Much has changed since we ranked all 30 MLB farm systems before the 2025 season. A big part of that shift has come in the past few weeks as the most recent prospects joined their new teams via the MLB draft and then front offices added -- or subtracted -- young players at the MLB trade deadline.
With two of the most impactful periods for any farm system in the rearview, it's time to see how all 30 organizations stack up and what has changed most since Opening Day.
These dollar figures are a little lower (roughly 5% on average) than they'll be in the winter, basically because when I do the deep dive on each system, it will reveal/upgrade more lower-tier prospects for each team, but it mostly won't affect the higher-tier prospects.
This is a pretty objective process (each prospect has a dollar value based on their rank). Obviously, there's some subjectivity in the process, too (how the players are ranked), and roughly the top-50 prospects in the sport have an empirical, but to most fans disproportionate, value. Having the most players in the top half of the Top 100 is the best way to be the top-ranked team in this exercise. On that note, let's get to that first team.
1. New York Mets ($315 million)
Preseason rank: 9
The Mets have hovered in the middle third of my farm rankings for years -- until the beginning of this season, when they moved up to ninth. They're now on top, at the peak valuation of this crest of young talent, with a top-heavy system featuring prospects who are largely in the Top 100 and either in Triple-A or the big leagues.
This also isn't a random occurrence or glut of players who are about to graduate from being prospects at once. Ronny Mauricio and Luisangel Acuna already graduated this year, Christian Scott graduated last year, Brett Baty and Mark Vientos the year before that, Francisco Alvarez before that -- and there have also been several midlevel prospects traded out of the system over the past two deadlines: Jesus Baez, Drew Gilbert, and Kade Morris lead the way.
At this time next year, I'd expect six of New York's top eight prospects, if not more, to have either graduated or be up in the big leagues to stay, so this ranking won't last very long, but that's also because the Mets will have a roster teeming with useful big leaguers: the whole reason this list exists.
2. Los Angeles Dodgers ($309 million)
Preseason rank: 1
If you're a regular reader of my rankings, the Dodgers have fared well for a while; they've been in my top-10 farm systems the past five rankings, dating back to after the 2021 season.
They have graduated Dalton Rushing, Justin Wrobleski, Ben Casparius and Jack Dreyer this year, with Alex Freeland possibly joining that group before the end of the year. The top of the system mostly position players in A-ball, so the Dodgers are likely to rank high for many years.
3. Seattle Mariners ($302 million)
Preseason rank: 7
The Mariners have quietly put together a great system built on solid scouting and development while not trading their top-tier prospects. Instead, Seattle has dipped into its second tier when needed, such as moving first baseman Tyler Locklear and pitcher Brandyn Garcia to upgrade the lineup at the trade deadline
The Mariners' draft focus a few years ago was heavily on prep position players, but that has shifted a bit to include pitchers, with potential frontline starters Ryan Sloan and Kade Anderson added over the past two summers.
4. Pittsburgh Pirates ($301 million)
Preseason rank: 20
A huge part of this ranking is that the Pirates have the No. 1 prospect in the sport in Konnor Griffin. They would be ninth on this list if he were the second prospect in baseball because there's a premium in being the best prospect.
Bubba Chandler, Hunter Barco, Rafael Flores, Thomas Harrington, and Nick Yorke are expected to be important players for next year's team. Griffin will likely move into that conversation by the second half. I don't know if this group will be enough to propel the big league team into contention, but the prospects will give Pittsburgh a chance to make that kind of move up the standings.
5. Minnesota Twins ($299 million)
Preseason rank: 6
The deadline teardown wasn't designed primarily to boost the Twins' farm rankings, but obviously, it did that, too. The addition of young talent in trades that cut the MLB payroll, coupled with Minnesota having no major prospects graduate from eligibility this year (though Luke Keaschall is close), helped the Twins move up. Minnesota has been in the top 10 farm systems since the end of the 2023 season.
The talent is largely in the upper minors and will be relevant to the big league team next year. There's also quality depth here, with the third-most prospects above 40 FV of any system.
6. Milwaukee Brewers ($297 million)
Preseason rank: 8
The Brewers are bordering on the "Breaking Bad" "He can't keep getting away with this" meme as they continually field a competitive (if not excellent) big league team on a shoestring budget but also have young players regularly appearing in the big leagues and have a strong farm system. The Brewers might have four players get votes for Rookie of the Year this season: Jacob Misiorowski, Isaac Collins, Caleb Durbin, and Chad Patrick. It should be no surprise that Milwaukee also leads the league in quality depth in its farm system, too.
7. Cleveland Guardians ($285 million)
Preseason rank: 11
The Brewers and Rays lead the "How do they keep doing this?" teams, but the Guardians are quietly in third by being competitive, if not good, almost every year. 2B Travis Bazzana, the No. 1 pick in 2024, is tracking like another impact-type talent as soon as next season, while deadline acquisition RHP Khal Stephen might be the next standout pitcher who wasn't a high pick.
