Who has the best inventory of young talent

by bravitos5122 on Mar 12, 2026 2:12 AM EST Comment 34 comments

Cut off age is 27 the full season. Only really thinking about about players in the majors or at least in strong contention to make the opening day roster. It seems the last couple of years the consensus was the Rays. Has that changed? I dont know but several teams are catching up.

Perhaps a top 10 list of cores on who you would take going forward? Off the top of my head I think I would rank as such:

1. Rays

2. Orioles

3. Dodgers

4. Braves

5. Marlins

6. Giants

7. Red Sox

8. Rangers

9. A's

10. Reds

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I think the Indians should be in there somewhere:

Asdrubal Cabrera
Luis Valbuena
Justin Masterson
Chris Perez
Lou Marson
Fausto Carmona (I know he has sucked, but we also know about the 07 season)
David Huff
Tony Sipp
Matt LaPorta

Not sure if these guys make your cutoff:

Grady Sizemore (turns 28 in august)
Shin Soo Choo (turns 28 in July)

I left out most prospects close to the majors such as Santana, Rondon, Brantley, Carrasco, Jason Donald etc as well as some of the more fringe guys like Joe Smith, Aaron Laffey, Jeremy Sowers, Mitch Talbot and a couple of others.

Might not be filled with all stars, but it’s a tremendous group of young players who are very likely to play a big role on this team in 2010 and beyond.

by JP_Frost on Mar 12, 2026 8:31 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

+1

I like the Indians young talent all the way down to A ball. I believe Shapiro has done a good job of retooling this franchise in quite an effecient manner.

"The key to winning baseball games is pitching, fundamentals, and three run homers."

by fourfingerwoo on Mar 12, 2026 11:17 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

The Rays still have a pretty strong list

Wade Davis
David Price
Jeremy Hellickson
Matt Garza
JP Howell
Jake Mcgee
Dioner Navarro (bad season last year but already has 1 ASG)
Evan Longoria
Sean Rodriguez
Reid Brignac
BJ Upton
Matt Joyce
Desmond Jennings

by Dbullsfan on Mar 12, 2026 9:43 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

*and Jeff Niemann

by Dbullsfan on Mar 12, 2026 9:44 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

+1

Rays take the cake by a mile

by Heebs on Mar 12, 2026 9:50 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I Would Think the Dodgers, Others

People forget how huge of a cutoff 27 is. Pedroia doesn’t turn 27 until August. Hanley doesn’t turn until December. Guys like that (esp Hanley) are worth 4-5 guys like Sean Rodriguez and Matt Joyce.

Anyways, the Dodgers would be pretty solid —

- Kemp
- Billingsley
- Kershaw
- Martin
- Broxton
- Loney
- DeWitt
- Withrow
- D Gordon
- Martin
- Lindblom
- Lambo
- Elbert
- J McDonald
- Even Ethier is currently 27 (turns 28 in April)

by Dfarth on Mar 12, 2026 11:42 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

The Mets ?

Sounds odd and maybe unpopular but the Mets “young” talent isn´t too bad either:

These are 10 players who appeared in the majors last season and have a good shot at a roster spot out of spring training in 2010:

3b David Wright (27)
SS Jose Reyes (27)
RF Jeff Francoeur
1b Daniel Murphy
OF Fernando Martinez (with Beltran´s injury)
RHP Mike Pelfrey
LHP Jon Niese
RHP Francisco Rodriguez
RHP Fernando Nieve (27)
RHP Bobby Parnell

Plus prospects

Ike Davis

Josh Thole

Ruben Tejada

Jenry Mejia

who are having a good spring and are very likely to see major league action at some point in 2010. I don´t think I´d rather want to have the Indians players listed above in exchange for this group of players - even with Choo and Sizemore included.

