An encouraging transformation has been taking place in the Major League Baseball landscape over the last several years. Many of today’s top MLB teams have been created through a faithful dedication to the development of homegrown talent. It’s not easy for MLB organizations in this day and age to assemble legitimate World Series contenders with last-minute trade deadline signings and a collection of hired guns.
The 2022 Houston Astros really reaped what they sowed, featuring 14 homegrown players on their 26-man World Series winning roster. More than half of the Astros’ championship roster came up through Houston’s farm system, including ¾ of the starting rotation. Five of Houston’s top six hitters from the 2022 World Series roster were farm-raised. If slugger Yordan Alvarez hadn’t been signed originally by the L.A. Dodgers, the Astros would have had 15 homegrown players on that roster.
Alvarez was developed exclusively within Houston’s minor-league system, as were RF Kyle Tucker, 2B Jose Altuve, 3B Alex Bregman, SS Jeremy Pena, pitchers Framber Valdez, Cristian Javier, Bryan Abreu, and Lance McCullers Jr., to name a few. The Astros set the bar high with their homegrown dominance in 2022 and hope to repeat as champions in 2023. However, at present Houston trails the Texas Rangers in the AL West and the top three teams in MLB are the Atlanta Braves, Baltimore Orioles, and the Tampa Bay Rays. Let’s take a look at the homegrown quality of these three contenders.
Atlanta Braves
As of this writing, the Atlanta Braves have the best record in baseball and are working towards winning their second World Series in the last three years. The Braves won the Fall Classic in 2021 vs the pesky Astros 4-2. Most interestingly, Atlanta accomplished this feat without the help of superstar Ronald Acuna Jr. in the series. Homegrown players of note from the 2021 Braves’ championship run are 2B Ozzie Albies, 3B Austin Riley, SP Ian Anderson, and Freddie Freeman (who has since gone to the Dodgers).
Although Atlanta cannot boast the same number of homegrown heroes as Houston, the quality of the Braves’ farm products is formidable. In addition to Acuna Jr., Riley, and Albies, we have newly-minted All-Star SP Spencer Strider and 2022 Rookie of the Year, OF Michael Harris II. The Braves have a fairly comfortable lead in the NL East, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see them back on the big stage as NL Champs once again. Atlanta has the 10th-highest payroll in MLB, but the $206 million that the Braves are spending pales in comparison to that of their NL East rivals (Philadelphia Phillies $245 million and the N.Y. Mets a whopping league-leading $344 million). Shopping locally has had its benefits thus far for the Atlanta Braves, and continues to pay dividends.
Baltimore Orioles
Seemingly out of nowhere, the Baltimore Orioles are the best team in the American League. However, this shouldn’t be a total shock since the Orioles have been working towards this for several years. Baltimore sits atop the bloodbath that is the AL East, and had four players named to the All-Star team this year. Two of these four selections were homegrown stars C Adley Rutschman and OF Austin Hays. 1B Ryan Mountcastle and OF Cedric Mullins are coming along, and rookie SS/3B Gunnar Henderson has exploded onto the scene with a fiery brand of leadership, on and off the field.
Young reliever Mike Baumann is undefeated this season and has the third-most wins (9) on the Orioles’ staff. The development and deployment of prospects Grayson Rodriguez and DL Hall have not gone as smoothly as hoped for Baltimore, but sometimes these things take time. The Orioles are young, hungry, and winning right now in the toughest division in all of baseball. This group appears to be for real, and they are laying the foundation for a potential dynasty in Baltimore. What makes it even sweeter for the Orioles is the fact that only the Pittsburgh Pirates and Oakland A’s have smaller total payrolls in 2023. Baltimore has the third-lowest payroll in MLB ($70.5 million), but is currently the best team in the entire American League.
Tampa Bay Rays
The Tampa Bay Rays have been setting the standard for farm system mastery over the last decade or so, and they were two victories away from being World Series champs in 2020. The Rays are only a couple of games behind the Orioles in the AL East, and have made the postseason in four consecutive campaigns. Tampa Bay owns the fourth-lowest payroll in baseball, spending approximately $8 million more than Baltimore this year.
Homegrown studs Wander Franco and Brandon Lowe anchor the infield, and OF/DH Josh Lowe (no relation to Brandon) has been developing into a solid player. The Rays were dealt a blow on Tuesday when they learned that ace Shane McClanahan will likely miss the remainder of the season due to a forearm injury. McClanahan’s absence may damage Tampa Bay’s chances of catching Baltimore in the standings this season, but only time will tell. In related news, rookie catcher Rene Pinto was recently called up to serve as Christian Bethancourt’s primary backup. Pinto has been tearing the leather off the ball, hitting .357 and making the best of his opportunity.
