Biggest Shake-Ups To MLB Farm System Rankings After 2026 Trade Deadline
The annual trade deadline changes the MLB landscape for the final two months of the season, but it also reshapes the league's prospect picture.
The Baltimore Orioles were the biggest risers in our farm system rankings as a result of their trade deadline maneuvering, adding a haul of prospect talent in the blockbuster deal that sent Adley Rutschman to the Red Sox.
On the flip side, the Toronto Blue Jays paid a steep price to acquire starter José Soriano from the Los Angeles Angels, while the San Diego Padres once again gutted their top prospect list.
Ahead is a closer look at the three teams that climbed the most and three teams that fell the furthest in our farm system rankings as a result of their trade deadline wheeling and dealing, along with an updated look at their Top 10 prospect lists.
A full rundown of every newcomer to organizational top-10 prospect lists, plus an updated look at where all 30 farm systems stack up, rounds out our post‑deadline farm system rankings.
Note: For a look at the pre-deadline rankings and an explanation of the prospect tier system used in this article, check out our full post-draft farm system rankings.
No. 3 Faller: San Diego Padres
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Pre-Deadline Rank: 30
Post-Deadline Rank: 27
Notable Subtractions: LHP Kash Mayfield (No. 2 prospect, Tier 3), SS Joniel Hernandez (No. 5 prospect), RHP Miguel Mendez (No. 7 prospect)
Updated Top 10 Prospect List
1. C Ethan Salas (Tier 1)
2. OF Ryan Wideman (Tier 4)
3. LHP Coleman Borthwick (Tier 4)
4. C Ty Harvey
5. LHP Kruz Schoolcraft
6. SS Jorge Quintana
7. RHP Lan-Hong Su
8. RHP Ryan Lynch
9. RHP Bryan Balzar
10. SS Elliot Lascelles
The Padres have made a habit of unloading their top prospect list at the trade deadline the last few seasons, including last year's blockbuster trade that sent Leo De Vries to the Athletics for closer Mason Miller.
This year, it was a pair of trades for rental starters Casey Mize and Robbie Ray that saw three of the team's top 10 prospects head out the door, including left-hander Kash Mayfield who is No. 87 on the B/R Top 100.
With another top prospect shakeup, 2026 draft picks Ryan Lynch (3rd round, No. 97 overall) and Elliot Lascelles (2nd round, No. 60 overall) are now part of the organization's top 10 list.
No. 3 Riser: Detroit Tigers
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Pre-Deadline Rank: 18
Post-Deadline Rank: 8
Notable Additions: OF Zyhir Hope (Tier 2), LHP Kash Mayfield (Tier 3), RHP River Ryan, RHP Brady Smith
Updated Top 10 Prospect List
1. OF Max Clark (Tier 1)
2. OF Zyhir Hope (Tier 2)
3. SS Bryce Rainer (Tier 3)
4. C/1B Josue Briceño (Tier 3)
5. LHP Kash Mayfield (Tier 3)
6. 2B Max Anderson (Tier 4)
7. RHP Cameron Flukey (Tier 4)
8. LHP Ben Jacobs (Tier 4)
9. SS Jordan Yost
10. OF Cris Rodriguez
The Tigers had two of the biggest trade chips on the market in Tarik Skubal and Casey Mize, and the focal point in moving both seemed to be extracting the best possible headliner in each return package.
Zyhir Hope (No. 38) and Kash Mayfield (No. 87) are both part of the B/R Top 100 prospect list, and the secondary piece in both of those trades was a pair of Triple-A pitchers who are close to MLB ready.
Right-hander River Ryan, who was also acquired from the Dodgers in the Skubal trade, is technically still a prospect. However, he turns 28 years old next month, so his developmental trajectory obviously looks quite a bit different than anyone else on this list.
