The 2026 MLB season begins on March 25. That's little more than two months away, and while everyone assumes the Los Angeles Dodgers are destined to three-peat, the bright side is that everyone is already looking to 2027 and beyond.
Looking so far ahead is difficult though. We don't know how players will age. We don't know what trades or free agent acquisitions will be made. We don't even know whether or not there will be a lockout when the current CBA expires on Dec. 1 this year.
The only decent indication we have of each team's future is their farm system. The teams with the best farm systems often become the best teams in the league soon after. The Chicago Cubs had one of the best in the league prior to their World Series title in 2016. The Tampa Bay Rays were near the top for much of the transition between the 2010's and 2020's. The Baltimore Orioles had the best for several years before finally breaking through in 2024, even if they fell apart just one year later.
So, looking ahead to the second half of the decade, which teams are set for contention? Here's every MLB team's farm system ranked from worst to best entering the 2026 season.
Power ranking all 30 MLB farm systems
*Prospect rankings listed via MLB.com
30) San Diego Padres
Top 5 prospects:
- C Ethan Salas (No. 77 on MLB.com's Top 100)
- LHP Kruz Schoolcraft (No. 95)
- RHP Humberto Cruz
- LHP Kash Mayfield
- RHP Miguel Mendez
The Padres basically gutted their farm system last year at the trade deadline, with their biggest prospects, Leo De Vries being shipped to the Athletics in the deal for Mason Miller. The Padres have some players who could wind up becoming franchise stalwarts in the future but outside of Salas, Schoolcraft, and Mayfield, there isn't much to love about San Diego's future.
29) Los Angeles Angels
Top 5 prospects:
- RHP Tyler Bremmer (No. 91)
- RHP Ryan Johnson (No. 96)
- RHP George Klassen
- LHP Johnny Slawinski
- SS Joswa Lugo
The Angels reached for Tyler Bremmer at No. 2 overall, and he is widely considered their top prospect. That's not a great combination unless Bremmer can break out and exceed the expectations he had prior to being drafted. Another one of the organization's top prospects, Caden Dana, also experienced some setbacks a season ago. For a team prone to calling up their prospects much earlier than they should, that's a very unfortunate situation and could further delay the team's rebuild.
28) Houston Astros
Top 5 prospects:
- 2B Brice Matthews (No. 93)
- SS Xavier Neyens
- C Walker Janek
- RHP Miguel Ullola
- OF Joseph Sullivan
Losing Jacob Melton in the Brandon Lowe trade is a huge blow to the Astros' farm system, which was already rated lowly to begin with. While Melton didn't have a spectacular stint in the big leagues, slashing just .157/.234/.186 in 32 games for Houston, we'd yet to see how he could perform in a full season. Now, Houston is forced to lean on guys like Janek and Kevin Alvarez who have potential but have yet to establish themselves as legitimate fanbase-inspiring prospects.
27) Atlanta Braves
Top 5 prospects:
- LHP Cam Caminiti (No. 72)
- RHP JR Ritchie (No. 86)
- SS/OF Tate Southisene
- SS Alex Lodise
- LHP Briggs McKenzie
The lack of depth in the Braves' farm system is really showing here. The team had a great crop of young talent get called up a season ago including Drake Baldwin, AJ Smith-Shawver, and Hurston Waldrep, but outside of those guys, the Braves didn't have much else to lean on in 2025. Now, heading into the 2026 season, the team didn't do really anything to quell those concerns. Luckily for the Braves, most of their key players are locked up for a while, so the farm system isn't much of an issue ... for now.
26) Kansas City Royals
Top 5 prospects:
- C Carter Jensen (No. 39)
- C Blake Mitchell (No. 62)
- OF/2B Sean Gamble
- 3B Josh Hammond
- SS Yandel Ricardo
It's hard to have faith in this team's farm considering Jensen will be on the big league team sooner rather than later. Even with Jensen though, this team's system lacks sustained star power. Sean Gamble doesn't possess any attributes that really pop out of the stat sheet. Hammond likely won't be ready for the majors anytime soon, and Ricardo is 18 years old and struggled in A-ball. There's potential down the line, and Jensen is a stud, but they might have a dry spell of great prospects coming to the big leagues for a few years.
