Large Adult Sons Update: Jays farm ranked No. 5 in baseball
By Cam Lewis
5 years agoMLB Pipeline released it’s mid-season farm system rankings on Thursday and it features some exciting news for Blue Jays fans with their focus on the future. The Jays’ farm has been ranked No. 5 in all of baseball, trailing only the San Diego Padres, Atlanta Braves, and Chicago White Sox who have all spent the past half-decade tanking, and Tampa Bay Rays, who sold their entire big league roster over the past year.
Guerrero is the best prospect in baseball and Bichette isn’t far off. While those sons of former big league stars hog most of the spotlight in the Jays system, there’s also plenty of promising pitchers such as Pearson and right-handers Eric Pardinho, Sean Reid-Foley, and recent trade acquisition Hector Perez. Third baseman/shortstop Jordan Groshans and righty Adam Kloffenstein, teammates at Magnolia (Texas) High, highlight a strong 2018 Draft.
While MLB Pipeline might not have its ears as close to the ground as, say, FanGraphs, Baseball America, or Keith Law, this ranking is still a testament to how strong Toronto’s farm system is becoming. The system was already improving, as it ranked No. 9 in Pipeline’s pre-season list, but a strong draft and solid trade deadline sale helped push the farm even higher.
Jordan Groshans (No. 8), Adam Kloffenstein (No. 13), and Griffin Conine (No. 17), Toronto’s top three picks from the 2018 draft, all made their way into the organization’s top-30 ranking. Beyond them, pre-deadline additions Hector Perez (No. 11), Billy McKinney (No. 19), David Paulino (No. 20), Santiago Espinal (No. 24), and Forrest Wall (No. 26) all made their way into the top-30. If you count top international free agent singing Orelvis Martinez, that’s nine new players who weren’t here prior to the season now in the organization’s top-30 prospects. The system has become so deep that names like Thomas Pannone and Jordan Romano, pitchers at the top levels of the minors with a real shot to be decent back-of-the-rotation starters, barely crack the list.
While the big league club has been tough to watch, the farm system certainly gives many reasons to be excited. Of course, the system is propped up by Vlad Jr. and Bo Bichette, but there’s a lot here to get excited about. Down seasons from Logan Warmoth, Anthony Alford, and Nate Pearson are compensated by breakout years from Sean Reid-Foley, Cavan Biggio, T.J. Zeuch, Ryan Noda, and Kevin Smith. It won’t be long before we see some of these guys start getting called up to Toronto.
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