By the way, a team that also belongs in the discussion - at least in terms of major league talent - are the Rockies with
Tulowitzki - I.Stewart - Fowler - Gonzalez - Ianetta offensively
Jimenez - Morales - Chacin - Street

Pretty thin on the farm though in terms of prospects likely to make an impact in 2010 beyond possibly Christian Friedrich or Eric Young jr.

by Doob on Mar 12, 2026 1:03 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

KRod is 28

by Dfarth on Mar 12, 2026 1:44 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

It's worth noting that Familia has added some serious velocity this spring as well.

Here. John had him as a sleeper, but if he’s throwing that hard with his movement he could easily be following Mejia’s skyrocket through the system.

Pinella: Where th f*ck was that pitch at?
Ump: Lou, don't you know that you're not supposed to end a sentence with a preposition?
Pinella: Where the f*ck was that pitch at, a$$h*le?

by Schmidtxc on Mar 12, 2026 7:49 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

CHONE has that group (minus K-rod) valued at 20.9 WAR for 2010,

and that doesn’t include any of the prospects. I don’t see how they wouldn’t be in this discussion, and should probably be quite high on this list.

Pinella: Where th f*ck was that pitch at?
Ump: Lou, don't you know that you're not supposed to end a sentence with a preposition?
Pinella: Where the f*ck was that pitch at, a$$h*le?

by Schmidtxc on Mar 12, 2026 8:21 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

The teams that come to mind

Are obviously the teams with good farm systems.

Among those I would take as the top 10 (in no particular order and listed with their best MLB players under age 27):

Boston
Buchholz (25)
Bard (25)
Lester (26)
Pedroia (26)
Ellsbury (26)
Lowrie (26)

Westmoreland, Kelly, Reddick, Kalish, Tazawa, Rizzo, Iglesias, Bowden, Anderson

Tampa
Longoria (24)
Price (23)
Upton (25)
Joyce (25)
Garza (26)

Jennings, Wade Davis, Hellickson, Colome, Moore, Beckham, Brignac, Torres, Barnese, Wilking Rodriguez

Baltimore
Tillman (22)
Wieters (24)
Jones (24)
Pie (25)
Hernandez (25)
Reimold (26)

Matusz, Bell, Arrieta, Britton, Hobgood, Erbe, Snyder

Texas
Andrus (21)
Holland (23)
Davis (24)
Borbon (24)
Harrison (24)
Salty (25)
Teagarden (26)
McCarthy (26)

Feliz, Smoak, Perez, Scheppers, Profar, Main, Beltre, Font, Ross

Atlanta
Schafer (23)
Hanson (23)
Jurjjens (24)
Medlen (24)
McCann (26)

Heyward, Teheran, Vizcaino, Delgado, Bethancourt, Freeman, Minor, Kimbrel

LA Dodgers
Kershaw (22)
Kemp (25)
Billingsley (25)
Loney (26)
Broxton (26)

Gordon, Withrow, Martin, Miller, Elbert

San Francisco
Sandoval (23)
Cain (25)
Lincecum (26)

Posey, Bumgarner, Wheeler, Runzler, Neal

Oakland
Anderson (22)
Cahill (22)
Mazzaro (23)
Barton (24)
Gio Gonzalez (24)
Sweeney (25)
Suzuki (26)
Pennington (26)
Buck (26)
Bailey (26)

Carter, Taylor, Ynoa, Weeks, Green, Cardenas, Stassi, Ross, Figueroa

Florida
Maybin (23)
Volstad (23)
Coghlan (25)
Miller (25)
Hanley Ramirez (26)
Gaby Sanchez (26)
Josh Johnson (26)
Anibal Sanchez (26)
Leo Nunez (26)

Stanton, Dominguez, Morrison, James, Tucker

Colorado
Fowler (24)
Carlos Gonzalez (24)
Franklin Morales (24)
Tulowitzki (25)
Stewart (25)
Jimenez (26)
Street (26)

Friedrick, Matzek, Chacin, Rosario, Gomez, Rogers

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twitter: @alskor

by alskor on Mar 12, 2026 2:14 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Atlanta — don’t forget Yunel Escobar (27) and arguably Martin Prado (26).

http://www.chop-n-change.com

by alexwithclass on Mar 12, 2026 2:30 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I forgot Prado

Didn’t list everyone under 27 but I should have gotten Prado.

