Minor League Baseball News

[buzzcut]

Given that Ft. Myers and Cedar Rapids are trading places in the Twins hierarchy, and with the St. Paul Saints joining AAA, the only question is at AA, where we're losing, allegedly, Pensacola and replacing it with? Chattanooga? Rocket City? (Remember the Hardware City Rock Cats?) The un-named Eastern League replacement for Erie(or Erie itself)?

[GDAWG]

3 hours ago, Brian in Boston said:

It will be interesting to see what happens with the Rangers' AAA affiliate. Most people are presuming that the Astros are going to want to place their AAA farm club in Sugar Land, Texas, a market that will likely slot into the Pacific Coast League. That would leave the Round Rock Express - a Texas Rangers affiliate for eight seasons - available at AAA. 

I can't see Texas severing their ties with Frisco of the AA Texas League. The Rangers own both the Down East Wood Ducks of the High A Carolina League and the Hickory Crawdads of the Low A South Atlantic League, so those affiliations aren't going anywhere. Beyond that, the Rangers will continue to provide complex-based instruction and competition to younger talent.     

 

Frisco is within the DFW Metroplex, albeit on the other side of the Metroplex from Arlington so it seems unlikely that relationship ends.  I wonder if the Rangers would ever form a relationship with the Cleburne Railroaders in the American Association?  Cleburne is located in Johnson County, which is on the edge of the Metroplex.

[Brian in Boston]

7 hours ago, Seadragon76 said:

Triple A for Seattle is easy - Tacoma.

 

After that, it becomes a bit of a crap shoot. Double A is Arkansas, Single A Advanced is Modesto (which the M's are part owners of), Class A is West Virginia and Short Season is Everett.

 

I have a hunch that Modesto and Everett stays. Modesto stays because the M's are part owner of the team and Everett being so close to the main site helps in case of rehab situations (along with the Northwest League moving to High A). This leaves Arkansas and West Virginia out.

The Mariners will, as you state, undoubtedly maintain their AAA affiliation with Tacoma. However, the closest AA league to Seattle from a geographic standpoint is the Texas League, so it seems the Mariners will either maintain their affiliation at that level with Arkansas, or shift to another team within said league. At the High A level they'll most likely go with Everett of the newly-promoted Northwest League. As for Low A, that would be the Mariners-owned Modesto of the California League. West Virginia will end up getting dropped.  

[Brian in Boston]

7 hours ago, GDAWG said:

 Given that Ft. Myers and Cedar Rapids are trading places in the Twins hierarchy, and with the St. Paul Saints joining AAA, the only question is at AA, where we're losing, allegedly, Pensacola and replacing it with? Chattanooga? Rocket City? (Remember the Hardware City Rock Cats?) The un-named Eastern League replacement for Erie(or Erie itself)?

Has it been confirmed as an absolute certainty that Cedar Rapids is returning as a Midwest League market? I only ask because it's going to be very interesting to see how the High A markets are divided amongst the four leagues (Carolina, Mid-Atlantic, Midwest, and Northwest) playing at that level.

The Northwest League is pegged at having a membership of 6 teams. I'd say that the new Mid-Atlantic League will probably boast 6 to 8 teams (drawn from amongst Hudson Valley, Jersey Shore, Wilmington, Hagerstown, Frederick, Delmarva, Fredericksburg, Lynchburg, and Salem). There's been talk that the Carolina League may become exactly that - an 8 to 10 team circuit comprised entirely of teams located in North and South Carolina (drawn from amongst Asheville, Carolina, Charleston, Columbia, Down East, Fayetteville, Greensboro, Greenville, Hickory, Kannapolis, Myrtle Beach, North Augusta, and Winston-Salem), with any teams not making said league winding up in the South Atlantic League. The point being, depending upon how many teams end up playing in the Carolina, Mid-Atlantic, and Northwest Leagues, the Midwest League could see its membership shrink considerably. It certainly isn't going to be a 16-team circuit.    

 

[Brian in Boston]

13 hours ago, GDAWG said:

I wonder if the Rangers would ever form a relationship with the Cleburne Railroaders in the American Association?

