So if you've been reading most of the content on Purple Row this week, you'll know that the staff (especially Bobby DeMuro) is looking at potential free agent targets for the Rockies this winter. For instance, today Bobby looked at Mike Napoli.
However, I'm not really all that excited about this year's free agent class in terms of how it can benefit Colorado. As I've stated here several times already, the Rockies need to be selling off players with major league value right now. So instead, I'm more interested in Colorado's farm and other prospects around the league that the Rockies might be able to acquire through trading names like Carlos Gonzalez, Charlie Blackmon, DJ LeMahieu, and Jorge De La Rosa.
As a result, I was over 1,000 words deep into an article about why a Carlos Gonzalez for Sean Newcomb trade made sense for both the Angels and the Rockies this afternoon when news broke that Newcomb and fellow Angels' prospect Chris Ellis were traded to Atlanta.
/Bollocks!
It's useless now, but the idea was that the Rockies could pay most Gonzalez's 2016 contract allowing the Angels to add a huge left handed bat in the middle of their lineup and fill a much needed corner outfield spot for very little cost. Then, when a bunch of money comes off the books after the 2016 season (C.J. Wilson's $20.5 million and Jered Weaver's $20.5 million), the Angels could easily afford to pay the $20 million on Cargo's salary in 2017.
The Rockies meanwhile wouldn't mind paying that salary in 2016 because it's a dead year to them anyway, and they would get one of the most promising young pitching arms in the game in return setting up what could have been a legendary Double-A rotation when you consider that they already have names like Kyle Freeland, Jeff Hoffman, and Antonio Senzatela.
/Hat tip to Purple Row commenter shay.cheever by the way who had been pushing this idea
Anyway, since that trade proposal is down the tubes now, I'll share one of the tables I made when looking at the Rockies farm in an attempt to organize some of their talent and some of the top minor league talent around MLB.
What I did here is take the top 100 prospects in the game according to MLB.com (you can find the full list here) and organized them by team from the clubs with the most top 100 prospects to the least. There's no new information here as the list has been out for a while, but presenting the information like this allows you see things and make connections better (or at least it does for me).
It's also pretty hard to see since the Rockies have so many guys in the top 100 prospects right now, so here's a link to a large image of what's below.
Now there's a few things we should note here. First, I made this before Newcomb was traded, so he's still listed with the Angels.
Second, this is just one list. Other lists will look different. The reason why I shared this one is because it's publicly available, but the positions of the players here should be used as guidance, not gospel.
Third, while I've organized the list by clubs with the most top 100 prospects to the least, it's not an automatic ranking for each club's farm. Not all top 100 prospects are created equal, and not all good prospects are in the top 100. A table like this will overrate a system like Cincinnati's, and underrate a system like Washington's.
With that said however, it's a pretty telling table. First, we know the Rockies stack up really, really strong here. Not only do they have EIGHT names in the top 100, but those names don't even include Kyle Freeland, Antonio Senzatela, and Trevor Story. It's probably safe to say that if we made this same list and extended it down to the top 150 prospects, the Rockies would still rank at the top.
What's even more impressive about this list though is that the Rockies have eight guys in the top 100 before potential trades of Carlos Gonzalez, Charlie Blackmon, DJ LeMahieu, and Jorge De La Rosa. When you consider that Jon Gray is the only Rockies prospect likely to graduate from this list in 2016 and that the club also has the No. 4 overall pick in next year's draft (as well as a Competitive Balance round pick and an early second right pick), you really start to grasp how deep this farm could get in relation to the rest of baseball by the end of next summer if they go into sell mode now. (Please don't screw this up front office)
It's a very dark time to be a Rockies fan right now, but this list shows that hope might finally be on the horizon beyond 2016.
Other Notes:
- The Dodgers are still a very dangerous system as they have four guys ranked in the top 24.
- After the Newcomb trade this afternoon, 21 of the top 32 prospects in the rankings here are in National League farms.
- Finding another club as willing to part with a top pitching prospect as the Angels were today is going to be tough. Jeff Bridich might have really missed a golden opportunity here.
- LOL Giants farm.