Detroit Tigers farm system makes gains in Baseball America rankings
By Zac Snyder
The Detroit Tigers used their farm system to stay afloat until recently and the turnaround is showing in Baseball America’s latest rankings.
For more than a decade, the Detroit Tigers‘ farm system has suffered as the big club made their move into contender status and in attempts to stay competitive. Whether it be in lost picks to sign free agents or prospect traded away to stock the big league roster, the Tigers have often been near the bottom in farm system rankings.
That has started to change with the Tigers seeking a new path. No longer one of the best teams in the league, the Tigers have chosen to draw back from being at the forefront of free agency and have used recent trade deadlines to restock the organization.
Baseball America has released their farm system rankings for 2018 and the Tigers rank 21st. Still not a great ranking, but it continues an upward trend starting from 2015 when they ranked dead last. The Tigers ranked 25th last year and 26th in 2016.
While Al Avila has received mixed reviews for his work at the trade deadline last season, the top of the farm system is more well stocked because of the deals he brokered. Of the top ten prospects in the Tigers’ system according to Baseball America, five were acquired at last year’s trade deadline.
The Tigers did particularly well in trading Justin Verlander. The haul of Franklin Perez, Jake Rogers and Daz Cameron brought in the number one, five and six ranked prospects in the new top ten from Baseball America.
Isaac Paredes, acquired from the Cubs when trading Alex Avila and Justin Wilson, ranks seventh while Dawel Lugo, acquired from the Diamondbacks for J.D. Martinez, ranks eighth. Put it all together and five of the club’s top eight prospects weren’t in the organization a year ago and a big reason why the Tigers were able to move up the 2018 rankings.
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The gains are nice but the fact remains that the Tigers still rank in the bottom third of the league. With another rather gloomy outlook for the 2018 season, the Tigers will have the opportunity to stock the farm system even further at the 2018 trade deadline. There should also be a natural bounce over time as more prospects stay in the system rather than being traded away for major league talent to keep a contender afloat.