Ben and Carlos talk about Baseball America’s new top 500 high school player ranking, as well the new star rating system we are unveiling to help further contextualize high school recruits. The two talk about what separates a five-star, four-star and three-star high school player and then talk through some of the top recruiting classes in the country. After that the two hit on a few notable Top 100 risers and the different ways that UCLA shortstop Roch Cholowsky and Georgia Tech catcher Vahn Lackey ended their 2026 seasons.

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Time Stamps

• (2:30) Top 500 High School list and new star system ratings
• (7:30) Why the star system ranking is different from BA grades
• (11:40) What is a BA five-star recruit?
• (18:30) Four-star players are the backbone of premier recruiting classes
• (23:40) What does a three-star prospect entail?
• (29:00) How the star scale applies to underclassmen
• (32:55) The schools with the most exciting recruiting classes
• (40:40) Top 100 talk
• (41:00) Travis Bazzana
• (44:00) Ryan Sloan
• (46:30) Ethan Salas
• (49:30) Theo Gillen
• (51:30) Mike Sirota
• (55:10) Luis Hernandez
• (56:50) Alfredo Duno
• (59:00) Roch Cholowsky vs. Vahn Lackey

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Do you have feedback for the show or want to ask us a question? Email us: futureprojection@baseballamerica.com.

Future Projection Twitter: @FutureProPod

Ben's Twitter: @BenBadler

Carlos's Twitter: @CarlosACollazo

Baseball America Website

In this week’s listener mailbag, Ben and Carlos take questions like: can you make the case for Jacob Lombard over Grady Emerson? Where would UC Santa Barbara righthander Jackson Flora stack up with other Giants pitching prospects? Who are the top DSL pitchers to watch? Why isn’t Georgia catcher Daniel Jackson ranked even higher?

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Time Stamps:

• (0:50) Give me an argument for taking Jacob Lombard over Grady Emerson
• (7:00) Where would Jackson Flora rank among top Giants pitching prospects?
• (12:00) Who are the best arms in the DSL this season?
• (18:00) Why isn’t Daniel Jackson ranked higher?

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Do you have feedback for the show or want to ask us a question? Email us: futureprojection@baseballamerica.com.

Future Projection Twitter: @FutureProPod

Ben's Twitter: @BenBadler

Carlos's Twitter: @CarlosACollazo

Baseball America Website

Ben and Carlos talk about the upcoming NCAA tournament and the players, teams and matchups they are looking forward to seeing. The two talk about the state of the college pitching in the 2026 draft class, and wonder who the best candidates are to come off the board after UC Santa Barbara righthander Jackson Flora.

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Time Stamps

• (0:00) Opening banter
• (3:50) NCAA regional talk
• (8:30) College pitching talk
• (12:00) Cameron Flukey
• (25:00) Mason Edwards
• (27:00) Cole Carlon
• (29:00) Tegan Kuhns
• (37:00) Cade Townsend
• (46:30) Jack Radel
• (51:30) College pitching depth and draft strategy
• (54:00) Closing Derek Curiel propaganda

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Do you have feedback for the show or want to ask us a question? Email us: futureprojection@baseballamerica.com.

Future Projection Twitter: @FutureProPod

Ben's Twitter: @BenBadler

Carlos's Twitter: @CarlosACollazo

Baseball America Website