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American League
Our annual directory of farm system teams includes MLN rankings of the systems from the prior season, based upon actual performance and use of the players in the system.
The Boston Red Sox were named MLN's FAB50 Farm of the Year 2005 at mid-season for their performance throughout the year, and the number of quality players that they delivered to the FAB50. They edged out the Minnesota Twins, who have arguably the best farm system in baseball at the moment. Injuries have plagued the Twins' depth chart, most notably of phenom Jason Kubel, who was sidelined for the whole season after an injury in Arizona Fall League ball at the end of the 2004 season.
About Our Rankings
Our rankings (10-1) are derived from our ongoing monitoring of the farm systems. They differ from other farm team rankings in that we rank farms in terms of how well they handle their prospects. Having a lot of top draft picks does no good if your management doesn't groom them well. Good farms can also take a lot of lesser-ranked talents and develop them into valuable franchise players for the club.
Our rankings (10-1) are derived from our ongoing monitoring of the farm systems. The 'Super Market' score (5-1) indicates how beneficial, geographically, the choices of farm teams are to the building of fan base around the major league club's home market. We also take into account regional marketing tools like dedicated cable television networks to this ranking.
About The Farm
"The Farm" is the nickname of the system of the "minor" leagues and teams used by Major League Baseball used to develop players. The joke amongst major league players in th 1930s, when the system was created by Cardinals GM Branch Rickey, was that they used to 'grow 'em down on the farm like corn.'
The Farm System largely replaced the system of horsetrading at fixed contract prices between independent leagues and the majors. Major league clubs sign a contract with a player and then assign them to a farm club within their system. There are some independent leagues outside of the farm system that still deal in player contracts to major league clubs, but more than 99% of the players are usually developed within the farm systems, even when purchased from an independent ballclub.
Clicking on links will take you to each Team Library we have with articles, links to newswire stories, and to the Open Source Sports Directory (OSSD) of players.
2005 American League Farm Systems
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Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
Director of Player Development : Tony Reagins
| Ranking: 8.5/10 |
Super Market : 1/5 |
The Angels have a high-productivity farm system layered deep with solid talent geared towards making material contributions to the major league club. The Halos have a proven track record, and a batch of World Series rings, making good to excellent use of their talent. The current farm is well stocked with quality prospects. Teams are too spread out to make a useful super market for the club. Not that anyone is negotiating with the Indy Central Baseball League, but it would make a reasonable Short-A for Western teams' draftees.
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Oakland Athletics (A's)
Director of Player Development: Keith Lieppman
| Ranking: 7/10 |
Super Market : 3/5 |
While we like many of the farmhands in the Athletics' system, their use of players and trades made recently do not, in our estimation, work to the full benefit of the major league club. The close proximity of their Triple-A and Double-A clubs helps their super market status.
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Toronto Blue Jays
Director of Player Development: Dick Scott
| Ranking: 5/10 |
Super Market : 2/5 |
The Blue Jays pull a mid-ranking for a middling farm club that isn't all that bad, or all that great this year. The Maple Birds suffer from location, location, location. Canada is the country so nice they tax players twice (US and Canadian) making it difficult to situate farm clubs for Super Market Status. Two shades of middle Class A ball ding their MLN farm system ranking as well. We'd love to see them pick up a High-A Carolina League affiliation to challenge the talent more in the A levels.
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Tampa Bay Devil Rays
Director of Player Development: Dick Scott
| Ranking: 8/10 |
Super Market : 2/5 |
The D-Rays top of the line is some of the best in the farm system, with quality teams and coaching from the Durham Bulls down through Class-A. Participation in the Dominican and Venezuelan and better access to that rich pool of talent in those markets would rank them much higher. A Carolina league affiliate would improve their Super Market number as well.
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Cleveland Indians
Director of Player Development: John Farrell
| Ranking: 8/10 |
Super Market : 2/5 |
The Indians have a steady farm system that on average produces a good number of prospects that serve both the major league club and quality players for the trading post. The clubs affiliated are scattered over a wide terrain including crossovers into other major clubs' super markets, making the farm system less valuable as a broad fan base in the local region. Still, it's a good group of ballclubs.
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Seattle Mariners
Director of Player Development: Benny Looper
| Ranking: 9/10 |
Super Market : 3/5 |
The Toyota of farm systems, the Mariners make more out of high mileage imports than most other farms. 2005 looks to be kind to a system that has been on a slow building boom. Excellent Asian, Dominican, and Venezuelan scouting. With holdings in Tacoma and Everett, Seattle has a mini Super Market that does give the team some geographic lift with its fan base.
