Baseball America

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90th Percentile: What's The Alternative To Chasing Velocity? Apr 29, 2024

Show notes

Everyone is talking velocity and the injury epidemic, but on this week's episode we ask, "What's the alternative?" To discuss this far-reaching topic, we invited two friends of the show and high-level coaches to join us. First, old friend Matt Pierce of Kinkaid Baseball and then first-time guest and legendary Juco coach Mike Robbins of New Mexico JC. Mike shares insight into the recruiting process and the different philosophies he's implemented over the years. He identifies what works and what doesn't.

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Talking Pitching Injuries And Rehab With Alan Jaeger And Randy Sullivan Apr 26, 2024

Show notes

The recent run of significant elbow injuries among prominent MLB starters has everyone including us thinking and talking about pitching injuries. On today's podcast, JJ Cooper is joined by Alan Jaeger and Randy Sullivan, two experts who have worked with hundreds of pitchers, to talk about injury prevention as well as their free return to throwing program they have released that proposes a different way to return to throwing after Tommy John surgery. The return to throwing manual is available here.

00:00 What are Alan Jaeger and Randy Sullivan's backgrounds/credentials

12:15 Why ramping up is a time of significant risk

20:45 Is our current system actually reducing injury risk?

31:00 What's involved in this new return to throwing program after Tommy John surgery?

45:00 How will you all know if this is a better program, long-term?

52:00 How the new NCAA recruiting rules may help with injuries

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Data Sleepers To Know In The 2024 Draft Class Apr 26, 2024

Show notes

Carlos and Peter hop on the draft podcast to talk through some of the most interesting players in the 2024 class from a data perspective.

After the rollout of the top 400 draft list this week, the two go back and forth and trade information on prospects who analysts, or those big on batted ball data and stuff+ metrics, might fall in love with.

The players include a few potential day one hitters, but the bulk of the conversation revolves around names who could be upside picks on the second day of the draft. There’s a hitter whose batted ball data fits with a handful of first rounders but is never mentioned in that range, a slugger with exit velocity data similar to Jac Caglianone, a pitcher with perhaps the best slider in the country and another pitcher who might quietly have the best fastball in the country among others.

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Time Stamps

(2:30) A well-rounded bat who fits with prominent first-round names

(6:50) A deep cut prospect from the Patriot League

(10:15) A day one slugger with elite EVs and strong contact

(14:30) An outfielder with elite bat-to-ball skills

(18:15) The freakiest sweeper in the class?

(24:00) The best fastball in the class you haven’t heard of

(30:00) A small school pitcher with unique usage

(36:30) A righty with a big velo jump

(41:00) A strong contact hitter with sneaky top-end EV data

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College Podcast: Wake Forest's Surge, Rivalry Series & More Apr 25, 2024

Show notes

Teddy Cahill and Peter Flaherty break down all the college baseball action from around the country before week 11 of the season. They start with last weekend's showdown between Tennessee and Kentucky, and look at how the Volunteers and Wildcats stack up as national contenders. They look at Wake Forest's surge in ACC play, which has the Deacons in the hosting conversation. They also look ahead to some big rivalry series this weekend, as Oregon visits Oregon State and Oklahoma hosts Texas. Both series have big stakes in conference title races and the NCAA Tournament picture.

Time Stamps

1: Tennessee takes down Kentucky

11:30: Around the SEC

19:30: Ad break

19:40: Wake is back

25: Any concern about Florida State?

29:30 Around the ACC

38: Cal sweeps Oregon State

47: Oregon takes on Oregon State

52: Battle for first in the WCC

55:40: Ad break

56: Around the Big 12

61:30: Red River Rivalry on the diamond

71: Coastal beats Louisiana

77: Around the Sun Belt

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James Wood Joins; MLB Mock Draft 2.0 Unveiled | Hot Sheet Show Ep. 4 Apr 23, 2024

Show notes

Welcome to the Hot Sheet Show, James Wood! Baseball's No. 8 prospect joined the show to discuss closing in on the majors for the Nationals, who he emulates his swing after, teaming up with Dylan Crews and more. Scott, Carlos and Peter also discuss Heston Kjerstad's callup to Baltimore, our latest mock draft, then Geoff Pontes joins to break down impressive players in this week's Hot Sheet. You can find the full run of show below.

Intro
Mock Draft version 2.0
Why Peter has Travis Bazzana 1.01
Do teams draft for need in the first round?
James Wood joins the show (13:00)
Orioles promote Heston Kjerstad
How concerned are we with Jackson Holliday?

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Fantasy Podcast: Identifying Trade Targets After The First Month Apr 23, 2024

Show notes

On the latest episode of the Baseball America Fantasy Podcast, Geoff Pontes and Dylan White run through the news of the week before going over six trade targets they're chasing after the first month.

