BBA Minor Leagues: Top 10 (and more!) SP Systems of 2039

[RonCo]

Off Topic

Out of time for the day...I'll get to links if I can find some time later tonight...but I think there's enough info here to get the gist anyway.

If you want to create a conversation, just ask a BBA fan about the best young pitchers in their systems and you’ll get a wide array of response—everything from exuberant bleating to finger in the mouth puking. Everyone knows that pitching is the key to the game (well, except for the other 90%, which is half mental). And if you know that pitching is the key to the game, you know young pitching is the root of all hope.

Put a teenaged pitcher with a big name on your roster, and you’ve got something sure to draw interest.

Given this, and a conversation I was having with Loserville manager Stephen Shaw, I thought it might be interesting to go look at our minors and get a feel for who had what coming up the old pipeline. It was certainly interesting. To do this I went through and sorted SP out of each level of our farm systems that were rated 60 and above, and plunked them all into one spreadsheet. I then proceeded to slice and dice until my little heart was all pitter-patter. Yes, I know. Sorry about that.

Of course, I can’t leave it there. Herein you can now find my list of the top BBA farm systems ranked by top-end starting pitching. I do this, of course, because I know you want it that way, and I’m nothing if not a slave to the need to please when it comes to fake baseball neep.

A note on scoring—a lot of this is subjective. I could have, for example, listed any one of the top three or four organizations as #1. A lot depends on just what you like and how you like it. That said, feel free to resort it however you want, all right?

So, here it is.

The top BBA Farm Systems, ranked by top-end talent only…


#1 – Des Moines

Name	Age	T	Lev	OVR	POT	STU	MOV	CON	VELO	STM	Hurt
Don Smith	19	L	AAA	45	80	9	9	10	92-94 Mph	8
Timmy Karnes	18	R	S A	20	80	8	9	8	94-96 Mph	8
Greg Palmer	19	R	AA	20	65	7	8	8	94-96 Mph	6
Juan García	20	R	AAA	35	60	7	6	7	93-95 Mph	8

Look, Gents, if Don Smith and Timmy Karnes both make it through the gauntlet unscathed, we’re going to see a new sheriff in the Heartland. Smith is looking like he’s getting close enough we could see him as early as next year (though maybe later next year? Time will tell). If he stays where he’s at, Smith is a generational hurler. Karnes is throwing a 1.19 ERA in Short A. Still very early to call, of course. But the Kernels have more in the barrel than Smith and Karnes. Last year’s second round pick, Greg Palmer is in AA and looking like it’s the right spot, and Juan Garcia, acquired in the deal that sent John Hale on his road trip, is following along in Smith’s draft in AAA and looking like he could be ready as early as next year, too.

In other words, Des Moines has a whole 4-man rotation coming along here real soon like.


#2 Calgary

Name	Age	T	Lev	OVR	POT	STU	MOV	CON	VELO	STM	Hurt
Tokimasa Ihara	18	L	S A	30	80	6	9	8	91-93 Mph	10
Quintiliano Rodeia	20	R	AA	40	75	6	8	8	95-97 Mph	11
Jorge Alfaro	19	R	A	35	70	7	9	7	96-98 Mph	7
Carlos Granados	21	R	AAA	50	65	6	7	9	93-95 Mph	9	xx
Emilio Brazini	19	L	R	20	60	7	6	5	92-94 Mph	12

You probably couldn’t go too wrong with calling Calgary’s system the tops based on quantity. They have five pitchers who qualify for the list, but their top end doesn’t feel as top-y as Des Moines, and with Granados having a rotator cuff injury, I’ll slip them down a notch. Boo the hell whoo…

Given Granados’ injury, at 20, Rodeia is probably the most ready, but that’s a year out. This downgrades them a bit, too. Give the dev-o-beast too much time and it can ravage a staff, am I right? Regardless, Alfaro and Ihara are the team’s pervious two top picks, and they appear to be progressing. Brazini was this year’s #2, and he looks like a back of the rotation kind of talent…but who can tell, right? All you can say for sure is that if things work out and that injury heals, Calgary has a whole rotation coming through the ranks.

