Inbox: Which team has the best trio of top prospects?
Many of you have asked when we'll release our overhauled Top 100 Prospects list and revamped organization Top 30s (including Draft picks). They'll come out on the evening of Thursday the 13th. Now on to more of your questions...
Even after including two players whom I'd rank among the 50 best prospects in baseball (outfielder Zyhir Hope and right-hander River Ryan) in the Tarik Skubal, the Dodgers are still the easy answer to this question.
Let's not stop at five, though. Here are my top seven prospect trios:
1. Dodgers: OF Josue De Paula, OF Mike Sirota, OF Eduardo Quintero
2. Mariners: LHP Kade Anderson, RHP Ryan Sloan, OF Michael Arroyo
3. Twins: OF Walker Jenkins, C Vahn Lackey, SS Kaelen Culpepper
4. Giants: SS Josuar Gonzalez, SS Luis Hernández, RHP Jackson Flora
5. Rays: SS Grady Emerson, OF Theo Gillen, C Caden Bodine
6. Tigers: OF Max Clark, OF Zyhir Hope, RHP River Ryan
7. White Sox: SS Roch Cholowsky, 3B Caleb Bonemer, SS Billy Carlson
I believe that Arsenaldeadhead00 was asking me to rank the top five trios. But if he was asking me to identify the top quintet, the Dodgers (add SS Emil Morales and RHP Christian Zazueta) again would be the best.
The Cardinals are the obvious choice. They owned five picks in the first two round of the Draft and came away with a better haul than any other club, highlighted by first-round outfielder Trevor Condon (perhaps the next Pete Crow-Armstrong?), supplemental first-round right-hander Tegan Kuhns (one of the best combinations of stuff and strikes in the college ranks) and second-round shortstop Rocco Maniscalco (one of the youngest players and best defenders available). Then they grabbed outfielders Alexander Frias and Josiah Ragsdale from the Brewers in exchange for Dustin May and JoJo Romero, plus righty Daniel Eagen from the Diamondbacks in a deal for Lars Nootbar.
The Angels and Giants also did well both in the Draft and at the Trade Deadline. The Angels got several interesting players in the Draft, beginning with first-round outfielder Jared Grindlinger (a legitimate two-way talent who's barely 17 years old), second-round second baseman Jarren Advincula (college baseball's best contact hitter) and third-round third baseman Gavin Grahovac (who features some of the best power in the Draft). They landed the second-best prospect traded (shortstop Arjun Nimmala, part of a package from the Blue Jays for José Soriano) and while Moisés Ballesteros no longer qualifies as a prospect, the 22-year-old was a good get too from the Cubs in a deal for Ryan Zeferjahn.
The Giants farm system keeps getting better and better. It was very hitter-heavy (and shortstop-heavy) before the Draft and Trade Deadline, and now it's even deeper and more balanced. San Francisco drafted the best pitcher available (Jackson Flora in the first round) and two highly regarded high school arms (Carson Bolemon in the supplemental first and Kaden Waechter in the second). Then it picked up right-handers Ramon Marquez (from the Phillies as the headliner of a trade for Luis Arraez and Caleb Kilian) and Miguel Mendez (from the Padres in a deal for Robbie Ray), plus left-hander Henry Lalane (from the Yankees in a move for Heliot Ramos).
Of the 86 prospects who switched organizations leading up to the Trade Deadline, none climbed higher after changing addresses than second baseman Émilien Pitre. He went from No. 27 on the deep Rays Top 30 to No. 15 on the less deep Mets Top 30.
Pitre was part of the Freddy Peralta trade, as was right-hander Gary Gill Hill, who made the second-biggest jump by going from No. 26 with Tampa Bay to No. 17 with New York. Outfielder Alexander Frias (No. 11 on the Brewers, No. 4 on the Cardinals) and infielder Bruin Agbayani (No. 29 on the Twins, No. 22 on the Mets) tied for third.
In the other direction, three prospects tied for the biggest drop after getting dealt: right-handers Daniel Eagan (No. 5 on the Diamondbacks, No. 17 on the Cardinals) and Tyler Uberstine (No. 14 on the Red Sox, No. 26 on the Braves), and shortstop Joniel Hernandez (No. 9 on the Padres, No. 21 on the Giants).
Several teams include media prospect lists and mock drafts in their Draft algorithms, which blows my mind for a number of reasons. But I don’t think they use Top 100 Prospects lists or org Top 30s to evaluate professional players. I've never heard of that.
Because most of those lists are put together by getting some information from the teams -- though they don't dictate the order -- I do believe clubs look at them to see who might be undervalued by their current organization. They might use them as a quick crosscheck in case the media consensus is different than their own evaluation. But I think the most use these lists get from teams is that they'll cite the rankings when they acquire prospects in trades in order to justify the return.
I've worked on Top 100 Prospects lists since 1990 at Baseball America and I've always looked at it as they're made for whoever wants to enjoy them, whether it be fans, players, club executives or media members. Over the years, all of those groups have discussed Top 100s with me, so I know they're reading.