There's depth to the system and lots of solid contributors, but keep an eye on outfielders Chase DeLauter (can he stay healthy?) and Jace LaViolette (can he make enough contact?), who both have star potential if it all clicks.
8. Detroit Tigers ($264 million)
Preseason rank: 3
The Tigers might have the best top of the system in baseball, with two of the top six prospects and five of the top 60, but their depth has been reduced because of several graduations and some deadline deals.
Shortstop Kevin McGonigle and center fielder Max Clark have star potential and will be on the verge of the big leagues next season, but I could see them either not getting a chance to debut or getting a taste late in the season to preserve their 2027 Rookie of the Year/Prospect Promotion Incentive possibilities.
I'm also intrigued by the Tigers' high-variance draft approach this summer as they took the two top high school position players with the shortest track record of facing high-end pitching: Jordan Yost and Michael Oliveto.
9. St. Louis Cardinals ($257 million)
Preseason rank: 19
As Chaim Bloom takes the reins from John Mozeliak as president of baseball operations after this season, the Cards' system is in the best shape it has been in years (they ranked 10th after the 2022 season).
JJ Wetherholt and Liam Doyle are the most recent first-round picks and are also potentially impactful rookies for the 2026 club. There are more questions regarding the other top prospects. Quinn Mathews and Tink Hence had up-and-down seasons, Cooper Hjerpe and Tekoah Roby had/have serious arm injuries, and Rainiel Rodriguez and Joshua Baez came out of nowhere.
Overall, there is solid depth in the system and with the young talent in the big leagues, so I'm intrigued to see how Bloom handles the team-building challenge.
10. Miami Marlins ($236 million)
Preseason rank: 15
The Marlins continue to trend up as they add young players. Miami's farm system was ranked 29th before the 2024 season, No. 19 at this time last year, and No. 15 entering this season.
LHP Thomas White has emerged as a potential ace, and LHP Robby Snelling and CF Jakob Marsee led the charge of arrow-up prospects. SS Aiva Arquette and CF Cam Cannarella were the top players added in the draft.
I think the peak ranking for this wave of talent probably comes at some point next year (maybe postdraft, White is still considered a prospect), meaning many of Miami's top prospects will be on the big league team at some point next season.
11. Baltimore Orioles ($200 million)
Preseason rank: 14
The O's had the top farm system in the game through the 2024 trade deadline and then dropped to 14th before this season as their best young players continued to graduate to the majors.
They seem to have stabilized with this next wave of talent, and it looks like C Samuel Basallo and OF Dylan Beavers will narrowly keep their prospect status for this winter. The group behind those two emerged this season, with RHP Trey Gibson, CF Nate George and RHP Esteban Mejia all taking a big step forward. Meanwhile, having the largest 2025 draft pool led to a big incoming group of prospects led by C/RF Ike Irish, SS Wehiwa Aloy, CF Slater de Brun, and C Caden Bodine.
12. Toronto Blue Jays ($199 million)
Preseason rank: 24
The Jays hit a home run with their top three picks in the 2024 draft: First-rounder RHP Trey Yesavage is the 35th-ranked prospect in the sport, second-rounder RHP Khal Stephen (now with the Guardians after a deadline deal) is the 59th-ranked prospect, and third-rounder LHP Johnny King is inside the top 150 prospects.
The Jays proved they can replicate that success with position players by drafting shortstop Arjun Nimmala in 2023, and they'll look to do it again with 2025 first-rounder JoJo Parker.
13. Arizona Diamondbacks ($192 million)
Preseason rank: 25
The D-backs added young talent at the trade deadline, with 1B Tyler Locklear, LHP Kohl Drake, LHP Brandyn Garcia, LHP Mitch Bratt, RHP Juan Burgos, RHP Ashton Izzi, RHP David Hagaman, and RHP Andrew Hoffmann all ranking as 40 FV or better. Their returns on their top three picks in the 2024 draft (CF Slade Caldwell, LF Ryan Waldschmidt and 2B JD Dix) all look strong early as well.
There's some real depth here (Arizona is tied for third in quality depth), and there's a lot of talent that should be showing up in the big leagues and/or graduating next season.
14. Boston Red Sox ($190 million)
Preseason rank: 4
It has been a busy year for the Red Sox system. The club graduated three top-tier position player prospects in Roman Anthony, Marcelo Mayer and Kristian Campbell. Those three leave a giant hole in terms of prospect value, but SS Franklin Arias and LHP Payton Tolle led the charge of arrow-up prospects trying to fill it. Righties Kyson Witherspoon, Marcus Phillips and Anthony Eyanson headlined a pitcher-heavy 2025 draft haul.