Yes, big ifs…


#3 Hawaii

Name	Age	T	Lev	OVR	POT	STU	MOV	CON	VELO	STM	Hurt
Alaric Wullenweber	19	R	A	30	80	8	7	9	96-98 Mph	11
Jim Wilkinson	19	R	S A	25	75	7	7	9	93-95 Mph	7
Jesús González	19	R	AA	30	70	8	6	6	94-96 Mph	9
Sancho Torres	19	R	S A	20	65	6	8	8	94-96 Mph	6

Talk about a nice set of19 year olds.

Wullenweber and Wilkinson, last year’s #2 and #1 respectively are the cream of the crop—Wullenweber having developed up with a little coaching help into a prime-beef kind of pitcher. Gonzalez is the most ready, but is a low ceiling high floor kind of guy who looks good as a #3, maybe and great as a #4—which would be great because Torres (if he develops, of course) looks like a good #2,great #3.

And none of this takes into account Hawaii’s already growing arsenal of young arms at the big league level.

The Pacific better get their licks in while they can.


#4 Louisville

Name	Age	T	Lev	OVR	POT	STU	MOV	CON	VELO	STM	Hurt
James Browning	18	L	R	20	80	10	7	8	92-94 Mph	8	x
Armando Feliciano	19	R	A	35	80	10	8	8	95-97 Mph	9	xx
Tim Thompson	19	R	A	30	60	5	9	8	89-91 Mph	6
Masaru Yokota	22	R	AA	35	60	8	5	4	97-99 Mph	11

If Commie Child Feliciano hadn’t gone down to Tommy John surgery, I’d likely have these guys #3, maybe #2. Browning is nicked up, too, but it’s minor and wouldn’t change any ratings. Bottom line, though, the R/L combo of Feliciano and Browning should scare the bejeebies out of (soon to be) Heartland rivals, and given that they’ll be in that division with the Des Moines duo, it’s possible that no one’s going to be scoring in that division. Ever.

Add in Thomson, who probably grades out as a #3, and Yokota, who’s got backend of the rotation kind of stuff, and you’ve got a nice, cheap set of top-end run preventors that pretty much anyone else would love to have.

Assuming, of course, Commie Child doesn’t crash after the TJ thing.


#5 New Orleans

Name	Age	T	Lev	OVR	POT	STU	MOV	CON	VELO	STM	Hurt
Gilberto Nevárez	18	R	R	20	80	8	8	7	94-96 Mph	11	x
Cristián García	19	L	AAA	40	75	8	7	8	99-101 Mph	7
Gilberto Cruz	19	R	A	30	60	8	6	5	99-101 Mph	8

This one could blow up pretty quickly in that Nevarez, who was looking nice in Rookie ball, has a bit of a nick now. He’s a nice-looking prospect, though, and if he yields, that would be a nice little transition with guys like Armstrong still dominating at the BBA level. Garcia’s numbers at AAA make him look more ready than his ratings do—and New Orleans has a tendency to be cautious there, so I’d not expect to see him soon, and maybe not even until 2041.

Cruz has a way to go, but could slide into a back of the rotation slot with good effect.

Still, it would be easy to select a couple of these next teams up higher and slide the ‘dads back a notch or two.


#6 Charm City

Name	Age	T	Lev	OVR	POT	STU	MOV	CON	VELO	STM	Hurt
Jorge Nevárez	21	L	AAA	60	80	7	7	7	98-100 Mph	10
Brooks Stone	19	L	R	20	65	6	7	8	92-94 Mph	9
Mauro Ríos	18	R	S A	20	65	6	7	8	90-92 Mph	9

Charm City sees New Orleans’s Nevarez and raises a pair of 65s. Should they be higher than New Orleans? Maybe. Especially when you factor in readiness. We expect to see Charm City’s lefty back in the bigs as soon as his rehab is over. Fact is, of course, that Nevarez has been playing through his rookie season, so depending on how you cut the idea behind this list, perhaps he doesn’t even count.

