ESPN's Keith Law ranks all the minor league systems in baseball, and our very own Atlanta Braves system comes in third:
Those top three Latino arms keep marching to the big leagues, and the Braves will produce at least two other rookies who'll spend all or most of 2011 in Atlanta in regular roles. They have a knack for getting good young talent back in deals and signing players off the waiver wire and scrap heap, including Arodys Vizcaino as a sort of throw-in to the Javier Vazquez trade.
I may be misremembering the Vazquez trade, but I thought Vizcaino was the centerpiece of that trade from the Braves perspective. Everyone focused on Melky, because he was the Major Leaguer, but the Braves really wanted Arodys, and not just as a sort of throw-in. He was as high as number-2 in the Yankees system on some prospect lists, so I wouldn't say that's throw-in material. I'm not trying to start (another) row with the Law, I just want to make sure that the record is straight on this issue before this notion that Vizcaino was a throw-in gets repeated too much. Anyway, someone jog my memory with a link or a quote.
[Update 3:25pm] Keith sent me an email saying he had reworded the article to make it clear that Vizcaino was the "young talent" and not the "scrap heap" part. He was apparently being a bit facetious with that bit. Here is the updated last sentence:
They have a knack for getting good signing useful players off the waiver wire and scrap heap and getting good young talent back in deals, including Arodys Vizcaino as a sort of throw-in to the Javier Vazquez trade.
I guess now that I reread that line it does seem to be taken in jest. Anyway, that's a side point. Main point, we're number three! We're number three! We're number three!