Farm System Rankings Project Prospect

by Bravesin07 on Jan 30, 2026 5:26 AM EST

1. Seattle Mariners, Jesus Montero (C)

2. San Diego Padres, Yonder Alonso (1B)

3. Arizona Diamondbacks, Trevor Bauer (RHP)

4. Texas Rangers, Jurickson Profar (SS)

5. Oakland Athletics, Jarrod Parker (RHP)

6. Kansas City Royals, Wil Myers (RF)

7. Atlanta Braves, Julio Teheran (RHP)

8. Pittsburgh Pirates, Jameson Taillon (RHP)

9. Colorado Rockies, Nolan Arenado (3B)

10. Washington Nationals, Bryce Harper (RF)

11. St. Louis Cardinals, Shelby Miller (RHP)

12. Baltimore Orioles, Manny Machado (SS)

13. Tampa Bay Rays, Matt Moore (LHP)

14. New York Yankees, Manny Banuelos (LHP)

15. Chicago Cubs, Brett Jackson (CF)

16. Toronto Blue Jays, Travis d'Arnaud (C)

17. Los Angeles Angels, Mike Trout (CF)

18. New York Mets, Matt Harvey (RHP)

19. Boston Red Sox, Xander Bogaerts (SS)

20. Cleveland Indians, Francisco Lindor (SS)

21. Detroit Tigers, Jacob Turner (RHP)

22. Cincinnati Reds, Devin Mesoraco (C)

23. San Francisco Giants, Gary Brown (CF)

24. Los Angeles Dodgers, Zach Lee (RHP)

25. Miami Marlins, Christian Yelich (LF)

26. Houston Astros, George Spinger (CF)

27. Minnesota Twins, Miguel Sano (3B)

28. Chicago White Sox, Addison Reed (RHP)

29. Philadelphia Phillies, Trevor May (RHP)

30. Milwaukee Brewers, Jed Bradley (LHP)

http://projectprospect.com/article/2012/01/29/farm-system-rankings

No wonder why his site crapped out, no one can take him seriously, Jays 16th. I sure don't anymore that's for sure.

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Read More: Jesus Montero (DH - SEA), Trevor Bauer (P - ARI), Jarrod Parker (P - OAK)

Comments

Leonys Martin

Why is he ineligible? He had only 8ML PAs.

Some see a glass half empty, some a glass half full. I see a glass that's twice as big as it needs to be. - George Carlin

by t ball on Jan 30, 2026 8:21 AM EST reply actions

what a joke

the Orioles farm system is better than toronto’s?
give me a break!

by elpikiman on Jan 30, 2026 8:53 AM EST reply actions

And as a Cubs fan....

I’d trade our system for theirs in a SECOND. No questions asked. I can’t see the Jays slipping past 5, no matter how you judge the systems.

by bdlugz on Jan 30, 2026 9:49 AM EST up reply actions

Yeah, that's by far the worst ranking I've ever seen.

Jays at 16th is a complete joke, consensus #1 or #2 system in baseball. Also, Cards at #11 is awful.

Who runs things over there?

by johnorpheus on Jan 30, 2026 10:06 AM EST reply actions

Yeah, 15 systems above TORs is kind of a joke

I would love to hear why the Cubs system is better.

by walnut falcons on Jan 30, 2026 1:14 PM EST reply actions

So are we all agreed?

by nixa37 on Jan 30, 2026 1:30 PM EST reply actions 2 recs

I think this means for next year..

Guys with most fantasy value for next year

RIP Nick Adenhart

by miketrout on Jan 30, 2026 6:16 PM EST reply actions

that think Toronto is extremely overrated. I applaud projectprospect for following their own grading system; and I agree with them that Toronto is overrated and doesn’t belong near the top 3; but 16 is awfully low. Toronto’s own front office I’m sure disagrees with this ranking. Yesterday at their press conference they said that they will make the playoffs 2-3 over the next 5 years. Maybe with the new wildcard rule but I strongly believe that they won’t make the playoffs once over the next 5 seasons.

I thought that it was interesting that SD was ranked #2 with Alonso as their highest rated prospect, but that just shows how deep their system is. In 2013 I expect them to be a consensus #1.

by johnnycomelately9 on Jan 31, 2026 5:10 AM EST reply actions

In what ways do you think Toronto is being overrated, exactly?

Which prospects are contributing to this overrating?

Some see a glass half empty, some a glass half full. I see a glass that's twice as big as it needs to be. - George Carlin

by t ball on Jan 31, 2026 8:28 AM EST up reply actions

To be completely fair

the list says that it values systems that have top level talent that is close to the major leagues. As deep as Toronto’s system is, it doesn’t have much of either. The system has several very good prospects (8 B+ prospects) but it doesn’t have anybody that is quite elite (nobody in the A or A- range). Not only that, most of the systems top guys are in the low minors. Out of the top-10, none have played in AAA and only 4 have played in AA. Moreover, out of those four, two of them only got cups of coffee in AA (Deck McGuire pitched in four games and Drew Hutchinson pitched in three).

