MLB Pipeline

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

Sports
Baseball
326
4/18/18: Colton Welker interview, Ronald Acuna ...
MLB Pipeline’s Jonathan Mayo and Jim Callis, along with MLB.com’s Tim McMaster, chat with Rockies prospect and California League Player of the Week Colton Welker about his hot start and more (:58). They also discuss Ronald Acuna’s slow start and when the right time is for the Braves to promote their top prospect (13:35). Later, the guys look ahead to the MLB Draft focusing on Auburn Junior right-hander Casey Mize, who has separated himself at the top of draft boards this spring (26:07).
37 min
327
4/12/18: Pipeline spotlight's Shohei Ohtani's g...
MLB Pipeline's Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo, along with MLB.com's Tim McMaster, examine Shohei Ohtani's amazing first week in the Majors (1:00). The guys also revisit Mayo's trip to Dayton, including his interviews with Reds prospects Hunter Greene (8:20) and Jeter Downs (15:25), and Indians prospect Will Benson (20:40). Later they discuss who has impressed them in the first week of the Minor League season (26:00) and how the 80-game suspension of Boston's Michael Chavis could impact his development (32:30).
40 min
328
4/5/18: Recapping The Inaugural Pipeline Fantas...
MLB Pipeline's Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo, along with MLB.com's Tim McMaster, discuss the results of their first ever Pipeline Fantasy Prospect Draft. The rules of the draft were simple: those participating could only choose players from the MLB Pipeline top 100 list, as well as players from the Pipeline’s top 10 position lists. They’re also joined on the podcast by Jordan Shusterman of Cespedes Family BBQ (8:13), editorial producer Jason Ratliff (18:10) and Pipeline’s Mike Rosenbaum (38:56) to discuss their picks and to talk a little trash on what should be an entertaining inaugural fantasy prospect season.
47 min
329
3/29/18: Live from the National High School Inv...
MLB Pipeline’s Jonathan Mayo and MLB.com’s Tim McMaster are on location at the USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary, N.C. for this week’s National High School Invitational. The guys are joined by Mountain Ridge High School (Ariz.) senior southpaw Matt Liberatore after the top prep Draft prospect’s dominating performance in the tournament’s first round (:26). Then, Tom “Flash” Gordon joins the podcast to share his thoughts on the seventh annual event (6:03). Flash and Mayo break down what they’ve seen from top Draft prospects Nolan Gorman, Tristan Casas, Cole Winn, Jordyn Adams and more.
18 min
330
3/23/18: Top Prospects Competing for Opening Da...
MLB Pipeline's Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo, along with MLB.com's Tim McMaster, break down Atlanta’s decision to send down No.2 overall prospect, Ronald Acuna, to the Minors. They also discuss some of the top interviews from Jonathan’s travels around Florida’s Grapefruit League (6:45) and talk about which top prospects are vying for Opening Day roster spots (21:45). Plus, the guys give their 2018 playoff predictions (32:50).
41 min
331
3/14/18: Best Double-Play Duos, Minor League Ru...
MLB Pipeline's Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo, along with MLB.com's Tim McMaster, break down the best double-play combos in the Minors (:50), examine some of the best prospect interviews from this year’s Cactus and Grapefruit leagues (5:30) and discuss what players have surprised this spring (22:40). The guys also share their opinions on the new Minor League extra-inning rules (28:15).
35 min
332
3/8/18: Padres Prospect Gore on His Big Leg Kic...
MLB Pipeline’s Jonathan Mayo and MLB.com’s Tim McMaster look back on Jonathan’s Cactus League travels. Padres’ prospect MacKenzie Gore talks about his big leg kick (7:00), White Sox outfielder Blake Rutherford discusses what he learned from a tough 2017 season (11:15), Rangers ’17 second-round pick Hans Crouse talks about his “Cueto shimmy” and on-field antics (15:30) and Rockies prospect and Stoneman Douglas High School graduate Colton Welker discusses how he is coping with the tragic events in his hometown (18:45).
23 min
333
3/2/18: Prospect Injuries, Top 10 Organizationa...
MLB Pipeline’s Jonathan Mayo and MLB.com’s Tim McMaster dive into early Spring Training action. Among the topics: Serious injuries to Rays prospect Brent Honeywell and White Sox prospect Jake Burger (1:15), Tim’s recent conversations with prospects in the Grapefruit League (5:25), Jonathan’s upcoming trip to the Cactus league (10:15) and MLB Pipeline’s Top 10 organizational rankings (15:00).
