ESPN's law ranks the farm systems

[the splendid splinter]

I think Law and Wilken might have worked in Toronto at the same time and its quite possible those two might not have the same ideas and I wonder if from this point on that the Cubs even thru the Wilken yrs will get a legit ranking because there might be some friction between the both of them.

[CoolHandLuke]

This quote, from the latest SportsNation chat, really explains how BA's info is second hand.

 

John Manuel : (2:04 PM ET ) Dave, thanks for the kind words. You don't have to see prospects to get good scouting reports. What Jim Callis does and what I do and what we do at Baseball America is talk to the people who know--the scouts, the managers, the coaches who see these players in the minors, the farm directors, the scouting directors. Stats help the further up the ladder you go; they don't mean a whole lot at the short-season level, though they have some meaning. They can point you in the right direction. But I've never been to an NY-P game in my life. I've covered college baseball for the better part of 10 years without going to many SEC games in person, and I think the people in that league know that I know SEC baseball, without having been there. It's just hard work and journalism, nothing extraordinary.