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Baltimore Orioles
Director of Player Development: David Stockstill
| Ranking: 5/10 |
Super Market : 4.5/5 |
David Stockstill is in the unenviable position of trying to jump-start a sputtering farm system that falls into the same disarray that the major league club under owner Peter Angelos suffers from. Still there are signs that things may be getting better. The Os do have one of the most potent Super Markets in the Majors. Only Ottawa in the upper classes is not in their media market. Maybe they'll move them to DC after the Nationals book for someplace like Memphis once the current DC love-affair with baseball wears off.
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Texas Rangers
Director of Minor League Ops: John Lombardo
| Ranking: 7/10 |
Super Market : 4/5 |
John Lombardo is doing a lot to wake up the Rangers farm system. Granted he's been getting better raw materials to work with, both through the draft and acquisitions, but we continue to hear good things from the players in the system about improved levels of communication and movement in the system. Given the geography and political landscape of Texas baseball, the Rangers have about as close to a Super Market as they're apt to get.
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Boston Red Sox
Director of Player Development: Ben Cherington
| Ranking: 9.8/10 |
Super Market : 5/5 |
MLN's 2005 Farm System of the Year. The Red Sox farm system has been very good for a long time. What makes it better this year is that it is really more useful to the major league club. The Sox have taken a "Yankees Light" approach to trades. Developing players have more room to shine in the system, and aren't in fact or mindset simply trading cards for the next big deal. Ben Cherington has some of the best farm hands in baseball this year. The Sox scouting system, and developmental team in the Dominican Republic both should yield good dividends for the club. The Red Sox have the best Super Market farm system with teams that give the mother ship in Bean Town great fan lift throughout the region not only because of their geography, but because of their winning ways. NESN provides such broad coverage to the Boston-loyal that it itself would qualify the team for super-market status, beyond the good regional live team coverage.
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Kansas City Royals
Director of Player Development: Shaun McGinn
| Ranking: 4/10 |
Super Market : 2/5 |
The Royals, whose farm system was on fire in the early part of the decade, has quieted considerably. Not many of their high rounders have turned into much, and the farm system has not been particularly adept at developing high-promise free-agent signings either. The Royals generated a lot of excitement for the major club with some of the young talent coming off of the farm. They will need to do it again to be a contending team, as their market doesn't support a lot of high-dollar trades. The Royals farm system is somewhat dispersed and doesn't help them much with Super Market status.
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Detroit Tigers
Director of Player Development: Dan Lunetta
| Ranking: 5/10 |
Super Market : 2.5/5 |
The Tigers have some great pitchers, but we'd be inclined to send Leonard Nimoy "In Search of" their infield depth chart. If they could build up the relationships along the Toledo/Detroit corridor better they might have some potential to kick up a Northwest Super Market.
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Minnesota Twins
Director of Player Development: Jim Rantz
| Ranking: 9.9/10 |
Super Market : 2/5 |
While the Twins have undergone an injury-prone run with some of their fastest-rising talent we like not only the quality of players but the quality of the people developing them at pretty much every level. Jim Rantz has stocked away little gems throughout his depth chart. If the major league club can make use of the farm well, the Twins should be positioned well to contend for many years to come. They fall just short of the Red Sox as our farm of the year because of the number of sidelined grade A talents that are not of use to the club in 2005. As for Super Markets, the club is average to slightly below. Luring the St. Paul Saints into the Twins' family fold would do a lot to improve their Super Market rankings.
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Chicago White Sox
Director of Player Development: David Wilder
| Ranking: 7.5/10 |
Super Market : 2/5 |
The White Sox are ramping up to try and be the winning team from the Windy City. While the Cubs went on a Yankee-esque buying binge, the Sox have been trading veterans like Roberto Alomar and developing talents like Brian Anderson. We still think that they have a ways to go to build a better depth chart, but the Sox are on the march towards the goal of being one of the major league clubs' more powerhouse farm systems. The Sox pick up little value from their farm in terms of regional power base building as a Super Market
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New York Yankees
Director of Player Development: Mark Newman
| Ranking: 5/10 |
Super Market : 5/5 |
The Yankees farm system gets a middling ranking (5) because it has been ill-used in the Steinbrenner years, mostly as a vehicle for high dollar trades. It is currently fueling at the lower ranks, with the remainder of players awaiting a cup of coffee or a bus to another gig. There are some very under-appreciated talents within the Yankees farm, but we don't see them getting much more appreciation in the current enviornment. We hear under Mark Newman that the development system has improved, and players at the higher levels are getting better communication than in years past. Having a High A club would be a plus.
The Yankees geogrphical layout of clubs doesn't scream Super Market, but we have to give a top ranking (5) because of the power of generations of the tales of the Bronx Bombers, the high-hype New York Media, YES television, and the fact that Yankees baseball is an iconic link between expatriot New Yorkers and home mean that the Yanks can do what no other club can do... own fan hearts and minds in pretty much every corner of the country.
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