Time Stamps

0:00 - 2:00 - Opening

2:00 - 6:00 - Triston Casas and Francisco Alvarez injuries

6:00 - 9:00 - Jackson Holliday struggles

9:00 - 12:00 - Don't panic on Wyatt Langford

12:00 - 15:00 - Ricky Tiedemann injury

15:00 - 22:00 - Peter Fairbanks injury and Jason Adam

22:00 - 24:00 - Victor Scott sent down

24:00 - 27:00 - Heston Kjerstad promotion

27:00 - 30:00 - Andy Pages promotion

21:00 - 45:00 - Trade targets

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Digging Into Draft Risers Including Bryce Rainer & Walker Janek Apr 19, 2024

Show notes

Carlos and Peter hop on the draft podcast to talk about the state of the top of the 2024 class. The two talk about how the top tier of players hasn’t changed significantly in the last few weeks and that the group seems pretty wide open after about pick 10 or so.

The two talk about one of the more consistent up-arrow prep prospects in the class, Bryce Rainer, who the two previously loved as a pitching prospect, though they both are coming around to liking his toolset and hitting ability as a shortstop prospect. His NHSI performance does nothing to sway that opinion and has him a steady mover up draft boards.

After that the two talk about Sam Houston State catcher Walker Janek, who is having a career year with the bat and also might just be the top defensive catcher in the class. How long will a profile like that last on draft day and what is our confidence in the catcher pecking order at this stage?

Next the two talk about a unique hitter who profiles as both a first baseman and center fielder in Texas lefthanded hitter Jared Thomas, who like Janek is having a strong offensive season. After that the two break down a few Vanderbilt pitchers who, despite a rough last week against Texas A&M, could be poised to hear their names called on day one of the draft.

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Time Stamps

(0:00) State of the top of the class

(7:00) Bryce Rainer

(14:10) Walker Janek

(21:40) Jared Thomas

(29:00) Carter Holton

(34:30) Bryce Cunningham

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College Podcast: N.C. State's Big Upset, A Top-10 Showdown & More Apr 18, 2024

Show notes

Teddy Cahill and Peter Flaherty break down all the college baseball action from around the country before week 10 of the season. They start with Texas A&M, college baseball's new top-ranked team, which is fresh off a sweep of Vanderbilt. They also talk about last weekend's big upsets, as Alabama felled Arkansas and N.C. State took down Clemson, and examine which series was more impactful. They then turn their attention to the weekend ahead, highlighted by a top-10 showdown between Kentucky and Tennessee and a first-place showdown in the Sun Belt between Louisiana and Coastal Carolina.

Time Stamps

1: Texas A&M takes over at No. 1

8: The sweep’s impact on Vanderbilt

13: Arkansas and Clemson both lost their first series of the year. Which was more concerning?

20: Was Alabama or N.C. State’s upset more important?

27:40: Ad break

27:45: Kentucky and Tennessee meet for SEC East clash

34:30: Florida State takes on Wake Forest

40: North Carolina and N.C. State renew rivalry

46: Louisiana and Coastal meet in first-place Sun Belt showdown

54: Big 12 breakdown

67: Series to watch around the country

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Jack Leiter & Andy Pages Callups; Nick Kurtz's Home Run Surge | Hot Sheet Show Ep. 3 Apr 16, 2024

Show notes

What a day for prospect news. Jack Leiter, Andy Pages and Forrest Whitley are on their way to the big leagues. Our latest Hot Sheet show breaks down what we expect from all three, and also takes a look at whether Nick Kurtz is homering his way back into No. 1 overall pick contention in this year's draft. The guys discuss...

Jack Leiter's arrival in Texas (0:30)
How Andy Pages can help the Dodgers lineup (10:20)
#FreeMichaelBusch is going according to plan (18:30)
Nick Kurtz's homer blitz (21:00)
Comparing Kurtz to Jac Caglianone & how they stack up at the top of the draft (23:50)
Forrest Whitley's long path to the majors (26:20)

The Hot Sheet show airs weekly on YouTube at 3 p.m. ET. Subscribe here!

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Jack Leiter Makes His Rangers Debut Thursday | Prospect Profile Apr 16, 2024

Show notes

Instant reaction time! We kicked off today's Hot Sheet show discussing Jack Leiter's imminent debut with the Rangers. Scott Braun, J.J. Cooper and Ben Badler discuss...

Immediate thoughts on the news
Leiter's encouraging recent changes
Leiter's intriguing fastball properties
How he could fit into the Rangers' long-term plans

For more Prospect Profiles (and to check out our weekly Hot Sheet show), head over to our YouTube channel.

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