SO, while I do think the Jays system is too low at 16, it doesn’t completely stun me when a list that, by it’s own admission:

is HEAVILY WEIGHTED TOWARD MLB-READY, HIGH-UPSIDE TALENTS

is not especially high on a system that is led by a bunch of B+ prospects in A ball…

by KentuckyPirate on Jan 31, 2026 8:55 AM EST up reply actions

Right

Over at the Jays SB National site, he said the rankings are based on players with 2012 or 2013 ETAs, as well as players with star level upside. I still think given this, the ranking should be closer to top-10, but it makes more sense in this light.

by MjwW on Jan 31, 2026 11:43 AM EST up reply actions

Well I think D'Arnaud is an A-

But it is true that most of their top talent is in the low minors currently. I still would rank them higher than this due to the amount of talent they have, even if it is in the low minors.

by cookiedabookie on Jan 31, 2026 3:10 PM EST up reply actions

Which is all well and good

except that it’s not your list (sorry if that sounds dick-ish) it’s projectprospect’s list. The criteria explained on the site says it values elite talent and at the higher levels of the minors. Since d’Arnaud isn’t quite “elite” in their estimation (#44) and most of their top-level prospects are in the low minors, the Jays’ system doesn’t grade well in their estimation. Personally, I’d have the Jays in the bottom part of the top-10. That’s using my own criteria and balancing act. I do agree that this list is probably the lowest I’ve seen but I don’t think it’s completely indefensible or deserving of the ire it seems to have gotten…

by KentuckyPirate on Jan 31, 2026 3:51 PM EST up reply actions

Well your post does sound pretty dickish

But I will let it slide. :)
I understand that this list (or any other posted on this site) is not mine. However, like everyone else in this post and others, I was offering my opinion. I even agreed that according to their criteria, I could understand their ranking - “But it is true that most of their top talent is in the low minors currently”
The second half of my statement “I still would rank them higher than this due to the amount of talent they have, even if it is in the low minors”, is my OPINION on why I would rank them higher if I were PP, and nothing else.

by cookiedabookie on Jan 31, 2026 4:07 PM EST up reply actions

I tend to agree with your opinion

more than the website’s FWIW. I was only trying to point out, albeit in a somewhat tactless way, that the list makes sense in light of the criteria used. If there is something to complain about, it’s their criteria not the list that it created (although the list could serve as evidence that their criteria is flawed).

by KentuckyPirate on Jan 31, 2026 5:44 PM EST up reply actions

you know whats funny? They dropped D’Arnaud a few spots after he had his best season in the minors. Yeah that makes so much sense. They didnt have lawrie on the list last year.

I consider that site a joke.

by Sniderlover on Jan 31, 2026 5:26 PM EST up reply actions

You're far from the only one

by nixa37 on Jan 31, 2026 5:28 PM EST up reply actions

i actually agree with johnny's comment

i think 16 is awfully low, but i also feel like Toronto’s system is being overrated. of the teams that PP has listed ahead of Toronto, the only ones where i can confidently say that i personally think are worse than Toronto’s system are: Rockies, Orioles, Yankees, Cubs

just looking at John’s grades, i like D’Arnaud and Marisnick at B+ (and i personally like Hutchison at B+ also), but i could see Syndergaard, Nicolino, Norris, Mcguire, and Gose, all being downgraded to a B.

if PP looks at the system like that, then it would make a huge dent on the system

by blue bulldog on Jan 31, 2026 10:01 AM EST up reply actions

I agree some

These guys don’t seem particularly bullish on Travis D’Arnaud & Jake Marisnick either if memory serves, so ranking the system higher wouldn’t make much sense at all for them.

Toronto’s system has a lot of far away pieces who can go in any variety of ways. Of course, that’s pretty much every prospect but the Jays’ perceived high ranking to most seems to be based more on the collective than any Matt Moore/Julio Teheran/Bryce Harper type really buoying everything. I think it is a great system though for what it’s worth as the depth is notable & things have improved leaps & bounds in only a few years.

by Matt0330 on Jan 31, 2026 11:20 AM EST up reply actions

BLUE JAYS 16TH!

ARE YOU SERIOUS? And the Red Sox at 19 isn’t as bad but still bad. I look like a homer, but the Yankees are too high

by Bososx13 on Feb 1, 2026 6:59 PM EST reply actions

Of course you do

Anyway the Sox talent is way down in the low minors, most of whom haven’t gotten out of Low A….if PP rates teams based on closeness to the majors, one would expect Boston to be around 15-20. The Yankees system is more evenly distributed with very good prospects in AAA, and a bunch of guys in the low minors (specifically the Low A Charleston group) who can make rapid ascension on many prospect lists.

by Yankees199 on Feb 2, 2026 12:20 AM EST up reply actions