The Pastime

John Sickels (of Minor League Ball) publishes a book covering prospects in the minors each winter. I recently received my copy, and was impressed. Among its qualities is a grading system that awards a letter grade from A to C (with + and - designations) to around 35 prospects from each organization. I got to wondering what the GPA would be for each team. (OK, I was prompted.)The GPA should be a good indicator of how each club ranks compared to its peers. I used a simple grade point scale, the same one used here at UNL, in fact. Here’s what I came up with:

It’s no big surprise that the Dodgers and Diamondbacks lead the class. LA has a much ballyhooed group of youngsters that have been profiled in Baseball America at least five times. Arizona has been at the bottom of the league for a few years, and have accumulated a lot of talent that’s near the MLB level.

At the bottom, we have the Mets, Nationals and Reds. The Mets had some good prospects, but they were all traded away this winter, with the exception of Lastings Milledge, who has one of those great baseball names. The Nationals have been hamstrung by being jerked around as the Expos by MLB brass. They also have not had mush luck with GM’s as of late. The Reds have really been hurt by an inept GM, and should turn things around with their new GM Wayne Krivsky.

I want to make a note of the A’s positioning. Annually a strong farm system, this year the A’s have a problem a lot of clubs would like to have. They successfully graduated so many rookies to the big leagues last year that the top end of the farm is dry for now. Their position will likely rise as the 2005 draft selections mature.

Atlanta was in a similar situation, and played so many rookies last year at the majors that it was a wonder they had anyone left in the system at all. John Schuerholz is one of the best GM’s in the game, and he constantly has players ready to perform.

For a team that has been so bad for so long, it’s interesting that the Pittsburgh Pirates could not fortify their system with high draft picks. They do have some very good young talent in the past two years, though. Jason Bay and Zach Duke are proving themselves to be worth the hype.

Kansas City is an abyss. How Allard Baird is still employed as GM is beyond me. They have very little to show for their draft picks. I think Zach Greinke, Billy Butler and Alex Gordon will all be very good players, but past that… nothing I can see. The Royals haven’t been relevant or competitive in so long I constantly forget that there is actually a major league club three hours southeast of me. Until ownership figures out how to run a club, and hires a GM who can do something with what they are given, Kansas City will be a revolving door for young talent. Dye, Damon, Beltran, who’s next?

It’s interesting where the Los Angeles Angels of Contractual-Obligation-Anaheim place on the list. Many experts pick them as one of the top two or three systems in the country right now. Even Sickels will say as much. Going by his rankings of their talent, though, I’d have to disagree. The Angels are stocked, but their farm is not elite, as many portray it to be.

[UPDATE]

I trimmed the list down to only the top 29 players from each organization, and there were some minor chages. The Rank column idetifies where they originally ranked.