2021 Brewers Affiliates

[LincolnDD]

I like the poster's efforts at TalkNats. Shows just how difficult it is to get the West Coast teams some close-ish affiliates. Some really odd fits as a result though (five AA teams in the state of Texas, but the Astros' affiliate would be in California?).

 

I've tried to do this, too. It's not easy.

[balsamlaker]

I could definitely see Sacramento staying at AAA and Lancaster being contracted keeping the California League as an eight team league.

[LincolnDD]

I gave it a go. Not perfect. Tried to keep it close to the original list of 42 cut, but "saved" Beloit, Erie (I've heard both are safe) and Jackson (moved to New Orleans) from the original cut list, and added Somerset, NJ. Cut Quad Cities, Tri-City, Hudson Valley and Down East to make room. I also tried to maintain as many current partners as possible.

 

If you don't want to read the entire thing, my Brewers affiliates: Indianapolis (AAA), Myrtle Beach (AA), Wisconsin (High A) and Carolina (Low A). Because I couldn't get a AA team close to "home", I put one relatively close to Carolina. Biloxi becomes the Marlins' High A affiliate.

 

AAA

Pacific Coast League (10): Albuquerque (COL), El Paso (SDP), Las Vegas (ARI), Oklahoma City (LAD), Reno (OAK), Round Rock (TEX), Sacramento (SFG), Salt Lake City (LAA), Sugar Land (HOU), Tacoma (SEA).

Mid America League (8): Columbus (CLE), Indianapolis (MIL), Iowa (CHC), Louisville (CIN), Nashville (STL), Omaha (KCR), St. Paul (MIN), Toledo (DET).

International League (12): Buffalo (TOR), Charlotte (CWS), Durham (TBR), Gwinnett (ATL), Jacksonville (MIA), Lehigh Valley (PHI), Norfolk (BAL), Richmond (WSH), Rochester (PIT), Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (NYY), Syracuse (NYM), Worcester (BOS)

 

AA

Texas League (10): Amarillo (SDP), Arkansas (SEA), Corpus Christi (HOU), Frisco (TEX), Midland (OAK), NW Arkansas (KCR), San Antonio (ARI), Springfield (STL), Tulsa (LAD), Wichita (COL).

South Atlantic League (10): Augusta (SFG), Bowling Green (CIN), Birmingham (CWS), Charleston (MIA), Columbia (MIN), Montgomery (TBR), Myrtle Beach (MIL), Rocket City (LAA), Rome (ATL), Tennessee (CHC).

Eastern League (10): Aberdeen (BAL), Akron (CLE), Altoona (PIT), Erie (DET), Harrisburg (WSH), Hartford (NYM), New Hampshire (TOR), Portland (BOS), Reading (PHI), Trenton (NYY).

 

High A

California League (8): Fresno (COL), Inland Empire (LAA), Lake Elsinore (SDP), Modesto (SEA), Rancho Cucamonga (LAD), San Jose (SFG), Stockton (OAK), Visalia (ARI).

Great Lakes League (6): Beloit (MIN), Dayton (CIN), Lansing (TOR), South Bend (CHC), West Michigan (DET), Wisconsin (MIL).

Southern League (6): Biloxi (MIA), Greenville (BOS), Memphis (STL), Mississippi (ATL), New Orleans (HOU), Pensacola (TBR).

Mid Atlantic League (10): Bowie (BAL), Brooklyn (NYM), Fredricksburg (WSH), Greensboro (TEX), Lakewood (PHI), Lynchburg (CLE), Somerset (NYY), West Virginia (PIT), Winston-Salem (CWS), Wilmington (KCR).

 

Low A

Northwest League (6): Boise (COL), Eugene (OAK), Everett (SEA), Hillsboro (ARI), Spokane (LAA), Vancouver (SFG).

Midwest League (6): Cedar Rapids (KCR), Fort Wayne (SDP), Great Lakes (LAD), Kane County (CHC), Lake County (CLE), Peoria (CIN).

Florida State League (10): Bradenton (PIT), Charlotte (TBR), Clearwater (PHI), Dunedin (TOR), Fort Myers (MIN), Jupiter (MIA), Lakeland (DET), Palm Beach (STL), St. Lucie (NYM), Tampa (NYY).

Carolina League (8): Ashville (ATL), Carolina (MIL), Delmarva (BAL), Fayetteville (HOU), Hickory (TEX), Kannapolis (CWS), Pulaski (WSH), Salem (BOS).

