Seattle Mariners Farm System a Recipe for Success: A Historical Analysis

2017: 1 – Atlanta Braves, 2 – New York Yankees, 3 – Milwaukee Brewers, 26 – Seattle Mariners

We all know the Braves are loaded. We’ve seen their success in recent years, making the division series in 2018 and 2019, and blowing a 3-1 lead to the eventual World Series Champion in 2020. They had Ronald Acuna Jr. becoming a top talent in its farm system.

Then somehow, the Yankees! The Yankees were arguably in the best position of any team in baseball. A top farm system, and a big-league club that was already loaded. Gleyber Torres headlined the list and has been quite the career already, nearly winning the Rookie of the year, and even receiving some MVP votes his second year.

They traded Justus Sheffield to get James Paxton, and Miguel Andujar has been great as well. All of this had led to them making the playoffs each of the last four years, losing in the ALDS twice and the ALCS twice. It would be a success to many, but unlikely to be one for the Bronx fans.

The Brewers entered the chat by having the third-ranked minor league system in 2017. Recently, the Brewers have had some of their top prospects show up, and play quite well. Brandon Woodruff has been great, and Keston Hiura has been one of the better young hitters in baseball. It’s been enough though, as they have made the playoffs each of the last three years especially after bringing in Christian Yelich.

Again, the Mariners are in the bottom part of the rankings. Oof. But Jerry Dipoto starts to hit on some draft picks, which seems outlandish if you are a Seattle Mariners fan. Kyle Lewis will become the heart of the farm system after being drafted the previous year, and the Mariners picked Gold Glover Evan White in 2017.