 

With Major League Baseball now calling the shots and the American Association being designated an "MLB Partner League", anything is possible. That said, while the American Association teams in Saint Paul and Sugar Land have been mentioned as making the transition to affiliated ball since new of the reorganization of the minors began, there's been no such talk about the Cleburne Railroaders. Time will tell. 

[Ferdinand Cesarano]

On 11/8/2020 at 8:01 PM, Dilbert said:

I've never understood why the Yankees would want Somerset.

 

On 11/8/2020 at 10:43 PM, BigEd76 said:

Somerset has better facilities and is closer to NY

 

What a shame that Newark knocked down their beautiful stadium.  Newark was the Yankees' top farm club in the 1930s and 1940s. It would have been so nice to have the Yankees back there at AA.

 

Also, if the Yankees wanted a AA team closer to New York City, then why would they shut down Staten Island, which is in New York City, instead of putting their AA team there?

 

A few months ago there was some talk that the Mets would put their AA team in Brooklyn. I was assuming that this was going to happen, as Brooklyn gets very good attendance. And I also figured that the Yankees would follow suit with Staten Island, and that there would be AA baseball in New York City. But both of those assumptions turned out to be wrong, as Brooklyn is now staying at A-Short Season.

 

[Seadragon76]

4 hours ago, Brian in Boston said:

The Mariners will, as you state, undoubtedly maintain their AAA affiliation with Tacoma. However, the closest AA league to Seattle from a geographic standpoint is the Texas League, so it seems the Mariners will either maintain their affiliation at that level with Arkansas, or shift to another team within said league. At the High A level they'll most likely go with Everett of the newly-promoted Northwest League. As for Low A, that would be the Mariners-owned Modesto of the California League. West Virginia will end up getting dropped.  

 

Didn't realize that the Texas League was the nearest Double A league in terms of geography.

 

It still feels really awkward that a Minor League player in the Seattle system would be starting north of Seattle, then shipped to California, then Arkansas before coming back to the Pacific Northwest.

[BigEd76]

4 hours ago, Ferdinand Cesarano said:

A few months ago there was some talk that the Mets would put their AA team in Brooklyn. .... those assumptions turned out to be wrong, as Brooklyn is now staying at A-Short Season.

 

 

There won't be any short-season leagues tied to MLB anymore, so I'm not sure where you saw that.  IF NYPL survives, it'll be a college summer league. Everything I've seen still suggests Brooklyn is replacing Binghamton in the Eastern League.

 

On Rochester .... assuming no other major shakeups, that's where the Nats AAA will be

 

On the White Sox .... as mentioned, they're likely sticking with the same four teams

 

@Brian ... Rumors have Frederick being replaced with Aberdeen in that new Mid-Atlantic League

 

My question is where the Brewers AAA will be. Are they taking Round Rock, or will they find something closer to Wisconsin?  I'm also trying to figure out how IL and PCL will be split. With Jacksonville added, IL is now a 6/5/4 split, and there were reports MLB wanted to do 20 IL / 10 PCL.  There are two Tennessee teams that could join, and if you put them in the IL South, you now have 6/7/4. If you add St. Paul and Iowa to the IL West, now you have 6/7/6 with one spot remaining for Milwaukee's affiliate or Omaha.

[GDAWG]

5 hours ago, Brian in Boston said:

Has it been confirmed as an absolute certainty that Cedar Rapids is returning as a Midwest League market? I only ask because it's going to be very interesting to see how the High A markets are divided amongst the four leagues (Carolina, Mid-Atlantic, Midwest, and Northwest) playing at that level.

The Northwest League is pegged at having a membership of 6 teams. I'd say that the new Mid-Atlantic League will probably boast 6 to 8 teams (drawn from amongst Hudson Valley, Jersey Shore, Wilmington, Hagerstown, Frederick, Delmarva, Fredericksburg, Lynchburg, and Salem). There's been talk that the Carolina League may become exactly that - an 8 to 10 team circuit comprised entirely of teams located in North and South Carolina (drawn from amongst Asheville, Carolina, Charleston, Columbia, Down East, Fayetteville, Greensboro, Greenville, Hickory, Kannapolis, Myrtle Beach, North Augusta, and Winston-Salem), with any teams not making said league winding up in the South Atlantic League. The point being, depending upon how many teams end up playing in the Carolina, Mid-Atlantic, and Northwest Leagues, the Midwest League could see its membership shrink considerably. It certainly isn't going to be a 16-team circuit.    