[balsamlaker]

So much is going to depend on which leagues set up in each level. If the California League moves to Double-A, you could see the Arkansas teams come into play for the Brewers at AA. Indianapolis would be a great AAA affiliate for the Brewers IMO and I still wonder if there could be some debate between Beloit and Wisconsin. Under your scenario, it could be interesting to see if the Wisconsin teams could end up split between your Great Lakes League and your Midwest League and both end up as Brewer affiliates.

[MadThinker88]

LincolnDD - I appreciate your attempt & I see it as a better possibility that the one over on TalkingNats..

 

I can't wrap my head around a demotion of Akron from AA & setting up fight between Akron & Lake County on which replaces Lynchburg in the High-A ranks.

 

If the facilities at Lake County are lacking, why would the Tribe have it as the alternate site this summer? You go a different direction & add 20 minutes to your travel & your at Canal Park (the Akron site)..

[CheeseheadInQC]

For what it is worth, Quad-Cities has been assured it is now safe.

[LincolnDD]

I still wonder if there could be some debate between Beloit and Wisconsin. Under your scenario, it could be interesting to see if the Wisconsin teams could end up split between your Great Lakes League and your Midwest League and both end up as Brewer affiliates.

 

So: Carolina moves up to AA, Myrtle Beach drops to Low A. Cedar Rapids moves up to High A, Wisconsin drops to Low A:

Brewers: Carolina (AA), Beloit (High A), Wisconsin (Low A).

Twins: Change High A from Beloit to Cedar Rapids.

Royals: Change Low A from Cedar Rapids to Peoria.

Reds: Change Low A from Peoria to Ashville.

Braves: Change Low A from Ashville to Myrtle Beach.

 

 

I really wanted to get a AA league in the Midwest, using *some* of Beloit, West Michigan, Dayton, Lansing, South Bend, Kane County and Fort Wayne, and pulling in Akron, and maybe Erie and Altoona. Maybe I'll try again this weekend. I tried to work from Indianapolis (AAA), Fort Wayne/South Bend (AA), Beloit (High A) and Wisconsin (Low A) for the Brewers, and build out from there, but struggled some.

[LincolnDD]

For what it is worth, Quad-Cities has been assured it is now safe.

 

Ah, gotcha, thanks. The initial list seemed to be Beloit or QuadC, but I know the list has changed quite a bit. I'll have to try to reconfigure!

[LincolnDD]

LincolnDD - I appreciate your attempt & I see it as a better possibility that the one over on TalkingNats..

 

I can't wrap my head around a demotion of Akron from AA & setting up fight between Akron & Lake County on which replaces Lynchburg in the High-A ranks.

 

If the facilities at Lake County are lacking, why would the Tribe have it as the alternate site this summer? You go a different direction & add 20 minutes to your travel & your at Canal Park (the Akron site)..

 

Thanks MT.

 

Yeah, I really liked the effort from TalkingNats, but I think they had a few moves that didn't make as much sense to me. But I can speak to how challenging it can be to put the pieces together.

[wibadgers23]

Have they announced when we’ll know the new minor league teams? I know the current deal expires Sept 30. Will it be shortly after that?

[patrickgpe]

Have they announced when we’ll know the new minor league teams? I know the current deal expires Sept 30. Will it be shortly after that?

its been radio silence, nothing really out of MLB or MILB. In the past, everything was already decided by now. For example, even though the brewers were one of the 3 last teams to pick a triple a team last go around, they did announce San Antonio on September 18th two years ago.

[LincolnDD]

Have they announced when we’ll know the new minor league teams? I know the current deal expires Sept 30. Will it be shortly after that?

its been radio silence, nothing really out of MLB or MILB. In the past, everything was already decided by now. For example, even though the brewers were one of the 3 last teams to pick a triple a team last go around, they did announce San Antonio on September 18th two years ago.

 

Yeah, in a "traditional" year, right now we'd be in that two week "affiliation shuffle" with a number of teams swapping. I always enjoyed following that, but sounds like we won't ever see that again.

 

MLB controls whether or not September 30th is a soft or a hard deadline. If no deal by then, they can extend it if they want to keep negotiating, or they can just walk away and spin up their own development system (doubt they'll do that). But it sounds like we won't know what minor league teams will still be around (let alone their parent clubs) until the agreement is renewed. Like you said, radio silence.

 

EDIT: An article in the Athletic today said ("per sources") that they won't have a deal before the deadline, and there still isn't a final cut list of teams. The article was primarily about an increased relationship between MLB and Independent Leagues, and some related speculation is MLB is working to make a landing spot in the Independent Leagues for some of the teams that will be cut (MLB would possibly pay the the league's entry fees, stuff like that). It also mentions that some MiLB teams believe MLB will use Independent League teams as leverage in the deal, i.e. if a current affiliated team states they don't like the deal, that MLB will come back and say they've got Independent teams that they can bring in to affiliated ball to replace the dissenting team if need be.

