Rays take charge of 2020 prospect rankings

In terms of both quantity and quality, no team has prospects like Tampa Bay.

The Rays boast six players among MLB.com's Top 100 Prospects, revealed Saturday. That's more than any organization, with shortstop Wander Franco  (Princeton 2018) remaining in the No. 1 overall spot. The top prospect reached Class A Advanced Charlotte in 2019 and hit .327 with an .885 OPS during his age-18 season.

Franco, a shortstop who turns 19 on March 1, began last year with Class A Bowling Green and compiled a .318/.390/.506 slash line with 30 walks and 20 strikeouts in 233 at-bats. His production in the Florida State League after a late-June promotion wasn't much different as he hit .339/.408/.464 with 26 walks and 15 strikeouts in 192 at-bats. Between the two levels, the native of the Dominican Republic collected nine homers, seven triples and 27 doubles.
Shane Baz  (Bristol 2018; Princeton 2018) (No. 90) spent all of 2019 with Bowling Green, where he posted a 2.99 ERA in 81 1/3 frames. Brent Honeywell Jr.  (Princeton 2014) (No. 91) hasn't pitched in a game since 2017, undergoing Tommy John surgery and fracturing the same right elbow while rehabbing last June.
Go back a year and nearly a fifth of baseball's best prospects were concentrated in two organizations. The Padres claimed 10 of the Top 100 spots and the Braves -- for the second consecutive season -- owned eight.
In 2020, the talent distribution has evened out a bit. Behind Tampa Bay, eight clubs have five Top 100 prospects apiece and seven teams have four. Of the four clubs with just one representative to begin last season -- Boston, Kansas City, Miami, Milwaukee -- only the Red Sox have stayed put. While the Brewers are the lone team without a Top 100 prospect, the Marlins have stocked up with five and the Royals boast three.