AFL Wrapup & Roster Ramblings (Guest: Max Anderson)
In the latest Pipeline Podcast, Jim Callis, Jonathan Mayo & Jason Ratliff put a bow on the just-concluded Arizona Fall League season. They recap the playoffs and the award winners before Jim interviews AFL batting champion Max Anderson (Tigers). Then they shift their focus to difficult roster decisions teams faced as they finalized their 40-man roster to protect prospects from the Rule 5 Draft at the Winter Meetings. They also look forward to the most intriguing matchups on the 2026 Spring Breakout schedule before circling back to the Fall League for a listener mailbag question.
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1:24:53
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1:24:53
AFL homestretch and Rookies of the Year (Guest: Tommy White)
It's the final week of the Arizona Fall League and that was the focus for much of this week's MLB Pipeline Podcast. Jim Callis, Jonathan Mayo and Jason Ratliff broke down all the action from last weekend's Fall Stars Game and discussed contenders for the league's awards, from MVP to breakout player. Then Jonathan sat down with A's infield prospect Tommy White to talk about his AFL experience and his hopes to join an exciting young big league roster. From there, the guys discussed the 2025 Rookies of the Year (and the fact both Nick Kurtz and Drake Baldwin played in the AFL last year) and then made pick for frontrunners for the 2026 award before answering a Mailbag question about one of those contenders, Blue Jays right-hander Trey Yesavage.
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1:17:46
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1:17:46
More Fall (Classic and League) talk (Guest: Dante Nori)
On the latest edition of the Pipeline Podcast, Jim Callis, Jonathan Mayo and Jason Ratliff put a bow on the recently completed World Series by recapping the drama and the many heroes on both sides. Next up are discussions of the Rookie of the Year finalists, the always perilous long-term rookie rankings (Roman Anthony vs. Nick Kurtz!) and the Gold Glove winners. Then the guys shift their focus to the Minors (which current prospects could win big league Gold Gloves in 2026) and the Arizona Fall League (Jonathan interviews Phillies outfielder Dante Nori, plus players to look forward to in the Fall Stars Game). As always, the podcast concludes with a listener mailbag question, this time about which Top 100 Prospects are the best bets to win future Gold Gloves and Silver Sluggers.
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1:28:58
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1:28:58
A World Series Classic, Plus AFL Musings (Guest: Daniel Espino)
Our Pipeline Podcast hosts still have a little gas left in the tank after an epic 18-inning World Series contest, and Jim Callis, Jonathan Mayo and Jason Ratliff begin by discussing the Game 3 thriller featuring typical heroes (Freedie Freeman, Shohei Ohtani) and one we never saw coming (Will Klein). After that, they shift their focus to the Arizona Fall League. They talk about the most recent Hitter and Pitcher of the Week (Tigers infielder Kevin McGonigle, Astros right-hander James Hicks) and spotlight Statcast standouts such as Pirates outfielder Esmerlyn Valdez and Tigers infielder Max Anderson. Jonathan interviews Guardians right-hander Daniel Espino, who's showcasing some of the best stuff in the Fall League after missing more than three years following a pair of shoulder surgeries, and then the guys wrap it up with a mailbag question about which farm systems have stood out the most in the AFL.
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1:01:04
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1:01:04
Fall classics... in Arizona (Guest: Walker Janek)
While the baseball world understandably has much of its focus on the impeding World Series, the MLB Pipeline crew has been keeping tabs on the other exciting action in the Arizona Fall League. Sam Dykstra, Jonathan Mayo and Jason Ratliff spent the bulk of this week's episode digging into the AFL, from top performances from Pirates sluggers Esmerlyn Valdez and Tony Blanco Jr. to pitching performances from the Orioles left-hander Luis De Leon. Sam also sat down with Astros No. 4 prospect Walker Janek, who is off to a hot start in Arizona. The gang did spend some time on the World Series, looking at how the Dodgers and Blue Jays were built and how members of both rosters stack up as former prospects before answering a Mailbag question about one of them, Trey Yesavage.
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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.