25) Texas Rangers
Top 5 prospects:
- SS/3B Sebastian Walcott (No. 6)
- SS Gavin Fien
- RHP Jose Corniell
- RHP Winston Santos
- RHP AJ Russell
The Rangers have some potential with their group of prospects considering many of their young pitchers were highly touted, even cracking MLB's top-100 prospect list before small stints of poor play and suffering injuries that derailed their 2025 campaigns. If guys like Santos, Alejandro Rosario, and even Emiliano Teodo can bounce back, there's reason to be excited. Obviously, Walcott is a stud, but he's the only sure thing the Rangers have currently.
24) New York Yankees
Top 5 prospects:
- SS/2B George Lombard Jr. (No. 25)
- RHP Carlos Lagrange (No. 74)
- RHP Elmer Rodriguez (No. 97)
- OF Spencer Jones (No. 99)
- RHP Bryce Cunningham
Despite four players in MLB's top-100 prospect list, the Yankees don't have anyone outside of Lombard who has proven capable of sustaining such success. Spencer Jones smacked 35 home runs in Double and Triple-A last year, but his previous best was just 17. We'll need to see more from him, Lagrange, and Rodriguez before we're ready to rank the Yankees any higher.
23) Colorado Rockies
Top 5 prospects:
- SS Ethan Holliday (No. 19)
- 1B/OF Charlie Condon (No. 61)
- OF/SS Cole Carrigg
- OF Robert Calaz
- RHP Brody Brecht
Everyone lauds Ethan Holliday as this marvelous prospect. He is, but we can't forget just how many lumps his brother Jackson has taken in the majors. He's yet to really be an above average player for the Orioles. All that is to say that it might be some time before Ethan Holliday makes an impact for the club. That said, the team did pick up solid left-handed pitching prospect Griffin Herring at the trade deadline, and guys like Calaz and Carrigg have shown flashes of star potential if they can put all of their tools together.
22) Arizona Diamondbacks
Top 5 prospects:
- OF Ryan Waldschmidt (No. 66)
- OF Slade Caldwell
- SS Kayson Cunningham
- 2B/3B Demetrio Crisantes
- 2B/OF Tommy Troy
Much of the Diamondbacks' farm system lies in the strength of their 2024 draft haul. Waldschmidt has been an offensive juggernaut at every level he's played in. Slade Caldwell has a great gap-to-gap swing which has allowed him to rack up extra-base hits in A and High-A ball. JD Dix hit .342 in rookie ball last year. And Daniel Eagen posted a sub-2.5 ERA in 97.2 innings of High-A last year. There's reason to be optimistic moving forward, but it would be a shock to see many of these players make an impact at the big league level before 2027.
21) San Francisco Giants
Top 5 prospects:
- 1B Bryce Eldridge (No. 12)
- SS Josuar Gonzalez (No. 82)
- 2B/SS Gavin Kilen
- SS Jhonny Level
- OF Bo Davidson
The Giants had legitimate depth in their farm system going into the 2026 offseason, then they added the No. 1 international prospect in Luis Hernandez as well. That's a major get for a team that has struggled to produce home grown talent for the last decade. Eldridge is expected to be a massive bat right away for the Giants in 2026, and although the team lacks star pitchers in their farm, the team needs young position players considering Willy Adames, Matt Chapman and Rafael Devers are all 29 or older.
20) St. Louis Cardinals
Top 5 prospects:
- SS/2B/3B JJ Wetherholt (No. 5)
- LHP Liam Doyle (No. 36)
- C Rainiel Rodriguez (No. 55)
- C Leonardo Bernal (No. 92)
- LHP Quinn Mathews
What's not seen in this top-five above is that the Cardinals have another strong catching prospect in their system in Jimmy Crooks, who appeared in 15 games for the Cardinals last season. The team has depth at a very key position and it's kind of shocking that they didn't make any moves by dealing one of those players. Even with down seasons for players like Tink Hence and Quinn Mathews, the Cardinals have more than a few prospects with stellar upside and could probably make a move or two to make themselves more competitive in 2026.
