Top teams on 2019 Top 100 Prospects list
MLB Pipeline's unveiling of our list of the Top 100 Prospects for 2019 marks the culmination of a two-week run during which we also looked at the Top 10 prospects at each position.
:: Complete 2019 Top 100 Prospects coverage ::
This year's Top 100 list is the first since 2015 to feature at least one player from all 30 teams. Some clubs are better represented than others, of course, though none can match the San Diego Padres' Top 100 prospect power.
The Padres are in elite company this year with an MLB Pipeline-record 10 Top 100 prospects. That number is up from seven in 2018, when they also garnered honors as MLB Pipeline's top-ranked farm system, and only slightly less than the organization's collective total (11) from 2015-17. The Red Sox had held the previous record for most Top 100 prospects after placing nine players on the list in 2014.
Half of the Padres' representatives this year are holdovers from 2018, with shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. (No. 2 in 2019), LHP MacKenzie Gore (No. 15), 2B/SS Luis Urías (No. 23), LHP Adrian Morejon (No. 49) and Michel Baez (No. 72) all repeating as Top 100 prospects for at least a second straight year.
:: Prospect Points ::
Catcher Francisco Mejía (No. 26), acquired from the Indians last summer, is the highest-ranked new addition to the Padres Top 100 contingent, and he's joined by a fast-rising group of pitchers in right-handers Chris Paddack (No. 34) and Luis Patino (No. 48), and southpaws Logan Allen (No. 74) and Ryan Weathers (No. 93).
What's more, after leading all 30 teams with 423 prospect points in 2018 -- the No. 1 overall prospect receives 100 points, No. 2 gets 99 points, and so on -- the Padres, with seven prospects ranked inside the Top 50, have established a new MLB Pipeline record this year with 574 points.
As for the other best-represented teams, the Braves check in with eight Top 100 prospects for the second time in as many years, and they've now had at least five preseason Top 100 prospects in four straight years, tying an MLB Pipeline record.
The graduation of 2018 No. 2 overall prospect Ronald Acuna, as well as the Braves' lack of a Top 20 prospect on this year's list, has resulted in fewer prospect points for the organization, though they still rank second in that category (407 points) overall after pacing all teams (429) in that department in '18.
The Astros, White Sox and Rays have six Top 100 prospects apiece, rounding out the list of the five best-repped teams for 2019.
Specifically, the South Siders have the most prospect points (397) of the above group, thanks largely to their five Top 50 prospects in OF Eloy Jiménez (No. 3), RHPs Michael Kopech (No. 18) and Dylan Cease (No. 21), OF Luis Robert Jr. (No. 40) and 2B Nick Madrigal (No. 47).
Tampa Bay is fourth with 358 prospect points this year, up from 345 in 2018. They also placed a record 10 players on MLB Pipeline's Top 10 prospects-per-position lists, besting the previous high-water mark (eight) set by Boston in 2014.
In terms of the all-time standings, the Rays (62), Dodgers (57), Braves (56) and Padres (50) have produced the most top prospects talent since the inception of MLB.com's rankings in 2004.
After those rankings expanded from 50 to 100 players in 2012, the Padres (5.38), Braves (5.00), Pirates (4.75) and Astros (4.63) have averaged the most Top 100 prospects per year.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, 12 teams have no more than two prospects on the new Top 100. The Brewers, Marlins, Red Sox and Royals are the only clubs with a single representative.