24 min
334
2/16/18: Questions from Cespedes Family BBQ
MLB Pipeline’s Jonathan Mayo and Jim Callis take on questions from Cespedes Family Barbecue’s Jake Mintz and Jordan Shusterman regarding the Top 100 prospects. Among the topics: whether Tyler O’Neill can get time in the Cardinals outfield (2:25); which Rays prospect will break into the Majors first (4:10); if Francisco Mejia can develop into a catcher for the Indians (7:15); where Scott Kingery fits into the Phillies infield (11:45); if Willie Calhoun will hit enough to force his way into the Rangers lineup (17:45); whether Luiz Gohara will start the season in the Braves rotation (20:20); what Walker Buehler’s 2018 campaign could look like (24:25); and where White Sox phenom Luis Robert will play this season. (29:50).
34 min
335
2/8/18: Sam Geaney Interview, Top 30 Look Ahead
MLB Pipeline’s Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo, along with MLB.com’s Tim McMaster, chat with Padres Director of Player Development Sam Geaney about the loaded Padres system and how the club will handle prospects like MacKenzie Gore, Fernando Tatis Jr. and others. They also discuss the upcoming team Top 30 prospect lists and pick a five-man rotation made up of only the 2018 rookie class.
35 min
336
2/1/18: 2018 Top 100 Prospect List
MLB Pipeline's Jim Callis, Jonathan Mayo and Mike Rosenbaum, along with MLB.com's Tim McMaster, discuss former No. 1 overall draft pick Mark Appel's decision to leave the game, and they explain how they assembled the latest Top 100 prospects list (6:05). They also break down the top 10 players on the list and the top farm systems (11:35), examine the biggest risers and fallers from the rankings (23:00) and talk about the most surprising prospects from the Top 100 (30:30).
36 min
337
1/26/18: Mike Soroka Interview, Top 10 Position...
MLB Pipeline's Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo, along with MLB.com's Tim McMaster, chat with Braves pitching prospect Mike Soroka to find out what he thinks about playing in Atlanta's organization, what he feels are his greatest strengths and what he stills needs to work on. They also discuss which teams have the best farm systems and they draft a team from the players on the Top 10 position lists.
34 min
338
1/18/18: Pirates Reinforce Farm System
MLB Pipeline's Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo, along with MLB.com's Tim McMaster, break down the prospect haul that the Pirates received in the recent Gerrit Cole and Andrew McCutchen trades. They also discuss the Top 10 Prospects lists for right-handed pitchers (15:22), left-handed pitchers (21:45), and catchers (27:20).
33 min
339
1/11/18: 2018 Top 100 Preview
MLB Pipeline's Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo, along with MLB.com's Tim McMaster, lead off this edition of the podcast by previewing their 2018 Top 100 Prospects list and Top 10 position lists, which will be revealed over the next two weeks. They also discuss which player baseball executives voted as baseball's best prospect and which non-Top 10 prospect will increase his profile the most this season. They also recap some of the best interviews from last week's Rookie Career Development Program.
35 min
340
1/4/18: Top Candidates for No. 1 Ranking
MLB Pipeline's Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo, along with MLB.com's Tim McMaster, begin this week's show by taking a closer look at the Rookie Career Development Program and the players that they are most looking forward to talking to at this year's event. They also discuss the candidates for the No. 1 prospect in baseball and players who are ready to jump into the new Top 100 list.
26 min
341
12/13/17: 2017 Winter Meetings
On this edition of the podcast, MLB Pipeline's Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo, along with MLB.com's Tim McMaster, break down the prospects going back to the Marlins in the Giancarlo Stanton trade (2:15), explore the news of Shohei Ohtani having a sprained ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow (6:45), preview the upcoming Rule 5 Draft (11:25) and discuss the MLB Scouts of the Year. (19:40)
23 min
342
12/7/17: 2018 Top 50 Draft List
MLBPipeline.com's Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo, along with MLB.com's Tim McMaster, break down the best prospects from the new 2018 Top 50 Draft List. University of Florida right-hander Brady Singer heads the rankings, followed by right-handed high school hurler Ethan Hankins and prep lefty Matthew Liberatore. The crew also discusses the Angels' signing of former Braves prospect Kevin Maitan and provides insight on next week's Winter Meetings.