 

 

I don't remember writing that post you quoted.

[BigEd76]

It's 3 posts above his

[Brian in Boston]

On 11/10/2020 at 9:00 AM, BigEd76 said:

My question is where the Brewers AAA will be. Are they taking Round Rock, or will they find something closer to Wisconsin?  I'm also trying to figure out how IL and PCL will be split. With Jacksonville added, IL is now a 6/5/4 split, and there were reports MLB wanted to do 20 IL / 10 PCL.  There are two Tennessee teams that could join, and if you put them in the IL South, you now have 6/7/4. If you add St. Paul and Iowa to the IL West, now you have 6/7/6 with one spot remaining for Milwaukee's affiliate or Omaha.

I'd think that there's a better than even chance that MLB would steer the Rangers' AAA affiliation towards Round Rock, which would open up Nashville as a landing spot for the Brewers. It would mark a return of Milwaukee's AAA farm team to "Music City", as the Sounds were the Brewers top affiliate for ten seasons from 2005 through 2014.

As for the International League and Pacific Coast League structures, the reports were that MLB envisioned a 20-team IL and a 10-team PCL. Under such a scenario, the PCL's divisional structure would be pretty straightforward: a PCL West of Tacoma, Reno, Sacramento, Salt Lake, and Las Vegas; a PCL East of Albuquerque, El Paso, Round Rock, Sugar Land, and Oklahoma City.

Divisionally, the IL proves more problematic. Personally, I loathe a divisional structure in which there are different numbers of teams in the various divisions. In a 20-team IL, I'd love to see  the members aligned into four geographic divisions of five teams each. However, given the IL's proposed lineup of teams, there's just no way to do it without awkwardly breaking up the six teams in the northeast. So, a 6/8/6 split it is.

An IL North is obvious: Worcester, Syracuse, Rochester, Buffalo, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, and Lehigh Valley

As for the other pair of divisions, they can be aligned in one of two ways:

An IL South of Norfolk, Durham, Charlotte, Gwinnett, Jacksonville, Louisville, Nashville, and Memphis; an IL West of Columbus, Toledo, Indianapolis, St. Paul, Iowa, and Omaha.

- or -

An IL South of Norfolk, Durham, Charlotte, Gwinnett, Jacksonville, and Louisville; an IL West of Columbus, Toledo, Indianapolis, Nashville, Memphis, Omaha, Iowa, and St. Paul.  

[Brian in Boston]

10 hours ago, Ferdinand Cesarano said:

A few months ago there was some talk that the Mets would put their AA team in Brooklyn. I was assuming that this was going to happen, as Brooklyn gets very good attendance. And I also figured that the Yankees would follow suit with Staten Island, and that there would be AA baseball in New York City. But both of those assumptions turned out to be wrong, as Brooklyn is now staying at A-Short Season.

In the eyes of MLB brass, attendance isn't as big a decision-driver in selecting markets to host MiLB teams as the quality of facilities... particularly those facilities that impact the skills development and health of players. We're talking about clubhouses, training rooms and workout areas, batting and pitching cages/tunnels, meeting rooms, player and coaching staff dining areas (including the quality of food), etc. It's one of the reasons that the Short Season A and Rookie leagues are, for the most part, going the way of the dodo as part of this reorganization of the affiliated minors. Ditto for certain markets at the Low A level. Ballparks in said leagues/cities just don't measure-up with regard to the aforementioned facilities/services. For example, MCU Park (Brooklyn) and Richmond County Ballpark (Staten Island) both reportedly garnered a 2 out of 10 score in the quality of these facilities/services during the 2019 season.

Now, there are exceptions to the rule. For instance, there will be Northwest League markets that survive this restructuring of the minors in spite of being home to facilities that didn't exactly set the world on fire in the aforementioned 2019 facility ratings. Why? Because MLB brass also want to provide Major League teams in the nation's westernmost markets with affiliation possibilities closer to their home cities as part of this reorganization of the minors. That means that some of the teams in the NWL are going to survive. However, you can bet that those Northwest League clubs that do make the cut were either playing in ballparks that were amongst the (relatively) better-rated facilities in their respective leagues and/or are on-the-clock to raise the quality of said facilities significantly.

