Latest Farm Rankings Make Clear Statement on D-backs' Future

The Arizona Diamondbacks' minor league farm system has taken a significant drop over recent seasons, as players have graduated, fallen off or departed the organization.

But now, there's reason to be optimistic about the state of Arizona's prospect pool.

In a recent article, ESPN insider and prospect expert Kiley McDaniel showcased his latest farm system rankings, and the D-backs took an unexpected (and massive) leap forward.

Arizona Diamondbacks' Farm System Takes Huge Leap in New Rankings

Ahead of the 2025 season, McDaniel's evaluation of Arizona's farm system had them all the way down at 25, near the bottom of MLB.

In McDaniel's August 26 re-rank, the Diamondbacks catapult up 12 spots to No. 13 — a massive jump from the beginning of the year.

The D-backs have made bulk additions to both their minor league depth and the upper end of their prospect list, bringing in the most new talent in baseball after the July 31 Trade Deadline.

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"The D-backs added young talent at the trade deadline, with 1B Tyler Locklear, LHP Kohl Drake, LHP Brandyn Garcia, LHP Mitch Bratt, RHP Juan Burgos, RHP Ashton Izzi, RHP David Hagaman, and RHP Andrew Hoffmann all ranking as 40 FV or better," McDaniel wrote.

"Their returns on their top three picks in the 2024 draft (CF Slade Caldwell, LF Ryan Waldschmidt and 2B JD Dix) all look strong early as well.

"There's some real depth here (Arizona is tied for third in quality depth), and there's a lot of talent that should be showing up in the big leagues and/or graduating next season."

There's certainly reason to believe the D-backs' farm system is on an upward trajectory, but much will hinge on their ability to get major league contributions out of these prospects in the long run.

For now, that's been a work in progress.

Locklear, Hoffmann and Garcia have each struggled immensely in their first stint with Arizona's major league club. Burgos just suffered his roughest outing of the season in a loss to the Cincinnati Reds.

Drake is getting a tough lesson in the difficulties of pitching in the Pacific Coast League, but still has promising swing-and-miss upside if he can adjust to the environment.

That said, some of the D-backs' high-ranked prospects are finding their way. Waldschmidt and Caldwell have both gotten hot at their respective levels, and exciting right-hander Daniel Eagen is still mowing down his opposition in his first taste of Double-A.

Meanwhile, top prospect Jordan Lawlar is back from injury, and seems to be a likely candidate for his second call-up of the season once rosters expand.

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If Lawlar can stick at the major league level, that may cause the D-backs' system to take a bit of a hit in the rankings — though it would be an ultimate positive to get major league contributions from their highly-touted infielder.

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