SoxProspects.com Red Sox Podcast

Within a week of the major league club making a pair of huge signings in Pablo Sandoval and Hanley Ramirez, Baseball Prospectus has dropped its Red Sox Top 10 prospects list, which means one thing... the return of Chris Mellen to the podcast! Hatfield, Matt, and Ian welcomed back the Dean of #diesel, now one of the men in charge of the BP prospect team, to discuss BP's list and the state of the farm. And by the way, please take our one-minute survey at http://bit.ly/SPPodSurvey!

Thursday's reserve list deadline came and went without much fanfare, but that doesn't mean there was nothing to talk about. While the roster additions were the four we all expected, Chris and Matt ran through those who were not added to the 40-man roster and may be potential selections in next month's Rule 5 Draft. Of course, that wasn't all that happened this week, so the guys said goodbye with a look back at Alex Hassan's time with the organization, then moved on to shiny new toy Juan Francisco and what he brings to the Red Sox. Finally, a pair of listener emails led to discussions of Cuban free agent Yoan Moncada and whatever happened to Jose Vinicio.

A long-time coming, Chris, Ian, and Matt got on the horn to talk about Ian's trip to the Fall Instructional League! Michael Kopech, Rafael Devers, Michael Chavis, Javier Guerra, Jake Cosart, and many more players were in our Director of Scouting's crosshairs. Also on the agenda: a quick run through the offseason leagues, with a chat about what to make of the numbers put up by Sean Coyle, Deven Marrero, and Robby Scott in the Arizona Fall League. PLUS, a listener mailbag spectacular! What should the Sox do with their glut of upper-minors pitching? Who did we like in Lowell this year? What does next year's draft look like? The answers to those and more await! (And please, if you're even a part-time listener of the show, please fill out the survey at http://bit.ly/SPPodSurvey. You'll be doing us a big-time solid.)

It is rankings season! Our friend Alex Speier of WEEI.com published his Red Sox Top 10 Prospects for Baseball America recently, so we had him on the pod to talk about his rankings and to pick his brain about the state of the Red Sox system. We're talking top 10, graduates, sleepers, disappointments and more! Even colossal squids! There's only one way to hear it all... hit that download button! Also, we're asking our listeners from a BIG favor. If you're even a part-time listener of the show, please fill out the survey at http://bit.ly/SPPodSurvey. You will be doing us a major solid. (Note that you can fill the survey out without giving your email.)

Things are bad in Boston and the minor league season is over, but that doesn't mean there's nothing to talk about! Chris and Ian got on the horn to take your emails, talk about the recently released Fall Instructional League roster, and project who the Red Sox might protect in December's Rule 5 draft.

It took a bit, but the good news is that SoxProspects South is fully operational and the podcast is back! Matt relays his observations from Pawtucket, and Chris brings some goodies from catching Salem in Frederick. Then we finally get to a couple of your emails, answering questions about Jackie Bradley, Deven Marrero, Rafael Devers, and Michael Chavis.

After the craziest Red Sox trade deadline in recent memory, Chris, Matt, and Ian were ready to break it all down. What is up with all the young, upper-minors pitchers? Who exactly did the Sox get? What on earth does the roster look like now? We have all of your answers here.

Chris got Matt and Ian on the horn to talk about the recent big dates on the player acquisition calendar: the July 2 opening of the international signing period, and the July 18 draft signing deadline. Did the Red Sox screw up by going over their international pool allotment to sign one extra pitcher? Did anything interesting happen among the draftees? Listen and find out!

Fresh off the heels of the first half of the midseason review, Chris, Ian, and Jon got back on the horn for part two, taking a look at how things have gone in Salem, Portland, and Pawtucket so far. We also took some of your emails, answering your questions about Mookie Betts, Garin Cecchini, and the draft! Want to impress your friends at parties? Hit the download button!

Finally getting back onto the normal schedule, Chris, Ian, and Jon started our midseason review, taking a look at the season thus far in the DSL, GCL, Lowell, and Greenville. Oh, and the top prospect in the system got promoted to Boston this week, so of course we talked about Mookie Betts's arrival in Boston. Hear the guys talk about who's up, who's down, and get the first of two rants in this two-part episode as Chris vents about players in the GCL not actually playing.

Today's show, "2014 Draft Recap." Act One: Who'd We Pick? Chris talks with Matt and runs down the whole draft. Are these guys good? Where'd all the college seniors go? You'll hear the answers to these questions and more. Act Two: Scouting the Newbies. Chris gets Ian to dish on what he sees from the players selected in the first ten rounds in videos and scouting reports. From Chris's computer in Salem, New Hampshire, it's the SoxProspects.com Podcast. Stay with us.

