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Farm system rankings: Overall, 20-11

Giants, Cardinals, D-backs sit just outside top 10 going into 2020
Giants shortstop Marco Luciano played nine games in the Northwest League before his 19th birthday. (Jared Ravich/MiLB.com)
March 3, 2020

With the 2020 season rapidly approaching, MiLB.com is looking at the state of all 30 farm systems and ranking them in different ways. After looking at position-player prospects (30-21, 20-11, 10-1), pitchers (30-21, 20-11, 10-1) and 21-and-under talent, the fourth and final installment focuses on the overall prospect talent level

With the 2020 season rapidly approaching, MiLB.com is looking at the state of all 30 farm systems and ranking them in different ways. After looking at position-player prospects (30-21, 20-11, 10-1), pitchers (30-21, 20-11, 10-1) and 21-and-under talent, the fourth and final installment focuses on the overall prospect talent level in each organization. The 30-21 rankings ran Monday. Here are the rankings, 20-11:

 20. Philadelphia Phillies


Position players: 20th; Pitchers: 16th
Rocky's hometown farm system features a promising one-two punch in Alec Bohm, the No. 30 overall prospect, and No. 34 Spencer Howard. Both finished up 2019 at Double-A Reading and could slide quickly onto the big league roster. Bohm (with his big right-handed bat) has the chance to help out at third base, if Jean Segura or Scott Kingery don't solidify a spot there, and Howard's combination of a mid-to-high-90s fastball and plus changeup has every chance to thrust him into a rotation that was a weakness in 2019. No. 87 Bryson Stott gives Philadelphia three Top-100 prospects, though the former UNLV shortstop is much further behind the other two. There is a pretty fair dropoff from there, even with some names that most prospect lovers should know like 19-year-old shortstop Luis Garcia (who struggled after getting pushed aggressively at Class A) and 2016 top pick Mickey Moniak (who remains inconsistent offensively). Outside Bohm and Howard, there aren't many Phillies prospects with clear paths to becoming key contributors to a contending Major League team.

 19. Kansas City Royals


Position players: 21st; Pitchers: 11th
In case that ranking above didn't make it obvious, this is an arms-heavy group, led by No. 59 overall prospect Brady Singer and No. 61 Daniel Lynch. In fact, that 2018 Draft class has continued to age well with Jackson Kowar climbing to Double-A and Kris Bubic leading the Minors in strikeouts during his first full season. The bats are another matter, and that's a heck of a thing to say about a group that boasts last year's second overall pick and the current No. 10 overall prospect in Bobby Witt Jr. Witt could very well be in contention for the No. 1 overall prospect spot in the next 18 months with four plus tools and an above-average hit tool, but the cast behind him doesn't nearly bring the same enthusiasm. Nick Pratto, MJ Melendez and Seuly Matias took several steps back offensively at Class A Advanced Wilmington last season, and the new top position player prospect behind Witt is $3.8775 million signing Erick Pena, whose skills are more average across the board than plus. The Royals' homegrown rotation could some day be stellar. Who plays behind it could be a big issue.

 18. New York Yankees


Position players: 24th; Pitchers: 12th
Youth and loud tools define the positive aspects of this batch of pinstriped youngsters. Risk defines the rest. Perhaps no one encapsulates that better than top prospect Jasson Dominguez. The 17-year-old switch-hitting outfielder signed for $5.1 million out of the Dominican Republic last July and could be a five-tool player but still needs to face arms in a professional game setting. He has every chance to live up to the tremendous hype. He also has a long road to the Bronx. Elsewhere, of New York's newest list of top 10 prospects, only No. 2 Clarke Schmidt (24) is older than 22, and he has limited experience after undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2017. If all goes well, Schmidt could see time in the Major League rotation this season. The same could be said of Deivi Garcia, the Yankees' third and final Top-100 prospect at No. 92 (four spots behind Schmidt and 38 behind Dominguez). Luis Gil, Luis Medina, Albert Abreu and Alexander Vizcaino all throw hard, but lack of secondaries and/or control problems blunt their potentials for now. Estevan Florial is still the sixth-best prospect in the system, yet injuries and lack of contact have held him back from seeing the upper Minors for any extended periods of time. The ceiling on this group is collectively quite high, and more experience/sustained production could send the system surging in years to come. But for the purposes of these rankings, the questions and risks hold the Yanks back for now.

