Updated MLB farm system rankings should lead to the immediate dismissal of Ross Atkins

Each year, MLB Pipeline updates the rankings of top prospects several times. Typically, the rankings are updated in the offseason of December. Then, after the MLB Draft, the newest prospects are added and the rankings are updated in August.

We just saw this August update and there is a lot to discover in the latest rankings.

When looking at the top farm systems after the draft and trade deadline, you would expect the top teams to be the selling teams in the league, while the bottom teams to be the buying ones.

That's partially true. The Rays are rebuilding their farm system and want to rebuild it, so it makes sense that they're the top team on the list. The Orioles have fallen off the top spot because they graduated and traded away a lot of their top talent.

The last team on the list are the Astros, and that makes sense. They are aggressive buyers and aren't afraid to draw from their farm system.

But Ross Atkins has put the Toronto Blue Jays in a pretty strange position, both in terms of their farm system and their MLB roster.

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The Blue Jays are one of the league's ten worst farm teams, which is incredibly odd considering how aggressively they have been selling their rental players this year. They have received high returns for several players, including a huge sum for their starter Yusei Kikuchi.

Nevertheless, they are among the worst systems in the league and are ranked even worse along with the Atlanta Braves, Kansas City Royals and San Diego Padres.

This wouldn't be the most worrying situation in the world if the Blue Jays happened to have a solid major league roster that consistently competes for titles. Unfortunately, their team is dysfunctional and hopes to extend the contracts of Vladdy Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette this offseason. If they lose those two players without receiving compensation, dark days could be ahead for Toronto.

This squad and this system have been so poorly managed that neither is currently a strength of the organization.

Atkins and the Blue Jays may have to rely on an unexpected addition like Juan Soto in the offseason to keep their team afloat.