27 min
343
11/30/17: Two-Way Phenom: Shohei Ohtani
Japanese star Shohei Ohtani could be a complete game-changer for any team in the Majors next season. MLBPipeline.com's Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo, along with MLB.com's Tim McMaster, break down Ohtani's skillset as both an ace pitcher and an MLB-caliber hitter. They also discuss how Ohtani's success could change how other dual-threat prospects are evaluated (3:55), explain the free-agent market for the 13 prospects that the Braves lost for circumventing the international signing rules (9:50), and run down their list of the most intriguing players eligible for the Rule 5 Draft (15:15).
25 min
344
11/17/17: Arizona Fall League Championship
MLBPipeline.com's Jonathan Mayo and Jim Callis along with MLB.com's Tim McMaster preview the Arizona Fall League championship game, present their choice for Fall League MVP, look ahead at early 2018 Rookie of the Year candidates, discuss what teams have the right prospect package to trade for Giancarlo Stanton and discuss the prospects the Mariners gave up in a pair of trades to open up the Hot Stove season.
32 min
345
11/9/17: Fall Stars Game
One of the highlights of every Arizona Fall League season is the annual Fall Stars Game. MLBPipeline.com's Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo break down the best performers from the showcase event, including the game's MVP, No. 2 overall prospect Victor Robles. Callis talks about who he is most excited to see as he returns to Arizona for the last week of action, and he and Mayo discuss the tragic death of Red Sox catching prospect Daniel Flores.
31 min
346
10/26/17: The Arizona Fall League in Full Swing
With the 2017 Arizona Fall League in full swing, some of the games brightest and top prospects have been getting in their extra work. MLBPipeline.com's Jonathan Mayo and Mike Rosenbaum discuss what they've seen from the Arizona Fall League so far and what stands out the most to them, along with discussing possible high school draft picks for the 2018 Draft. They also spend some time talking with Jake Gatewood of the Milwaukee Brewers' farm system about his time in the Fall League, his 2017 Minor League campaign and more.
27 min
347
10/17/17: Fall League Interviews
MLBPipeline.com's Jonathan Mayo recently caught up with some of the game's best young talent at this year's Arizona Fall League. He spoke with Brewers No. 14 prospect Monte Harrison (1:34), Cardinals No. 18 prospect Oscar Mercado (4:43), Rays No. 13 prospect Brandon Lowe (7:50), Rangers outfield prospect - and nephew of former Yankees great Paul O'Neill - Michael O'Neill (12:00), Giants No. 2 prospect Chris Shaw (14:48), Mariners No. 5 prospect Braden Bishop (18:52), Nationals No. 23 prospect Taylor Gushue (23:40) and Dodgers No. 8 prospect Will Smith (27:46) as they prepared to showcase their skills in the prestigious Fall League.
33 min
348
10/6/17: Building a Winner
MLBPipeline.com's Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo, along with MLB.com's Tim McMaster, break down the many ways that this year's postseason teams were able to build their winning rosters. They also predict the World Series winner by using Wins Above Replacement (WAR) (11:55), discuss the Arizona Fall League's new extra-inning runner-placement rule (22:10) and preview which prospects they are looking forward to seeing in the Arizona Fall League (27:18).
34 min
349
9/29/17: Playoff Rookie Draft
On this edition of the podcast, MLBPipeline.com's Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo along with MLB.com's Tim McMaster try their hand at general manager and draft the best rookies from teams heading into the postseason. They also take a look back at their preseason playoff predictions and tell us which team will be crowned World Series champions.
30 min
350
9/22/17: Prospects on the Rise
MLBPipeline.com's Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo, along with MLB.com's Tim McMaster, begin this week's episode by breaking down which pitchers and hitters have improved their stock the most during the 2017 season. Blue Jays prospect Bo Bichette is one of the players that is quickly rising up the rankings, and he joins the show to talk about becoming the first teenager since 1963 to lead the Minors in batting average. The Pipeline crew also discusses which rookies they think have the most long-term potential (16:50) and whether scouts think Shohei Ohtani will make a better pitcher or hitter in the Major Leagues (23:00).
31 min