Similarly, if either MCU Park or Richmond County Ballpark are to host affiliated minor league baseball in the future, improvements are going to need to be made in those areas of the ballpark that most directly impact the skills development and health of ballplayers.             

[BigEd76]

Using the original hit list (which we now know isn't 100% correct), the two teams being dumped from the NWL are the ones with the lowest capacity

[Seadragon76]

23 minutes ago, BigEd76 said:

Using the original hit list (which we now know isn't 100% correct), the two teams being dumped from the NWL are the ones with the lowest capacity

 

If that's the case, Everett and Tri-City would get the cut. I could see Tri-City getting axed, but not Everett since they're a Mariners affiliate and part of this plan is to have teams as close to the main base of operations as possible.

[Brian in Boston]

43 minutes ago, BigEd76 said:

Using the original hit list (which we now know isn't 100% correct), the two teams being dumped from the NWL are the ones with the lowest capacity

 

In Boise's case, should the market be dumped from the Northwest League lineup, it won't only be due to the fact that Memorial Stadium seats just 3,452 people. Said ballpark also ranked dead last amongst Northwest League stadia with regard to its player development-related facilities, garnering a 1 out of 10 score in the quality of said facilities and services during the 2019 season. No other team in the league scored lower than 3 out of 10 in the ranking index. From a travel standpoint, Boise is also the geographic outlier amongst the league's teams.  
          

[Brian in Boston]

30 minutes ago, Seadragon76 said:

If that's the case, Everett and Tri-City would get the cut.

I believe that Boise's Memorial Stadium seats 3,452 people. At least it does according to this story in the Idaho Statesman.

"Boise, which plays in the same short-season Class A league as those teams, might also be considered for elimination unless a new stadium that can hold more than Memorial Stadium's 3,452-person capacity is built."

[Ferdinand Cesarano]

5 hours ago, BigEd76 said:

9 hours ago, Ferdinand Cesarano said:

...Brooklyn is now staying at A-Short Season.

 

There won't be any short-season leagues tied to MLB anymore, so I'm not sure where you saw that.  IF NYPL survives, it'll be a college summer league. Everything I've seen still suggests Brooklyn is replacing Binghamton in the Eastern League.

 

Ah. Thanks for the correction. I suppose that I read that Brooklyn would not be moving to AA after all, and mistakenly extrapolated that into thinking that the team is staying where it is.

 

 

2 hours ago, Brian in Boston said:

In the eyes of MLB brass, attendance isn't as big a decision-driver in selecting markets to host MiLB teams as the quality of facilities... particularly those facilities that impact the skills development and health of players. We're talking about clubhouses, training rooms and workout areas, batting and pitching cages/tunnels, meeting rooms, player and coaching staff dining areas (including the quality of food), etc. . . . MCU Park (Brooklyn) and Richmond County Ballpark (Staten Island) both reportedly garnered a 2 out of 10 score in the quality of these facilities/services during the 2019 season.

 

That explains it, alright. Thank you for clarifying.

 

[Brian in Boston]

New York Mets President Sandy Alderson has confirmed that the MLB team's minor league affiliates will be based in Binghamton, Brooklyn, St. Lucie, and Syracuse. The only question that remains is where Binghamton and Brooklyn will slot.

AAA - International League - Syracuse Mets
AA - Eastern League - either Binghamton Rumble Ponies or Brooklyn Cyclones
High A - Mid-Atlantic League - either Binghamton Rumble Ponies or Brooklyn Cyclones
Low A - Florida State League - St. Lucie Mets 

The announcement ends the Mets' affiliation with the Columbia Fireflies.

[BigEd76]

Yeah just came here since we were talking about it. A bit of a surprise

 

BA confirms Binghamton stays in EL, Brooklyn goes to the new high-A MAL

[CaliforniaGlowin]

Fireflies said they're getting another affiliation. At least they're continuing.  I was scared for a minute.