Ranking the Farm

If you are a dynasty fantasy baseball guru, you’re probably already familiar with the future generation of the MLB found here. This list is issued and updated by MLB.com to analyze and rank the top 100 rookies and prospects across Major League Baseball. Many recognize blue-chip prospect names such as Yoan Moncada and Lucas Giolito.

These young stars were involved in major trades this winter and many expect them to contribute in 2016. However, the White Sox haven’t been the only team building their farm system. The rest of the league also looks to cement their future with their own crop of top-tier talent. With this in mind, The Game Haus takes a shot at ranking the farm to determine which clubs have set themselves up for success.

For this ranking, a quick analysis was completed based on the positional ranking provided on MLB.com. First, a value was given based on ranking. For example, Yoan Moncada is worth 100 points at number one, Bradley Zimmer is worth 75 points at number 25, etc.

Second, these values were summed by the number of prospects on each team. Finally, an average is calculated by the number of prospects to give a general sense of prospect quality. Note: Rankings are based on overall sum, not on average.

Top 100 Farm Rankings by Team:

*Disclaimer* There are still moves to be made as the rumor mill continues to churn. This could affect the analysis completed here as teams continue to solidify their position heading into spring training. However, this should provide a high level snapshot of each team’s current farm system and how they stack up around the league.

Team Rank Team Team # of Top 100 Sum Score Average Score 1 Milwaukee Brewers 8 406 50.8 2 New York Yankees 6 405 67.5 3 Chicago White Sox 6 396 66.0 4 Pittsburgh Pirates 5 354 70.8 5 Atlanta Braves 7 327 46.7 6 Philadelphia Phillies 4 270 67.5 7 Colorado Rockies 5 254 50.8 8 Boston Red Sox 3 251 83.7 9 San Diego Padres 4 236 59.0 10 Los Angeles Dodgers 6 224 37.3 11 Cincinnati Reds 4 205 51.3 12 Houston Astros 5 204 40.8 13 Tampa Bay Rays 3 171 57.0 14 Cleveland Indians 5 170 34.0 15 Chicago Cubs 4 164 41.0 16 Minnesota Twins 4 143 35.8 17 New York Mets 2 136 68.0 18 Oakland Athletics 4 134 33.5 19 St. Louis Cardinals 3 133 44.3 20 Washington Nationals 2 117 58.5 21 Seattle Mariners 2 114 57.0 22 Toronto Blue Jays 3 67 22.3 23 Miami Marlins 1 64 64.0 24 Texas Rangers 1 45 45.0 25 Detroit Tigers 1 35 35.0 26 San Francisco Giants 2 25 12.5 27 Arizona Diamondbacks 0 0 0.0 28 Baltimore Orioles 0 0 0.0 29 Kansas City Royals 0 0 0.0 30 Los Angeles Angels 0 0 0.0

Top 3 Analysis:

The Brewers are a team that has been rebuilding for a number of years. The Yankees were incredibly active at the 2016 trade deadline and it has paid dividends heading into 2017. The White Sox are largely considered to have won the winter meetings, securing top talent via offseason trades. The top three on this list utilized different methods, but all three are well positioned for the future.

Farm systems are clearly comprised of far more than a team’s top ranked prospects. These rankings do not take into account an organizations draft, or many of their Low / High / Single “A” ball players still working through the minors.

Several of the players factored in here have already made an MLB debut. Many more will compete for a contributing roll in 2017 and will almost certainly be seen by the 2018 season. While not comprehensive, the above is a strong depiction of those organizations who have impact players waiting in the wings.

Where is your team positioned heading into the future?

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