After a bit of a break, Chris, Matt, and Ian had some things to discuss. Ian and Chris have seen Portland recently, and they had plenty to dish after seeing one of the most prospect-laden teams in the country, on players like Mookie Betts, Blake Swihart, Henry Owens, Brian Johnson, Sean Coyle, and the very recently promoted Travis Shaw (so recent that he was still in Portland when we recorded). We also answered your emails and talked about which prospects in the system are due for a promotion. You know Sergio? Join us!

With the first week-and-a-half of the season in the books, Chris, Ian, and Matt got on the horn after Pawtucket's first homestand to ruminate on the state of the system's Triple-A affiliate. The guys traded notes on Allen Webster, Anthony Ranaudo, Rubby De La Rosa, Garin Cecchini, and more. In addition, the guys took a quick spin around the other affiliates, highlighting the top performers so far on the young season, as well as answering a couple of your emails. FEEL THE POWER OF THE PODCAST!!

Minor League Opening Day 2014 is here, and we're getting you ready! Chris, Jon, and Ian talked about the season-opening rosters at the four full-season affiliates, touching on Trey Ball and Ty Buttrey's absence from the Greenville roster, the conservative initial assignments of several pitchers, and of course the strongest (Pawtucket) and weakest (Salem, by far) rosters.

On Saturday, the guys roamed the back fields for the A-ball and Rookie-level games, and there was plenty to see, first and foremost our first look at 2013 first-rounder Trey Ball. Chris also shared an interview with Peter Hissey about his offseason teaching English in Ecuador and his thoughts entering his seventh year in the system.

With three days of camp to catch up on, there was plenty for the guys to talk about. In the second dispatch from the Fort, the guys talk about what they've seen from Anthony Ranaudo, Allen Webster, Myles Smith, Garin Cecchini, Blake Swihart, Rafael Devers, and more!

After the crew's first day(s) out on the back fields, Chris screwed up and deleted the audio from the short podcast we recorded. But don't worry - we'll do it right tomorrow. We still have an interview for all of you with PawSox broadcaster Jeff Levering about his take on the past five days of camp!

What better way to celebrate St. Patrick's Day than with the final offseason ranking of the Red Sox top prospects? Longtime friend of the site Jim Callis, now part of MLB.com's MLB Pipeline team, came on the podcast to chat about his new gig and his top 20 list. Topics ranged from why Jim thinks Mookie Betts is the best second baseman in the minors, how close Xander Bogaerts is to consensus top prospect Byron Buxton, and more!

Chris, Jon, Ian, and, eventually, Matt thought it time to get to your emails, so that could mean one thing: mailbag podcast. You asked about first-timers in MLB camp, Steven Wright's place on the 40-man roster, trading with the Cubs, Garin Cecchini's chances of forcing his way into the Majors, and whether the Sox can continue to stay near the top of the farm system rankings, and we talked about all of it. Just how distracted can Chris be while a Sox-O's game is on in the background? Download and find out!

We continued our offseason rankings conversations by chatting with ESPN's Keith Law. We asked Keith about how the Sox system compares to other top systems, how Garin Cecchini compares to Bill Mueller, who might be breaking into the top 10 in the future, and more! Who needs a Valentine's day date when you can listen to Chris, Matt, and Ian?

No guest this week, but an action-packed episode nonetheless! Chris and Matt play some audio from interviews with Blake Swihart, Mookie Betts, and Drake Britton from New Stars for Young Stars, and along with Ian, get back to the inbox with more than a month of emails to answer. Questions hit on players changing positions, how the current crop of pitching prospects compares to past groups, the Rookie Development Program, and more. And in this episode's Where Are They Now?, we covered the prospects in the Erik Bedard trade. (Note: We apologize for the errors contained in a previously uploaded version of this episode. Those issues should now be fixed.)

We've hit 50 episodes! To celebrate, Chris and Ian had a chat about Baseball Prospectus's Red Sox Top 10 list with BP's Jason Parks and our very own Chris Mellen. Discussion hit on Jason and the BP prospect team's process for making their lists, a rundown of the Parks vocabulary, and, put simply, every nook and cranny of BP's Red Sox list and beyond.

It's ranking season! With the release of Baseball America's Red Sox Top 10 prospects list, we were joined by Alex Speier, also of WEEI.com, to talk about the list. We discussed his process for researching and writing the scouting reports and ranking the players, the tiers that developed at the top of the list and... well, too much stuff to recount here, but trust us, we talked about a lot of stuff. Just listen!

