Which MLB Division Has the Most Top Prospect Talent?

With spring training fast approaching and several major publications releasing their top prospect lists for the 2020 season, young up-and-coming talent is a focal point of the MLB landscape.

Here at Bleacher Report, we have already released our first farm system rankings and our first Top 100 prospect list of the year. Using those two lists, we set out to answer the question of which division boasts the most top prospect talent.

Included is a look at the top 10 prospects in each division, a quick list of any other prospects who appeared in our Top 100 and a breakdown of each division's outlook.

The divisions were ultimately ranked according to who had the most Top 100 prospects. Players with a number next to them indicate where they fell among our top 50, while the others were included in the "next 50" group of our top 100. Alongside each team is a number that indicates where they fell in our farm system rankings.

Let's jump right in.

NL Central Top 10 Prospects

1. OF Dylan Carlson, St. Louis Cardinals (No. 22)
2. 3B Ke'Bryan Hayes, Pittsburgh Pirates (No. 37)
3. LHP Matthew Liberatore, St. Louis Cardinals (No. 38)
4. RHP Mitch Keller, Pittsburgh Pirates
5. 2B Nico Hoerner, Chicago Cubs
6. 3B Nolan Gorman, St. Louis Cardinals
7. LHP Nick Lodolo, Cincinnati Reds
8. RHP Hunter Greene, Cincinnati Reds
9. SS Oneil Cruz, Pittsburgh Pirates
10. 3B Jonathan India, Cincinnati Reds

Other Top 100 Prospects: None

In the most recent update to our farm system rankings, the Pittsburgh Pirates (No. 22), St. Louis Cardinals (No. 24), Chicago Cubs (No. 26) and Milwaukee Brewers (No. 29) all ranked in the bottom third leaguewide, so it should come as no surprise that the NL Central checks in at the bottom of this list.

The Brewers do not have a top-tier prospect with shortstop Brice Turang, left-hander Ethan Small and catcher Mario Feliciano representing the best of a thin system. The Cubs have just one in Nico Hoerner, though hard-throwing Brailyn Marquez, outfielder Brennan Davis and catcher Miguel Amaya could each move into the Top 100 in short order.

In terms of present situation and future upside, the Cincinnati Reds (No. 16) might be in the best position of any team in the division. The pipeline has run dry for the Cubs, the Cardinals have an extremely top-heavy system, the Brewers are lacking impact talent, and the Pirates are still trying to plot a rebuilding course.

NL East Top 10 Prospects

1. OF Cristian Pache, Atlanta Braves (No. 7)
2. RHP Ian Anderson, Atlanta Braves (No. 19)
3. 3B Alec Bohm, Philadelphia Phillies (No. 20)
4. RHP Sixto Sanchez, Miami Marlins (No. 21)
5. OF Drew Waters, Atlanta Braves (No. 28)
6. SS Carter Kieboom, Washington Nationals (No. 31)
7. RHP Spencer Howard, Philadelphia Phillies (No. 40)
8. OF JJ Bleday, Miami Marlins (No. 45)
9. OF Jesus Sanchez, Miami Marlins
10. RHP Kyle Wright, Atlanta Braves

Other Top 100 Prospects: SS Luis Garcia (WAS), SS Jazz Chisholm (MIA), SS Ronny Mauricio (NYM), RHP Bryse Wilson (ATL), LHP Kyle Muller (ATL)

The bulk of the top prospect talent in the NL East resides in the Atlanta Braves and Miami Marlins farm systems, with those two checking at No. 3 and No. 9, respectively, in our latest rankings.

Even with guys like Ronald Acuna Jr., Ozzie Albies, Mike Soroka, Austin Riley and several others moving on to the majors, the Braves still have a wealth of high-ceiling talent. Outfielders Cristian Pache and Drew Waters and right-handers Ian Anderson and Kyle Wright could all reach the majors in 2020.

On the flip side, the New York Mets (No. 27) and Washington Nationals (No. 30) have two of the thinnest systems in baseball. And while the Philadelphia Phillies (No. 17) reside further up the rankings, theirs is a top-heavy system with a steep drop-off after the top prospect duo of Alec Bohm and Spencer Howard.

As the Marlins continue to stockpile young talent while the other four teams push for immediate contention, it will be interesting to see how the balance of power shifts in the years to come.

