2012 MLB Draft: Top 5 MLB Farm Systems at Developing Talent

Now that the 2012 MLB draft is done, the teams will focus on trying to sign their picks. Once they are signed, they will become members of their respective team's farm system.

There are some teams that are much better than others at producing major league talent. They are able to develop players very well, and their minor league coaching staff does a number of things to help their prospects reach their potential.

The farm system that a player joins could has a huge impact on their development and may end up making or breaking their career. Over the years, a number of teams have improved their farm system to the point that they have had number of players reach the major leagues and contribute at a high level.

Tampa Bay Rays

There are few, if any, MLB teams that are better than the Tampa Bay Rays at developing talent in their farm system. Tampa Bay has had a number of first-round picks such as Evan Longoria and B.J. Upton reach the majors, but it is more impressive what its lower-round picks have done.

Matt Moore and Desmond Jennings both look like budding stars, and they were picked in the eighth and 10th rounds respectively. The Rays have done an outstanding job developing pitchers, and their current starting rotation is all homegrown. Tampa Bay was able to turn James Shields from a 16th-round pick into an ace, and they were able to make sure their top picks like David Price turned out as expected.

Kansas City Royals

The Kansas City Royals may soon be a team that contends for an American League Central title because of how good they have been at developing talent through their minor league system.

A number of the top players in the Royals batting order are players that they drafted. Mike Moustakas, Billy Butler, Alex Gordon and Eric Hosmer all have come through the Royals' farm system. The team has big-time prospect Wil Meyer on the verge of breaking into the majors.

Pitchers have also come through the minor leagues to contribute for the Royals. Danny Duffy was looking like an outstanding starter this year before he was injured. The Royals have done a great job at developing relievers and have guys like Tim Collins and Aaron Crow contributing in the majors.

New York Mets

While Omar Minaya eventually was fired from his position with the New York Mets, the farm system that he helped build is finally paying dividends for the team. A large number of the Mets' current starters came through the system, including Josh Thole, Ike Davis, Daniel Murphy, Ruben Tejada, David Wright, Kirk Nieuwenhuis, Lucas Duda and Jordany Valdespin.

The Mets have also done a good job at developing pitchers. Dillon Gee, Jon Niese and Mike Pelfrey all were pitchers that the Mets were able to develop into effective major leaguers.

Texas Rangers

One of the reasons that the Texas Rangers have been able to go to back-to-back World Series is because they do an outstanding job of developing players once they enter their minor league system.

Ian Kinsler was a former 17th-round pick of the Rangers, and he has become a star. Elvis Andrus flew though the Rangers' farm system after he was acquired from the Atlanta Braves.

The Rangers have done a better job developing pitchers, as four of their starting pitchers came from their farm system. Neftali Feliz developed into an outstanding closer and won the AL Rookie of the Year award, and he has since become a solid starter. Derek Holland and Matt Harrison have been key starters for the Rangers during the past two years.

Texas can't take that much credit for the development of Colby Lewis since he got much better after he spent a few years in Japan.

Alexi Ogando and Robbie Ross are both making big contributions from the Rangers bullpen this year. More help could be on the way from some of the Rangers' top prospects.

Washington Nationals

Having the top-overall pick in the draft in both 2009 and 2010 certainly helped the Washington Nationals, and they were able to make sure that those players developed the way that they were supposed to even if they only had a little minor league seasoning.

Brycer Harper and Stephen Strasburg are both already stars for the Nationals, and the team made sure they stayed on track. There are a number of cautionary tales such as Brien Taylor and David Clyde that demonstrate that hyped-up prospects don't always live up to their potential. The Nationals have been able to avoid that problem.

The Nationals have also been able to develop Jordan Zimmerman and Ross Detwiler into solid starters. Washington also turned 12th-round pick Craig Stammen into a good reliever.

The Nationals lineup is filled with players that have gone through the team's system. In addition to Harper, Ryan Zimmerman is also a star for the team. Washington's starting middle infield came through its farm system. Danny Espinosa and Ian Desmond have been fairly effective for the Nationals. Additionally, Stephen Lombardozzi has been proving that he deserves to play everyday.