At the beginning of the 2019 season, Driveline Baseball attempted to quantify a team’s ability to acquire and develop players over the past seven years (2012-19). By creating a database of minor league players based on their tools and net present value, their researchers were able to roughly gauge the effectiveness of a team’s scouting and player development departments.
The start of that study coincides with Theo Epstein’s regime in Chicago, which began in October of 2011. In Boston, Epstein was able to build a system that consistently produced major leaguers, but MLB’s rules were different then when it came to acquiring amateur talent.