19) Washington Nationals
Top 5 prospects:
- SS Eli Willits (No. 15)
- C Harry Ford (No. 42)
- RHP Travis Sykora (No. 49)
- RHP Jarlin Susana (No. 87)
- RHP Luis Perales
The addition of Harry Ford really propels this team forward. Without him, this is a team that has sunk a lot of assets into unproven talent with recent draft picks Willits, Petry, Harmon, James, and Sime each earning more than $2 million in signing bonuses.
18) Toronto Blue Jays
Top 5 prospects:
- RHP Trey Yesavage (No. 26)
- SS JoJo Parker (No. 43)
- SS Arjun Nimmala (No. 68)
- LHP Ricky Tiedemann
- LHP Johnny King
The Blue Jays lost some depth at the trade deadline last year, dealing guys like Khal Stephenand Juaron Watts-Brown, but Trey Yesavage also put together a monster postseason run, still classifying as a prospect. One hit from a prospect pool is a big plus in my books as very few players are every sure-fire hits. Yesavage looked like a future star and that alone is enough to push Toronto up a few spots in these rankings.
17) Cincinnati Reds
Top 5 prospects:
- INF Sal Stewart (No. 31)
- C Alfredo Duno (No. 48)
- SS Tyson Lewis (No. 76)
- SS Steele Hall (No. 79)
- RHP Rhett Lowder (No. 80)
Sal Stewart and Rhett Lowder have both flashed significant potential in limited MLB action for Cincinnati, but Stewart still only posted a 102 OPS+ and Lowder is coming off a rather severe injury, so it's yet to be seen if either can create long-term impact.
16) Miami Marlins
Top 5 prospects:
- LHP Thomas White (No. 22)
- SS Aiva Arquette (No. 41)
- OF Owen Caissie (No. 47)
- LHP Robby Snelling (No. 51)
- C Joe Mack (No. 70)
MLB is underrating Thomas White in my opinion. This man could be the top pitching prospect in baseball. He's succeeded at every level, and even is just 20 years old. He made a brief appearance in Triple-A last season and was striking out 16.4 batters per nine innings. That is insane. Just nutty stuff. That said, I'm not sold on most of the other players in this system. Arquette didn't wow anyone in his first year in the minors. Caissie was the big name in the Edward Cabrera deal, but he spent nearly two full seasons in Triple-A, didn't show much improvement between 2024 and 2025 (but he did display a bit more pop) and then struggled in limited MLB action. There's a reason the Cubs gave him away. That's all I'll say.
15) Chicago White Sox
Top 5 prospects:
- OF Braden Montgomery (No. 35)
- LHP Noah Schultz (No. 40)
- SS Billy Carlson (No. 71)
- SS/3B Caleb Bonemer (No. 73)
- LHP Hagen Smith (No. 88)
MLB.com isn't considering Munetaka Murakami a prospect I guess, which is weird considering they counted Roki Sasaki for the Dodgers a year ago. If Murakami was on this list, the White Sox would have legitimate top-10, maybe top-7 considerations. Still, even without their Japanese slugger, the White Sox have tons of solid talent scheduled to come up in 2026, 2027, and 2028. While they don't currently have someone who stands out as a potential MLB superstar, they have a well of talent that should continue to improve the team for years.
14) Chicago Cubs
Top 5 prospects:
- C Moises Ballesteros (No. 53)
- RHP Jaxon Wiggins (No. 67)
- SS/2B Jefferson Rojas
- OF Kevin Alcantara
- OF Ethan Conrad
Even without Caissie, I like this team moving forward. They were very well-prepared for the departure of Kyle Tucker in free agency, with Alcantara ready to take over the starting right field job. Ballesteros also flashed remarkable potential in 20 games with the Cubs at the end of 2025. Essentially, the Cubs don't have a plethora of top-100 talent and lost Caissie, but they have a lot of pieces ready to fill in for anyone who might suffer an injury or get traded and they likely won't see much of a dip in production.
