2013 Ranking of the Farms
by: Lou
Rankings from last off-season are in parentheses.
Same requirements for specs as last season. No older than 25 and no more than 1 year of Major League experience. Enjoy! Comments and complaints are welcome.
30. White Sox (30)
Foulkey’s team is the favorite to win the AL Central again. Money and creative trades are the reasons for success for this team, not the farm system.
Top prospect:
| CODE |
| Zacarias, Tomas CHW CF 23 300000 4 60 70 78 71 76 78 69 B+ |
29. New York Mets (29)
Zane’s farm is a lot like the White Sox, as Zane believes his team can adopt the Foulkey philosophy and get them the division next season without a competitive farm. It might just happen.
Top prospect:
| CODE |
| Minto, Luis NYM P 24 300000 4 50 82 86 81 67 62 59 B- |
28. Pittsburgh Pirates (13)
Pittsburgh is still the team to beat in the NL Central, but the farm has taken a little bit of a hit recently. Third baseman Kevin Radman definitely has a future, and the team will take notice of him. Eventually, the farm system will have to be restocked.
Top prospect:
| CODE |
| Radman, Kevin PIT 2B 23 300000 4 81 68 87 75 77 63 61 B |
27. Atlanta Braves (26)
A team built for right now that definitely has the pieces now to go ahead of Washington in the NL East. There isn’t a whole lot in the farm, but there will be a watchful eye on talented but raw left fielders Stan Verploegh and Manuel Rodas.
Top prospect:
| CODE |
| Rodas, Manuel ATL LF 20 300000 5 61 80 50 66 64 63 61 B- |
26. San Diego Padres (27)
The talent on the major league roster is somewhat young and should be competitive again, so they should be fine without much in the farm, but CF Trevor Redding has some potential to be a starting centerfielder. The big question though is if second baseman Adrian Dole can develop enough to see the Majors soon. Seeing a two foot seven inch hitter at the plate will bring lots and lots of fans to PetCo.
Top prospect:
| CODE |
| Dole, Adrian SDP 2B 21 300000 5 68 68 88 69 76 62 68 B+ |
25. Cleveland Indians (25)
Cleveland thought they had their centerfield of the future in Dave Rosoff, until they snatched CF Juan Manjarin in the draft. With guys like Jenks and Preyss now past the age limit on prospects, Cleveland looks to be fine. New prospects will be on the way soon. Perhaps a trade of one of the two CF prospects to add some pitching depth?
Top prospect:
| CODE |
| Rosoff, Dave CLE CF 24 300000 5 82 78 84 70 70 86 85 A |
24. Milwaukee Brewers (23)
Lack of activity by the front office has not been helpful to the farm. But reliever Cy Jamgochian and left fielder Chris Hopper have developed nicely and both could be up as soon as September next season.
Top prospect:
| CODE |
| Hopper, Chris MIL LF 23 300000 5 82 83 71 74 75 82 74 A+ |
23. Philadephia Phillies (28)
Philadelphia jumped five spots since last list with the drafting of future stud starting pitcher Theodore Hunter. Pitcher Chris Wolf also seems to be developing nicely and can see action in Philly as early as 2014. More depth will need to be added here concerning the hitting.
Top prospect:
| CODE |
| Hunter, Theodore P 24 5'11" 166 lbs 88 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 90 93 97 78 54 57 |
22. Washington Nationals (24)
It seems rather awkward to have Washington higher on this list after the trade of top prospect and catcher Vance Gautier. But Washington has a lot of good picks this draft and that will increase their depth and the chance of finding a diamond in the rough in the later rounds.
Top prospect:
| CODE |
| Blanco, Oscar P 24 6'2" 173 lbs 77 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 21 74 94 88 50 55 |
21. Detroit Tigers (10)
Detroit has one of the top young third base prospects in Jeff McGinn and the starting pitching has some new arms coming soon like Joe Havard and Derrick Dandridge. The reason for the large drop in ranking has most to do with losing outfield prospects Charlie Conway and Tim Bang and with the maturing of first baseman Miguel Parades.
Top prospect:
| CODE |
| McGinn, Jeff DET 3B 22 300000 3 85 77 56 81 74 77 78 C+ |
20. Toronto Blue Jays (22)
Toronto has in its possession maybe the top catching prospect in the game in Jose Diaz, and a splendid young first baseman in Jonathan Sloan. While their current team looks to be competitive, eventually the pitching will need to go younger. The team knows this and will make every effort to change that.
