Jonathan Mayo, a prospects analyst for MLB Pipeline, wrote one of the most fun articles of the off-season when it comes to farm systems and young players.
He gathered votes and opinions of front offices around the league in many interesting topics.
Who hoards prospects the most, who develops pitching better, who is more adept at producing impact hitters, who has the best farm, who gets the most talent in the draft and via trades, and other questions were answered in this exercise.
Suffice it to say, the Cleveland Guardians were among the most popular answers in many categories.
Those participating in the poll believe the Guardians are the best organization in baseball at developing pitching.
These clubs rely on homegrown talent on the mound.
Front office executives vote on several different categories in our farm system poll: https://t.co/Q6CGlO94nj pic.twitter.com/88IYkByQle
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) January 9, 2025
“The Guardians continue to tease more velocity and better stuff out of the arms in their system, as well as find big league talent in later rounds of the Draft. Just look at the homegrown starters in the Mariners’ big league rotation and it’s easy to see why they get high marks in this realm,” Mayo wrote about the Guardians and the Seattle Mariners, who came in second in this department behind Cleveland.
The Guardians have developed more impact pitching than anyone in the last two or three years, from starters Tanner Bibee, Triston McKenzie, Gavin Williams and Joey Cantillo (part of last year’s postseason roster) to relievers Cade Smith, Hunter Gaddis, Andrew Walters, Erik Sabrowski, Tim Herrin, and many more.
There are more quality arms on the way, too, like Daniel Espino, Ryan Webb, Austin Peterson, Aaron Davenport, Doug Nikhazy, Franco Aleman, Nic Enright and others.
The Guardians’ factory just doesn’t stop producing quality pitchers.
It’s nice to see their whole system getting some recognition.
NEXT: MLB Network Predicts 40-40 Season For Guardians Star