 17. Los Angeles Angels


Position players: 9th; Pitchers: 28th
Having Jo Adell would get any farm system far. MLB.com pegged the 20-year-old outfielder as the game's No. 6 overall prospect heading into 2020, and there's every possibility that could look low in time. The 2017 first-rounder already shows off four plus tools, and he isn't far from joining Mike Trout in the Anaheim outfield following a short trip back to Triple-A Salt Lake. Toolsy players like Brandon Marsh (No. 79 overall), Jordyn Adams and D'Shawn Knowles bring more shine to the system, as does Jeremiah Jackson coming off his record-tying home run season in the Pioneer League. But no one would call this system well-rounded exactly. Only two of the club's top 10 prospects are pitchers -- No. 6 Patrick Sandoval and No. 7 Chris Rodriguez -- and both come with their own issues (Major League effectiveness for Sandoval, health for Rodriguez). Getting Adell and Marsh into the fold soon is exciting for the Halos, but it'll take more than relying on this group of homegrown talent to get the club back into serious contention.

 16. Oakland Athletics


Position players: 26th; Pitchers: 7th
This is as Major League-ready as a top group gets. No. 12 overall prospect Jesus Luzardo, No. 33 Sean Murphy and No. 60 A.J. Puk -- the A's entire Top-100 contingent -- are slated to open 2020 on Oakland's Major League roster and play big roles at that. Luzardo and Puk should move right into the Major League rotation, while Murphy is expected to be the club's starting catcher. It's a pretty safe bet that all three will hold those positions for several Opening Days to come. While any club would love to boast Puk and Luzardo, there are still some other solid hurlers in the pipeline, like Daulton Jefferies and James Kaprielian. The position-player group lacks flash, outside last year's $5.1-million signing of Robert Puason, who is a plus-plus runner and gifted fielder at shortstop but has something to prove offensively. It'll be on him and others like infielders Nick Allen and Logan Davidson to keep the system buoyant. Otherwise, it'll take a major hit when the top trio graduates in short order. 

 15. Toronto Blue Jays


Position players: 27th; Pitchers: 6th
Speaking of a club staying up after major graduations, the Jays system can no longer claim Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Bo Bichette or Cavan Biggio, and yet three Top-100 prospects remain in No. 8 Nate Pearson, No. 75 Jordan Groshans and No. 98 Simeon Woods Richardson. Pearson's surge in 2019 (led by his triple-digit fastball and aided by a plus slider and improving changeup), in particular, feels like Toronto should have another piece of its next contender in place soon. Right-hander Alek Manoah, catcher Alejandro Kirk and shortstop Orelvis Martinez all have Top-100 potential as well; they're just not there yet. The group lacks a standout outfielder, and the pitching (which also includes Anthony Kay and Adam Kloffenstein) definitely outweighs the bats as of now. A further breakout by players outside the top three would be a big help, but even a drop to the middle of the pack isn't so bad considering what the Toronto farm lost in the last 12 months (in the best possible way).

