Soxprospects.com Podcast

A sense of normalcy returns Wednesday as Major League Baseball holds its annual Rule 4 Draft. This year’s draft is a truncated affair: 5 rounds instead of 40. But as Chris and Ian discuss with Carlos, the class has remarkable depth. The guys ask Carlos about draft strategies, especially in light of the Sox’ lack of a second-round pick. Carlos previews some players that might be in play for the Sox at pick 17. And all three guys answer your excellent collection of draft questions. We really appreciate the awesome questions from you all. And while you’re getting ready for the draft, be sure to check out our own 2020 Draft Preview! Follow Carlos Collazo on Twitter: @CarlosACollazo BA’s 2020 Draft Coverage landing page   We also want to thank our in-residence musical guest, The Ludlow Thieves. Check them out on YouTube and Spotify. Got something to say? We love talking about what you want to hear about. Make sure to email us. Love the show? Want to help us out while also getting exclusive goodies? Support the

At a time when there are more important things to focus on in all of our lives, we felt that recording a 97-minute distraction might not be the worst thing for a temporary respite. Will we have to wait much longer before baseball returns? Chris and Ian have some thoughts and updates as we enter June. First up, they look at the state of negotiations between players and owners. Some hurdles have been cleared, but we have a long way to go. Next up they go through a round of cuts. With the transaction freeze over, teams have been making some personnel decisions. They quickly pivot to reports on what teams may do instead of a minor league season. And after a brief word on the coming draft, it’s time for your awesome messages when Chris and Ian open the mailbag. Keep the terrific emails coming, everyone. 0:00 – Intros, housekeeping, email us and remember to check us out on Patreon. 3:00 – Negotiations to get the season started 39:45 – Transaction freeze thaws out 51:15 – How the season affects minor leagues 57:15

Baseball’s long winter continues. And while we wait for games, Chris and Ian have updates. First up, an interview with Deputy editor and Pentagon Correspondent at Defense News (and more importantly, longtime podcast listener) Aaron Mehta, who gives some insight into the Noah Song situation. MLB set the terms of the 2020 Draft, and the guys have opinions on how badly MLB has handled the situation, as well as thoughts about how the Sox will approach the draft. Plus, Chris and Ian recap their participation in the Prospects Live Mock Draft. The guys also spent some time breaking down the proposals for the abbreviated season, including the smart moves the club made to have flexibility with the unique roster conditions, we continued looking at the State of the System with outfielders, and finally, we answer listener emails! We want to thank our in-residence musical guest, The Ludlow Thieves. Check them out on YouTube and Spotify. Got something to say? We love talking about what you want to hear about. Make sure

We all miss baseball, but the podcast marches on! Even without games, Chris and Ian had plenty to talk about. In the news, MLB finally released its report on the Red Sox sign-stealing investigation. Was the punishment as lax as most seemed to think? The guys disagree with the consensus there. Plus, with this week's report that the minor league season is in jeopardy, we discuss the implications on the field and off. Plus, Chris has an update on Noah Song's status, and the guys continued looking at the latest entries in the State of the System series! As always, we close with your emails, and the listeners came through again with some terrific questions. We also want to thank our in-residence musical guest, The Ludlow Thieves. Check them out on YouTube and Spotify. Got something to say? We love talking about what you want to hear about. Make sure to email us.  Love the show? Want to help us out while also getting exclusive goodies? Support the podcast by contributing to us on Patreon! Go to Sox Prospects o

Baseball extended winter continues. All of us at SoxProspects want to send you our sincere wishes for health and safety. And with time on our hands, we can turn our attention to a little series we just launched: State of the System. If you haven’t seen it yet, please take a look. Ian and Chris take a look at the series and share their thoughts. They start by breaking down drafts and J2 signings to evaluate the evolution of the Sox farm system in the last several years. And then it is on to the mailbag. Thanks for listening and filling up the mailbag. Let us know if there are any other topics you want us to talk about by dropping a line to podcast@soxprospects.com 0:00 – Intros, housekeeping, email us and remember to check us out on Patreon. 3:00 – State of the System series introduction 12:00 – Drafted pitchers in the minors 48:20 – International pitching prospects 59:10 – Mailbag We also want to thank our in-residence musical guest, The Ludlow Thieves. Check them out on YouTube and Spotify. Got someth

