How do other farm systems affect the Miami Marlins?

The best way for the Miami Marlins to build an annual contender is through the farm system. It is however important to also see how other farm systems are doing. Is our competition doing better than us? Which teams look like serious upcoming threats and which ones are looking as if they might be headed for an early decline? Farm system rankings are a good way to be able to find that out. For the record, Bruce Sherman needs to spend and a better farm system does not mean that he shouldn't.

The Miami Marlins have some division rivals with weak farms.

I think that it makes sense to start by looking at our division rivals. The Washington Nationals have the second strongest farm system in the NL East, coming in at #9. This is definitely not good news for the Miami Marlins, but with so many holes on the roster it will take a while before Washington can legitimately compete in the division. It's also important to point out that not all of their top prospects will even work out.

The New York Mets sadly have the best farm system in the division, rated at #8 just above Wwahington. This is becoming alarming, as Steve Cohen's spending combined with a good farm can only mean trouble for The Fish. At least all of that spending gave them one of the oldest rosters in the Majors. The good news for The Fish is that the Atlanta Braves finished dead last at #30 and the Philadelphia Phillies are only slightly higher at #26. This is of course great news as it means that both teams don't have much in the way of reinforcementscoming up.

Are there other notable teams? The Los Angeles Dodgers are in first place, which is alarming considering their 111 win 2022 season. That said, they've been generally getting eliminated early in the playoffs, so I hope that trend in full seasons continues. The St. Louis Cardinals in third place and the Pittsburgh Pirates in fifth are other notables. St. Louis is a model franchise and Pittsburgh may finally be ending their rebuild.