Where Red Sox Farm System Ranks Among MLB’s Best Of 2010s Decade

The Boston Red Sox’s farm system proved itself bountiful over the last 10 years.

MLB.com’s Jim Callis ranked Boston’s farm system No. 3 on his list of Major League Baseball Top 10 farm systems of the 2010s. Mookie Betts’ rise from a fifth-round pick in the 2011 Draft to 2018 American League MVP is perhaps the biggest success story of Boston’s development system, but the emergence of other stars contribute to the Red Sox’s lofty ranking.

“In perhaps the biggest Draft coup of the decade, Boston stole Mookie Betts in the fifth round in 2011,” Callis wrote Wednesday. “The Red Sox had several other late-round finds who drastically exceeded expectations, including sixth-rounder Anthony Rizzo, 17th-rounder Josh Reddick and ninth-rounder Travis Shaw. Their international department did quality work as well, landing Xander Bogaerts, Yoán Moncada and Rafael Devers.”

Boston trailed just the top-ranked Atlanta Braves, who have developed stars of the past, present and future in the 2010s decade, and the Houston Astros, who graduated an AL MVP, AL Cy Young Award winner and two AL Rookies of the Year, on Callis’ list.

Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom apparently has prioritized rebuilding the team’s farm system as a key item in his effort to set up Boston for long-term success. Judging by Boston’s results in the 2010s, a fruitful farm system goes a long way in helping build World Series-winning teams.