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MLB Minor League System Rankings – The Middle

By Benjamin Chase

Dec 7, 2016; National Harbor, MD, USA; A general view of stage microphones on day three of the 2016 Baseball Winter Meetings at Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 7, 2016; National Harbor, MD, USA; A general view of stage microphones on day three of the 2016 Baseball Winter Meetings at Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports /
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Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports /

8. Houston Astros

No one has yet quite done the scorched earth approach to rebuilding quite like the Houston Astros did. They’ve come out on the other side of it for sure, making the playoffs in 2015 and competing all season in 2016.

The Astros have used an elite farm system to help get where they are, but their system has been thinned by recent trades to be just a notch below the truly elite systems overall. Trades like the one they made for Carlos Gomez and Mike Fiers and for Ken Giles definitely stripped talent from the depths of the system.

That said, this is still a very exciting system that is definitely right on the cusp of being in that elite group.

Elite prospects – Really, the Astros only have one top 25 prospect, but their system could have as many as 8 or 9 guys when I finalize the top 125 as I considered 10 players from the system.

System depth in legit prospects – The Astros have seen very solid production from a number of players throughout their system as they’ve come up to the major league roster, both in the rotation and in the every day lineup. They still have guys on the farm who can do just that.

Proximity to majors of legit prospects – Of their top 10, two played in the majors in 2016 and half played in the upper minors in 2016. They also have a pair of very deep rosters at AA/AAA that include a number of players who are no longer prospect-eligible, but are still building their value to the major league team.

System reputation – The Astros have really developed a significant pipeline of talent from their lowest levels on up.

The Astros have had one knock on their organization, and it’s been in their financial dealings. The team has been perhaps too soon to announce deals when they haven’t completed the medical portions of deals, which was an issue in the Brady Aiken draft and also in a couple of international deals since. While those are limited incidents among hundreds of transactions in the last few years, when I ask about the team’s reputation in the game, that’s the first thing brought up by many people, so it’s still prevalent.

Houston has a solid ability to develop bats, getting excellent production from guys in the minor leagues and translating them to big leaguers, either on the big league roster or through trade.

Top 5 Born 1991 or since (age 25 season this year)
1. Carlos Correa
2. Alex Bregman
3. Lance McCullers
4. Kyle Tucker
5. Joe Musgrove

Next: Nationals Top 10 Prospects

Agree? Disagree? Fire off in the comments, and let’s discuss!!

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