2021 Brewers Affiliates

[LincolnDD]

Sounds like things aren't going too well in the negotiations, with the clock ticking (current agreement expires in less than two months).

 

MLB could still walk away if they don't reach an agreement by the end of September. I hope they work things out (and I think they will), but it would be fascinating to things played out then. It would be a free-for-all.

[balsamlaker]

MadThinker...correct the Rochester is in NY and has supported a AAA team for I think over a century at this point. On a totally different thought, any chance the Brewers choose Beloit and their new stadium over continuing with Appleton?

[LincolnDD]

Beloit would be interesting, and I would think that would be the preference of that club to affiliate with the Brewers. And with talk of promoting the Northwest League to Low-A, I could see the A's leaving Beloit for a West Coast affiliate.

 

Baseball America's most recent article again brought up the idea of dropping the Florida State League down to Low-A (as a half-season league that would play the first half of the season). That would be twelve teams to replace at High-A. We played around with this before at the AA level, but maybe it's possible they use the reduction of High A teams in Florida as a way to carve out a new High-A league out of existing Midwest League teams. Wisconsin at Low-A and Beloit at High-A? I know the issue there is team ownership of the Mudcats, but how married are the Brewers to that team? I think the Brewers (and Astros and Red Sox and Rangers) all purchased teams in the Carolina League because they wanted to avoid ending up in the California League. With no more risk of affiliate shuffles every two years under the new plan, would the Brewers be willing to move on from Carolina? I know one benefit of Carolina is the better early season weather conditions, but one proposal in the new plan would be progressively shorter seasons as you drop down levels (so AAA would play a longer season than AA, and so forth), so that would be less of a factor.

[brewmann04]

It will be nice to have two minor league teams in the same state as the Major League team. I wonder what will happen to the Brewers and Biloxi they both seem to like each other.

[balsamlaker]

Unless, Appleton made some major improvements/additions to the point of getting a AAA team, I would think it would be Appleton OR Beloit for the Brewers. If the team goes for best facilities, it wouldn't be surprising to see Wichita, Biloxi, and Beloit join the team-owned Mudcats. This could mean Rochester reconnects with Baltimore at the AAA level possibly moving a couple of the Orioles affiliates down a level.

[LincolnDD]

I listened to a Baseball America podcast yesterday, and JJ Cooper from BA said that if MLB and MiLB are able to come to some agreement, that there will be very few changes at the AAA and AA level (with significant change possible at High A and Low A). So I guess the chances of staying in Biloxi would be pretty solid.

 

He also said part of MiLB's recent proposal to MLB was a whopping $35m entrance fee for any Independent team looking to join affiliated ball. MLB's initial proposal was $20m on a sliding scale (so joining AA cheaper than AAA, etc.). I think the last AAA team to sell was Syracuse, and that was for around $18m. I'm sure teams like Charlotte and Vegas are worth a lot more than Syracuse, but it's hard to imagine seeing that $35m worth it to most Indy league teams interested in joining affiliated ball, even if it meant a boost to a club's value. So maybe there are few or no changes at AAA, too, and the Brewers stick in San Antonio.

 

I can't imagine the Orioles would willingly leave Norfolk for Rochester, though I'm sure the Nationals would be thrilled with that move and gladly move to Norfolk themselves.

[balsamlaker]

If the independent league teams don't enter affiliated ball, I would actually think it could increase the Brewers chances of connecting with Wichita at the AAA level. Jacksonville up to the AAA level as Miami's affiliate still makes sense. Maybe the Nationals then move to San Antonio at the AAA level? The Nationals are one of the few teams that many believe have a worse farm system currently than the Brewers.

[LincolnDD]

Yeah, agree on all that. I've definitely been beating that "Jax to AAA" drum for a while. That one just makes too much sense.

 

San Antonio, as of Feb/March, was atill looking at a spot for a new stadium. Sounds like they'll get there eventually, and at that point it's hard not to see one of the Texas teams moving in. But I'm not sure how that's going to work under the new system. No more waiting for the shuffle every two years, as agreements are supposed to be much longer going forward. Maybe one of the Texas teams bites the bullet and makes the preemptive move now, and puts up with the subpar stadium until the new one comes along.

 

There was also some belief going back to when the new MiLB structure rumors came out the stadium issue would very likely lead to a demotion from AAA. Maybe that still happens, but if you're not bringing Sugar Land into affiliated ball, it probably makes more sense to keep that second AAA team in Texas.

 

Or maybe one of the Texas teams wants Wichita? So much could happen. That's why I find this so interesting.

[balsamlaker]

I wonder if MLB would move back to the late 80s plan and have three AAA leagues. If this happens, it wouldn't surprise me if they create "bubbles" like the 2020 MLB season with the PCL teams being the ten teams from the West, the IL teams being the ten teams from the East, and the "new" teams being the ten Central teams. On an unrelated note, sounds like the NYY may connect with an independent league team for AA making Trenton available.

[balsamlaker]

I wonder if MLB would move back to the late 80s plan and have three AAA leagues. If this happens, it wouldn't surprise me if they create "bubbles" like the 2020 MLB season with the PCL teams being the ten teams from the West, the IL teams being the ten teams from the East, and the "new" teams being the ten Central teams. On an unrelated note, sounds like the NYY may connect with an independent league team for AA making Trenton available.

