MLB Teams Building a Foundation

MLB Teams Building a Foundation

by Alex "Moose" Strizak

We're going to take a look at what teams have been building a strong franchise. It sucks to admit it, but there is a tanking problem in baseball...

The Houston Astros set the standard of lose, draft, then add. However, recently the Astros sold a lot of the farm to try and win another title that fell short to D.C. Because of that, we're looking at the teams that are enjoying the prospects of those that pushed their chips towards the center the past few years.

There are teams that have been busy building their farm systems the last few years. The MLB has set up a system where losing now can lead to multiple years of success later. For some fan bases that feel the losing will never end, I have good news for some of those peeps that things are turning for the better.

So let's rank the teams by who has been the most successful in building for the upcoming 5 years of baseball and hopefully your team makes the cut to end some of your heartache!

Franchise Building Ranks

10. Miami Marlins

Strengths: New collection of prospects and draft picks

Weaknesses: Lack of current MLB talent

Talk about turning a franchise around. Derek Jeter and this new ownership group were presented the most difficult task of inheriting a debt-ridden franchise with no upcoming prospects. Since then, the franchise has introduced the likes of pitchers like Sixto Sanchez, Edward Cabrera, and Braxton Garrett. They also brought in hitters like JJ Bleday, Jesus Sanchez, and Monte Harrison. These pitchers and hitters have a lot to learn, but Miami definitely has the time to ease them in before they'll be contenders any time soon.

9. Arizona Diamondbacks

Strengths: Outfield talent

Weaknesses: MLB pitching and prospect pitching

Another franchise that has turned it around very quickly. Eduardo Escobar has become one of the most underrated players and now the D-backs are adding free agent talent like Madison Bumgarner. They are doing a great job of setting a veteran base to be established when outfield prospects like Alek Thomas, Kristian Robinson, Corbin Carroll, and Seth Beer are brought up to The Show.

8. Los Angeles Dodgers

Strengths: MLB talent and infield

Weaknesses: MLB pitching and prospect pitching

They have had the MLB talent for awhile now, but it hasn't gotten them over the hump to win a World Series. Part of their success has been a combination of raised talent with the addition of free agents to fill the missing gaps. However, it appears to be finally catching up to the Dodgers in that this most recent batch of prospects may be a tick lower than what they had before. With the Dodgers striking out this offseason up to this point, it may be up to Gavin Lux and Dustin May to be ready for the MLB grind faster than the Dodgers would like.

7. Toronto Blue Jays

Strengths: Hitting prospects

Weaknesses: MLB Pitching and prospect pitching

They've done a great job building up a base of prospects in Guerrero Jr, Biggio, and my favorite Bichette, and now is the time to implement it. The Red Sox are on the decline and the Yankees are built to win immediately. So, the Blue Jays can continue to season their prospects while slowly adding in a veteran presence. This strategy has proven very successful for teams like the Astros and Braves, and I could see the Blue Jays continuing to progress.

6. Tampa Bay Rays

Strengths: Depth in farm system

Weaknesses: MLB talent and financial abilities

This team has always done a fantastic job of finding prospects that either were overlooked when they entered the league or struggled at the beginning of the career and the Rays find a way to get value from these players. The struggle has always been in keeping the prospects after they've shown success. Hopefully, they can have players like Franco, McKay, and Honeywell pool their talents together before their pay day.

5. New York Yankees

Strengths: MLB talent and hitting prospects

Weaknesses: Pitching prospects

The Yankees have built an elite franchise that is the frontrunner going into the 2020 season. Prospects like Judge and Torres have turned into superstars with a veteran support system of LeMahieu, Hicks, Tanaka and Paxton. They still have prospects coming up like Dominguez, Florial, and Gil. Add in a free agent signing of an ace like Cole while also subtracting it from your top competitor, this team is a legit contender this year and possibly for longer than that.

4. Detroit Tigers

Strengths: Pitching prospects and draft picks

Weaknesses: MLB talent and hitting prospects

The Tigers have come a long way from being middle of the pack. They have set themselves up in the rare position of actually having pitching prospects in a time where there is both a lack of starting pitching and, more specifically, young starting pitching. They could use some help in their lineup, but it's going to be exciting to see Casey Mize and Matt Manning continue to progress their way up.

3. Atlanta Braves

Strengths: Young MLB talent

Weaknesses: Overall depth

They've done a hell of a job building up so quickly. Acuna Jr, Soroka, and Albies have already shown their strength while there's still more to come with Pache, Anderson, Waters, and Wright. They have the talent, the question will be how they fill in the remaining pieces in the starting rotation and in the lineup if not every prospect progresses as it appears they will.

2. San Diego Padres

Strengths: Quality and quantity of prospects

Weaknesses: Veteran presence

Watching the Padres struggle for so long, it's difficult to even picture them having a World Series run in them. However, they have done all they can to steer the ship straight. They have brought in terrific pitching prospects like Mackenzie Gore, Luis Patino, and Adrian Morejon. They have brought in terrific hitting prospects like Taylor Trammell, CJ Abrams, and Tatis Jr. They now are trying to follow the model by adding veterans like Pham, Machado, and Profar. The Padres may not be World Series ready, yet... but they're the closest they've been since 1998.

1. Chicago White Sox

Strengths: Quality and quantity of prospects

Weaknesses: MLB talent depth

No team rebuild has terrified me more. This team has the potential to have one of the most fearsome lineups we've seen awhile. The outfield has talent all over with Eloy Jiminez, Nomar Mazara, and future star Luis Robert who has a player comp. to Willie Mayes. The infield has Yoan Moncada, Jose Abreu, and soon to be upcoming Andrew Vaughn and Nick Madrigal (who literally doesn't strike out). Their pitching has Giolito, Cease, Covey, Kopech, and Dunning. Now, they go out and sign Grandal and Keuchel to fill in some needed talents... They. Look. Stacked... The MLB talent bank may look a little shallow now, but the rest of the league has been put on notice. The White Sox are the team of the future.