13) Philadelphia Phillies
Top 5 prospects:
- RHP Andrew Painter (No. 16)
- SS Aidan Miller (No. 32)
- OF Justin Crawford (No. 54)
- RHP Gage Wood
- 2B Aroon Escobar
When a guy with a 5.40 ERA in Triple-A is being heralded as the next big pitching prospect, there's reason to be concerned. Painter was coming off Tommy John surgery, but there were more reasons to be skeptical about his potential moving forward. If he has a rough start to 2026, this team could fall much further down these rankings. Still, the questions surrounding Painter are mostly offset by breakout seasons from guys like Aroon Escobar, who managed an .828 OPS in A-ball from second base. That's something to keep an eye on.
12) Athletics
Top 5 prospects:
- SS Leo De Vries (No. 3)
- LHP Jamie Arnold (No. 38)
- LHP Gage Jump (No. 60)
- RHP Brade Nett
- OF Henry Bolte
The addition of Leo De Vries did wonders for this team's farm. Sure, losing Mason Miller hurts, but it bolsters this team's future drastically, which is good considering they want to be great for their first year in Vegas. There were far more breakout seasons than there were setbacks in the A's system altogether. That's a recipe for succcess when guys like Nick Kurtz and Jacob Wilson have already made valuable impacts at the major league level.
11) New York Mets
Top 5 prospects:
- RHP Nolan McLean (No. 11)
- OF Carson Benge (No. 21)
- RHP Jonah Tong (No. 46)
- 3B/1B Jacob Reimer
- OF/2B A.J. Ewing
It's shocking to see how the Mets' farm system has turned on its head in the past year. Brandon Sproat was supposed to be the top guy in the organization, and he didn't experience a bad year per se in 2025, posting a 4.24 ERA in Triple-A before having a brief, mediocre stint in the majors. But he's not even on the team anymore after the Mets traded him and Jett Williams to Milwaukee.
Thankfully for Mets fans, the team saw several of their mid-tier prospects break out in unexpected ways. Benge, McLean, Tong, Ewing, and Reimer all exceed expectations, which has set them up very nicely for the immediate future, and enabled them to make the move for Freddy Peralta without their farm system suffering too drastically for it.
10) Boston Red Sox
Top 5 prospects:
- SS Franklin Arias (No. 24)
- LHP Payton Tolle (No. 28)
- RHP Kyson Witherspoon (No. 89)
- LHP Connelly Early
- OF Justin Gonzales
Many people believed the Red Sox farm would fall off after graduating guys like Roman Anthony, Kristian Campbell and Marcelo Mayer last season. However, the team enjoyed a plethora of breakouts, particularly from Payton Tolle. Pitching certainly won't be a problem for this team for years to come.
9) Baltimore Orioles
Top 5 prospects:
- C/1B Samuel Basallo (No. 7)
- OF Dylan Beavers (No. 83)
- C/OF Ike Irish
- OF Enrique Bradfield Jr.
- SS Wehiwa Aloy
A little top-heavy, it's hard to rank the Orioles lower than top 10 considering how good and how ready for the bigs Samuel Basallo is. The Orioles certainly have depth but will need more consistency from their mid-tier prospects before anyone is ready to consider them a true powerhouse farm system again.
8) Tampa Bay Rays
Top 5 prospects:
- SS Carson Williams (No. 50)
- OF Theo Gillen (No. 65)
- RHP Brody Hopkins
- OF Jacob Melton
- SS Daniel Pierce
Another year, another great haul of prospects for the Rays. The addition of Jacob Melton just added to an already loaded farm. The Rays do lack some pithing depth, particularly southpaws, as not a single lefty cracks their top-30 prospects, but outside of that, this team has such a "next man up" attitude and great developmental program that you can't really knock them too much.