I only went age 26 and under, since that seemed to be how the question was phrased. If we open it up to 27 year olds lots of these teams add guys… Twins get Mauer, for instance.

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twitter: @alskor

by alskor on Mar 12, 2026 2:55 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I like Tampa, Texas and Atlanta out of those lists, and 1/3 of Texas list originated in Atlanta.

by yondaime4 on Mar 12, 2026 4:04 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I would include

Sean Rodriguez and Jake McGee on your list of non-major league talent in TB and might move Joyce onto the non-major league part of the list as well despite his experience in the majors as he is not certain to make the team yet.

by bobr on Mar 13, 2026 7:13 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I would think that the Dodgers would lead in young, established talent.

IMO, prospects that are really high are still a level below players that are successful in the majors. When your young talent is Kemp, Kershaw, Broxton, Loney, Martin, Billingsley, Kuo, Belisario, Ethier plus top prospects(Gordon, Withrow, E. Martin, Miller, Lambo, yes I know he had a bad year, but being 20 and in AA and at least being OK has some standing, etc, they have the best core of established players with prospects to boot.

Now, if all players are the same(all prospects and MLB players are expected to succeed), then it goes to TB

by lakersdodgersyankees4life on Mar 12, 2026 5:35 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Sorry that 2nd to last sentence is hard to read.. there should be a period instead of a comma after etc

by lakersdodgersyankees4life on Mar 12, 2026 5:36 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

You: Dodgers Dodgers Dodgers Dodgers Dodgers Dodgers Dodgers Dodgers Dodgers Dodgers Dodgers Dodgers.

Maybe relax a little bit with that.

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www.bullpenbanter.com
twitter: @alskor

by alskor on Mar 12, 2026 10:34 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

He's got a good point though.

Thats a great top end of the rotation, a pair of solid bullpen arms, an elite center fielder, an above average catcher, and two nice complimentary players. Not many teams can match that.

Pinella: Where th f*ck was that pitch at?
Ump: Lou, don't you know that you're not supposed to end a sentence with a preposition?
Pinella: Where the f*ck was that pitch at, a$$h*le?

by Schmidtxc on Mar 13, 2026 1:22 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

If my favorite team was the Astros and I posted that, ok

But when the team is undoubtedly in the discussion and if we are talking established players, very close to the top of the pack… this just seems like something you have been wanting to post for a while and when you got a chance, you took it, even if it wasn’t the smartest place.

But eh, whatever, if you have a problem with me.. you aren’t the first and probably won’t be the last, but I’m not going to change how I feel to please you. If it angers you that much, just pass over my comments.

And honestly, how many teams have two TOR arms that are 25 and 22, one of the best CFs in the game, who’s 25, one of the top RFs who is 27, a top 7 catcher in all of baseball even with his worst year, two of the best young pen arms in the game and a complementary 1B? Not many…

One final thing, if you read my post I say that if we are counting prospects equally with MLB players, then Tx and TB are at or near the top. But If MLB players have more weight than prospects, which, IMO, they should because they are established, unlike prospects, then the Dodgers are at the top…

by lakersdodgersyankees4life on Mar 13, 2026 2:17 AM EST via mobile up reply actions 0 recs

Worst year offensively*

When I’m talking about Martin

by lakersdodgersyankees4life on Mar 13, 2026 2:17 AM EST via mobile up reply actions 0 recs

I don’t want to speak for alskor here, but I sincerely doubt he has a problem with you. I do think he has a valid point, though — in a community focused on minor league players, 98% of your comments revolve around the Dodgers. I realize that’s your area of expertise (as the Phillies are mine, as the Red Sox are alskor’s), but it might help to broaden your horizons just a bit.

