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1) Toronto Blue Jays: Eight B+ prospects with ridiculous depth behind them.
2) San Diego Padres: Incredible depth after the winter trades pushes this
system almost to the top.
3) Texas Rangers: Continues to churn out talent, with much more percolating
at the lower levels. I do not give the Rangers farm system credit for Yu
Darvish. They would rank number one if I gave them credit for Darvish, but in
my mind that is unfair to the other teams: I see him as a major league free
agent, not a prospect.
4) Seattle Mariners: Jesus Montero plus three elite pitching prospects and
others who can improve.
5) St. Louis Cardinals: They don't get talked about as much as other teams,
but they have a Grade A prospect in Shelby Miller and a lot of pitching depth
behind him. I think this system is underrated.
6) Kansas City Royals: They slipped from last year's top spot, showing the
volatility of pitching prospects, but heavy investments in draft and foreign
players should continue to show dividends.
7) Tampa Bay Rays: Impact depth behind Matt Moore has slipped but this is
still a robust organization.
8) Atlanta Braves: Lots of pitching at the top, but they need more hitters.
9) Arizona Diamondbacks: Another system with lots of pitching but not much
hitting, even more extreme than Atlanta.
10) Oakland Athletics: Trades helped this system a lot, would have ranked
much lower otherwise.
11) Boston Red Sox: Large group of B- types who can improve. Hitting stronger
than pitching at this point.
12) Pittsburgh Pirates: Heavy draft investments slowly-but-steadily raising
the talent level in this system.
13) Colorado Rockies: Middle of the pack at this stage, two definite impact
talents and a large group of C+ types who can improve.
14) Washington Nationals: The big trade with Oakland tore the top off this
farm system. You still have Bryce Harper and some interesting players in the
B- range. Would have ranked much higher without the trade.
15) New York Mets: Solid depth in pitching, especially at the top with Matt
Harvey, Zack Wheeler, and Jeurys Familia.
16) New York Yankees: You can make a case to rank them as high as 12 or 13.
Manny Banuelos and Dellin Betances are strong Grade B prospects for me and
there is a nice balance between hitting and pitching.
17) Minnesota Twins: Another middle of the pack organization, fairly balanced
between hitting and pitching, some potential regulars with several solid role
players.
18) Los Angeles Angels: Not terrible, there is some depth behind Mike Trout
but a lot of questions, too, and most of the tool-heavy bets in recent drafts
haven't paid off as well as Trout has.
19) Baltimore Orioles: You have Machado and Bundy at the top but it falls off
quickly after that.
20) Chicago Cubs: Another middle-of-the-pack system with a lot of B-/C+ type
prospects. Could rank much higher next year if some of the lower-level guys
pan out.
21) Cincinnati Reds: Heart of this system torn out by Mat Latos trade but
there is enough at the lower levels that I think they can recharge quickly.
22) Los Angeles Dodgers: Some intriguing pitching depth, much of it fairly
close to the majors, but not much hitting.
23) Detroit Tigers: Thins out very quickly after Jacob Turner and Nick
Castellanos.
24) Philadelphia Phillies: There is some interesting pitching but tools guys
not developing as hoped.
25) Houston Astros: Gradually improving, and there are several players at the
lower levels with a chance to develop. Could rank much higher a year from now.
26) San Francisco Giants: This system has thinned out but is not hopeless.
Pitching needs a recharge.
27) Cleveland Indians: Of all the teams ranked low, the Indians have the
greatest chance to improve in the coming years. There is a lot of talent at
the lower levels, but most of it is in the C+ or "Grade C with higher
potential" category right now because it is so far away. It would not
surprise me to see the Indians in the Top 10 by 2014.
28) Milwaukee Brewers: There is some talent on the pitching side but hitting
looks thin.
29) Miami Marlins: Relatively even balance between hitting and pitching, but
not a lot of impact coming up.
30) Chicago White Sox: You have two B+ pitching prospects in Addison Reed and
Nestor Molina and some other raw materials for a decent bullpen. Hitting is a
disaster. I like Tyler Saladino but I have huge doubts about their other
hitting prospects.