 14. Pittsburgh Pirates


Position players: 14th; Pitchers: 13th
The Bucs have a solid Top-100 prospect base of No. 39 Mitch Keller, No. 41 Ke'Bryan Hayes and No. 64 Oneil Cruz -- all of whom figure to open 2020 in the upper Minors, or in the case of Keller, in the Majors. That's good news for a club entering an obvious rebuild in what has been a crowded National League Central. The lower levels also received a boost from the Starling Marte trade that brought over shortstop Liover Peguero and right-hander Brennan Malone from the D-backs. Both players need to see full-season ball, but there is plenty of promise in both that could push them into the Top 100 if their tools translate to Class A ball. Add in fellow high-ceiling, unproven pitchers Tahnaj Thomas and Quinn Priester and first-round outfielder Travis Swaggerty, and the conveyor belt to the Steel City should be greased and moving in 2020. Producing a top-25 overall prospect could make Pittsburgh a top-10 system, and the 2020 seventh overall pick should help in that regard.

 13. Arizona Diamondbacks


Position players: 11th; Pitchers: 26th
The D-backs were undeniably one of the most improved systems in 2019, moving from 24th to this spot in a year's time. The club has five Top-100 prospects, albeit none among the top 40. The club is especially strong among outfielders, led by No. 43 Kristian Robinson, No. 49 Alek Thomas and No. 89 Corbin Carroll, and catcher Daulton Varsho (No. 76) and shortstop Geraldo Perdomo (No. 82) help build out the position-player base. The pitchers face much more questions. Corbin Martin will miss most of 2020 after undergoing Tommy John surgery, J.B. Bukauskas and Jon Duplantier look more like relievers and Blake Walston, Luis Frias, Levi Kelly and Matt Tabor are too far away from the Majors to feel like safe bets. Still, the helium isn't gone from this group. Robinson, Carroll and Thomas could continue to shoot up, and it wouldn't be a surprise to see one of the arms click at the higher levels this summer. 

 12. St. Louis Cardinals


Position players: 13th; Pitchers: 18th
There's the crown jewel of the system in No. 17 overall prospect Dylan Carlson. There's the promising light-tower power of No. 47 Nolan Gorman. There's the newest and best pitching prospect in No. 58 Matthew Liberatore. The mix of that trio brings a strong balance to at least the top of the system here, and that positional and toolsy diversity certainly earns some points here. That said, this is certainly a group with its strengths and its weaknesses. Strengths include upper-level pitching (Génesis Cabrera, Junior Fernandez, Jake Woodford), catching (Andrew Knizner, Ivan Herrera) and outfielders (Carlson, Lane Thomas, Trejyn Fletcher, Jhon Torres). What it lacks -- and this is a major lack -- is a strong middle-infield prospect. Edmundo Sosa could fit that bill because of his defense alone, but his below-average bat likely leads to a utility role in St. Louis. For now, Cards fans have plenty to get excited about with the coming arrival of Carlson in the outfield. Gorman and Liberatore can only hope to follow his breakout 2019 path in their second full seasons.

 11. San Francisco Giants


Position players: 4th; Pitchers: 22nd
At this time a year ago, the Giants had only two Top-100 prospects. Now they have five -- No. 14 Joey Bart, No. 35 Marco Luciano, No. 65 Heliot Ramos, No. 71 Hunter Bishop and No. 99 Seth Corry. Only the Rays (six) have more. Luciano's stateside breakout -- he hit .302/.417/.564 over 47 games at age 17 -- might have grabbed the most headlines of this group, but Bart remains the top prospect of the bunch, given his offensive and defensive prowess behind the plate. (He also might still be the top catching prospect in the game had it not been for a certain first overall pick last June.) Ramos and Bishop bring future hope to a San Francisco outfield that needed it, and Corry (and his 1.76 ERA and 33.6 percent K rate in Class A) give the Giants a much-needed touted pitching prospect. Alexander Canario, Luis Matos, Will Wilson and Luis Toribio only heighten the excitement at the lower levels, and Logan Webb and Mauricio Dubón look more than ready to contribute in the Majors again in 2020. Make no bones about it though; this system will go as far as Luciano can take it, and don't be surprised if he's a top-10 prospect by midseason.

Sam Dykstra is a reporter for MiLB.com. Follow and interact with him on Twitter, @SamDykstraMiLB.