by PhillyFriar on Mar 13, 2026 11:32 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Yes, most of my posts are about the Dodgers

Im not going to lie, I am very new to prospecting. I have learned the Dodger’s system fairly well because that is the team I focus on the most. I have found that when I make statements about other team’s prospects, more times than not, I end up looking like a moron. IMO, it’s better to comment on what you know than comment on something you dont and look like an idiot…

by lakersdodgersyankees4life on Mar 13, 2026 5:54 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I guess I should say

What irks me isnt the fact that he decided to call me out.. whatever. But the fact that he picked a forum where what I said isnt at all homeristic and has a lot to do with the conversation… the fact that he picked this place, to me, seemed to hint that he had been wanting to write it for a while and when he got a chance to do it, took it…

by lakersdodgersyankees4life on Mar 13, 2026 6:22 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Yeah, that's what I did.

I totally “called you out.”

Bullpen Banter
www.bullpenbanter.com
twitter: @alskor

by alskor on Mar 13, 2026 10:22 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Gotta take the Barves...

Jason Heyward
Tommy Hanson
Brian McCann
Jair Jurjjens
You could add anyone else and I think that is the best top 5.

After that I would go

2. Tampa
3. Texas
4. Tampa
5. Baltimore
6. Florida
7. Colorado
8. Dodgers
9. Oakland
10. Boston

by joegonzo on Mar 12, 2026 6:29 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

*Braves

by joegonzo on Mar 12, 2026 6:29 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

as far as top 5 you listed

Heyward > Jennings
Hanson = Price
McCann<<<Longoria
Jurrjens<<Garza
anyone< Davis or Upton, whichever you would probably rate 5th for the Rays

those aren’t in order as I’d rate them as the Rays would probably be

Longoria
Garza
Jennings
Price
Davis/Upton

by Dbullsfan on Mar 12, 2026 6:58 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

If you’re looking at what they have done in the majors thus far it’s hard to say that Hanson=Price, that would need to be changed to Hanson>Price.

by atl14yearsschaffer on Mar 13, 2026 12:12 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Twins?

Denard Span
Francisco Liriano
Joe Mauer
Kevin Slowey
Kyle Gibson
Wilson Ramos
Aaron Hicks
Ben Revere
Delmon Young
Jason Kubel
JJ Hardy
David Bromberg
Nick Blackburn
Angel Morales
Daniel Valencia
Rene Tosoni
Billy Bullock
Max Kepler
Miguel Sano
Joe Benson
Parmelee, Polanco, Ty Robertson, Carlos Gutierrez, Deolis Guerra, Adrian Salcedo, Anthony Slama

Wow Blackburn makes nearly identical money as Baker does now....

by SteveHoffmanSlowey on Mar 13, 2026 12:33 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Major league ready ?

I thought the discussion was regarding major league talent or talent that´s almost major league ready. While Joe Mauer alone should bring the Twins into discussion, at least Kepler & Sano probably won´t make their major league debut - in a best case scenario - before late 2013.

by Doob on Mar 13, 2026 12:57 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Milwaukee Brewers

Give me a better, more established top-3 than Prince-Braun-Yovani. They definitely have the field beat in the top-2. Add in Alcides Escobar and Brett Lawrie and you have a true foundation for the future. They may lack a bit in pitching…well perhaps more than a bit, but they can certainly fill out a lineup to supplement that lack.

C-Lucroy/Salome (I’m a big-time Angel fan. A year removed from pacing a stacked Southern League in BA - and really hitting)

1B- HoF Fielder

2B - Weeks

SS - Escobar

3B - Gamel

LF - Braun

CF - Gomez/LoCain/Schafer

RF - Kentrail Davis/Caleb Gindl

And a lot of interesting arms. Quality bats. Quantity arms.

Chicks Dig The Long Ball.

by ILuvDaBush on Mar 13, 2026 4:47 PM EST reply actions 0 recs