[LincolnDD]

I've seen reports of a third AAA league, and also reports that they'd stick with two leagues, with most of the teams in the International League. Three leagues seems to make more sense if they really want to lessen travel.

 

Trenton's park had some facility/field quality issues in recent years, though I've heard they've cleaned them up. But the park in Somerset is supposedly really nice.

[LincolnDD]

This is an interesting line from a recent Baseball America article, and seems like a pretty significant challenge for the Brewers, whose current affiliates are pretty spread out.

 

MLB’s desire is to have more geographical continuity for leagues—which equals less travel—and for MLB organizations, which means less travel for rovers, scouts, front office officials and players.

 

Doesn't seem possible to do this in the Midwest without significant shuffling of teams/levels. I guess the White Sox would be the model here, with three of the four top affiliates relatively close to each other in North Carolina, even if they're not particularly close to Illinois.

[MadThinker88]

This is an interesting line from a recent Baseball America article, and seems like a pretty significant challenge for the Brewers, whose current affiliates are pretty spread out.

 

MLB’s desire is to have more geographical continuity for leagues—which equals less travel—and for MLB organizations, which means less travel for rovers, scouts, front office officials and players.

 

Doesn't seem possible to do this in the Midwest without significant shuffling of teams/levels. I guess the White Sox would be the model here, with three of the four top affiliates relatively close to each other in North Carolina, even if they're not particularly close to Illinois.

 

Think Cleveland - AAA Columbus, OH; AA - Akron, OH, High A - Lynchburg VA, Full Season A - Lake County/ Painesville, OH

 

Lynchburg it the furthest travel from Progressive Field, just under 500 miles/ 7.5 hours of a drive

[balsamlaker]

If the CWS cannot pull it off locally when they are in third largest city in the United States, that is not a good sign for a small market team like the Brewers. I could see the Brewers trying to get their four teams in or close to the CST. For example, Wichita at AAA, Biloxi at AA, and one of the WI teams at low-A. For high-A, maybe you move the Mudcats a little west trying to get into the newer park in High Point, NC or really think outside of the box and move the Carolina League team into eastern Tennessee (Chattanooga).

[LincolnDD]

Yeah, that's why I used the White Sox as an example. Cleveland hit the geographic lottery by being on the fringes of both AA and Low A (and Short Season A), while also having a handful of AAA teams in their neighborhood, but they're the exception in the region.

 

Under the current (soon to be old) system, they could make aggressive moves for Richmond at AA and one of the NC SAL teams (like Greensboro) to put Low A - AA in a fairly tight geographic window with Carolina, if they were willing to give up having a nearby Midwest affiliate. But that possibly is probably moot.

 

Of course, if MLB really wants to regionalize org farm teams in close proximity to the parent and each other, they may as well just tear everything from AA on down and rebuild from scratch. There are plenty of teams stretching from Iowa (Cedar Rapids) to Ohio (Akron), from Bowling Green and Lexington on up, to spin up separate AA, High A and Low A leagues for teams in the Central division teams (probably six teams in each league, and MLB seems willing to do that).

[MrTPlush]

Well there is zero chance the Mudcats change and virtually no chance the T-Rats change.

[MrTPlush]

Well there is zero chance the Mudcats change and virtually no chance the T-Rats change.

[MrTPlush]

Well there is zero chance the Mudcats change and virtually no chance the T-Rats change.

[patrickgpe]

Isn't the plan less teams/ leagues / levels, etc. Since carolina and Wisconsin are both single A, I can't see them both existing in their current forms. Appleton is nice for proximity, but does present some issues in the spring. Maybe Carolina moves up to double A, Appleton is the single A, and San Antonio stays triple A or they find a new affiliate.

[patrickgpe]

Isn't the plan less teams/ leagues / levels, etc. Since carolina and Wisconsin are both single A, I can't see them both existing in their current forms. Appleton is nice for proximity, but does present some issues in the spring. Maybe Carolina moves up to double A, Appleton is the single A, and San Antonio stays triple A or they find a new affiliate.

[patrickgpe]

Isn't the plan less teams/ leagues / levels, etc. Since carolina and Wisconsin are both single A, I can't see them both existing in their current forms. Appleton is nice for proximity, but does present some issues in the spring. Maybe Carolina moves up to double A, Appleton is the single A, and San Antonio stays triple A or they find a new affiliate.

[LincolnDD]

Definitely fewer teams and levels, though we may see more leagues as a way to reduce travel (e.g. a third AAA league, three or four total Low-A leagues).

 

Regarding Carolina, I have no idea if this changes anything, but one significant motivation for most teams purchasing affiliates in recent years was to avoid bad situations. The Brewers (and Boston, Houston and Texas) all bought Carolina League teams so they could avoid (or get out of) the California League. The Mets bought Syracuse because they were desperate to leave Vegas. The new system is supposed to avoid stuff like that happening going forward. Maybe the Brewers like being affiliate owners and will stick with it. But I'm not sure the relationship with Carolina is completely set in stone.

[brewmann04]

I can't wait to find out what the brewers minor leagues teams will be.I hope the crew gets to stay in Biloxi and there were the 3 a team will be.

[LincolnDD]

Yeah, ditto. And these teams usually have their schedules done by now and are planning all their events & promos for next season, so they're all anxious as well.

[balsamlaker]

TalkNats.com predicted Indianapolis, Midland, Wisconsin, and Carolina for the Brewers. They moved some leagues around to different levels. Biloxi and the Southern League moves down to A+