AL West Top 10 Prospects

1. OF Jo Adell, Los Angeles Angels (No. 3)
2. LHP Jesus Luzardo, Oakland Athletics (No. 9)
3. OF Jarred Kelenic, Seattle Mariners (No. 11)
4. OF Julio Rodriguez, Seattle Mariners (No. 14)
5. LHP A.J. Puk, Oakland Athletics (No. 26)
6. RHP Forrest Whitley, Houston Astros (No. 27)
7. RHP Logan Gilbert, Seattle Mariners (No. 39)
8. C Sean Murphy, Oakland Athletics (No. 41)
9. RHP Jose Urquidy, Houston Astros (No. 49)
10. 1B Evan White, Seattle Mariners

Other Top 100 Prospects: C Sam Huff (TEX), SS Noelvi Marte (SEA), 3B Josh Jung (TEX), OF Brandon Marsh (LAA), RHP Justin Dunn (SEA)

The Seattle Mariners (No. 4) have a system on the rise thanks to the wheeling and dealing of general manager Jerry Dipoto. It's easy to get excited about the idea of Jarred Kelenic and Julio Rodriguez roaming the same outfield for the next decade while recent first-round picks Logan Gilbert, Evan White and Kyle Lewis step into prominent roles on the roster, as well.

The Houston Astros (No. 18) are moving in the other direction following the Zack Greinke blockbuster and promotions of Yordan Alvarez, Kyle Tucker and Josh James. The Oakland Athletics (No. 15) are currently propped up by Jesus Luzardo, A.J. Puk and Sean Murphy, and there's a good chance all three will be on the Opening Day roster, so they are headed for a slide down the farm system rankings.

The Los Angeles Angels (No. 25) are thin on impact talent behind outfielders Jo Adell and Brandon Marsh, while the Texas Rangers (No. 21) have an intriguing collection of MLB-ready talent and low-minors players with extremely high ceilings and equally high volatility.

AL East Top 10 Prospects

1. SS Wander Franco, Tampa Bay Rays (No. 1)
2. RHP Nate Pearson, Toronto Blue Jays (No. 8)
3. C Adley Rutschman, Baltimore Orioles (No. 10)
4. LHP/DH Brendan McKay, Tampa Bay Rays (No. 13)
5. RHP Grayson Rodriguez, Baltimore Orioles (No. 35)
6. LHP DL Hall, Baltimore Orioles (No. 48)
7. LHP Shane McClanahan, Tampa Bay Rays
8. RHP Deivi Garcia, New York Yankees
9. 2B Vidal Brujan, Tampa Bay Rays
10. SS Jeter Downs, Boston Red Sox

Other Top 100 Prospects: 1B Ryan Mountcastle (BAL), 1B/3B Triston Casas (BOS), 2B Xavier Edwards (TB), SS Jordan Groshans (TOR), RHP Shane Baz (TB), RHP Luis Gil (NYY), RHP Alek Manoah (TOR), RHP Joe Ryan (TB), LHP Anthony Kay (TOR)

The Tampa Bay Rays (No. 1) moved into the top spot in our latest farm system rankings thanks to an extremely deep system that is loaded with top-tier talent, including seven prospects in our Top 100. That organization does as good a job as any identifying and developing talent, and that pipeline of young, cost-controlled talent has allowed it to contend on a budget.

The rebuilding Baltimore Orioles (No. 12) have done a great job drafting of late, seemingly hitting on their first-round pick in 2017 (DL Hall, No. 21 overall), 2018 (Grayson Rodriguez, No. 11 overall) and 2019 (Adley Rutschman, No. 1 overall).

The Toronto Blue Jays (No. 14) still have a solid collection of prospects even after graduating Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Bo Bichette and Cavan Biggio to the majors. Hard-throwing Nate Pearson now serves as the headliner.

The New York Yankees (No. 20) have a lot of intriguing low-level talent but lack a future star in close proximity to the majors, while the Boston Red Sox (No. 28) have one of baseball's thinnest systems even after the Mookie Betts trade.

