For one outlet, O's run as No. 1 farm system has ended

Maybe it is the end of an era. For the first time since the 2021 preseason farm system organizational rankings by MLBPipeline.com, the Orioles are not the No. 1 team.

In the midseason ranking, released Aug. 15, the Tampa Bay Rays are back on top followed by Minnesota, the Orioles now third, then Cleveland and the Los Angeles Dodgers.

MLBPipeline has been publishing organization rankings twice per calendar year since the preseason of 2015 and no team had been first in six straight rankings until the Orioles did it through the 2024 preseason rating.

Before the O’s run of six straight, Tampa Bay was first three times in a row and before that San Diego four in a row.

The O’s had that amazing run of three straight years of No. 1 ranked players with Adley Rutschman and then Gunnar Henderson and then Jackson Holliday. But now via trades where they dealt some talent and highly ranked players making the majors, the farm ranking is taking an evitable hit.

And now it might be hard for the Orioles to even stay as high as No. 3 in the next few years.

“To be realistic, it is going to be hard to stay there,” said MLB Pipeline senior writer Jim Callis. “Jackson Holliday is going to graduate off the list by the end of the month. Coby Mayo will probably graduate sometime next year and that is two of the top 10 prospects in baseball.

“They probably won’t stay quite there for much longer. But that is kind of the natural order of system rankings. Outside of those Braves teams that won all those division titles in a row and at the same time had a top-quality farm year-after-year, these things are cyclical.

“The Orioles made their rise, and they had that run of top five draft picks and other draft picks that really panned out, mostly notably Gunnar. They made astute trades for prospects, even thinking about the Trey Mancini deal.

“They were rebuilding then. And now they are not just contending but have a legitimate chance of winning a World Series. But with the rules that limit what you can spend on the draft and internationally it is tough to stay up there. But they’ve done a great job of developing players. That wasn’t all about high picks.”

In the latest update of their top 100, MLBPipeline has Holliday remaining as the No. 1 ranked prospect with Mayo at No. 10 and Samuel Basallo No. 11. Big clout at the top but no other top 100 players right now.

By the way, Baseball America in its latest organization ratings released earlier this month, has the Orioles still at No. 1 followed by Tampa Bay, Minnesota, Washington and Cleveland.

BA has five O’s in its top 100 with Holliday No. 2 to the Nats' James Wood. They rank Mayo No. 12, Basallo No. 17, Heston Kjerstad No. 26 and Cade Povich No. 96.

As for the rest of the AL East in the farm rankings, Boston is seventh by MLBP and ninth by BA, New York is 18^th by MLBP and No. 19 by BA and Toronto is 23^rd by BA and 24^th MLBP.

The Orioles have produced and used their farm well. They have one of the top young organizations in baseball and their farm helped produced a 100-win team in 2023 and an AL East contender this year.

“The system did what it was supposed to do,” said Callis. “They got players to turn around a team that was dreadful for a number or years. Now, I don’t know if there is a team in baseball with a better situation than the Orioles, in terms of talent. And you also have expectations with new ownership that might be more aggressive spending too. I don’t know of a team I can say that has a brighter immediate future now than the Orioles. Maybe the Dodgers, since they never seem to stop. But they are right there with anybody."

Several of the new O’s draft picks are now ranked in their top 30 with outfielder Vance Honeycutt No. 4 by MLBP and No. 7 BA. (No, I don't know when he will be assigned to a team but hopefully soon.)

Infielder Griff O’Ferrall is No. 9 MLBP and No. 16 by BA. Catcher Ethan Anderson is No. 15 by MLBP and No. 22 BA. Outfielder Austin Overn is No. 19 MLBP and No. 28 by BA.

Right-handed pitcher Patrick Reilly, who was acquired from Pittsburgh in a trade for Billy Cook, is No. 16 via MLBP and No. 17 on BA. He has a 3.09 ERA in three games with Bowie over 11 2/3 innings.

O’Ferrall, in his first five games with Single-A Delmarva, is 6-for-14 (.429) with seven walks, one strikeout and a .636 OBP.

Anderson is 7-for-20 (.350) with a double, triple and four RBIs.

Overn is 3-for-16 (.188) with six walks, six strikeouts and three RBIs.

Two other 2024 O's draft picks currently not in the top 30 are now also with Delmarva. Ryan Stafford is 5-for-18 with one RBI and Colin Tuft is 4-for-18 with two RBIs. 

This tweet via MLBPipeline.com shows the O's have been pretty dominant for a few years at the top of their prospect rankings.