Before we get started, to all our listeners, colleagues, supporters and friends of the site, we all want to send our sincere wishes for health, safety and security. We’re planning to keep episodes of the podcast coming, so you have things to listen to while you’re sheltering in place, working from home and taking breaks from MLB Vault marathons. We’re releasing this podcast on what would have been Opening Day. And while baseball is still shut down, we have plenty to talk through. Chris and Ian update us the negotiations between MLB and the Players Association. They tackle the time needed to get both the big leaguers ready to play as well as the minor leaguers. Then they turn to the mailbag to answer your questions. 0:00 – Intros, housekeeping, email us and remember to check us out on Patreon. 9:00 – There is no plan for this 37:30 – Mailbag 49:15 – Sox complete the Travis Lakins deal 52:00 – More mailbag Got something to say? We love talking about what you want to hear about. Make sure to email us.  Love t

A lot can change in a couple days. In this episode, Chris and Ian engaged in an in-depth preview of their then-upcoming trip to minor league spring training, running through the players they were looking forward to seeing in camp and taking your listener questions. Days later, as Chris explains in the new intro, the trip was unfortunately canceled due to concerns related to the coronavirus, but we are still releasing the episode as a preview of the players and storylines we have our eyes on entering the year. 0:00 – Intros, housekeeping, email us and remember to check us out on Patreon. 5:45 – Late offseason moves 11:00 – Cuts from big-league camp 20:10 – Active roster thoughts 26:00 – Minor league camp preview 44:45 – Priority guys to see in camp 1:02:00 - Mailbag Players mentioned in the show Hector Velazquez Brian Johnson Chris Mazza Bryan Mata Bobby Poyner Eduard Bazardo Bobby Dalbec Tanner Houck Jonathan Arauz Tzu-Wei Lin Jeter Downs Connor Wong Chih-Jung Liu Triston Casas Jay Groome AJ Politi Brainer

Here we go again. The siren is blaring. Mookie Betts is once again on his way to LA, along with David Price and cash to cover half of what Price is owed over the next three years. Coming back to Boston are Alex Verdugo, Jeter Downs and Connor Wong. Chris and Ian break down the new deal and answer your questions. Got something to say? We love talking about what you want to hear about. Make sure to email us.  Love the show? Want to help us out while also getting exclusive goodies? Support the podcast by contributing to us on Patreon! Go to Sox Prospects on Patreon for the details. Podcast Twitter Links: @SPChrisHatfield @IanCundall @SoxProspects We’d like to thank our friends, the Ludlow Thieves, for letting us use "All the Money" for our theme music. Check them out on Spotify or wherever you listen to music. Subscribe on iTunes (please rate and review!) Subscribe on Stitcher (please rate and review!) Listen on Spotify Listen on YouTube Listen on Google Play Music Podcast Archive

This is not a test. The front office actually did it. Mookie Betts and David Price (plus some cash) are now Dodgers. Alex Verdugo and Brusdar Graterol are now Red Sox. And Chris and Ian are here for all of us. Got something to say? We love talking about what you want to hear about. Make sure to email us. Love the show? Want to help us out while also getting exclusive goodies? Support the podcast by contributing to us on Patreon! Go to Sox Prospects on Patreon for the details. Podcast Twitter Links: @SPChrisHatfield @IanCundall @SoxProspects Subscribe on iTunes (please rate and review!) Subscribe on Stitcher (please rate and review!) Listen on Spotify Listen on YouTube Listen on Google Play Music Podcast Archive  

This is a test of the emergency podcast system. This is only a test. If this had been an actual emergency podcast, Mookie Betts would no longer be a member of the Boston Red Sox. But as of the recording of this episode, no trade has been struck. While we wait for news to break (if it breaks), Chris and Ian talked through potential returns for Betts. Ian tackled the Padres; Chris took the Dodgers. And before they played fantasy GM, they recapped the latest moves and offered condolences for all the families and friends of the victims of the helicopter crash that took the life of Kobe Bryant and several family members of Red Sox amateur scout JJ Altobelli. 0:00 – Intros, housekeeping, email us and remember to check us out on Patreon. 4:00 – GoFundMe Page for Sox amateur scout J.J. Altobelli and his family 7:00 – Transactions: Travises Sam and Lakins out, Weber still here? 18:40 – Mookie Betts trade rumors 37:00 – If the Padres trade for Betts 46:30 – If the Dodgers trade for Betts 1:06:00 – Mailbag Players men