AL Central Top 10 Prospects

1. OF Luis Robert, Chicago White Sox (No. 2)
2. RHP Casey Mize, Detroit Tigers (No. 6)
3. SS Royce Lewis, Minnesota Twins (No. 12)
4. RHP Matt Manning, Detroit Tigers (No. 17)
5. SS Bobby Witt Jr., Kansas City Royals (No. 24)
6. OF Alex Kirilloff, Minnesota Twins (No. 29)
7. RHP Michael Kopech, Chicago White Sox (No. 30)
8. 1B Andrew Vaughn, Chicago White Sox (No. 33)
9. 3B Nolan Jones, Cleveland Indians (No. 42)
10. OF Riley Greene, Detroit Tigers (No. 44)

Other Top 50 Prospects: LHP Tarik Skubal, Detroit Tigers (No. 46)

Other Top 100 Prospects: 2B Nick Madrigal (CWS), SS Tyler Freeman (CLE), OF Trevor Larnach (MIN), RHP Jordan Balazovic (MIN), RHP Jhoan Duran (MIN), RHP Jackson Kowar (KC), RHP Brady Singer (KC), LHP Daniel Lynch (KC)

With the Minnesota Twins (No. 6), Detroit Tigers (No. 7), Kansas City Royals (No. 10) and Chicago White Sox (No. 13) all boasting strong systems, the AL Central somewhat surprisingly claims the No. 2 spot in these rankings.

The Tigers have added a good deal of talent on the trade market, and they've hit on draft picks like Casey Mize, Matt Manning and 2019 breakout star Tarik Skubal. The Royals have also drafted extremely well, especially on the pitching side of things.

It will be interesting to see how aggressive the White Sox are with recent draft picks Nick Madrigal and Andrew Vaughn, as well as injury returnee Michael Kopech. A lot will depend on if they are contending. The Twins are already contending with a roster filled with homegrown talent, and there's plenty more on the way.

The Cleveland Indians (No. 19) are the weak link, so to speak, and their system is far from barren. Third baseman Nolan Jones is the only clear-cut top prospect at this point, but guys like Tyler Freeman, outfielder George Valera and right-handers Ethan Hankins and Daniel Espino give them plenty of potential to climb.

NL West Top 10 Prospects

1. 2B Gavin Lux, Los Angeles Dodgers (No. 4)
2. LHP MacKenzie Gore, San Diego Padres (No. 5)
3. RHP Dustin May, Los Angeles Dodgers (No. 15)
4. 2B/SS Brendan Rodgers, Colorado Rockies (No. 16)
5. C Joey Bart, San Francisco Giants (No. 18)
6. RHP Luis Patino, San Diego Padres (No. 23)
7. OF Kristian Robinson, Arizona Diamondbacks (No. 25)
8. OF Taylor Trammell, San Diego Padres (No. 32)
9. OF Heliot Ramos, San Francisco Giants (No. 34)
10. SS CJ Abrams, San Diego Padres (No. 36)

Other Top 50 Prospects: SS Marco Luciano, San Francisco Giants (No. 43), OF Alek Thomas, Arizona Diamondbacks (No. 47), C Daulton Varsho, Arizona Diamondbacks (No. 50)

Other Top 100 Prospects: C Luis Campusano (SD), C Keibert Ruiz (LAD), SS Geraldo Perdomo (ARI), SS Ryan Vilade (COL), RHP Tony Gonsolin (LAD), RHP Brusdar Graterol (LAD), RHP Josiah Gray (LAD), LHP Adrian Morejon (SD), LHP Ryan Rolison (COL)

Even after welcoming Fernando Tatis Jr., Chris Paddack, Francisco Mejia, Cal Quantrill and Josh Naylor to the majors and trading Luis Urias, Logan Allen and Xavier Edwards, the San Diego Padres (No. 2) still have one of the game's best collections of prospect talent.

They are joined in the upper echelon of farm systems by the Los Angeles Dodgers (No. 5), Arizona Diamondbacks (No. 8) and San Francisco Giants (No. 11).

The Dodgers system has a lot of upper-level talent on the cusp of contributing to the MLB roster, while the Diamondbacks and Giants have both improved their prospect depth by leaps and bounds over the past year. In the case of the Giants, teenagers like Marco Luciano, outfielder Alexander Canario, third baseman Luis Toribio and outfielder Luis Matos could vault them into the top 10 in short order.

The Colorado Rockies (No. 23) lag behind the rest of the division, but that is not enough to keep the NL West from claiming the No. 1 spot in our divisional prospect rankings.