15. Athletics ($182 million)
Preseason rank: 23
The headline here is in giant letters: They added No. 5 prospect SS Leo De Vries at the trade deadline to this current wave of talent moving through the minors that includes Gage Jump and Jamie Arnold. They are all potentially joining an incredibly deep group already in the big leagues as soon as next season: Nick Kurtz, Tyler Soderstrom, Jacob Wilson, Lawrence Butler, Denzel Clarke, Luis Morales, J.T. Ginn, and Jack Perkins.
16. Tampa Bay Rays ($176 million)
Preseason rank: 5
This is the first time the Rays have been out of the top seven in at least three years, and it's for numerous reasons. First, they graduated some talent this year in CF Chandler Simpson, LHP Mason Montgomery, Jake Mangum, along with star 3B Junior Caminero last year. Secondly, it wasn't a great year for development as Carson Williams and Xavier Isaac continued to plateau due to contact issues, leaving Theo Gillen as the one clear arrow-up player at the top of the system.
The players they got at the deadline were also mostly second-tier types, but the draft haul was deep with upside high school players who give hope for upward mobility next season.
17. Texas Rangers ($170 million)
Preseason rank: 16
The Rangers have held their position, graduating Kumar Rocker and Jack Leiter this season but also having those holes filled by rising prospects like Devin Fitz-Gerald and Caden Scarborough, along with the recent draft class led by Gavin Fien, Josh Owens, and AJ Russell.
They have injured players (Alejandro Rosario and Winston Santos) who should return to the field and an intriguing international-signee position-player group (Yolfran Castillo, Yeremy Cabrera, and Elorky Rodriguez), giving this system some upward mobility next season, though it's unclear when Rosario will return to the mound.
18. Cincinnati Reds ($163 million)
Preseason rank: 13
The Reds are in a bit of a farm system down cycle (they've ranged from fifth to 19th over the past four years), with Chase Burns graduating after the electric class of Elly De La Cruz, Andrew Abbott, and Matt McLain lost eligibility.
Some of their current top prospects -- 3B Sal Stewart, RHP Rhett Lowder, and RHP Chase Petty -- should graduate early next season, which would then clear the way for the system to be defined by some potential impact players in the lower levels: C Alfredo Duno, 1B Cam Collier, SS Steele Hall, SS Tyson Lewis, and RHP Aaron Watson.
19. Chicago Cubs ($161 million)
Preseason rank: 10
The Cubs graduated Matt Shaw and Cade Horton this year after Pete Crow-Armstrong, Michael Busch, Jordan Wicks, Ben Brown, and Daniel Palencia last season.
This current prospect crop is headlined by players who have already debuted (Moises Ballesteros, Owen Caissie, Kevin Alcantara) or are in the upper levels of the minors (Jefferson Rojas, Jaxon Wiggins, Jonathon Long, Brandon Birdsell). I liked their recent draft crop, led by RF Ethan Conrad, LF Josiah Hartshorn, CF Kane Kepley, and RHP Kaleb Wing, and think there's enough talent at the lower levels to make a next wave of talent.
20. Chicago White Sox ($157 million)
Preseason rank: 2
The White Sox had some tough timing: SS Colson Montgomery lost his prospect eligibility after the top 100 was posted but before the farm rankings went up, moving them down from 13th to here.
They originally fell from second on the preseason list to 13th because of the graduations of Kyle Teel, Edgar Quero, Grant Taylor, Chase Meidroth, Shane Smith and Mike Vasil in addition to control issues on the mound for top pitching prospects Noah Schultz and Hagen Smith. The top two picks in the 2025 draft crop (Billy Carlson and Jaden Fauske) have upward mobility in 2026.
21. Philadelphia Phillies ($155 million)
Preseason rank: 17
SS Aidan Miller, RHP Andrew Painter, and CF Justin Crawford are all in the upper minors and seem like they were off-limits for trades the past couple of trade deadlines. They could be the homegrown infusion of potential impact talent as the major league roster ages.
I liked the 2025 draft crop, with RHP Gage Wood and LHP Cade Obermueller as potential quick movers and RHP Matthew Fisher as a great value. CF Dante Nori and 2B Aroon Escobar are also notable arrow-up prospects this season.
22. Washington Nationals ($154 million)
Preseason rank: 12
The Nats are in a short downcycle in prospect value as James Wood, Dylan Crews, Daylen Lile, Brady House, Robert Hassell III, Brad Lord, and Cole Henry all graduated this year. They supplemented them with a big draft class, which was helped by going underslot at the No. 1 pick: SS Eli Willits, 1B Ethan Petry, SS Coy James, RHP Landon Harmon, and RHP Miguel Sime Jr. RHP Jarlin Susana needs to lower his walks to shoot up in the Top 100, and RHP Travis Sykora could do it if he stays healthy. I see the Nats rising up this list again next season.