New Year, new laptop, new podcast, and a new book out from our guest Alex Speier (@alexspeier). Chris and Ian spend an hour with the Boston Globe beat writer discussing his new book, Homegrown: How the Red Sox Built a Champion from the Ground Up, his Baseball America top 10 rankings and other thoughts from the system, and questions from our listeners in the mailbag. Heck, they even got Alex’s real-time “thoughts” on a transaction that broke during the chat! 0:00 – Intros, housekeeping, email us and remember to support the show on Patreon. 4:00 – December and early January transactions 17:20 – Previewing our chat with Alex: his Top 10 rankings and some thoughts about Homegrown 25:15 – A quick look at the Rookie Development Program invitees 27:30 – Alex Speier’s on the podcast (whaaaaaaat?!) 30:00 – On Homegrown 1:04:45 – Alex’s take on the farm system 1:32:00 – Alex helps us with the mailbag! Want to read more from Alex on the Sox system? Pick up a copy of the Baseball America 2020 Prospect Handbook Player

Technical difficulties be damned (RIP Chris’ laptop), Chris and Ian cobbled together a mid-December Podcast to tuck under your tree. Noah Song’s active military service saga continues without a definitive resolution. We released new rankings and the guys talk about who’s new, who moved and why some guys need to be seen before getting ranked higher. With the Rule 5 Draft completed, and the Sox making picks, the 40-man roster is a little fuller. Chris and Ian talk about the new guys in the system, as well as the most recent signings. Before cracking open the mailbag, they talk through some of the trade rumors. Finally, they wrap up with a quick discussion of the departure of Brian Bannister and how that affects the coaching staff and system. Listen in! 0:00 – Intros, housekeeping, email us and remember to check us out on Patreon. 4:40 – Noah Song’s military service 9:45 – Rankings updates 15:10 – 40-man roster updates 18:30 – Rule 5 Draft roundup 34:15 – Red Sox system transactions 46:00 – Trade rumors 57:00 -

It’s an existential question, and perhaps an appropriate one as the organization ramps up in the most pivotal offseason in recent memory. First, Chris and Ian recap the Sox representatives’ time at the Premier12 tournament, including a quick diversion into the latest news on Noah Song and his military commitment. It’s also everyone’s favorite time - the deadline to protect players from the Rule 5 Draft! Chris and Ian agree on the likely players - 4 of ‘em - added to the 40-man roster. Finally, after a quick examination of the list of 42 teams that would lose their affiliation under MLB’s radical realignment proposal, the guys got into a topic they’ve been teasing all offseason: the potential trade of Mookie Betts. What teams are potential landing spots? What is a realistic return? All that and more on this episode of the podcast! 6:45 - Premier12 wrap-up 10:50 - A quick tangent on Noah Song and the military 16:15 - Rule 5 protection projections 27:12 - A quick look at minor league free agents, and a 2013 draf

J.D. Martinez is coming back. And so are Chris and Ian to detail the latest off-season developments. First on tap, the aforementioned non-opt-out of the Red Sox designated hitter. But Chris and Ian caution, that doesn’t mean he’ll be suiting up for the Sox. Nor does it mean that Mookie Betts is getting dealt. But that’s another show. Continuing on this show, the guys share updates from the Team USA Premier 12 tournament, which features four top ten Sox Prospects. After a quick email from one of our Canadian listeners, Chris and Ian get to the main event. They explain and go in-depth on MLB’s proposal to alter minor league baseball. Make no mistake change is coming to the minors. Listen in! 0:00 – Intros, housekeeping, email us and remember to check us out on Patreon. 3:30 – JD Martinez decided not to opt-out 14:45 – Team USA Premier 12 23:30 – The lost email 26:30 – MLB’s proposal to alter minor league baseball Players mentioned in the show Bobby Dalbec CJ Chatham Tanner Houck Noah Song Esteban Quiroz Che

The hot stove fires have been stoked. Ian and Chris discuss the looming offseason. Topping it off, meet Chaim Bloom. The Red Sox took their time and did their due diligence. Bloom brings a creative mind and a collaborative spirit to the ball club. And his first move highlights a course correction. Along with Bloom, the Sox added new coaches to the big league bench. Chris and Ian pivot to rankings. They focus on the challenge of number three. Including a digression on the physics of baseball travel and manufacture. Working through the new rankings, Ian comments on how Instructs differed from prior years. The lack of games made it a challenge to assess the talented DSL guys in the system. We wrap up with the mailbag, both international and domestic editions. Listen in! 0:00 - Intros, housekeeping, email us and remember to check us out on Patreon. 7:30 - Welcome to Boston, Chaim Bloom 25:00 - Coaching hires 28:30 - International signing 34:00 - New offseason rankings 1:02:00 - Instructs looks at DSL guys 1:07:

You may have heard about this. The Red Sox dismissed Dave Dombrowski Sunday night. Chris and Ian question the timing (of the announcement, not the decision). They make the case for why the club needed to make a change. Ian describes the lack of depth in the upper minors that put the Red Sox in a "No Man's Land" for in-season options. But the discussion is not solely centered on the now departed Dealer Dave. The rosters for the Arizona Fall League are almost entirely set. Boston's contingency is prospect heavy and very interesting. In contrast, clubs are changing the way they handle the fall Instructional Leagues and various foreign winter leagues, which Chris details briefly. And we close the show with an interesting note from the mailbag and a quick update on the clubs in the minor league playoffs. Listen in! 0:00 - Intros, housekeeping, email us and remember to check us out on Patreon. 2:30 - Dombrowski's dismissal 44:40 - Arizona Fall League review 51:00 - How Instructs are changing 59:00 - Listener Mai

Even if the ultimate goal of minor league games is player development, winning still matters to those players. With Lowell and Salem qualifying for the post-season, we get more looks. Case in point, Ian saw both Spinner wins last week. He got good looks at Jay Groome, Yusniel Padron-Artiles, and Big Joe Davis among others. Chris and Ian talk through the Salem guys who shined in their post season series. And they close out the show by going through September's system rankings update. Listen in! 0:00 - Intros, housekeeping, email us and remember to check us out on Patreon. 4:15 - Post-season results for Lowell and Salem 13:15 - Scouting Lowell's pitchers 29:30 - Big Joe Davis and the Lowell hitters 43:00 - Updating the book on Ryan Zeferjahn and Aldo Ramirez 52:00 - Salem's post season run 1:06:15 - September rankings update 1:25:00 - Mailbag question Players mentioned in the show Jay Groome Yusniel Padron-Artiles Big Joe Davis Cameron Cannon Roldani Baldwin Ceddanne Rafaela Matthew Lugo Ryan Zeferjahn Aldo

After focusing on the Lowell Spinners last episode, Chris and Ian emptied their scouting notebooks, which they filled in recent weeks with stops to see the Greenville Drive and Portland Sea Dogs. As if that weren't enough, Red Sox VP of Amateur Scouting Mike Rikard joined the podcast to talk about scouting for the draft generally and the 2019 draft class in particular. Listen in! 0:00 - Intros, housekeeping, email us and remember to check us out on Patreon. Chris mentioned Patreon game updates, visit our Patreon page to get more details on how you can get exclusive access to the latest news from the system 4:30 - Jay Groome returns 11:00 - Greenville scouting update 30:15 - Yoan Aybar promoted to Salem 32:15 - Portland scouting update 1:02:15 - Rikard interview Players mentioned in the show Jay Groome Noah Song Ryan Zeferjahn Yusniel Padron-Artiles Gilberto Jimenez Triston Casas Brandon Howlett Tyler Dearden Kervin Suarez Cole Brannen Kevin Biondic Chase Shugart Denyi Reyes Yoan Aybar Robbie Baker Yorvin

The annual summer hiatus is over. Chris and Ian return to update you with the latest from around the Red Sox' system. First up, they share insights on the DSL guys dealt for Andrew Cashner. The guys do a back of the envelope review of the 2020 big league club bench. From there, Chris goes over the late season promotions. With that covered, Ian and Chris talk about the Lowell Spinners. And man, that club is interesting. There isn't a night where you won't see a dude on the hill. Chris and Ian break down who's shoving, raking and the guys who just need the offseason to get here. In closing, the guys crack open the mailbag to get to your questions. Listen in! 0:00 - Intros, housekeeping, email us and remember to check us out on Patreon. Chris mentioned Patreon game updates, visit our Patreon page to get more details on how you can get exclusive access to the latest news from the system 4:30 - Welcome to Boston, Andrew Cashner 7:30 - Quick look at 2020's big league bench 10:30 - Promotions roundup 24:00 - Lowel

The draft signing deadline has passed, and the Red Sox were busy. Chris and Ian took a look at the organization’s final push to add amateur talent and sized up the 2019 class. Plus, a new month means new rankings and a chance to discuss some promotions and moves to the bullpen, as well as some recent looks at the Lowell Spinners. And we close, as always, with a heaping helping of your emails! Listen in! 0:00: Intro 3:30: Draft signings: Song signed for a Song and Day 3 overslot signings 18:05: New Rankings, including discussion of... - July 2 signings - Bryan Mata moving up (& moving up) - Darwinzon and Houck move to the ‘pen - Checking in on Jimenez & Flores, plus more from Lowell - Thaddeus Ward and pitch design 49:35: Listener emails: answers about Mookie, Houck, and Song, among others Players discussed: Cameron Cannon Noah Song Chris Murphy Cody Scroggins Stephen Scott Brendan Cellucci Blake Loubier Karson Simas Bradley Blalock Feleipe Franks Bryan Mata Darwinzon Hernandez Tanner Houck Gilberto Ji