But this is my list, so I’m counting him, but down grading the team to sit below New Orleans. Shrug.

Stone and Rios are nice prospects, too—give them a few years and both look like they’d be able to sit in the #4 or #4 slots and eat innings.


#7 Boise

Name	Age	T	Lev	OVR	POT	STU	MOV	CON	VELO	STM	Hurt
Carlos Díaz	19	R	S A	25	70	9	3	9	93-95 Mph	8
Jorge Maestas	18	R	R	25	65	8	6	8	94-96 Mph	7	x
Robin Cooper	18	L	R	20	60	5	10	5	89-91 Mph	10

I’d almost like to rank these guys higher, but I’m not sure how to look at either Carlos Diaz or Robin Cooper. Is this the BBA version of Jekyl and Hyde? I dunno. The other issue here is that all three of these guys are young, young, young. So you know what they say about young pitchers.


#8 San Antonio

Name	Age	T	Lev	OVR	POT	STU	MOV	CON	VELO	STM	Hurt
Ricardo Rivera	19	R	AAA	45	80	8	12	7	96-98 Mph	8
Ernie Allen	18	L	R	20	65	6	6	8	92-94 Mph	12

Once again, I could put the Outlaws up a notch just due to the ultra-top end of Ricardo Rivera, who was the team’s #1 pick in 2037 and could well be teaming with Aki Kondo and Yriggs Carpenter to make up a top three on par with anything Rockville can throw out there.

Shudder.

Junkballing lefty Ernie Allen looks like he should grow into a solid enough #4 with hints at a #3 if need be. He should at least eat a bunch of innings some day, and that alone is valuable.


#9 Edmonton

Name	Age	T	Lev	OVR	POT	STU	MOV	CON	VELO	STM	Hurt
Keijo Reini	21	R	A	20	65	11	2	5	96-98 Mph	8
Chandler Hall	20	R	AAA	40	65	8	7	9	95-97 Mph	4
Jaime Herrera	21	R	AAA	35	65	9	5	6	94-96 Mph	7
Damon Tipping	19	R	AAA	30	60	7	6	5	91-93 Mph	8

I finally wound up bumping Edmonton’s collection up above a few others because Herrera, Hall and Tipping are all nearly ready—suggesting partially why (I would guess) the team is relatively okay with letting Bobby Lynch walk for some prospects. Of them, Hall is probably the best of the bunch, but I could see all three in the middle of a rotation or better. Rinei has one of those interesting combinations. We’ll see how he winds up.


#10 Vancouver

Name	Age	T	Lev	OVR	POT	STU	MOV	CON	VELO	STM	Hurt
Richie Vanness	18	R	R	20	75	7	7	9	90-92 Mph	7
Quentin Mullins	20	R	R	20	60	6	6	7	92-94 Mph	8
Gustavo Hernández	20	R	A	40	60	6	5	9	93-95 Mph	9
Miguel Ayala	21	R	AA	40	60	6	7	8	94-96 Mph	7

I originally had Vancouver up as high as #7 on the basis of quantity. On pure grades, Vannes is the top end here, but Ayala is probably only a season (or less?) away, and looks like a fringy #2 to me. Don’t be surprised if he does pretty well in that ballpark.

At 20, you’d probably like to see Mullins get out of rookie ball, and Hernandez maybe slide his way to AA next year. But overall, Taylor seems to be putting some building blocks in place here.
# # # Of course, there are some other interesting collections, but a top ten is a top ten, so I'll stop here.

[StormZ_23]

Good list. I would put Hernandez in AA this season if I wanted to and Ayala is close, but another year is probably the best option with him. Hopefully I can get at least one more premium pitching prospect.