7) Minnesota Twins
Top 5 prospects:
- OF Walker Jenkins (No. 10)
- SS Kaelen Culpepper (No. 52)
- C Eduardo Tait (No. 57)
- OF Emmanuel Rodriguez (No. 69)
- LHP Kendry Rojas
Considering the fire sale the Twins endured in 2025, you'd hope they have a good farm system now. Thankfully, they do, the addition of guys like Mick Abel, Kendry Rojas, and Eduardo Tait mark a serious shift in the outlook for this team's future.
6) Cleveland Guardians
Top 5 prospects:
- 2B Travis Bazzana (No. 17)
- OF Chase DeLauter (No. 58)
- SS Angel Genao (No. 59)
- C Cooper Ingle
- OF Jaison Chourio
For a team that was in the playoffs a year ago, it's easy to forget they actually bolstered their farm system by playing the role of "seller" at the trade deadline, shipping Shane Bieber to Toronto for Khal Stephen. Stephen struggled in Double-A for Cleveland, but has the tools necessary to be a strong major league arm. He's still only 22 and doesn't walk people much. His strikeout numbers could stand to improve though.
5) Pittsburgh Pirates
Top 5 prospects:
- SS/OF Konnor Griffin (No. 1)
- RHP Bubba Chandler (No. 14)
- RHP Seth Hernandez (No. 27)
- LHP Hunter Barco (No. 78)
- OF/1B Edward Florentino (No. 81)
Griffin and Chandler are the truth. They were already on the team heading into the 2025 trade deadline. Then they added Rafael Flores Jr. and Sammy Stafura at the deadline? Yeah, this team has a bright future, meaning they'll have a three-year window of playoff contention before all their best players sign with the Dodgers, thus beginning another 10-year rebuild.
4) Detroit Tigers
Top 5 prospects:
- SS Kevin McGonigle (No. 2)
- OF Max Clark (No. 8)
- C/1B Josue Briceño (No. 33)
- SS Bryce Rainer (No. 37)
- C/1B Thayron Liranzo
Everyone knows how great the top four prospects in this system are, but they have some potential further down as well. A player a lot of people have noticed is Cris Rodriguez who slashed a stellar .308/.340/.564 at 17 years old in the Dominican Summer League.
3) Milwaukee Brewers
Top 5 prospects:
- SS/2B Jesus Made (No. 4)
- INF Luis Peña (No. 18)
- SS/OF/2B Jett Williams (No. 30)
- SS Cooper Pratt (No. 56)
- C Jeferson Quero (No. 84)
Jesus Made and Luis Peña emerged as two of the best international prospects in baseball last season. They were already highly touted and then each enjoyed an OPS of .760 or better in A-ball. Oh, they're also each entering their age-19 seasons.
Furthermore, while the loss of Freddy Peralta obviously hurts the team, the additions of the Mets' No. 3 and 5 prospects in Jett Williams and Brandon Sproat gives the farm system a huge boost.
2) Los Angeles Dodgers
Top 5 prospects:
- OF Josue De Paula (No. 13)
- OF Zyhir Hope (No. 20)
- OF Eduardo Quintero (No. 34)
- SS/3B Alex Freeland (No. 45)
- OF Mike Sirota (No. 64)
The rich get richer. Look at it. This is what baseball has become. It wasn't enough for them to give out $1.2 billion in guaranteed money, they had to have a tremendous scouting department as well. On the bright side, most of these guys will likely get traded away for proven MLB-ready talent.
1) Seattle Mariners
Top 5 prospects:
- SS/3B Colt Emerson (No. 9)
- LHP Kade Anderson (No. 23)
- OF Lazaro Montes (No. 29)
- RHP Ryan Sloan (No. 44)
- 2B Michael Arroyo (No. 63)
The impressive part of the Mariners' farm system is that they built it quietly and have put themselves in position to have a steady influx of highly-touted talent join the team for years to come. While the loss of Harry Ford certainly stings a little bit, the Mariners already have a decent catcher (in case you hadn't noticed) and just added Luke Stevenson via the draft, who enjoyed a very solid year in A-ball, slashing .280/.460/.400.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: MLB farm system power rankings: Where does each team sit in 2026?
