2021 Brewers Affiliates

[balsamlaker]

Where will the Brewers Affiliates be located in 2021? JJ Cooper (BA) posted an article today describing it currently as the 'Wild West' as MILB teams are trying to get connected to MLB teams. My predictions are:

 

AAA - Omaha (with KC moving to Wichita)

AA - Biloxi

High A - Carolina (ownership)

Low A - Wisconsin

[brewmann04]

It will be nice to see the Crew buying another team but at this point in time does not seem possible.

[DR28]

I would love our AAA team to be Omaha next year!

[patrickgpe]

I don't follow this that close, but this says Omaha is signed through 2022.

 

https://ballparkdigest.com/200905261902/minor-league-baseball/news/affiliate-dance-2012

 

I personally like where the brewers are right now. I know San Antonio's park isn't the best, but it seemed like the first year with them went OK. Maybe my standards are not that high after all the years with the Sky Sox. If Indy, Louisville, or Toledo are up, they would be great moves though for the brewers. I just hope they can retain Biloxi.

[LincolnDD]

The Royals have been in Omaha for fifty(!) years. Not sure they'd be all that willing to leave. I think I'd rather see Indianapolis if they're throwing out existing affiliations; well within NL Central territory.

 

I've read the initial plan has Wichita demoted to AA, though I'm sure a lot has changed since those plans were written up.

[balsamlaker]

If MLB takes over the minor league affiliates, it sounds like they would have the say over who affiliates with who and may choose to make some decisions geographically. If Omaha stays with KC, Wichita could be a AAA option if it stays at AAA. Geographically it would be a decent location if Biloxi stays at AA for the Crew.

[djoctagone]

i am hoping for the brewers to have their class aaa team in st. paul. rumors are that that class aaa team would replace the st. paul saints.

[patrickgpe]

i am hoping for the brewers to have their class aaa team in st. paul. rumors are that that class aaa team would replace the st. paul saints.

wouldn't the twins be all over that. Its the same distance from Milwaukee to st paul and Milwaukee to Indy, which is also up. I can't see that happening in 2021 anyway, since their ballpark is nowhere near triple a standards.

[lamiwe21]

There is chatter that Wichita will be asked to drop down to AA Texas League with Jacksonville going to AAA.

[brewmann04]

So is it possible theCrew looses both San Antonio as well as Biloxi?

[patrickgpe]

So is it possible theCrew looses both San Antonio as well as Biloxi?

yes both are up for renewal. Brewers have a good relationship with S.A.'s ownership group but good chance that Rocky Mountain Vibes gets contracted. Biloxi seems happy with the brewers, but brewers minor league system is a shell of its former self and they do have a good facility.

[brewmann04]

Thank You

[patrickgpe]

I’d be surprised if San Antonio wasn’t retained, I have my concerns about Biloxi

[LincolnDD]

There is chatter that Wichita will be asked to drop down to AA Texas League with Jacksonville going to AAA.

 

That's very interesting. I'd read about Fresno, San Antonio and Wichita all being demoted, but only heard about Sugar Land and St. Paul being added to AAA. I'd personally speculated about it, but that the first I've heard of it outside of my own brain (haha). Makes a ton of sense.

 

So Marlins to Jacksonville. Twins to St. Paul. Astros to Sugar Land. Rangers back to Round Rock? Without any other moves, that's Nashville and Rochester up for grabs for the Brewers and Nationals. Feels like the last affiliation shuffle all over again...

[LincolnDD]

So is it possible theCrew looses both San Antonio as well as Biloxi?

yes both are up for renewal. Brewers have a good relationship with S.A.'s ownership group but good chance that Rocky Mountain Vibes gets contracted. Biloxi seems happy with the brewers, but brewers minor league system is a shell of its former self and they do have a good facility.

 

I don't think renewal status will matter after this year because the current agreement between MLB and MiLB expires in September and is going to be completely revamped. Pretty much every MiLB team that isn't owned by a MLB team will be a "free agent", though MLB will do a lot of pairing this time around instead of teams courting each other. The affiliation shuffle we've grown used to isn't really going to exist anymore.

 

Geography will keep the Brewers with the Timber Rattlers, and ownership will keep them with the Mudcats. But AA and AAA are complete unknowns at this point.

[balsamlaker]

Lincoln DD, I think you are correct and I think MLB is going to try to make an effort to push geographical connections. At AA, if the Brewers like Biloxi I don't know if anyone will take them from them. They have a nice stadium, but not great attendance or population base. AAA - who knows? It wouldn't shock me if Vancouver joined AAA (not for the Brewers) and Jacksonville would make a lot of sense for the Marlins. It wouldn't be shocking to see Fresno, Syracuse, San Antonio, or Wichita drop down to AA or for the last two to even be the Brewers AAA affiliate since there is nothing really geographical for the Brewers unless you want to stretch it and move Kane County up. I could see Kane County maybe taking over as the CWS AA affiliate and/or a few others moving up such as Brooklyn to Mets AA, W. Michigan to Tigers AA, and Dayton to Reds AA. All just guesses, though. It will be interesting to see how much MLB wants to shake it up if they take total control.

