MLB.com released its annual Top 100 Prospects list last night and the teams of the future might be a little surprising.
With two of the top three prospects in all of baseball, the Minnesota Twins are a big winner of this list’s unveiling. Byron Buxton and Miguel Sano are projected to be yearly All-Stars and could form a formidable future in the middle of the Twins lineup. They also landed the #32 prospect in pitcher Alex Meyer. Although they only landed five total prospects in the Top 100 list, the quality of the prospects that they did land should be cause for concern amongst the other teams. The Twins’ prospects averaged a 68.4 rating with those five players – the highest among all teams. A 65 is considered an impact Major Leaguer/All-Star.
The team with the most prospects on the list was the Boston Red Sox, who had nine, but only three of which were in the top 50. Their two highest players have already seen significant time in the majors as well. Jackie Bradley started on the Sox opening day roster last year, and ended up playing in 37 games for them. Their highest prospect, sixth-rated Xander Bogaerts, saw less time during the regular season but received plenty of playing time at 3B in the playoffs.
To be eligible for the list, a player must have rookie eligibility. To qualify for rookie status, a player must not have exceeded 130 at-bats or 50 innings pitched in the Majors. They also could not have accumulated more than 45 days on the active roster.
Other teams that could have a Corey Hart-like future were the Astros (7 prospects, second-highest average rating per prospect at 62.7), the Cubs (7 prospects, including four in the top 36), and the Pittsburgh Pirates (6 prospects, 60.7 average). The New York Mets and Baltimore Orioles each scored high on their average prospect, but only landed three in the Top 100.
The White Sox, Angels, Rangers, Braves, Nationals, and Brewers had no players in the top 50. The Brewers are the only team from this list that could have some foreseeable problems in the near future. Considering their highest free agent acquisition in the history of their franchise happened just yesterday – and it wasn’t even that high compared to some teams – the Brewers’ fan-base should have general concerns regarding the status of their farm system.
Click here to view the entire Top 100 Prospects list and their accompanying player bio.
[MLB, YouTube, SB Nation, MLB]
