With the 2020 season rapidly approaching, MiLB.com looks at the state of all 30 farm systems and ranks them in several different ways. This second installment, broken into three parts, focuses on pitchers and considers the quality and quantity of talent in each system. The rankings, 20-11.
With the 2020 season rapidly approaching, MiLB.com looks at the state of all 30 farm systems and ranks them in several different ways. This second installment, broken into three parts, focuses on pitchers and considers the quality and quantity of talent in each system. The rankings, 20-11.
18. St. Louis Cardinals
In one of the biggest moves of the offseason, the Redbirds acquired Matthew Liberatore (Princeton 2018) from the Rays in an effort to boost the system's pitching depth. In bringing in the game's fourth-ranked left-handed prospect, the Cardinals picked up someone with a quality array of pitches, including a plus curveball that can garner plenty of punchouts. While Cuban right-hander Johan Oviedo (Johnson City 2017) hopes to bounce back after an up-and-down season with Double-A Springfield.
17. Cincinnati Reds
Only 20 years old, right-hander Lyon Richardson (Greeneville 2018) will get another full season under his belt after averaging nearly a strikeout per inning with Class A Dayton in 2019.
13. Pittsburgh Pirates
Ranked as the No. 39 overall prospect to begin the season, Mitch Keller (Bristol 2015) leads the charge for Pittsburgh -- with good reason. The right-hander made his big league debut last year and still managed to record 123 strikeouts in 19 starts with Triple-A Indianapolis. He has all the stuff to become a frontline starter, which the Pirates hope he can be in the near future, even if his 7.13 ERA in the Majors last season looks scary on paper. Also, Tahnaj Thomas is expected to make his full-season debut after fanning 59 in 48 1/3 innings at Rookie Advanced Bristol in 2019. With a plus fastball and above-average slider, the 6-foot-4 right-hander is capable of giving Pittsburgh another Top-100 prospect when Keller inevitably graduates. It's that level of upside that makes Pittsburgh pitchers worth buying going into 2020.
12. New York Yankees
Deivi Garcia (Pulaski 2017) made an impressive climb in 2019, beginning the season with Class A Advanced Tampa and ending it at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. He begins this year as the No. 92 overall prospect after averaging 13.3 strikeouts per nine innings, although his ERA climbed to 5.40 in the International League. Luis Gil (Pulaski 2018) used his fastball-curveball combo to dominate hitters in the South Atlantic League, racking up 112 strikeouts over 83 frames, though control has always been a problem. Albert Abreu (Greeneville Astros 2015) should be there, while 20-year-old right-hander Yoendrys Gomez (Pulaski 2019) will look to get his legs under him in his first full Minor League season.
11. Kansas City Royals
No. 61 Daniel Lynch (Burlington 2018-19) was limited to 96 1/3 innings by injury last season, but posted a 3.10 ERA in 15 starts for the Blue Rocks. Add in other 2018 picks like Austin Cox (Burlington 2018) and Kansas City fans shouldn't have to squint too hard to see a potential Major League rotation built entirely out of homegrown arms coming in the next few years.