Top prospect:
| CODE |
| Diaz, Jose TOR C 23 300000 5 85 79 50 82 85 81 100 B |
19. Houston Astros (21)
The highlight of this farm is in the pen, with the best of Ken Murphy still ahead of him and Carlos Lurdes still waiting for his chance. They plan on adding more young hitting and starting pitching through the draft, though right fielder Luis Rollero doesn’t look too shabby.
Top prospect:
| CODE |
| Murphy, Ken HOU P 22 300000 4 50 89 89 87 60 56 76 A |
18. Texas Rangers (20)
The Texas system is led by 3B Miguel Idalia, who is the third baseman of the future once Morgan Ensberg’s days are over. Also in the distance is promising hitting RF Gary Siefker, but he looks more like a DH than anything. On the pitching side, Lucas Steiner definitely has the skills to be in the rotation a couple seasons down the road.
Top prospect:
| CODE |
| Idalia, Miguel TEX 3B 22 300000 3 77 85 66 83 76 77 78 A- |
17. Chicago Cubs (19)
Chicago is in the middle of rebuilding and has some good young pitching overall. Gongoro Horita and recently drafted Jiro Siakkhasone will be good future compliments to Ben Washburn and Pablo Narvaez in the rotation. The young relievers from last draft are still here also. It’s the hitting where the Cubs will need to work on.
Top prospect:
| CODE |
| Horita, Gongoro CHC P 22 300000 2 89 100 74 79 72 76 78 A+ |
16. Oakland Athletics (15)
Starting pitcher Alex Finn is the jewel of this farm, and one of the top starting pitching prospects right now. He will see his first big league action this season. Also keep an eye on Frederico Lara. His stuff has been erratic, but he has lots of potential coming out of the pen. Hitting will need some more attention.
Top prospect:
| CODE |
| Finn, Alex OAK P 23 300000 3 88 88 82 83 71 72 64 A- |
15. Cincinnati Reds (11)
Despite the maturing of reliever Larry Kronin and 3B Sid Koshinyovsky this farm system didn'ttake much of a hit. 1B Zach MacTavish is a powerful first base prospect that with a little more time could be a beast with the bat. LF Walt Keller is also developing quite nicely. The trade of C Vance Gautier gives the team their catcher of the future as well.
Top prospect:
| CODE |
| MacTavish, Zach CIN 1B 24 300000 5 80 95 66 75 77 95 75 A+ |
14. Boston Red Sox[ (14)
It’s amazing how the Red Sox seem to keep a competitive team and farm system each season with a rather low level of activity. Watch out for top hitting prospect C Juan Sotelo, he looks even better than current catcher Brian Brown, which could mean a trade in the short term for one of them. Another top hitting spec CF Upton Louie will take over centerfield this season from the aging Adam Riggs.
Top prospect:
| CODE |
| Sotelo, Juan BOS C 24 300000 2 95 84 54 73 86 97 100 B+ |
13. Seattle Mariners (16)
This team boosts one of the top leadoff guys in all the farms in Vladimir Oggario, and highly touted first baseman Wil Voskoboynik will get his first taste of the big leagues this season. Also watch out for starting pitcher Wade Watkins, he could be ready in a couple seasons when starting pitcher Joel Piniero is no longer around.
Top prospect:
| CODE |
| Ogarrio, Vladimir SEA LF 21 300000 4 79 65 91 91 72 93 78 A |
12. Florida Marlins (12)
Florida is loaded at the catcher position, with top prospect Upton Quest maybe a year or less away from big league action. They don’t have any big time prospects anywhere else, but they have lots of possibilities in guys such as 2B Larry Trantham, CF Jeremy Steere, and starting pitcher Freddy Derin to blossom.
Top prospect:
| CODE |
| Quest, Upton FLA C 24 300000 5 89 80 54 70 79 90 99 B+ |
11. Colorado Rockies (8)
As the Rockies look for a playoff spot next season, pitcher Junior Filler is still carrying this farm as one of the top young pitchers, even though he’s in the Majors now. Also don’t overlook underrated catching prospect Esteban Guerra, and of course recently drafted LF Rob Oukherman, the future Carl Crawford.
Top prospect:
| CODE |
| Fuller, Junior COL P 21 300000 5 94 95 76 94 76 90 74 A+ |
10. Baltimore Orioles (9)
Baltimore still has a nice young relieving duo of Hopkins and Romo, and now have one of the top hitting specs in the league in 3B Theo Brandt. There isn’t as much depth here as in the past, but for now, it is fine.
