Diamondbacks Farm System Review: In conclusion

Well. We’ve reached the end of the line. You sat through all the thoughts of a rando D-Backs’ fan. Color me impressed.

Without any further ado, here is my ranked list of all 63 guys I looked into:

1. Jordan Lawlar
2. Corbin Carroll
3. Alek Thomas
4. Ryne Nelson
5. Drey Jameson
6. Blake Walston
7. Brandon Pfaadt
8. Geraldo Perdomo
9. Slade Cecconi
10. Tommy Henry
11. Deyvison De Los Santos
12. AJ Vukovich
13. Bryce Jarvis
14. Kristian Robinson
15. Mitchell Stumpo
16. Joe Elbis
17. Ryan Bliss
18. Dominic Canzone
19. Drew Ellis
20. Alberto Ciprian
21. Cooper Hummel
22. Stuart Fairchild
23. Jake Rice
24. Yaifer Perdomo
25. Luis Frias
26. Humberto Mejia
27. Jorge Barrosa
28. Keegan Curtis
29. Edwin Uceta
30. Corbin Martin
31. Jhosmer Alvarez
32. Adrian Del Castillo
33. Matt Tabor
34. JB Bukauskas
35. Buddy Kennedy
36. Dominic Fletcher
37. Jeferson Espinal
38. Ryan Weiss
39. Bobby Ay
40. Seth Beer
41. Luis Castillo
42. Matt Peacock
43. Levi Kelly
44. Justin Martinez
45. Jake McCarthy
46. Kyle Nelson
47. Jacob Steinmetz
48. Blaze Alexander
49. Wilderd Patino
50. Connor Grammes
51. Manuel Pena
52. Alvin Guzman
53. Jose Fernandez
54. Juan Corniel
55. Josh Green
56. Avery Short
57. Liam Norris
58. Jieson Guzman
59. Neyfy Castillo
60. Glenallen Hill Jr.
61. Jose Herrera
62. Junior Mieses
63. Abdidas De La Cruz
64. **Taylor Widener (because I am an idiot who misread his IP for the year)

I am writing this conclusion before any of the previous articles have posted, so I won’t be directly addressing any comments or alternate opinions here. Hopefully I conversed with you in the comments of the pertinent article. If not, let me know here. I may go back and we can have a lively discussion.

That said, I got some feedback on my original list and can clarify a few options:

• Choosing between Thomas, Carroll and Lawlar for the top spot on my list was difficult. I ended up with Lawlar for two reasons: 1) his ceiling is higher than Thomas’ if it all connects & 2) his shoulder injury scares me less than Carroll’s does so I have a little more faith in his future. That said, I am highly anticipating the day all three are in the same lineup
• Levi Kelly: He just missed my top 40 cut-off for a bio piece. He is still young and hit a rough patch at AA. So bad that he went on the Development list in August and didn’t return for the season. Hopefully he pulls a Geraldo Perdomo and comes back stronger for it, but for now, his star has dimmed enough that I am more intrigued by other players.
• Seth Beer: Frankly, I dislike one-dimensional players (even pitchers to a degree), and Beer is the epitome of that. I don’t buy the team claiming he can adequately play first. I think that’s all talk, hedging their bets on no DH coming to the NL. I also don’t really like that his power has yet to translate to games in the upper minors. If he doesn’t have power, he doesn’t have a place on the Roaring 20s Baby Backs’ roster.
• Jake McCarthy: He had a pretty A-OK showing in the majors this year, which surprised me. And there’s a real argument that he deserves to be higher on my list and a bio more than say Fairchild or Fletcher, but I opted for the other two because I like them more in the long run. I don’t know if McCarthy really has anything additional in the tank, whereas Fairchild and Fletcher theoretically do. I can see a very realistic future where the outfield is Carroll, Thomas, Robinson with Canzone as the Fourth guy and these three fighting to be the Fifth or first alternate, but others will be coming up behind them. And free agents will be signed. I’d be surprised if McCarthy is still a Diamondback when he hits his second year of arbitration (assuming limited change in any future CBA).
• Abdidas De La Cruz: He is an extremely recent international signee and I know next to zero about him except that he was ranked as a top-50 guy for this round. I didn’t feel confident putting him anywhere but last on my list. However, I did want to add his name, since I think he’ll be rising on professional lists very soon.

Finally, before I sign off, I owe y’all an explanation of my screen name. I know this is the real answer you’ve all been reading to learn (insert frat guy arrogant nod of “understanding”). My name is Spencer and I get my middle name from my mother’s maiden name: Curry. Ergo, SpencerSpice makes for a unique, alliterative screen name. Please don’t abuse the information.