[madbad2000]

Well I'm selfish, so let's see Brewers in Nashville and AA Rocket City. That would be a lucky draw personally.

[MadThinker88]

From some of the reports out there have Erie (Detroit), Binghamton (NYMets), Jackson (Arizona) are AA clubs on the chopping block along with Chattanooga (Cinci).

 

I did see a report where Brooklyn is making the jump up from Short-season to replace Binghamton as AA for the Mets but have not seen other replacements being suggested. This is a massive realignment project. Not only geographically but level/ facility wise.

 

I have been to Dayton to see a game (along with Appleton, Lake County & Beloit). It appears Dayton has the seating capacity (& draws fans) to be on the AA level (park seats over 7,200) but I don't know if it has the other necessary player facilities for being at the AA level. If Fox Cities Stadium in Appleton added 2000 seats would it have the necessary pieces to be on the AA level? That I do not know.

 

Looking at the stadiums for Kane County (almost 11k capacity) & West Michigan (almost 9k capacity) they might be possible AAA replacement sites.

 

If teams like San Diego (A- Fort Wayne, almost 6.6k capacity) and LA Dodgers (A- Great Lakes/ Midland MI, 5.5k capacity), and Seattle (A- West Virginia, 4.5k capacity) can get A level locations geographically closer to them, their current affiliates would make for some good geographical backfill pairings

[LincolnDD]

Well I'm selfish, so let's see Brewers in Nashville and AA Rocket City. That would be a lucky draw personally.

 

Great point.

 

In terms of placing prospects in high quality facilities, it would be hard to do better than these two places. Nashville is regarded as one of the top AAA teams for player facilities (along with Vegas), and Rocket City is obviously brand new. That really helps when trying to attract those vet minor league free agents. And if they really are going to spin up a new AAA league in the Midwest, that just makes Nash even more attractive (far less travel strain).

 

I follow MiLB pretty closely, and having roots in upstate NY, I heard a lot last year about how the Mets ping-ponged a lot of their upper minors depth between Syracuse and Binghamton all season long. So having AAA and AA so close to each other in Nashville and RC would be another nice advantage to have. The Brewers were the last MLB team to affiliate in the Huntsville area (since this season hasn't started and probably won't), so it would be a nice dual homecoming to go back there and Nashville at the same time.

 

And the Trash Panda is probably the most popular MiLB logo outside of Durham's Bulls, so that's reason enough to go there, haha. They've done a fantastic job or marketing. I just got my RCTP shirt in the mail yesterday!

[TURBO]

I just hope we never have a team in Colorado again

[LincolnDD]

Lincoln DD, I think you are correct and I think MLB is going to try to make an effort to push geographical connections. At AA, if the Brewers like Biloxi I don't know if anyone will take them from them. They have a nice stadium, but not great attendance or population base. AAA - who knows? It wouldn't shock me if Vancouver joined AAA (not for the Brewers) and Jacksonville would make a lot of sense for the Marlins. It wouldn't be shocking to see Fresno, Syracuse, San Antonio, or Wichita drop down to AA or for the last two to even be the Brewers AAA affiliate since there is nothing really geographical for the Brewers unless you want to stretch it and move Kane County up. I could see Kane County maybe taking over as the CWS AA affiliate and/or a few others moving up such as Brooklyn to Mets AA, W. Michigan to Tigers AA, and Dayton to Reds AA. All just guesses, though. It will be interesting to see how much MLB wants to shake it up if they take total control.

 

Great points. If the Brewers are happy in Biloxi, I think they could stay. I don't think MLB will force teams out. The White Sox seem to be happy where they are at all levels, even if there are better AAA fits (e.g. Indianapolis) and Low-A (the entire Midwest League). I doubt MLB would make them leave Charlotte and Kannapolis (in NC, along with their High A team) if they don't want. Biloxi doesn't seem to have any logical geographic fits anyway. Maybe the Marlins if their current AA home in Jacksonville is bumped up to AAA, but Pensacola would make more sense in any sort of forced realignment. Given there aren't any AA teams west of Texas, there are going to be bad fits at that level regardless, so that seems like the level most likely to have geographic flexibility.

 

MLB is planning on a six-team Low A league in the northwest for the West Coast MLB teams, though I've read there may not be enough interest (a lot of West Coast teams are reportedly happy where they're at in the MW and SAL). I do think that if it happens, Vancouver goes to Low A and stays a Blue Jays affiliate. I think Toronto is happy in Buffalo at AAA, but put a lot of value in having a Canadian affiliate, even if it's so far away. And aside from Seattle, who already has a close AAA affiliate, hard to seem another team who would want to align with Vancouver at AAA, imo.

