Lebanon, KS – With the minor-league playoffs just starting, who are the best teams in the minors? Minor-league power rankings are hard to quantify across various levels. They are based on overall season performance, not necessarily the team's current makeup, given promotions and demotions. Without further ado, here are the Yount Season 48 Minor League Power Rankings:
1) Baltimore Orioles Low A (116-28): 116 wins?!? The Orioles probably had the best pitching season in the minors, with a team WHIP of 1.17 and ERA of 2.72. Morris Corino and Calvin Gordon both won 20 games and dominated. The Orioles were solid enough offensively to dominate and are the odds-on favorite to win it all in Low A.
2) Minnesota Twins Rookie (62-14): The rookie Twins had the best winning percentage in the minors. Somehow this team won at a high level without any standout performances. It was a complete team effort. The Twins have quietly built up the minors but happen to play in the best Division in Yount.
3) Arizona Diamondbacks High A (100-44): Charlie Crosby was an absolute beast. He went .336/.394/.761 and bombed 65 home runs to pair with 174 RBI. Pairing that with a solid rotation anchored by Max Maduro and Teddy Hughes makes for a lethal combination.
4) New York Mets Rookie (60-16): The rookie Mets were buoyed by a slew of high draft picks after the departure of free agents in the off-season. They had an outstanding offense and solid pitching. Yunel Baez, an IFA, is a legitimate prospect and led the offense. The Mets reloaded well, and this group will win at all levels.
5) Washington D.C. Nationals High A (92-52): The Nationals were solid, but definitely buoyed by a fantastic year by Gabriel Santana, who went 19-5, pitching an insane 217.2 innings in 30 starts, with a 1.01 WHIP and just 1.82 ERA. With Duane Osborne also turning in over 200 innings, good luck getting runs on this team in the postseason.
6) Chicago Cubs Rookie (61-15): This offense was electric, launching 116 bombs, led by Lon Campbell with 27 and Hersh Burrell with 24. They averaged 10.2 runs per game with a suspect pitching staff, as the strategy is just to outscore you into submission.
7) Tampa Bay Rays Low A (107-37): This team was decimated by trades, as the same group was #1 in the power rankings in Season 47 and won the Rookie League title. Let's just put it this way, the Rays have 16 players with stars next to them, meaning they are no longer on the roster. One player remaining is Jamie Mastroianni, who hit 53 bombs combined with a .346 batting average.
8) San Diego Padres Triple-A (93-51): The first appearance by a Triple-A team on the power rankings, as at the higher levels of the minors there is more parity and less dominance by teams. The Padres were solid, with the #2 ranked offense, #4 pitching, and #4 fielding in Triple-A. The Padres also have a lot of starred players, as there was a lot of roster change at the Triple-A level.
9) Louisville Colonels High A (97-47): Pitching, pitching, pitching is like location, location, location. A team WHIP of 1.23 drove this team, led by Oscar Hyun who went 185 innings at a 1.13 WHIP. The Colonels again go with the theme in this year's power rankings of just being an overall solid team, despite not winning the division.
10) Atlanta Braves Rookie (52-24): All minor-league teams are constructed differently, which makes the game fun. The best player on this team is a major-league journeyman trying to find his way again in Moises Bogaerts. The average age of this team was 23, and they were known to buy beer for the rest of the rookie league on road trips.
11) Detroit Tigers Triple-A
12) Tampa Bay Rays Double A
13) Baltimore Orioles Triple-A
14) Chicago Cubs Double A
15) Chicago Cubs High A
16) Arizona Diamondbacks Double A
17) San Diego Padres Double A
18) Chicago Cubs Low A
19) Chicago Cubs Triple A
20) Minnesota Twins Double A
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