Keith Law’s assessment of Guardians’ farm system speaks to organizational depth

Having a strong farm system can make all the difference in the modern MLB landscape. While having a strong major league core is obviously important, it’s equally important to have a strong minor league pipeline to build around. 

With the start of spring training less than three weeks away, plenty of media organizations have begun to put out pieces breaking out their grades and thoughts on every team’s minor league pipeline.

On Thursday, The Athletic’s Keith Law threw his hat in the ring with his annual farm system rankings, where he ranked Cleveland’s farm system as the fifth-best in baseball.

While that ranking put them in the second tier of his rankings, it’s another tangible example of the depth in the Guardians’ minor league system, even if Law seems to think it’s missing a marquee prospect. 

The Athletic’s Keith Law is bullish on the depth in the Guardians’ minor league system 

The biggest reason for the Guardians’ high ranking is that aforementioned depth, as Law wrote that he thinks they have a system filled with position players who can be everyday players and pitching prospects who can be solid No. 3 or 4 starters.

That assessment came at the expense of Travis Bazzana, as Law wrote that he “may not be the impact player they expected.” 

That thinking has gained a bit of traction as of late since Konnor Griffin (the No. 9 pick in the 2024 MLB Draft) is the top prospect in baseball and Nick Kurtz (No. 4 pick) was the American League Rookie of the Year last season. 

But even if Bazzana’s stock isn’t as high as either of them, he still is a rising star who gets plenty of love from talent evaluators. He should get a chance to author his big league story at some point in 2026. 

Even if it seems like none of the Guardians’ prospects will become superstars, they just had six of them rank Baseball American’s Top-100, so it’s clear Cleveland’s front office is doing something right. 

Another benefit of that depth is that it could allow the Guardians to be aggressive in the trade market in a variety of directions. On one side, that depth could allow for the Guardians to put together a nearly unbeatable prospect package should they choose to act aggressively and trade for an established MLB talent. 

And on the other side, they’d easily be able to dip into that depth should they choose to subtract from their Major League roster via trade. 

The Guardians’ pathway to success is always going to need to be paved by a bountiful farm system, and Law’s ranking of the Guardians' system is another reminder that’s once again the case this season.