 

Syracuse has crappy attendance and certainly seems like a good demotion candidate, but they're also owned by the Mets, and MLB team ownership seems to be the saving grace for MiLB teams (only one on the original contraction list had a MLB owner). That would also potentially leave the Mets with two AA teams if Brooklyn is promoted. I did read once that the Yankees would exercise their veto power over the Mets putting a AA team in Brooklyn, but would be fine with a Low-A team there, so could possibly leave Syracuse as a demotion candidate in that scenario. So San Antonio demoted, replaced at AAA by Sugar Land; Fresno demoted, replaced by St. Paul; Wichita demoted, replaced by Jacksonville; Syracuse demoted, replaced by who? Maybe Hartford? Richmond (for Nats, with Twins in St. Paul and Mets in Rochester)?

 

It'll be interesting to see how this plays out. Sad for a lot of cities, but still interesting.

[LincolnDD]

From some of the reports out there have Erie (Detroit), Binghamton (NYMets), Jackson (Arizona) are AA clubs on the chopping block along with Chattanooga (Cinci).

 

I did see a report where Brooklyn is making the jump up from Short-season to replace Binghamton as AA for the Mets but have not seen other replacements being suggested. This is a massive realignment project. Not only geographically but level/ facility wise.

 

I have been to Dayton to see a game (along with Appleton, Lake County & Beloit). It appears Dayton has the seating capacity (& draws fans) to be on the AA level (park seats over 7,200) but I don't know if it has the other necessary player facilities for being at the AA level. If Fox Cities Stadium in Appleton added 2000 seats would it have the necessary pieces to be on the AA level? That I do not know.

 

Looking at the stadiums for Kane County (almost 11k capacity) & West Michigan (almost 9k capacity) they might be possible AAA replacement sites.

 

If teams like San Diego (A- Fort Wayne, almost 6.6k capacity) and LA Dodgers (A- Great Lakes/ Midland MI, 5.5k capacity), and Seattle (A- West Virginia, 4.5k capacity) can get A level locations geographically closer to them, their current affiliates would make for some good geographical backfill pairings

 

I think this is really interesting. I read once that West Michigan was being considered as a AA team for Detroit (and unfortunately can't find the link now), but haven't really seen any other mention. I've also read Bowling Green could be promoted to AA (Southern League) as a Reds affiliate. Otherwise, I haven't seen any mention of replacements at that level.

 

But your look at those Midwest league teams as promotion candidates is a great idea (and h/t to balsamlaker as well). Not sure any really fit in AAA, but AA makes a ton of sense Would everyone like to see a new Midwest AA league, to get the Brewers closer?

 

Just playing around with it, building off what you wrote:

 

New six team AA Great Lakes League:

Akron - Cleveland (Pulling from current AA Eastern League; this makes more sense geographically)

Dayton - Cincinnati

Grand Rapids - Detroit

These are currently affiliations, so I'll keep them this way, especially if Detroit (Erie) and Cincinnati (Chattanooga) really are losing their current AA teams. Plus, they're all great geographic fits.

 

Could be different (I don't think Appleton looks like a AA city imo), but how about this to flush out the league:

Fort Wayne

Kane County

Lansing

 

Maybe a West Coast team would show interest (Arizona currently at Low-A Kane County and potentially losing AA Jackson), but let's say MLB is "encouraging" Central/Midwest teams to affiliate in this league and is giving them precedence. Let's assume the White Sox are happy with Birmingham (been there for years). The Pirates stay in Altoona in the EL, KC the same in the Texas League. St. Louis owns their Texas League team, so they stay put. Thus the Brewers, Cubs and Twins are vying for those three cities. What would your preference be?

[madbad2000]

Well I had a nice conversation with an insider today and Rocket City is going to stay with the Angels for a long time. I heard 30 year contract and both parties are amenable. I also heard that the teams that are going to be contracted already know. MLB asked every team if they wanted to stay with their current affiliates and to basically put out their ideas for good fits they would like to see. Basically MLB wants minor league teams that will invest in the business and player side of it. IE good locker rooms, facilities, etc. and to not let their stadiums rot away.

[MadThinker88]

Grand Rapids? I had to go look up West Michigan again to realize that was who you meant...

 

Lansing (Lugnuts, Toronto affiliate) has a capacity of 7.5k plus room for another 2K more with lawn/ patio & standing room. Peoria, IL (current home for A level St. Louis) has a capacity of 7.5K..

 

So many different ways to go with this.. I believe that if Geographical proximity is truly a goal of the realignment, baseball will try to have teams (where possible) about the same distance away.

 

So of the 3 possibles you listed Kane County would go with Minnesota. Id surmise Lansing goes with Detroit, Grand Rapids to MKE (hey, use the ferry to cross Lake Michigan) and Fort Wayne with the Cubs..

[balsamlaker]

It will definitely be interesting to see what happens at AAA and AA. It is very similar to a draft watching how one change forces the "dominoes" to fall. What if Dayton moves all the way up to AAA, does that make a return to Louisville possible? What if what is left of the Southern League that isn't in Florida joins the SAL and moves to low-A? Biloxi may not even be a AA option.