2023 MLB Preseason Organization Talent Rankings

Last Five Years. 2022: 4. 2021: 7. 2020: 12. 2019: 22. 2018: 17
Baltimore boasts the No. 1 overall prospect in infielder Gunnar Henderson and one of the best righthanders in the game in Grayson Rodriguez. Both should make an impact at Camden Yards, and there’s plenty of upper-level depth with outfielder Colton Cowser and infielders Jordan Westburg and Connor Norby. Henderson and Rodriguez are the best, but there’s plenty more in the nest.

Last Five Years. 2022: 10. 2021: 16: 2020: 10. 2019: 21. 2018: 25.
The prospect quartet of Corbin Carroll, Gabriel Moreno, Jordan Lawlar and Druw Jones might be the best in baseball and is backed up by a stable of talented, upper-level pitching prospects like Brandon Pfaadt, Ryne Nelson and Drey Jameson. With four potential stars, plenty of arms and talented players in the upper levels, the D-backs have the core of their next competitive team ready to ascend.

Last Five Years. 2022: 8. 2021: 9. 2020: 3. 2019: 10. 2018: 8.
Another year, another loaded Dodgers system. Miguel Vargas is one of the best pure hitting prospects in the game, while the hard-throwing trio of Bobby Miller, Ryan Pepiot and Gavin Stone should make an impact for the club in 2023. Add punishing slugger Diego Cartaya and 2022 acquisitions Dalton Rushing (draft) and Josue De Paula (international), and it’s hard to find another system with more potential stars than the Dodgers.

Last Five Years. 2022: 12. 2021: 10. 2020: 19. 2019: 15. 2018: 22.
Led by two of the top pitching prospects in baseball in Gavin Williams and the currently injured Daniel Espino, the Guardians boast a deep and talented group of close-to-the-majors prospects. With Bo Naylor, Will Brennan, Tyler Freeman and Gabriel Arias already seeing time in the majors, the youngest team in baseball is set to get younger.

Last Five Years. 2022: 16. 2021: 23. 2020: 25. 2019: 19. 2018: 27.
The system’s top three prospects—Francisco Alvarez, NPB veteran Kodai Senga and Brett Baty—will impact the big leagues this season, while 2022 top draft picks Kevin Parada, Jett Williams and Blade Tidwell provide depth and upside to supplement up-the-middle talents like Alex Ramirez and Ronny Mauricio.

Last Five Years. 2022: 2. 2021: 1. 2020: 1. 2019: 2. 2018: 5.
Though Tampa Bay’s system has taken a step back in recent years, it’s still pretty good. No. 1 prospect Shane Baz is a wild card, but hitters like Curtis Mead, Carson Williams and Kyle Manzardo offer a range of upside, and righthander Taj Bradley is one of the game’s best pitching prospects.

Last Five Years. 2022: 26. 2021: 30. 2020: 24. 2019: 16. 2018: 15.
What a difference a trade can make. Sending outfielder Juan Soto to the Padres netted the Nats one of the biggest prospect hauls in recent memory. James Wood has massive upside, Robert Hassell is a pure-hitting outfielder and Jarlin Susana throws as hard as any minor leaguer. Add that trio to high-upside outfielder Elijah Green and big league-ready righthanders Cade Cavalli and Thad Ward, and brighter days might be ahead in D.C.

Last Five Years. 2022: 7. 2021: 19. 2020: 28. 2019: 7. 2018: 9.
The Reds went into full rebuild mode in 2022 and it’s reflected at the top, as seven of their top 10 prospects were acquired via trade. However, this group is led by one of the most exciting talents in the minors in infielder Elly De La Cruz. Players like Noelvi Marte, Cam Collier, Sal Stewart and Ricardo Cabrera offer exciting upside and projection.