23. Colorado Rockies ($149 million)
Preseason rank: 18
Adding a potential star in SS Ethan Holliday, the fourth pick in the draft, is the headline for the Rockies' farm system this year. I also liked the next few picks, landing RHP JB Middleton and RF Max Belyeu.
Another infielder with big league bloodlines, 3B Kyle Karros, has been the main arrow-up player in the system this year, and I liked the two headliner returns from both deadline-trade deals with the Yankees, getting 2B Roc Riggio and LHP Griffin Herring. LF Sterlin Thompson got hot after a slow start, but the top roughly dozen returning prospects have been mostly moving sideways this season.
24. San Francisco Giants ($140 million)
Preseason rank: 29
1B Bryce Eldridge is the Giants' top prospect and will likely play a big part for the big league team next season, while LHP Carson Whisenhunt and CF Drew Gilbert are in the big leagues. These are the next hopes for a homegrown star, following Logan Webb and Patrick Bailey (despite his down season). SS Josuar De Jesus Gonzalez, 17, is more likely than Whisenhunt or Gilbert, but will take a while to get to the big leagues. SS Jhonny Level, RHP Keyner Martinez, and RHP Argenis Cayama are all rising from the international department along with Gonzalez.
25. New York Yankees ($137 million)
Preseason rank: 21
The Yankees traded 16 prospects at this year's trade deadline after dealing away six at last year's deadline -- along with four more in non-deadline deals the past two seasons. Oh, and one more notable prospect loss from yet another scenario.
To Brian Cashman's credit, this exodus didn't include any of the best handful of prospects in the organization: SS George Lombard Jr., RHP Cam Schlittler, CF Spencer Jones and RHP Carlos Lagrange. But these moves have cleared out much of the system's depth and some potentially impactful young players, such as C Agustin Ramirez and 2B Caleb Durbin, and even a few solid veterans like RHP Michael King.
The past two draft and international signing classes have helped backfill the organization with young talent that could have the Yankees soon climbing this list again and reversing a trend that has seen New York go from the sixth-best farm system before the 2024 season to No. 15 after last year's deadline, No. 21 entering this season and No. 25 in this edition.
26. Atlanta Braves ($124 million)
Preseason rank: 27
The Braves have a fresh group of pitchers to supplement the current shortage at the major league level, led by LHP Cam Caminiti, RHP Didier Fuentes, and RHP JR Ritchie. As fans might be thinking, these pitchers are not solutions this year, but Fuentes could be next year and soon-to-graduate RHP Hurston Waldrep might have turned the corner with his strong major league debut.
This year's draft haul, led by SS Tate Southisene and LHP Briggs McKenzie, has some of that high-upside prep formula that has worked for the Braves in the past, so I'd expect this ranking to continue to rise.
27. Kansas City Royals ($94 million)
Preseason rank: 22
The Royals graduated Jac Caglianone and Noah Cameron as potential core players, with John Rave, Ryan Bergert, Jonathan Bowlan and Steven Cruz joining them as role players who have or soon will graduate.
Of the remaining prospects, C Carter Jensen is in Triple-A and could be a core player, and I like the draft haul (3B Josh Hammond, CF Sean Gamble and RHP Michael Lombardi were the first three picks).
Meanwhile, RHP Kendry Chourio has emerged as arguably the top pitcher in the system. Hammond and Gamble could be the high-end prospects needed to pull this system out of the bottom third of the league, like they were before the 2022 season.
28. Los Angeles Angels ($85 million)
Preseason rank: 28
The Angels have been between 25th and 30th in these rankings since the end of the 2021 season, as they've been focused on moving prospects quickly to the majors while trying to make the most of having Mike Trout in the organization.
A solid group of players is getting close to the big leagues from the past two draft classes, last year's trade deadline return and the international department's signings.
Righties Tyler Bremner, George Klassen, and Trey Gregory-Alford have the potential to be impact-type arms with some further development, but I don't see star potential in the position player group.
29. Houston Astros ($78 million)
Preseason rank: 30
The Astros have been between 27th and 30th in every list since the end of the 2021 season, as they've focused on keeping the big league team competitive.
2B Brice Matthews and OF Jacob Melton are the top two prospects in the system, but are both in the big leagues with everyday-player upside. After those two graduate, the Astros will need the past two draft classes, headlined by 3B Xavier Neyens and C Walker Janek, to pick up the slack.
30. San Diego Padres ($61 million)
Preseason rank: 26
You could probably see this coming after the Padres dealt away 20 prospects over the past two trade deadlines, and seven more in spring 2024 to acquire Luis Arraez and Dylan Cease.
The Padres had the fourth-best farm system before the 2024 season, and since then, essentially, a pretty good top 30 of prospects has been shipped out of San Diego's system. It's impressive that there's still some talent here, and the Padres are still among the best teams in baseball at finding prospects anywhere they can.