Pitching rates as strength of D-backs' farm system

By foxsports
Published

Last week, Jeff Wiser at Inside the 'Zona came out with his comprehensive look at the Diamondbacks' top 30 minor league prospects.

Today, it's Fangraphs' Dan Farnsworth who breaks down the D-backs' farm system. Rather than a top 30, Farnsworth breaks his down according to scouting grade -- eight players listed at 50-plus, 12 at 45-plus, six at 40-plus (for a total of 26), plus additional players of note.

Farnsworth includes Archie Bradley in his report, while Wiser had Bradley already graduated to major-league level. There is quite a bit of consensus between the two lists, but there are some interesting differences of opinion as well.

Here are the players who rank top 10 by both evaluators:

Shortstop Dansby Swanson (1-Zona, 1-FG)

Pitcher Braden Shipley (3-Zona , 2-FG)

Pitcher Aaron Blair (2-Zona , 4-FG)

Outfielder Socrates Brito (8-Zona , 5-FG)

Pitcher Alex Young (4-Zona , 8-FG)

Infielder Brandon Drury (5-Zona , 10-FG)

Among those with the biggest variances were Taiwanese pitcher Wei-Chieh Huang (3-Fangraphs, 11-Zona), Cuban pitcher Yoan Lopez (7-Fangraphs, 16-Zona), outfielder Marcus Wilson (7-Zona, 18-Fangraphs) and outfielder/catcher/slugger Peter O'Brien (10-Zona, 19-Fangraphs).

Both are detailed and worthwhile reads. The general assessment is that there's some much-needed quality pitching in the pipeline, which should make D-backs fans everywhere rejoice, but they could use a few impact bats.