Rays, Padres Tie Record For Most Top 100 Prospects

Image credit: Photo by Brian Westerholt/Four Seam Images

In the 30 years of the Baseball America Top 100 Prospects list, there had only been one team to ever place nine players on the list.

Now, there are three.

The San Diego Padres and Tampa Bay Rays each tied the record for most Top 100 Prospects. The two most stacked systems in baseball each put nine players on the Top 100. San Diego’s list begins with No. 2 prospect Fernando Tatis Jr. Tampa Bay’s representation begins with No. 4 prospect Wander Franco.

The only other team to have nine Top 100 Prospects was the 2011 Kansas City Royals.

The Royals that year placed five prospects among the top 20 (Mike Moustakas, Eric Hosmer, Wil Myers, John Lamb and Mike Montgomery). Myers, Montgomery and fellow Top 100 Royals prospect Jake Odorizzi ended up being traded to the Rays to acquire James Shields, who pitched at the front of the Royals’ rotation on their 2014 AL Championship team. Hosmer and Moustakas were lineup fixtures on that team and the 2015 World Series champs, while another Top 100 Prospect, Danny Duffy, pitched for the AL and MLB champs.

The Atlanta Braves placed eight players on the Top 100, one short of the record. What is notable for them is that this is the third consecutive season the Braves have placed eight players on the Top 100, even though Ronald Acuna, Ozzie Albies, Dansby Swanson and Sean Newcomb have graduated from the Top 100 over the past two seasons.