Last Five Years. 2022: 18. 2021: 12. 2020: 13. 2019: 11. 2018: 13.
Few teams have consistently developed big leaguers like the Cardinals. With a talented group at the top led by Jordan Walker, Tink Hence and Masyn Winn the pipeline doesn’t look likely to dry up soon. The Cardinals added another group of college strike-throwers in this year’s draft, an archetype they’ve succeeded in developing over the years.

Last Five Years. 2022: 11. 2021: 20. 2020: 20. 2019: 30. 2018: 24.
Slowly but surely, Boston’s system is improving. The group isn’t deep, but it’s led by near-ready first baseman Triston Casas and talented shortstop Marcelo Mayer. Breakout prospect Ceddanne Rafaela and toolsy wunderkind Miguel Bleis add upside to the system, and Japanese import Masataka Yoshida gives Boston a plug-and-play outfielder for its new-look lineup.

Last Five Years. 2022: 3. 2021: 13. 2020: 23. 2019: 18. 2018: 16.
After winning the first ever MLB draft lottery the Pirates will choose from the top of the draft once again. Whoever they select with the top pick will join a talented top of the Pirates system alongside 2021 No. 1 overall pick Henry Davis, 2022 first-rounder Termarr Johnson and the Pirates' top prospect—catcher Endy Rodriguez.

Last Five Years. 2022: 9. 2021: 24. 2020: 21. 2019: 24. 2018: 23.
As an amateur, Evan Carter flew under the radar. Now, he’s one of the game’s elite prospects. Fireballing righthander Owen White has emerged as the team’s top pitching prospect and corner infielder Josh Jung overcame a shoulder injury to make his big league debut in 2022. High-end outfielder Anthony Gutierrez could be poised for a breakout, and former Vanderbilt righthanders Jack Leiter and Kumar Rocker regaining their collegiate form would add rocket fuel to the system.

Last Five Years. 2022: 25. 2021: 28. 2020: 30. 2019: 26. 2018: 11.
Any system led by Jackson Chourio is going to rank fairly high, but the Brewers have an exciting group of tooled-up talents at the top with outfielders Sal Frelick, Joey Weimer and Garrett Mitchell offering a little bit of everything from a skill set standpoint. Shortstop Brice Turang offers safety while righthander Jacob Misiorowski offers excitement.

Last Five Years. 2022: 24. 2021: 25. 2020: 29. 2019: 23. 2018: 20.
The 2022 season was a very good one in the Rockies system. Ezequiel Tovar established himself as one of the top 20 prospects in baseball, reaching the major leagues by season’s end. A young crop of previous international signings flashed immense upside in the lower levels, highlighted by infielder Adael Amador and righthander Jordy Vargas.

Last Five Years. 2022: 13. 2021: 18. 2020: 17. 2019: 20. 2018: 2.
Anthony Volpe and Oswald Peraza give the Yankees a dynamic, near-proximity duo of high-upside infielders. Jasson Dominguez put together an excellent season and ascended from Low-A to Double-A, while fellow center fielder Everson Pereira hinted at his potential between High-A and Double-A. New York popped uber-athletic Vanderbilt outfielder Spencer Jones in the first round and got an excellent season from catcher Austin Wells.

Last Five Years. 2022: 15. 2021: 17. 2020: 22. 2019: 29. 2018: 28.
Pete Crow-Armstrong leads a strong group of outfield prospects and the Cubs continue to add intriguing pitchers, including 2022 first-round pick Cade Horton and trade acquisitions Ben Brown and Hayden Wesneski. The Cubs system is light on middle infielders and many of their top prospects have concerning injury histories, but there is upside if everything clicks. Breakout slugger Matt Mervis gives them a big-league ready bat.

Last Five Years. 2022: 19. 2021: 3. 2020: 6. 2019: 3. 2018: 7.
After trading their first-round picks in consecutive seasons, it stood to reason that the Blue Jays farm would slide in 2022 and the trade of Gabriel Moreno does hurt the system’s talent. However, thanks to the breakouts of lefthander Ricky Tiedemann, flame-thrower Yosver Zulueta and a talented draft class led by dynamic lefthander Brandon Barriera, the Blue Jays have interesting prospects to restock around.