No. 2 Faller: Toronto Blue Jays
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Pre-Deadline Rank: 17
Post-Deadline Rank: 24
Notable Subtractions: SS Arjun Nimmala (No. 2 prospect, Tier 2), RHP Angel Rivero
Updated Top 10 Prospect List
1. SS JoJo Parker (Tier 2)
2. LHP Johnny King (Tier 3)
3. RHP Nolan Perry (Tier 4)
4. RHP Gage Stanifer (Tier 4)
5. 3B Sean Keys (Tier 4)
6. LHP Dasan Hill
7. OF Blaine Bullard
8. LHP Cole Carlon
9. 3B Juan Sanchez
10. LHP Ricky Tiedemann
Despite adding left-hander Dasan Hill (via MIN for Jeff Hoffman) and infielder Ty Southisene (via CHC for Kevin Gausman) while selling off a number of veteran pieces, the Blue Jays moved down the updated rankings.
Along with their short-term selling, they also made a long-term play to acquire controllable starter José Soriano from the Angels, and it cost them a package headlined by consensus top-50 prospect Arjun Nimmala.
Their overall prospect depth still puts them closer to the middle of the pack than to the bottom of these rankings, but trading away one of their three Top 100 prospects was inevitably going to move them down.
No. 2 Riser: Los Angeles Angels
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Pre-Deadline Rank: 29
Post-Deadline Rank: 18
Notable Additions: SS Arjun Nimmala (Tier 2), C Jacob Cozart, RHP Mason McGwire, SS Angel Arredondo, RHP Angel Rivero
Updated Top 10 Prospect List
1. RHP Tyler Bremner (Tier 2)
2. SS Arjun Nimmala (Tier 2)
3. RHP Trey Gregory-Alford (Tier 4)
4. LHP Johnny Slawinski (Tier 4)
5. RHP Dylan Jordan (Tier 4)
6. OF Jared Grindlinger (Tier 4)
7. OF Hayden Alvarez (Tier 4)
8. OF Nelson Rada
9. 3B Gavin Grahovac
10. SS Joswa Lugo
With interim general manager John Mozeliak steering the ship, the Angels embraced selling more aggressively, and the result was a nice jump up the farm system rankings.
While Ryan Zeferjahn trade pickup Moisés Ballesteros no longer qualifies as a prospect, they still added some strong overall depth to the system, and headliner Arjun Nimmala (No. 44 on B/R Top 100) gives the organization a second Top 100 prospect.
Outfielder Hayden Alvarez also snagged one of the Tier 4 spots that opened up since our last update, further pushing the Angels up the board. The 19-year-old was just promoted to High-A, and he is hitting .297/.396/.478 with 42 extra-base hits, 46 steals and a 13.6 percent walk rate on the year.
No. 1 Faller: Boston Red Sox
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Pre-Deadline Rank: 12
Post-Deadline Rank: 28
Notable Subtractions: RHP Anthony Eyanson (No. 2 prospect, Tier 1), RHP Kyson Witherspoon (No. 3 prospect, Tier 3), OF Enddy Azocar (No. 6 prospect, Tier 4)
Updated Top 10 Prospect List
1. SS Franklin Arias (Tier 1)
2. OF Justin Gonzales (Tier 3)
3. C Franklin Primera (Tier 4)
4. 2B Henry Godbout
5. SS Dorian Soto
6. OF Owen Hull
7. RHP Juan Valera
8. RHP Sadbiel Delzine
9. 2B Yoeilin Cespedes
10. SS Jake Schaffner
Based on prospect status at the time of the trade, there's a case to be made that the Red Sox gave up more to acquire an injured Adley Rutschman than they did to add ace Garrett Crochet in their blockbuster deal with the White Sox prior to the 2025 season.
Anthony Eyanson (No. 22) and Kyson Witherspoon (No. 92) both have a place on the B/R Top 100 list, while teenage outfielder Enddy Azocar was trending toward perhaps joining them in the near future.
Left-hander Jake Bennett (No. 5 prospect, Tier 4) also exhausted his eligibility since our last update, further reshaping the team's top prospect picture.