Top prospect:
| CODE |
| Brandt, Theo BAL 3B 23 300000 5 93 93 57 76 92 94 86 A |
9 Los Angeles Angels (17)
The Angels are going to be more competitive this season not just on the field, but in the farm. They still have the young power bat of Bruno Leal, and have recently drafted a stud starting pitcher Theo Glukhovskaya (who will enter the rotation) and another one with potential in John Meyer. They still have the underrated 3B Herman Toles as well.
Top prospect:
| CODE |
| Glukhovskaya, Theo P 22 6'5" 209 lbs 84 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 98 100 95 69 57 58 |
8 Los Angeles Dodgers (7)
The Dodgers even with 106 wins last season still have a solid group of youngsters. CF Elvis Wanerman has already played a full season with some success, and Armando Pinzon will start the season in the rotation next season. Another top pitching spec Nick Pound will remain in AAA.
Top prospect:
| CODE |
| Pound, Nick LAD P 24 300000 2 89 78 91 89 71 75 64 A- |
7. Tampa Bay Devil Rays (18)
The biggest jump in the rankings of any team. Along with drafting Wendy’s founder Dave Thomas’ great-grandson Dave IV, there are guys like outfielders Howard Pearl and Tim Bang hanging around. The pitching has Hank Glaub who can make an impact in the rotation in a couple of seasons, and wacky reliever Rob Politz. They could all be a solid young foundation for the team real soon.
Top prospect:
| CODE |
| Politz, Rob TBD P 21 300000 3 50 80 89 93 60 57 61 A |
6. Minnesota Twins (5)
The Twins will finally be making the long awaited debuts of star youngsters C Rich Dunckley and 2B Owen Fay. The farm is questionable after them, but overall the team looks very good, and should compete for a playoff spot next season. They may take a drop in next off-season’s rankings but they have a GM with good drafting credentials.
Top prospect:
| CODE |
| Dunckley, Rich MIN C 23 300000 4 93 84 54 87 84 88 91 B |
5. Kansas City Royals (6)
This team is full of good young players. Zach Ahlert and Sean Hammer are still tremendous pitching prospects, and now are joined by a stud reliever, Fred Caulfield, and recent draftee SP Joe Berman. The hitting still has studly outfielder Andrew Mirza, and has now added a powerful catcher bat in Dirk Briggs, with Kevin Baker already as a solid catching prospect. When will these players turn the Royals into contenders?
Top prospect:
| CODE |
| Hammer, Sean KCR P 21 300000 3 94 95 76 93 76 90 74 A+ |
4. San Francisco Giants (3)
The Giants remain one of the best teams in farm ranking even to this day. They have amazing 1B Perry Kleinen, but he will have to be traded as he somehow is behind Big Joe Kroll. This team also has a surplus of good young outfielders, with James Delworth and Alexis Granados leading the pack. And they have plenty of draft picks to help build back the once great pitching farm they had.
Top prospect:
| CODE |
| Kleinen, Perry SFG 1B 24 300000 5 96 91 63 96 75 77 70 A+ |
3. St. Louis Cardinals (2)
St. Louis is absolutely loaded at first base, as they own more than 2/3 of the best first base prospects in the game. From Miguel Meolans, to recent first round picks Zach Hammond and Joe Simpson, it is inevitable some of them will be dealt to improve at other positions. It wouldn’t be outfield, as they have a tremendous prospect in each of the outfield positions and all should be ready soon. The only reason they’re dropped from the 2 spot is the lack of starting pitching depth, which should be acquired with the surplus of hitting they have.
Top prospect:
| CODE |
| Harrington, Derek STL CF 23 300000 2 83 93 69 71 91 92 70 C |
2. New York Yankees (1)
The Yanks go into the season with the best farm in the AL, sparked by budding star outfielder Eric Robbins, and a talented starting pitcher in Bruno Blue. And don’t forget 1B Dan Zimny, who may win the DH job there. They also feature a lot of depth around the diamond, with some young blood in each position. Watch out for 2B Alano Ramos and RF Vernon Breen. Both could be decent Major Leaguers one day.
Top prospect:
| CODE |
| Robbins, Eric NYY LF 21 300000 3 83 90 64 80 70 80 76 B+ |
1. Arizona Diamondbacks (4)
With all the great vets they had gone, this big youth movement has given the D-Backs the best farm system in the league. They have the most starting pitching depth of anyone by far, with first round picks John Davis and Howard Taylor joining an already potent list of Theo Marrow, Robert Jacoby, and Umberto Coehlo. Hitting-wise, 1B Galeno Davino can do almost everything at the plate and should lead this group on offense in the future.
Top prospect:
| CODE |
| Davino, Galeno ARI 1B 21 300000 5 89 90 52 85 80 71 67 B |