Last Five Years. 2022: 17. 2021: 15. 2020: 14. 2019: 28. 2018: 26.
Shortstop Marco Luciano and lefty Kyle Harrison form one of the game’s better duos at the top two spots in the system, and third baseman Casey Schmitt showed tons of potential at the plate and on defense. Righthanders Mason Black and Eric Silva showed promise, and San Francisco went for upside with college lefties Reggie Crawford and Carson Whisenhunt. Neither player pitched during their draft season but both could represent draft steals if they return to their previous form.

Last Five Years. 2022: 23. 2021: 27. 2020: 26. 2019: 12. 2018: 6.
Philadelphia’s system is extremely top-heavy, but Andrew Painter, Mick Abel and Griff McGarry make for an excellent trio of righthanders. Add in first-rounder Justin Crawford and his big league bloodlines and you have the start of an intriguing group that could supplement the reigning NL champions’ roster in the coming years.

Last Five Years. 2022: 20. 2021: 11. 2020: 9. 2019: 25. 2018: 19.
A great deal of this system’s value rests on the recoveries of three injured pitchers—Max Meyer, Jake Eder and Sixto Sanchez. Eder and Meyer are working their way back from Tommy John surgery and Sanchez has been through a litany of procedures that have kept him on the shelf for the last two years. Skyscraper righthander Eury Perez is one of the game’s best pitching prospects, and polished first-rounder Jacob Berry could add a much-needed injection of offense.

Last Five Years. 2022: 14. 2021: 8. 2020: 8. 2019: 8. 2018: 12.
With four position players leading the Twins system in Royce Lewis, Brooks Lee, Emmanuel Rodriguez and Edouard Julien the Twins have a nice group of up-the-middle players with above-average hitting potential. After that the Twins system is deep with pitching prospects with a higher than average degree of risk like Connor Prielipp, Marco Raya and Matt Canterino, to name a few.

Last Five Years. 2022: 1. 2021: 2. 2020: 5. 2019: 17. 2018: 30.
The graduations of Julio Rodriguez and George Kirby and trades of Noelvi Marte, Edwin Arroyo and others helped lead the Mariners to their first playoff appearance in 21 years last season, so it’s no concern that the system has thinned out. The Mariners have intriguing pitchers in the upper levels like Bryce Miller and Taylor Dollard, but their top position players are all in the lower levels and years away.

Last Five Years. 2022: 21. 2021: 6. 2020: 2. 2019: 1. 2018: 3.
The Padres nearly emptied their farm system to acquire Juan Soto from the Nationals at the trade deadline last season. Shortstop Jackson Merrill has potential and catcher Luis Campusano is ready for a big league spot, but top pitching prospects Dylan Lesko, Robby Snelling and Victor Lizarraga are all teenagers who are years away and the depth of the system falls off quickly.

Last Five Years. 2022: 27. 2021: 29. 2020: 15. 2019: 9. 2018: 18.
The A’s have traded Matt Olson, Matt Chapman, Sean Murphy, Frankie Montas, Chris Bassitt and Sean Manaea in the last 18 months, but they haven’t landed many sure-fire Top 100 Prospects in return. Pitchers continue to regress as soon as they enter Oakland’s system and the club has few hitters of note outside of recent draftees Tyler Soderstrom and Zack Gelof. This has all the hallmarks of a failed rebuild effort, and the A’s may not be good again for a very long time.

Last Five Years. 2022: 28. 2021: 26. 2020: 27. 2019: 5. 2018: 10.
The Astros didn’t pick in the first round in 2020 and 2021 in the wake of the electronic sign-stealing scandal. Despite the restrictions the Astros have managed to churn out big league contributors year after year. This year looks to be no different as righthander Hunter Brown, catchers Yainer Diaz and Korey Lee and infielder David Hensley all look likely to contribute.