There may not be much going on, but Chris, Matt, and Jon still got up from their Thanksgiving naps to answer some reader questions. Among the subjects on tap were how contracts are calculated against the Competitive Balance Tax, how the Sox plan to use Cuban pitcher Dalier Hinojosa, what to make of Brian Johnson's 2013 season, and a lightning round of quick player questions. Inspired by a listener email, we debuted a new regular segment, tentatively called "Where Are They Now?", where we check in on former Sox prospects. Today, we look back at the prospects involved in the Adrian Gonzalez trade.

After shaking off their World Series hangovers, Chris, Matt, and Ian pulled themselves together to set up the offseason. Listener e-mails covered which upper-level pitchers might move to the bullpen, a review of who the heck Devern Hansack was, and how players get picked for the Arizona Fall League. The offseason preview covered the rest of the winter leagues, the Rule 5 draft, free agency, and everything you need to know to get you through until pitchers and catchers.

During a lull before the World Series, Chris, Jon, and Ian got together to answer a bunch of your questions. Bogaerts and Workman on baseball's biggest stage! What players have made the biggest improvements this year? Who's everyone's next prospect binkie going to be? Just how ridiculous of a dboule-entendre can Chris use to describe his beard? All this and much more await. Listen now!

Mike Andrews makes his triumphant return to the podcast to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the website with Chris. We tried our hardest not to make this a back-slapping, hey-remember-when yuk-fest, but did we succeed? Who knows? Stories from the site's inception and growth abound.

Chris, Jon, and Ian (showing some #want by checking in from England) come dangerously close to the two-hour mark as they put a bow on the 2013 minor league season. Nearly no stone is left unturned as the guys go through the SoxProspects.com award winners and All-Stars. And as you might expect with an episode this long, things get a bit punchy. Dropped computers! WWE entrance music! LISTEN NOW!

Chris, Matt, Jon, and Ian got together for a super-size episode, leading off with their reaction to the call-up and usage of Xander Bogaerts in Boston. They also discussed some of the system's hottest players in Mookie Betts, Henry Owens, and Manuel Margot; the announcement of the Arizonal Fall League rosters; the past month's promotions; and who might get the call to Boston in September. Plus Jon tells a visitor that he's on a conference call. Yeah, things kind of fell apart at the end.

The podcast returns, as Chris chats with Matt and Ian about the three-team trade that brought Jake Peavy and Brayan Villarreal in exchange for Jose Iglesias, Frank Montas, Cleuluis Rondon, and JB Wendelken, including the players involved and repercussions going forward for the Red Sox. Plus, the guys gabbed a bit about the promotions of Anthony Ranaudo and Henry Owens.

Chris is joined by Matt Huegel and Ian Cundall to talk about... well... everything that's happened since last episode, and that happens to be a lot of stuff. We hit the draft signing deadline. We hit the opening of the international signing season. We talk about the promotions of Brandon Workman, Drake Britton, and Mookie Betts. We talk about Brandon Jacobs getting traded to Chicago. We talk about the Futures Game. Why? Because we like you.

Well, a little over a year after the "forgot to hit record" incident, Chris screwed up and deleted the audio from part 2 of last week's podcast. However, he made up for it by recording a new episode with Ian Cundall, going over the news--including Will Middlebrooks' demotion, Garin Cecchini's promotion, and Trey Ball's signing--before delving into the players to watch in Lowell and the GCL this year. Also, Chris sneezes really loudly during the middle and leaves it in to show he's a good sport. This week we open with another track from Young London's new EP, Instincts, called "That Feeling." Check them out on iTunes, at facebook.com/younglondonmusic, and on the Spotify stage at this summer's Warped Tour.

With Chris Mellen back from his yearly southern swing, the two unofficial members of SoxProspects South, Chris Hatfield and Jon Meoli, hit him with some questions about the players he saw at the two full-season A-ball affiliates. The guys also talked about Xander Bogaerts's promotion to Pawtucket, Jon Denney signing for way less than we thought he would, and the rest of the news.

After a big week for the Red Sox, Chris Hatfield, Matt Huegel, and Ian Cundall reviewed the results from the Red Sox' 2013 draft. They speculate on which of the highly-ranked high school players might sign, discuss their new draft binkies, and answer reader questions. Plus, the guys got to some news on the farm, including Xander Bogaerts's hot streak and potential to be promoted soon, Brandon Workman's actual promotion to Pawtucket, Jose Iglesias's official graduation to Boston, and the start of the Dominican Summer League. And of course, Chris makes a bunch of references that nobody gets, per usual.

With the Sox's selections of Trey Ball and Teddy Stankiewicz in the books, Chris Hatfield, Jon Meoli, and Ian Cundall evaluated the selections and speculated about the organization's potential strategy in its remaining picks.

