The Best and Worst Farm Systems in MLB 15 The Show (OSFM Rosters)

Feature Article

Submitted on: 04/16/2015 by Ben Vollmer

The Operation Sports Full Minor League (OSFM) roster has arrived, and thanks to many hard working individuals, we now all get to reap the benefits. The best part of it all is that a hectic offseason has resulted in the reshuffling of a lot of farm systems. There is a lot to dig into, so here are the best and worst farm systems in MLB: The Show 15:

1. Chicago Cubs: This should come as no surprise, given the Cub's activity in both the international and trade markets. With an already young and talented roster in the MLB, there's nearly half a dozen players that would rank as the best prospect on most teams. The only downside for the Cubs? Pitching. There is not a lot to be found outside of emerging prospect C.J. Edwards. Thankfully, good pitching has been a lot easier to come by than star position players, which the Cubs have plenty of.

Names to watch: Kris Bryant (3B), Jorge Soler (OF), Addison Russell (SS), Kyle Schwarber (C)

2. Minnesota Twins: After the Cubs, things get a little more dicey. The Twins have a ton of big named talent in guys like Buxton and Sano, but their system doesn't have a ton of depth behind their best six or seven guys. That said, you only field 9 guys on the field at once, and the talent the Twins have is spread around nicely.

Names to watch: Byron Buxton (OF), Miguel Sano (3B), Nick Gordon (SS), Alex Meyer (RHP)

3. Boston Red Sox: Not many teams have the luxury of having a World Series caliber roster while also holding one of the best farm systems in baseball. It is arguable that the Red Sox might have had the best minor league system, if not for the recent call-ups of future stars Mookie Betts and Xander Bogaerts. Even still, the Red Sox have a tremendous amount of depth in both pitching and hitting. The key will be whether or not they're able to hold on to both with what seems like a mediocre MLB pitching staff.

Names to watch: Blake Swihart (C), Yoan Moncada (2B), Henry Owens (LHP)

Honorable Mention: Pittsburgh Pirates, Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Mets, Texas Rangers

Unfortunately, not every team is so lucky. Some teams have done a disservice to themselves by constantly trading away their best talent for expensive players on other teams (The Phillies and Yankees being the best two examples), while others have just been at the mercy of some bad injuries and slow developing players. Here are the worst farm systems in regards to the OSFM's roster:

30. Detroit Tigers: They have little to nothing, especially after the quick call-up of solid third baseman Nick Castellanos. The Tigers could be in really bad shape a few years from now, unless they find a way to turn one of their big name aces into a nice package of prospects.

Names to watch: None

29. Milwaukee Brewers: The "Brew-Crew" has been struggling to find talent in its minor league system for a long time, now. Jean Segura looked promising his rookie season, but has been in a prolonged slump ever since. In regards to pitching, they still have yet to find a breakthrough. It may be a long time before the Brewers see the playoffs again, especially with the rest of the NL Central moving in the opposite direction.

Names to watch: Orlando Arcia (SS/2B), Tyrone Taylor (OF)

28. Los Angeles Angels: The Angels made some great offseason moves to bolster their farm, including a deal that nabbed them the 9th overall pick in 2014 in Andrew Heaney. Still, they are a long ways out from having anything close to an excusable farm system. Outside of Heaney and Sean Newcomb, the Angels are in a serious drought of young talent in their minor league system.

Names to watch: Andrew Heaney (LHP), Sean Newcomb (LHP)

Honorable Mention: Philadelphia Phillies, New York Yankees, Miami Marlins

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Member Comments

# 1 extremeskins04 @ 04/16/15 02:13 PM

Yea I just went ahead and started a new Franchise with the Red Sox. Even though they have alot of talent, their pitching is terrible so I'm going to start scouting and building up their pitching rotation from the Draft and maybe a little FA.

# 2 DBMcGee3 @ 04/16/15 02:25 PM

Dammit. I really didn't want to do a franchise, because honestly the season is too long for me and I could never finish the 1st year, even when I was younger and had more gaming time. But the Cubbies' farm system has me thinking twice.

# 3 lopey986 @ 04/16/15 02:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DBMcGee3


	Dammit. I really didn't want to do a franchise, because honestly the season is too long for me and I could never finish the 1st year, even when I was younger and had more gaming time. But the Cubbies' farm system has me thinking twice.

Hey, carryover saves will definitely help in this regard at least!

# 4 mosdef328 @ 04/16/15 03:46 PM

Kind of surprised the Giants didn't make the worst list... makes me feel real bad for the teams that did.

# 5 kevin_bondra @ 04/16/15 04:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DBMcGee3


	Dammit. I really didn't want to do a franchise, because honestly the season is too long for me and I could never finish the 1st year, even when I was younger and had more gaming time. But the Cubbies' farm system has me thinking twice.

Like many around here, I play 1 and Sim 5. Although you aren't playing all the games in a season, you're still building your team and watching those young guys come up to the big club. You only play 27 games per season, which should help get you through multiple years. It's my strategy this year.

# 6 Instant C1a55ic @ 04/16/15 05:15 PM

What about the Rockies? I can only think of Jon Gray, David Dahl and maybe Rosell Herrera....

