Podcast celebrates Mauer, 20 years of prospect rankings
In this week's edition of the Pipeline Podcast, the crew turns back the clock and revisits 20 years of prospect rankings, centered around Joe Mauer, the first-ever No. 1 prospect.
Jim Callis, Jonathan Mayo and Jason Ratliff rattle off Pipeline's greatest hits in that time, including names like Andrew McCutchen, Joey Votto and Evan Longoria. They follow their victory lap by going in the other direction and reminiscing on the biggest prospect misses of the past two decades.
After recalling their memories of Mauer, former Twins general manager Terry Ryan joins the show. Ryan, who served as Minnesota's general manager from 1994-2007, broke down the club's decision to draft Mauer No. 1 overall in 2001 and his early development in the system.
Before wrapping things up, the discussion turns to the other 2024 Baseball Hall of Fame inductees -- Todd Helton and Adrián Beltré -- and what they were like as prospects. The trio finish off the episode by diving into the recent trades that sent No. 63 prospect Joey Ortiz to the Brewers and No. 79 prospect Gabriel Gonzalez to the Twins, and answering a question from the mailbag.
On the MLB Pipeline Podcast, Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo are your tour guides through all the unfolding stories and breaking news of baseball's top prospects. Each week, you'll find out about the stars of tomorrow from the guys who know today. Download, subscribe and help others find the show by leaving a rating and review on iTunes or your favorite platform.