{"podcast":{"title":"Most Valuable Agent with Matt Hannaford","slug":"most-valuable-agent-with-matt-hannaford-6966172","podcast_index_feed_id":6966172,"rss_url":"https://feeds.libsyn.com/538017/rss","website_url":"https://sites.libsyn.com/538017","image_url":"https://static.libsyn.com/p/assets/6/3/2/3/6323116aac6709c3d959afa2a1bf1c87/MVA_FINAL_COVER.png","author":"Matt Hannaford","episode_count":115,"summary":"Welcome to Most Valuable Agent – the podcast that gives baseball players, prospects, and fans an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to succeed in professional baseball. Hosted by Matt Hannaford, a Major League Baseball agent with years of experience in contract negotiations and player representation, this channel is a must-watch for: • Athletes looking to advance their careers • Parents supporting young players • Baseball fans who want a deeper understanding of the game beyond the field What You'll Learn: • MLB Contracts & Draft Insights – How players get signed, negotiate contracts, and maximize opportunities • The Business of Baseball – Arbitration, free agency, and how teams evaluate talent • Expert Interviews & Analysis – Conversations with players, scouts, and insiders • MLB News & Market Trends – Breaking down trades, signings, and player negotiations 👉 Subscribe now for exclusive insights from one of baseball's top agents! New episodes weekly. You can watch the full episodes on The Most Valuable Agent Youtube Channel https://www.youtube.com/@mostvaluableagent","last_synced_at":"2026-07-29T22:22:08.173294+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/most-valuable-agent-with-matt-hannaford-6966172"},"episode":{"title":"How You Act in the Stands Affects Your Son's Draft Stock (An MLB Agent Explains)","slug":"how-you-act-in-the-stands-affects-your-son-s-draft-stock-an-mlb-agent-explains","published_at":"2026-06-03T14:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/most-valuable-agent-with-matt-hannaford-6966172/how-you-act-in-the-stands-affects-your-son-s-draft-stock-an-mlb-agent-explains","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/most-valuable-agent-with-matt-hannaford-6966172","url":"https://f19dff7d-cba9-4d19-b009-9fdbdd27ffc9.libsyn.com/how-you-act-in-the-stands-affects-your-sons-draft-stock-an-mlb-agent-explains","audio_url":"https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/f19dff7d-cba9-4d19-b009-9fdbdd27ffc9/v1_072_Mike_Liguori_MVA.m4a?dest-id=4634517","summary":"You think MLB scouts are evaluating your son. They are. But they are evaluating you just as carefully — and what they see in you can move your son's draft stock up or down by hundreds of thousands of dollars. MLB agent Matt Hannaford sits down with Mike Liguori to break down what scouts actually watch for when they evaluate a draft prospect, why the in-home visit matters as much as the at-bat, and the effect of a single team's draft-day board pivot and how it directly impacts a family. WHAT YOU'LL LEARN Why scouts spend just as much time evaluating your family as they do your son's swing What in-home visits and Zoom calls reveal that game film cannot How one of Matt's clients became a first-round pick because of who his family was, not just how he played Why the draft board pivots after pick 1 — and how it can impact whether you sign or not How to prepare your son for the draft so a multi-million dollar target doesn't become a $100,000 disappointment How travel ball volume, social media pressure, and the \"dad wound\" all show up in scout reports In this episode, Matt Hannaford explains why MLB area scouts, cross-checkers, scouting directors, and general managers spend so much time on in-home visits. The scout is not just confirming athletic ability — that work is mostly done by draft day. The in-home visit is where the organization grades how the family functions: does the dad let the kid talk, have the mom and dad raised their son well, does the player answer a question well. Every interaction gets logged, and what gets evaluated both with the players performance and a family dynamic shapes how much money the organization could be willing to invest. Matt walks through a real example: a recent first-round pick whose draft stock was lifted specifically because of family…","meta_description":"You think MLB scouts are evaluating your son. They are. But they are evaluating you just as carefully — and what they see in you can move your son's draft…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":2409,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/most-valuable-agent-with-matt-hannaford-6966172/episodes/how-you-act-in-the-stands-affects-your-son-s-draft-stock-an-mlb-agent-explains/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/most-valuable-agent-with-matt-hannaford-6966172/how-you-act-in-the-stands-affects-your-son-s-draft-stock-an-mlb-agent-explains.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}