[jiminyhopkins]

Make the Talons happy and do the hitters next

[crobillard]

I was wondering if I would end up on this list. I'm excited about all four of those pitchers. I don't know what to make of Reini, but he was interesting to me and I wanted to see what would happen to him. He's too old for where he is in his development, so it's possible he doesn't make it anywhere, but I'm excited about him anyways. Hall is certainly the best of the bunch. He should be pretty good at the ML level.

Outside of me, it's a good list. I agree with all of the spots. Ricardo Rivera is so good that I wouldn't argue with you putting San Antonio in almost any spot on that list.

[jleddy]

I scrolled down quickly to see how low Boise was ranked and when I saw you only did a top ten, I was bummed. So then I scrolled up and started reading. Imagine my surprise seeing our rank of #7. Personally I think we're closer to 7th from the bottom than from the top. I'm extremely bearish on my minor league arms...hopefully I'm wrong and you're spot-on.

[RonCo]

The Next Five

#11 – Montreal

Name	Age	T	Lev	OVR	POT	STU	MOV	CON	VELO	STM	Hurt
Jorge Moreno	20	R	AAA	40	65	8	6	8	97-99 Mph	6
Kent Montoya	18	L	R	20	65	7	5	8	91-93 Mph	10
Lance Harrison	19	R	R	20	60	7	7	5	93-95 Mph	7

With Moreno nearing the point where he’s ready, Montreal takes the next slot. Montoya and Harrison are still young, though Harrison looks like he could be getting out of Rookie ball any time now—Montoya, too, for that matter, though he’s not as obvious.


#12 Yellow Springs

Name	Age	T	Lev	OVR	POT	STU	MOV	CON	VELO	STM	Hurt
Carlos Pineda	19	L	AA	40	80	8	7	9	96-98 Mph	10
Frank Cameron	20	R	A	20	60	6	8	6	95-97 Mph	9

Sleeper of the group, maybe? Pineda looks like the second coming of Carlos Valle and now that he’s nearing 20 has less dev risk. Cameron was drafted as a closer, and converted—a process that seems to be going well so far. If he kicks back that last MPH he lost in the conversion, he could wind out 65-70, which would move these guys up the rankings.


#13 California

Name	Age	T	Lev	OVR	POT	STU	MOV	CON	VELO	STM	Hurt
Dani García	18	R	R	20	70	7	8	7	92-94 Mph	8
Eustace Tilley	19	L	R	20	65	5	6	11	87-89 Mph	9

Tilly is the wild card here. He’s kind of like Jimmy Greenwood, only more, so I’m not sure what to make of the profile. If you like him better, I could see the Crusaders at the edge of the top ten, if you like him worse I could see them in the next five.

Regardless, Garcia has had a good intro to pro ball. I’d look for him in A-ball in 2040, and then see where he goes.


#14 Mexico City

Name	Age	T	Lev	OVR	POT	STU	MOV	CON	VELO	STM	Hurt
R.J. Davis	18	R	R	20	60	5	7	9	92-94 Mph	7
A.J. Mahoney	19	L	R	20	60	5	8	9	90-92 Mph	6
Kusuma Djojohadiksumo	21	R	S A	30	60	7	6	6	97-99 Mph	7

Interesting collection of young arms. Djojo looks like he could almost skip A-ball completely, and could be ready to yield in 2041ish. Davis and Mahoney are kind of like cookie cutters reversed. If either or both were to find a little more velo, they would rocket up the list. As it is, if you’re a volume kind of guy, you could argue them up a couple notches right now.


#15 Twin Cities

Name	Age	T	Lev	OVR	POT	STU	MOV	CON	VELO	STM	Hurt
Brian King	20	L	R	20	70	6	7	8	92-94 Mph	10
Liam Thorpe	18	R	R	20	65	6	8	8	89-91 Mph	9

I love Brian King, but he’s 20 and needs a lot of developing. Thorpe looks solid, and probably ready for promotion. Like Garcia above him, I could see him starting2040 in A-ball.

