Reds FeedHow we write summaries
We want to be straightforward about how this site is made, because you should be able to judge what you are reading.
Where stories come from
We follow the public feeds of 6 Reds outlets. When a new story appears we record its headline, author, and link. We do not copy the article.
How summaries are written
Summaries are generated by a language model (anthropic/claude-haiku-4.5) instructed to describe what the article reports in its own words, in two to four sentences, without copying phrasing and without adding speculation or outside facts. Each summary is stored with the model that produced it. Our daily roundups are written the same way, synthesizing across the day's stories.
Because summaries are machine-generated, they can be wrong or miss nuance. The original article is always the authority, and every summary links straight to it. If you spot an inaccurate summary, tell us at hello@mlbfeed.com.
Starting lineups
Lineup pages come from MLB's own published boxscore, captured when both clubs have posted their cards — usually two to three hours before first pitch. We record the batting order as it was posted and do not quietly rewrite it once substitutions begin, so the page keeps saying what the lineup was. Season statistics beside each hitter come from the same public data.
The short note above each lineup is written by the same model (anthropic/claude-haiku-4.5) from the batting order, the positions, those season lines, and the announced starting pitchers — nothing else. It is instructed not to predict the game, not to describe a player as due or streaking, and not to mention velocity, scouting grades, defence or injuries, none of which it is given.
How prospects are ranked
Our farm system rankings are our own calculation, not a scouting list and not anyone else's ranking republished. MLB does not publish a prospect ranking through its public data, and the well-known lists are copyrighted editorial we have no right to reproduce. So we compute a score from the season statistics MLB does publish, and we show every input on the page so you can disagree with it.
For hitters the score adds up five parts. Production is OPS above a .700 baseline plus isolated power. Plate discipline credits the walk rate and subtracts half the strikeout rate. Age for level is worth four points a year in either direction. Baserunning counts stolen bases net of times caught, capped at ten points so speed can never carry a bat that is not there. Position adds eight points for shortstop, centre field and catcher, four for third base, second base and right field, and nothing for first base, left field and designated hitter.
For pitchers it is strikeout rate minus walk rate, doubled; run prevention from ERA and WHIP, counted for less because minor league parks and defence move those far more than they move a strikeout rate; and the same age term. Every total is then multiplied by the level — Triple-A counts fully, and each rung below is worth twelve percent less. Each player's page itemizes his own score line by line, so you can see exactly where it came from.
A player needs 150 plate appearances or 40 innings to be ranked. Below that the sample is too small to mean anything, so the player is still listed on his level page but carries no score. Statistical notes on ranked prospects are generated by the same model (anthropic/claude-haiku-4.5) from those numbers alone — it is not given scouting reports, velocity readings, or tool grades, and is instructed not to invent them.
What the ranking cannot see
We do not measure defence, and we will not pretend to. The only fielding data published for the minor leagues is errors, fielding percentage and range factor. Fielding percentage largely rewards not having balls hit at you — on one Double-A roster a left fielder with 75 chances grades above a catcher with 660 — and range factor tracks the pitching staff in front of a player as much as the player. The tracking data that produces real defensive metrics in the majors does not exist across the minors.
So the position bonus above is a statement about the job, not the player: a shortstop and a designated hitter with the same bat are not equally valuable, because the shortstop is holding down a harder position. It says nothing about how well he fields it. We also cannot see velocity, pitch shapes, injuries, makeup, or anything a scout would watch for. This is a statistical ranking, and it is worth exactly what the statistics are worth.
What we do not do
- We do not republish article text, quote opening lines, or mirror full stories.
- We do not hot-link publishers' images or embed their pages in frames.
- We do not hide that a story came from somewhere else — attribution is on every item.