MSB Farm System Rankings
2018 MSB Farm System Rankings
In what I envision becoming an annual (or even biannual) report, welcome to the 2018 MSB Farm System Rankings.
This is not meant to be a one-sided article, but an all-inclusive discussion and debate. I have compiled prospect rankings, team reports and an overall ranking that I will reveal as we go (with my personal Farm System Rankings at the end), but my hope is that this will stimulate discussion and debate. Prospects are very volatile in and of themselves, so any ranking of any sort concerning them will inevitably have several differing opinions.
Over the next couple weeks, I will publish my team reports in small groups. As each grouping is revealed there will be a poll for all to participate in and an open discussion concerning each group. I will compile a consensus list of the leagues rankings as we go and continue to update that ranking after each grouping. After we complete our consensus rankings of the leagues farm systems, I will post my personal rankings.
To start, here is how I have compiled my reports and lists, and a little background as to my philosophy on prospects.
Using ten of the more well known prospect rankings lists (headlined by John Sickels, Baseball America, Fangraphs, and Baseball Prospectus), I have complied each organizations top prospect list. From those player rankings, I have ranked each organizations farm system and compiled my own MSB Farm System Rankings.
My personal philosophy on prospects centers more on potential and upside than closeness to the majors. I will rank a higher potential, lower minors player higher than I will a utility, major league roster filler type who is closer to the bigs. Sometimes that ends up biting me on the tookus, as we’re all aware of the TINSTAAPP principal and the rate of flameout for some, but in general the process tends to work well. I also value positional talent a little higher than I do pitching (again . . . . TINSTAAPP…) unless there is a clear reason to value the arm highly, but that is quite rare. Just look at the top pitching prospects over the past few seasons and you’ll see why I hold to this philosophy: Julio Urias, Lucas Giolito, Steven Matz, Tyler Glasnow, Alex Meyer, Robert Stephenson, Kevin Gausman, Alex Reyes, Brent Honeywell. Injury, flameout, or a general lack of anything more than mediocre performance. Every once in a while a Noah Syndergaard slips through, but even then there is still injury concern. Very few and far between are the highly ranked pitching prospects that actually pan out into reliable, middle to top of the rotation arms.
With that in mind, let’s get to the reports and rankings.
Consensus Ranking
1. Ankeny ACL's
2. AZ Koi
3. Windy City Rattlers
4. Phoenix Miners
5. Bako Bums
5. River City Cutthroats
7. Motor City Madmen
8. Scurvy Dogs
9. Lakeview Rougharou
10. Data City Cache Hogs
11. Arizona Asreisks
12. Walla Walla Sweets
13. Chicago Rum Runners
14. Ann Arbor Landlubbers
15. Brooklyn Kraken
16. Foothill Nomads
17. Orange County Devils
18. Roxbury Robots
18. Grants Pass Brewers
20. Seattle Rainiers
Topic: MSB Farm System Rankings (Read 2194 times)
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