# 7 BenGerman @ 04/16/15 05:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kevin_bondra


	Like many around here, I play 1 and Sim 5. Although you aren't playing all the games in a season, you're still building your team and watching those young guys come up to the big club. You only play 27 games per season, which should help get you through multiple years. It's my strategy this year.

Ha! I actually kind of like Susac and Crick. They don't have the best system by any means, but they are more solid around the block than any of the three worst, IMO.

# 8 mosdef328 @ 04/16/15 05:37 PM

Yeah I like Susac... not really sold on Crick. I think after that though its an abyss

# 9 24 @ 04/16/15 05:57 PM

The Yankees Farm System is Brutal. The only prospects with any value are Servino, Refsnyder and Mateo. Possibly Judge if you find the right team. It's pretty difficult to rebuild them.

# 10 cardinalbird5 @ 04/16/15 06:03 PM

Cards are probably close to being a bottom 3. Priscotty will be decent but all of their prospects got traded or are on the 25 man roster (besides Marcos).

Tampa, surprisingly, did not have as many prospects as I thought either. Souza and Kiermaier sould be good, but nothing special. They are definitely young but farm system isn't really too deep.

# 11 N51_rob @ 04/16/15 09:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DBMcGee3


	Dammit. I really didn't want to do a franchise, because honestly the season is too long for me and I could never finish the 1st year, even when I was younger and had more gaming time. But the Cubbies' farm system has me thinking twice.

Quick counts can cut down game time, and the year to year saves are awesome. I brought my franchise over from 14 and I have about 7 games left in the 2014 season.

# 12 BenGerman @ 04/17/15 12:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by N51_rob


	Quick counts can cut down game time, and the year to year saves are awesome. I brought my franchise over from 14 and I have about 7 games left in the 2014 season.

This. Quick Counts have been my savior. I finished like five seasons last year, playing one game every five or so.

# 13 Trigger18 @ 04/17/15 01:08 AM

I think the Pirates have a better system than the six but it's close!

# 14 Mizzou24 @ 04/17/15 01:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cardinalbird7


	Cards are probably close to being a bottom 3. Priscotty will be decent but all of their prospects got traded or are on the 25 man roster (besides Marcos). Tampa, surprisingly, did not have as many prospects as I thought either. Souza and Kiermaier sould be good, but nothing special. They are definitely young but farm system isn't really too deep.

We are no where close to the bottom 3 even with a lot of talent moving up. There is still lots of talent with high ceilings. Sierra, reyes, piscotty, tilson, wick, tui, sosa, flaherty, Kaminsky the list goes on. We have definitely dropped, but we are still probably close to a top 15 farm system.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

# 15 Pezell04x @ 04/17/15 11:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DBMcGee3


	Dammit. I really didn't want to do a franchise, because honestly the season is too long for me and I could never finish the 1st year, even when I was younger and had more gaming time. But the Cubbies' farm system has me thinking twice.

I play 1, sim 5 in a full 162 game season. Work out to like 27 games played while keeping the stats realistic across the board. You still scout and do the draft.

I also play every playoff game, if I make it. Last year I made it to 2018 with the Red Sox, but this year I want to start fresh with either Cubs or Pittsburgh.

# 16 chazbedlam @ 05/01/15 01:46 PM

I started a franchise with my beloved Yankees and the OSFM and it's definitely a challenge. They have jack squat in the farm (as usual) and a collection of old men on the 25 man roster that makes an old-folks home seem like a spring break resort (as usual).

I dealt CC Sabathia, Mark Teixeira, A-Rod, Carlos Beltran, Didi Gregorius, Stephen Drew, Garret Jones, Ivan Nova, Capuano, and Brendan Ryan and managed to work trades for Matt Kemp, Dee Gordon, Ryan Zimmerman, Andrelton Simmons, and a couple solid pitchers for the back end of my rotation. Also cleared nearly 50 million in payroll. Now I need to figure out a way to get the farm system strengthened. That will be a tall order given the fact that I'll never have a bad enough season to acquire any solid picks through other means besides trades. But, at least the 25 man roster is jam packed with solid players; no superstars, but no weak spots, either.

I always play one game of each series and simulate the rest. I usually select the game where my team is facing the opposing team's best pitcher. That way, I give my team the best chance to win the series. Playing one game in each series usually works out to around 35 games played per season. And playing 1 game in 3 doesn't inflate my team's statistics to "video game" levels. Most of the time, I sim the rest of the season once I clinch the division. So, I wind up only playing the same amount of games as those who simulate 4 out of 5 games. I only play out the end of the regular season if I have a particular player that's chasing a milestone or a single season record or something.

# 17 TheBigTicket205 @ 05/01/15 02:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pezell04x


	I play 1, sim 5 in a full 162 game season. Work out to like 27 games played while keeping the stats realistic across the board. You still scout and do the draft. I also play every playoff game, if I make it. Last year I made it to 2018 with the Red Sox, but this year I want to start fresh with either Cubs or Pittsburgh.

Wow! I love your strategy... I started a 30 team control franchise, but I haven't touched it much since I'm obsessed with RTTS. But I think I'm gonna dive in to my franchise using your strategy now it sounds like its gonna be fun! Can't wait!

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