4. Milwaukee Brewers
If I were to grade rebuilds in the major leagues and their overall effectiveness from where the team was before the rebuild to where they are now, the Brewers would absolutely get the highest marks.
This was a system that was getting comments like the current Angels system gets for a number of years as the Brewers consistently used any prospects they did have to generate trades for runs at the playoffs, some of those runs ill-fated as they ended up missing out on the postseason anyway.
The Brewers seem to get tremendous depth in every trade they make, and not just in “okay” prospects, but in guys that are elite or borderline elite prospects. Their offseason trade with the Red Sox is a good example. They turned a reliever that closed for all of two months (after they’d traded their previous closer in a midseason deal) to the Red Sox for a player that should start at the big league level for the Brewers, a top 10 prospect in the system, and another depth prospect with a high upside.
These trades have left the Brewers with a very, very bright future, and they’ve still seen the team improve on the field as well, improving 4.5 games in 2016 over their 2015 season while in the midst of a rebuild.
Elite prospects – I considered seven of the Brewers prospects for my top 125, but they have as many as 4 more guys who would be in the consideration if I made it a top 150. There is a very good group at the very top of this system for sure.
System depth in legit prospects – The Brewers have a very good blend of guys who are low in the system and more ceiling than floor, but they also have many guys who have established that they could be something quite good, and they are deep in low level prospects as well.
Proximity to majors of legit prospects – Of the top 10 prospects, six played in the upper minors this season. The Brewers also have a handful more guys off of the top ten in AA/AAA that should contribute to the big league club in 2017.
System reputation – The Brewers have overhauled their system recently, so there’s not a ton of background on how their players develop. They have shown an ability to get the most out of raw athletes like Hernan Perez.
The Brewers have shown an ability to work with pitchers with elite stuff and turn them from throwers to pitchers or move them into the bullpen to harness their raw stuff, as they did eventually with Tyler Thornburg before trading him.
Top 5 Born 1991 or since (age 25 season this year)
1. Orlando Arcia
2. Domingo Santana
3. Jonathan Villar
4. Lewis Brinson
5. Zach Davies
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