Baseball America ranks Red Sox farm system #2 in baseball

Spring training is still happening, even if we don't want it to. On the bright side, that gives us a little more time to look at prospects before their seasons kick off. Baseball America did just that, ranking the 30 organizations' farm systems on Tuesday, with the Red Sox coming in at number two. The Cubs, with former Red Sox front office members Theo Epstein, Jed Hoyer, and Jason McLeod at the helm, are the only team in front of Boston.

The Red Sox have nine top-100 prospects. Well, technically: Yoan Moncada, who didn't official sign until mid-March, was not ranked in Baseball America's top 100, not officially, but here they put him ahead of Boston's top prospect on that list, Blake Swihart, giving the Sox their ninth. They have big-league ready prospects (Rusney Castillo, Matt Barnes), ones who are very close (Eduardo Rodriguez, Henry Owens, Blake Swihart, Brian Johnson), prospects who are years away but very promising (Michael Kopech, Michael Chavis, Rafael Devers, Manuel Margot), and plenty of intriguing in-between prospects like Sam Travis, Carlos Asuaje, Wendell Rijo, Teddy Stankiewicz, and more.

Players like Garin Cecchini and Deven Marrero have big-league futures but nowhere to play in Boston, while the Sox just recently graduated Xander Bogaerts, Jackie Bradley Jr., and Mookie Betts. The major-league roster looks like it could contend for a playoff spot, and the farm system looks as if it could keep that dream alive for years. Things don't always work out that way, especially since prospects bust so often, but at least the Red Sox have a whole bunch of them to look forward to.