DRAFT PREVIEW EDITION! Chris Hatfield, Ian Cundall, and Jon Meoli preview this week's draft. With the Sox picking at number 7 overall, excitement is high for the highest pick the club has had in years. The guys talk about the draft as a whole (not good), the Sox' recent draft history and strategy, and look at the players who may be the pick at number 7. Also, Chris chases a fly around his apartment and Ian watches a shaving commercial.

Back on schedule, Chris Hatfield, Matt Huegel, and Ian Cundall got together to discuss the news of the week, including what depth there is at third base in Pawtucket given Jose Iglesias's move over and why Greenville's lineup is a bit lacking in prospect power. Listener questions included inquiries on Garin Cecchini, Brandon Workman, and Brandon Jacobs. Finally, we hit on what Jackie Bradley, Jr. has been up to since going back to Pawtucket, and discuss whether he'll be back soon.

After a short haitus, the guys are back. Chris, Matt, and Jon talk about the goings on in Pawtucket, Portland, and Salem, discussing players like Rubby De La Rosa, Xander Bogaerts, and Garin Cecchini, and also hit on what Mookie Betts is doing down in Greenville. Also Jon's roommate walks in and can be heard in the background at one point.

After a week off, Chris Hatfield, Matt Huegel, and Ian Cundall gabbed about the players who've had the best starts to the season, and what conclusions we can draw (hint: not many) from one month of data.

The minor league season is just over a week old, and the SoxProspects team is already out there reporting from the field. On this episode, Chris gets on the horn with Jon Meoli, who was at Salem's season-opening series in Frederick, and Chris Mellen, who caught Portland's opener and hadn't been on yet to talk about Spring Training. Per Jon's request, we opened with some Justin Timberlake; forgive us.

On this episode, the guys review what we learned at Spring Training (which you can also catch up on at news.soxprospects.com), and analyze the season-opening rosters at the four full-season affiliates. Also discussed: Jon Meoli's hair.

Chris H. and Matt talk about the big stories of spring training so far, which in a happy coincidence are almost entirely prospect related. Jackie Bradley, Allen Webster, Xander Bogaerts and more are on the agenda. Plus, the fellas talk about battles for major league roster spots and discuss which projected 2013 roster is most intriguing to them.

With some fresh audio from the Jimmy Fund's New Stars for Young Stars event, the guys discuss five players and their upcoming seasons.

Hey, remember when we had a podcast? Well, we actually still do, although it's been a minute since the last episode. Chris Hatfield, Chris Mellen, Matt Huegel, and, eventually, Mike Andrews discussed the rising "new core" of homegrown Sox players, and how that core could be factoring in to the organization's planning. They also discussed their internal debates when ranking the system's top 10 prospects. A special thanks to The Ludlow Thieves, from NYC, for providing this episode's intro track, "All the Money." Check them out at www.theludlowthieves.com.

With the dog days of the season upon us, Chris Hatfield, Chris Mellen, and Matt Huegel chatted about Xander Bogaerts and the exodus of talent from Salem to Portland, touching on what that says about the system on the whole, as well as who fans can expect to see called up to Boston when rosters expand. The guys also took questions from Twitter and discussed Mellen's burgeoning collection of Pauly Shore movies. Intrigued?

Buckle up! We've got a long one here, as Chris Hatfield, Chris Mellen, Matt Huegel and Ian Cundall discuss what's been going on in Pawtucket, Portland, AND Lowell, plus touch briefly on the end of the draft signing period and blow through a "short" 20-minute "lightning round."

This week, we take a break from making you listen to us talk about the players and let you hear from the players themselves! We've got short interviews with Jose Iglesias, Deven Marrero, and Pat Light from LeLacheur Park in Lowell for your listening pleasure.

Chris Hatfield got on the horn with Chris Mellen and Jon Meoli to talk about the goings on at the southern affiliates, Salem and Greenville, in this edition of the podcast. Among the players they dished on: Matt Barnes, Xander Bogaerts, Jackie Bradley, Henry Owens, Blake Swihart, and Garin Cecchini. The guys also chatted briefly about Ryan Kalish's return to the major leagues and the growing list of Sox draft picks to sign.

In this year's draft podcast special, Chris Hatfield, Chris Mellen, and Matt Huegel chat about this past week's draft, breaking down how things shook out in the first year under the new CBA and dishing out the scouting reports on the Sox' new picks.

Don't call it a comeback: The Chrises and Matt Huegel hooked up to re-boot the podcast in its new, shorter format to discuss the big stories of the season so far: Will Middlebrooks, Matt Barnes, and Jackie Bradley.