Prospect Pipeline

According to Eric Fisher of SportsBusiness Journal, Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association could reach an agreement to implement some form of a global draft as early as June 1.

If there is one thing we know about Major League Baseball, it is that trying to predict what will happen with teams and individual players from a year-to-year basis is a fool's errand. That goes doubly true when you are talking about prospects. 

One big reason that the minor leagues and prospects have exploded in popularity over the last decade, aside from being a cheap way to see the next great wave of players at a much cheaper price than when they make it to the big leagues, is because of the possibility of what could be. 

As spring training begins to wind down, each organization continues to make rounds of cuts, as they option many of their roster hopefuls to either a specific minor league level or simply re-assign them to minor league camp.

For many of these players, it seems as though it will be only a matter of time until they either return to or reach the major leagues for the first time

In 2010 the San Francisco Giants won the World Series with the best homegrown rotation in recent memory. Drafted and developed by the organization, Matt Cain, Tim Lincecum and Madison Bumgarner were each at the forefront of the team’s immensely successful season.

Before that it was the Oakland A’s “Big Three” of Tim Hudson, Mark Mulder and Barry Zito, who combined for 234 wins in the same starting rotation from 2000 to 2004.

Every season there are first-round draft picks who, within a matter of a few years, emerge as stars in the major leagues. While the trend can in part be attributed to a player’s corresponding selection—higher draft picks are perceived to have more potential—the soaring failure rate among baseball prospects suggests that a draft pick’s potential value is in the eye of the beholder. 

While the on-field product and overall result may be uninspiring for the next several years, the future is undeniably bright for the Chicago Cubs.

Although the Milwaukee Brewers have a relatively deep farm system with many players close to the major leagues, it’s devoid of a true impact prospect. Rather, it’s top heavy with numerous high-floor players, many of whom are on pace to reach the major leagues in either 2013 or 2014.

Headed into the 2012 season, the Minnesota Twins’ farm system was arguably among the worst in the game.

What a difference a year can make. Entering spring training, the organization houses five top-100 prospects with more on the way.

The Kansas City Royals’ farm system has served as a pipeline to the major leagues in recent years, producing former top prospects such as Mike Moustakas, Eric Hosmer, Salvador Perez and Danny Duffy, as well as a slew of late-inning arms.

At the conclusion of the 2011 season, the Washington Nationals boasted one of the top farm systems in the game. Since then, however, they’ve traded away a majority of their highly regarded prospects for big league talent—which paid immediate dividends.