Actual footage of Twin Cities farm system?
I often joke around about how Twin Cities consistently has the worst farm system in the league. While there is a lot of truth in that, there is also some innuendo. Fact is, since taking over the team in 2050, Twin Cities has produced more WAR from drafted players than any other team in the game. Granted, a good percentage of that WAR came from top picks Felix Ramos and Jerry Stone during the first few seasons. That can't be used as a negative. There are top picks every season and the River Monsters hit on 2/3 of their opportunities(Enzo Bouton being the lone miss). There are a lot of teams that draft at the front end nearly every season that are much lower on this list.
So what has been the secret to this success rate? The River Monsters have largely been using the "a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush" mentality. Drafting players that are ready or almost ready for the show. It's a probability mindset. The more raw a player is, the greater the risk. So while it's tempting to draft a player with a greater upside, the team realizes a slighter worse player who has a 90% chance of hitting potential is a better bet than a slightly better player with a 50/50 chance of hitting.
Drafting fully developed players isn't a good strategy if you want to pound your chest and say you have a top farm system in the league. Ramos, Stone, Rooney, Grey, Gongora, and Armitage never made the top 100 list. Serna had a cup of coffee during his 190 game stint in the minors. All these players had very little time in minors before getting called up and completely flew under the top 100 radar.
Enter Matt Malone. Malone was ready to play in the BBA right out of college. But in a lost season, we wanted to let him marinate in AA until the top prospect list came out for shits and giggles. Malone, drafted with the 33rd pick, debuted as the #25 prospect. Only Jose Jackson(drafted #1 overall and #1 prospect) and Larry jensen(Drafted #2 overall and #7 prospect) rank higher on the prospect list of players drafted in 2061. If it wasn't for my own entertainment, Malone would have never showed up on a prospect list, furthering the lure that our farm system is hot garbage.
I get it... he's a 1B. There is no value in that. But I'd argue drafting the 3rd best player with the 33rd pick is a great value, regardless of position. As a team almost always drafts up the middle, it's ok to work outside your comfort zone for a one off. With Malone and a near ready Raul 'Scooter' Gallehos(ranked #6 prospect) in toe for the next 6+ years. We can expect the River Monster to revert back to their up the middle ways in future drafts.
Joining Malone on the BBA roster is fellow 2061 draftee Bartolo Martinez. He's a 3rd rounder with much less fan fare. We like him because he has 3 plus pitches, electric stuff and an eye popping 11 stamina. Ideal for a stopper. There are concerns about his control and movement. So there is a big variant on what he will be. If he is low 6 movement(which looks like he may be) and low 3 control, this project is likely to fail. It's no secret Twin Cities will need to rebuild it's bullpen in 2062. So expect us to throw some stuff at the wall to see what sticks. If Martinez can fill one of those 7 spots on the cheap, it's a huge gain for us.