No. 1 Riser: Baltimore Orioles
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Pre-Deadline Rank: 20
Post-Deadline Rank: 6
Notable Additions: RHP Anthony Eyanson (Tier 1), RHP Kyson Witherspoon (Tier 3), RHP Michael Forret (Tier 4), OF Enddy Azocar (Tier 4), OF Jhomnardo Reyes
Updated Top 10 Prospect List
1. RHP Anthony Eyanson (Tier 1)
2. LHP Joseph Dzierwa (Tier 3)
3. OF Eric Booth Jr. (Tier 3)
4. 1B/OF Ike Irish (Tier 3)
5. RHP Kyson Witherspoon (Tier 3)
6. RHP Michael Forret (Tier 4)
7. OF Enddy Azocar (Tier 4)
8. OF Nate George (Tier 4)
9. RHP Trey Gibson (Tier 4)
10. SS Wehiwa Aloy (Tier 4)
The decision to trade Adley Rutschman stretches beyond just the logistics of the transaction, as he was the leader of the Orioles roster and arrived as a beacon of hope for a rebuilding franchise destined to turn things around.
That said, my goodness what a prospect haul they managed to pry loose from the rival Red Sox for Rutschman's one additional year of control. Breakout pitching prospect Anthony Eyanson immediately becomes the new No. 1 in the system, while Kyson Witherspoon and Enddy Azocar join him on the new top 10 list.
The move to re-acquire right-hander Michael Forret from the Rays in exchange for Tyler Wells less than a year after he was sent out in the Shane Baz deal speaks volumes to how the organization feels about his potential.
Newcomers to Organizational Top 10 Lists
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Pitchers
RHP Anthony Eyanson (BOS to BAL)—No. 1 BAL prospect
RHP Michael Forret (TB to BAL)—No. 6 BAL prospect
LHP Dasan Hill (MIN to TOR)—No. 6 TOR prospect
RHP Ramon Marquez (PHI to SF)—No. 7 SF prospect
LHP Kash Mayfield (SD to DET)—No. 5 DET prospect
RHP Kyson Witherspoon (BOS to BAL)—No. 5 BAL prospect
Hitters
OF Enddy Azocar (BOS to BAL)—No. 7 BAL prospect
OF Alexander Frias (MIL to STL)—No. 7 STL prospect
OF Zyhir Hope (LAD to DET)—No. 2 DET prospect
SS Arjun Nimmala (TOR to LAA)—No. 2 LAA prospect
SS Jefferson Rojas (CHC to NYM)—No. 2 NYM prospect
SS Sammy Stafura (PIT to NYM)—No. 10 NYM prospect
3B Brayden Taylor (TB to MIA)—No. 10 MIA prospect
Updated Farm System Rankings
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Updated Farm System Rankings
1. Los Angeles Dodgers
2. Seattle Mariners
3. Tampa Bay Rays
4. San Francisco Giants
5. Minnesota Twins
6. Baltimore Orioles
7. Milwaukee Brewers
8. Detroit Tigers
9. St. Louis Cardinals
10. Miami Marlins
11. Colorado Rockies
12. Cleveland Guardians
13. Pittsburgh Pirates
14. Washington Nationals
15. New York Yankees
16. Chicago White Sox
17. Athletics
18. Los Angeles Angels
19. Texas Rangers
20. New York Mets
21. Kansas City Royals
22. Philadelphia Phillies
23. Atlanta Braves
24. Toronto Blue Jays
25. Arizona Diamondbacks
26. Chicago Cubs
27. Cincinnati Reds
28. Boston Red Sox
29. Houston Astros
30. San Diego Padres
Note: This update also accounted for players who have exhausted their prospect status since our last update on July 14. That notably led to significant drops in the rankings for the White Sox (Braden Montgomery), Pirates (Esmerlyn Valdez) and Diamondbacks (Ryan Waldschmidt).
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