseball rankings.

We stream the Hot Sheet Show every Monday at 3:30 p.m. ET on YouTube.

Time Stamps

(0:00) Introduction
(1:45) Alex Bregman Cubs fallout for Matt Shaw
(7:45) Ethan Frey joins
(10:30) How Ethan feels in recovery from injury
(12:30) Making the transition from college to pro ball
(16:15) Ethan's goals for 2026
(17:00) Ethan's college baseball pick for 2026
(19:00) Breaking down BA's latest FYPD rankings
(26:00) Saying goodbye to Peter Flaherty

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College Podcast: New NCAA Postseason Umpire Selection Process, Roch Talk Jan 12, 2026

Show notes

Baseball America national college reporter Jacob Rudner and national writer Carlos Collazo dive into the NCAA's new umpire selection process for the postseason and discuss other potential rule changes coming out of the American Baseball Coaches Association convention. Rudner and Collazo also go in-depth on where UCLA shortstop Roch Cholowsky stacks up compared to No. 1 overall draft prospects of the past.

(2:00) How the NCAA is refining postseason umpire selection and evaluation

(13:46) Can better umpire impact players' draft stocks?

(19:06) Should college add an automatic baserunner in extras?

(32:37) Roch Cholowsky compared to previous No. 1 draft prospects

(45:42) What we're looking for early in the season from draft prospects

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