It’s time for the Winter Meetings to set Hot Stove season aflame. This weekend, the baseball world focuses its offseason gaze on Orlando as the Winter Meetings arrive in the Sunshine State on Sunday. While the focus of the Winter Meetings is usually on the Major League happenings, there will

It's that time of year again. It's time for Rule 5. There is nothing else in baseball quite like the Rule 5 Draft, traditionally the final number of the annual Winter Meetings. Every year, Rule 5 sounds the closing bell on the Winter Meetings by providing big league opportunities for

Minor League Baseball announced the selection of longtime baseball executive, manager and coach Dick Scott as the 17th winner of the Sheldon “Chief” Bender Award and Cincinnati Reds Minor League manager Pat Kelly as the recipient of the 17th annual Mike Coolbaugh Award. The Sheldon “Chief” Bender Award is presented

ORLANDO, Fla. -- The Rule 5 Draft isn't taking place until Wednesday, and while early buzz at the Winter Meetings might be about things like where Kyle Tucker will sign, there are always early whispers about names who could go in the Rule 5 Draft. Teams haven't really started digging

SEATTLE -- The Mariners have landed their coveted lefty reliever, but in doing so, they are also parting with their top catching prospect and now must address what to do at Cal Raleigh’s backup spot. Seattle is sending Harry Ford, their first-round pick in the 2021 MLB Draft and MLB

By 1931, the Marin County court system was sick of dealing with Tony Freitas. Sure, the young pitcher for the Pacific Coast League's Sacramento Senators was becoming a star. He went 19-6 with a 3.24 ERA for the Senators at just 22 years old the year prior. He had already

The Rule 5 Draft can be a fascinating, if imperfect, process, and you only need to look at last year’s edition to see why. On one hand, the White Sox selected Shane Smith from the Brewers and watched him blossom into an All-Star before finishing with a 3.81 ERA and

Benjamin Hill travels the nation collecting stories about what makes Minor League Baseball unique. This excerpt from the Baseball Traveler newsletter, presented by Circle K, is a mere taste of the smorgasbord of delights he offers every week. Read the full newsletter here, and subscribe to his newsletter here.

Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other

The Pirates came into this offseason looking to be aggressive and add to their outfield mix. On Thursday, they made their first swing, acquiring a Major League-ready Top 100 prospect. The Pirates acquired outfielder Jhostynxon Garcia, the No. 85 prospect in the game per MLB Pipeline, and right-hander Jesus Travieso

Getting ready to talk trash to your opponent before a title fight? Rock a Trash Pandas jersey, naturally. Eddie Kingston has never been one to mince his words. But ahead of his AEW Men’s World Championship match against Samoa Joe next Wednesday night on All Elite Wrestling: Dynamite on TBS

The Winter Meetings begin Monday in Orlando, Fla., and prospects are certain to be on the shopping list for some clubs. Which team will get the best holiday-season deal? Who has the prospect capital to make that kind of deal happen?

Down on the farm, the 2025 season was full of breakout campaigns for Red Sox pitching prospects. Payton Tolle went from 16th on Boston's preseason rankings to becoming a Top 100 prospect and key part of the club's postseason run, alongside fellow southpaw Connelly Early (preseason No. 10, now No.

Be yourself, unless you feel like being something else. This is now an established Minor League Baseball promotional strategy, as teams across the country regularly assume alternate identities in lieu of their day-to-day primary identities. These alternate identities often have a local connection, with teams celebrating their region's culinary specialties,

One of the big developments of the past year in baseball is how many young players have risen to the top of prospect rankings. A look at MLB Pipeline's Top 100 Prospects list will show you just one player in the top 10 older than 21. Of course, while there's

Benjamin Hill travels the nation collecting stories about what makes Minor League Baseball unique. This excerpt from the Baseball Traveler newsletter, presented by Circle K, is a mere taste of the smorgasbord of delights he offers every week. Read the full newsletter here, and subscribe to his newsletter here.

The Mets and Rangers swapping of outfielder Brandon Nimmo and second baseman Marcus Semien may have been a one-for-one trade (with some cash going to Texas, too), but it set up a series of dominoes on both sides, particularly when it comes to prospects. Last week, we covered how Mets

Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other

Save the date. One of the can't-miss events of the 2026 Minor League Baseball season is set. The St. Paul Saints and Iowa Cubs will meet in the MiLB at Field of Dreams Game on Aug. 11 in Dyersville, Iowa. The Triple-A affiliates of the Twins and Cubs are slated

What has 19 letters, seven syllables and is covered in pinstripes? The Somerset Patriots have the answer to this heretofore unasked question, as this week the Double-A New York Yankees affiliate announced its Semiquincentennials alternate identity. This gargantuan word simply means "250th anniversary," which America will celebrate in 2026. The

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Every year, teams try to find some big league help at the Winter Meetings via the Rule 5 Draft. This year’s edition takes place here at 2 p.m. ET on Wednesday and will be streamed live on MLB.com. Three players taken in last year's Major League phase

The Dodgers have become the most well-run machine in baseball -- not only as back-to-back World Series champions but also as the owners of the best farm system in the league. Through timely trades, smart drafting, excellent player development and more, Los Angeles has amassed envious depth and top-end talent.

The Yankees added three prospects to the 40-man roster at the tender deadline last month, shielding Top 100 outfielder Spencer Jones (No. 4) and right-handers Elmer Rodríguez (No. 3) and Chase Hampton (No. 8) from Rule 5 Draft eligibility. But that still leaves a host of players in the system

Our 2026 Draft Top 100 list is freshly minted and we don’t know about you, but we can’t wait for next year’s amateur season to start so we can see how all these talented Draft hopefuls perform. For now, though, we can answer your questions about them, about the list,