[RonCo]

And Continuing…

#16 Huntsville

Name	Age	T	Lev	OVR	POT	STU	MOV	CON	VELO	STM	Hurt
Timo Dooley	19	R	AA	30	70	6	9	9	93-95 Mph	8

First team represented by only a single entrant. At 19, Dooley is very well developed and holding his own against AA competition. Very interesting pitcher who could carry a team for a while. I strongly considered moving Huntsville up into the top 15 on the strength of him alone.


#17 Brooklyn

Name	Age	T	Lev	OVR	POT	STU	MOV	CON	VELO	STM	Hurt
Luis Espinosa	19	L	S A	30	70	7	7	6	92-94 Mph	11
Mike Charette	18	R	R	20	65	5	9	6	92-94 Mph	9

At worse, Espinosa projects to a solid inning eater. He's doing fine in Short A, and it won't surprise me to see him in A-ball if Alan gets interested is seeing what happens next. Charette is in that same Robin Cook mold of high movement guys who won't strike out many hitters. I'm still struggling with how to think about them, so you could argue this #17 is too low...or too high. Shrug.


#18 San Fernando

Name	Age	T	Lev	OVR	POT	STU	MOV	CON	VELO	STM	Hurt
Al Barton	19	R	A	30	70	7	7	8	90-92 Mph	8
Bron Cortez	18	L	R	20	60	8	6	4	92-94 Mph	8

Cortez took a bit of a step down since he was drafted, but Barton is doing the deed in A-ball. Both have solid #2/#3 kind of stuff if the yield, but I'll admit I'm angsty over Cortez now.


#19 Madison

Name	Age	T	Lev	OVR	POT	STU	MOV	CON	VELO	STM	Hurt
Keith Short	18	R	R	20	65	8	8	9	90-92 Mph	4	x
Yorikane Miyamoto	19	R	A	30	60	8	6	7	92-94 Mph	7

Keith Short has a bit of an injury, but that won’t hurt him in the ratings as much as his lack of stamina does. If he bumps it, he probably carries the ranking up a notch or three. At 19, Miyamoto is looking right-placed in A-ball, suggesting he’ll be ready in 2041, give or take. He’s got the looks of a good #2/#3 tweener.


#20 Rockville

Name	Age	T	Lev	OVR	POT	STU	MOV	CON	VELO	STM	Hurt
Ken Dishman	19	R	R	20	65	7	6	8	96-98 Mph	6	xx
Ángel Romero	20	L	S A	30	60	7	6	5	96-98 Mph	11

Dishman’s bout with Tommy John dropped Rockville a spot or three in the ranks. If healthy, he’s got borderline ace stuff, but is probably more comfy in the #2 role (or a very strong #3 on a top-notch team…this is Rockville we’re talking about). Romero is a nice little prospect, but grades out as a bottom of the rotation arm to me—at least right now.

[RonCo]

Given that some teams have no top-end SP prospects, these are The Final Five


#21 – Las Vegas

Name	Age	T	Lev	OVR	POT	STU	MOV	CON	VELO	STM	Hurt
Rafael Flores	19	R	A	30	65	7	7	5	93-95 Mph	9

Last year’s second round pick, Flores is running through the Hustler organization at a solid clip. Looks like a promising guy for the middle of a rotation, and if the changeup comes in, maybe better (where have we heard that before?).


#22 Seattle

Name	Age	T	Lev	OVR	POT	STU	MOV	CON	VELO	STM	Hurt
Yasir bin Lutfi	19	R	R	25	70	7	5	7	94-96 Mph	11

Lufti is a Storm scouting discovery who came out of the IC with a solid 4-pitch arsenal and the general aura of a guy who my progress into a #2 kind of pitcher. His0.67 ERA in Rookie ball suggests maybe that’s too low. Long way to go, though.


#23 Jacksonville

Name	Age	T	Lev	OVR	POT	STU	MOV	CON	VELO	STM	Hurt
José Pérez	19	L	R	25	60	6	7	7	94-96 Mph	8

Originally had him down a notch, but Perez is a hard-throwing lefty who, at 19, looks like he could manage a promotion up to as far as A-ball. Probably a #3 on a decent team—ceiling at #3. He came to the team in the 4th round of last seasons’ draft, and looks like he’s going to be a find.


#24 Nashville

Name	Age	T	Lev	OVR	POT	STU	MOV	CON	VELO	STM	Hurt
Martin Ross	18	R	R	20	65	6	8	6	89-91 Mph	9	x

The Goat’s second round pick has a strained oblique right now, but that shouldn’t bother him in the long run. Other than a massive change-up, his pitch mix isn’t inspiring, but if he keeps it in the park like he should be able to, he’ll be a solid guy to have around come 2042 or so.


#25 Phoenix

Name	Age	T	Lev	OVR	POT	STU	MOV	CON	VELO	STM	Hurt
Jafar Haamid	20	R	A	35	65	8	3	8	99-101 Mph	9

Haamid came though the PHX International Complex, and at 20, he’s about right where you’d want him to be. That “3” movement, though, it worries a guy. He’s got three nice pitches, though (and that sidecar change). If he finds the right ballpark, he could almost be argued as a #2, otherwise a #3/#4 kind of ceiling feels right.

[RonCo]

Good list. I would put Hernandez in AA this season if I wanted to and Ayala is close, but another year is probably the best option with him. Hopefully I can get at least one more premium pitching prospect.

One of the things I enjoyed most about taking this deep dive was looking at how building teams are filling their systems. Vancouver's got a broad array of arms, but, yes, add a top ace into the mix and everything suddenly amps up brighter ...

[RonCo]

Make the Talons happy and do the hitters next

Yikes. Going by position would be easier. Probably. Maybe if I get a bucket load of time.

[RonCo]

I was wondering if I would end up on this list. I'm excited about all four of those pitchers. I don't know what to make of Reini, but he was interesting to me and I wanted to see what would happen to him. He's too old for where he is in his development, so it's possible he doesn't make it anywhere, but I'm excited about him anyways. Hall is certainly the best of the bunch. He should be pretty good at the ML level.

Outside of me, it's a good list. I agree with all of the spots. Ricardo Rivera is so good that I wouldn't argue with you putting San Antonio in almost any spot on that list.

I actually debated Edmonton as high as #6 just because all those guys are now essentially developed, so your system is lower risk than most.

[RonCo]

I scrolled down quickly to see how low Boise was ranked and when I saw you only did a top ten, I was bummed. So then I scrolled up and started reading. Imagine my surprise seeing our rank of #7. Personally I think we're closer to 7th from the bottom than from the top. I'm extremely bearish on my minor league arms...hopefully I'm wrong and you're spot-on.

I can't see Boise at 7th from the bottom, but depending on how you weight things, I could see the Spuds down as far as maybe #12-#13. I've probably got them up about as high as they can go, though. So, put Boise on a slider between #7 and #13, and I wouldn't argue too much.

[jleddy]

Yeah, after looking at the rest of the league as you unveil them, I'm surprised at the scacity of 65+ potential arms in the minors...I'm thinking #12/#13 is a fair, conservative slotting.

Great work on this series! I'm with Sean...would love to see this fleshed out for all positions, so chop-chop, let's go!

[ae37jr]

Our strength is in our numbers. We've got about 10-15 guys I'd be comfortable with as future #5 or better. Holding hope on one or two teenage starters is not a solid game plan. They are too volitile.

When the time comes I'll pick about 7 of them, then either trade the rest away or use them as inning eaters in the pen. Along the way I'll probably acquire a proven ace via trade or free agency. Or at least that is the game plan.

Espinosa is rated the number #16 prospect in the top 200. So I feel you might be a little low on him . Charette is also top 50 I believe. If nothing else Charette has huge trade value as a fair amount of teams drool over 9 movement starters.

*edit* Charette is 18th and Espinosa is 47th

[usnspecialist]

i am really excited for al barton.