[balsamlaker]

LincolnDD, I give you a lot of credit. I don't know if I would be confident even placing the leagues at the right levels at this point.

[LincolnDD]

Ha, thanks balsamlaker. I'm sure it will look completely different than what I came up with, but I wanted to try to complete something that at least made a little sense.

 

One thing I did try to do is make more, smaller leagues at the two lower levels. I do wonder is we really will see that, mainly to create leagues with smaller geographic footprints, so the younger players spend less time on buses, and in theory having more time for play/practice.

[LincolnDD]

The MLB and the Appalachian League are holding a press conference on Tuesday, where it's expected they'll announce the Appalachian League is transitioning to a (non-affiliated) College wood bat league (https://wcyb.com/sports/content/new-format-for-appy-league-to-be-announced-tuesday). MLB has an option under the soon-to-expire MLB/MiLB agreement to shut down the Appy League at their discretion, so they could've done it at any point in recent years. I don't know then if the timing of the press conference, one day before the current MLB/MiLB agreement expires, means they're close to a new agreement. Or MLB may have just exercised the option under the current deal as part of the negotiating: "Hey, look, cut teams will still have baseball in their cities."

 

This got me wondering what will happen to the Pioneer League at the same level. I found an article from earlier this month that just said one of three things will happen: stay affiliated, go Independent, or follow the Appy League to College wood bat (https://wcyb.com/sports/content/new-format-for-appy-league-to-be-announced-tuesday), so not much info. An article in Forbes today said the expectation is they'll go the same route as the Appy (https://www.forbes.com/sites/shlomosprung/2020/09/26/mlb-to-begin-official-minor-league-baseball-changes-with-appalachian-league-at-worst-possible-time/#230380f01bcf). So maybe. The Pioneer League covers so much more ground, I don't know how much sense that makes for college, bussing those kids for hours upon hours. I also wouldn't be surprised if the quality of some of the stadiums in that league might appeal more to an Independent League team; seems weird that the park in CS, recently a AAA host, would drop to hosting a few months of college kids. I guess it's better than nothing, but still weird. Anyway, I think that league may be split up some.

 

The Somerset Patriots are holding an "Everything Must Go" merchandise sale today. Given the recent rumors of them leaving the Independent ranks to affiliate with the Yankees, I wonder if this is a hint that that will happen, potentially with some rebranding? Or maybe it's nothing and they're just trying to move merchandise going into the off-season...

[balsamlaker]

From a travel perspective it would be great to see the Midwest League split in half (probably East and West) with one "league" being A+ and one A-ball. These leagues could potentially cover A-ball for 8-10 of the "Central" teams.

[balsamlaker]

It could be interesting to see if LincolnDD is correct at AAA and Milwaukee and Pittsburgh may be competing for Indianapolis and Rochester. If the Brewers end up in Rochester (a city that has had a AAA team for a long time) would they try to get a AA affiliate in the Northeast - Hartford, Trenton, Lancaster, Tri-City, Hudson Valley, etc.

[LincolnDD]

From a travel perspective it would be great to see the Midwest League split in half (probably East and West) with one "league" being A+ and one A-ball. These leagues could potentially cover A-ball for 8-10 of the "Central" teams.

 

100% agree. Both Low-A Leagues cover way too much ground.

[MrTPlush]

For what it is worth, Quad-Cities has been assured it is now safe.

 

Ah, gotcha, thanks. The initial list seemed to be Beloit or QuadC, but I know the list has changed quite a bit. I'll have to try to reconfigure!

 

Beloit has a brand new $15mil stadium on the way, I think they are more than safe.

[LincolnDD]

For what it is worth, Quad-Cities has been assured it is now safe.

 

Ah, gotcha, thanks. The initial list seemed to be Beloit or QuadC, but I know the list has changed quite a bit. I'll have to try to reconfigure!

 

Beloit has a brand new $15mil stadium on the way, I think they are more than safe.

 

Right, that's why I "cut" Quad Cities in my plan, because the new Beloit park being built since the release of the original list had seemingly made that decision of one or the other.

 

If I were to reconfigure, I'd probably remove Pulaski to get Quad Cities back in.

[CheeseheadInQC]

Who knows, things might have changed again, but MLB apparently told both Iowa senators a month or two ago that three Iowa teams, including QC, were not on the contraction list and the Bandits owner seemed fairly confident that was still the case last week.

[LincolnDD]

Who knows, things might have changed again, but MLB apparently told both Iowa senators a month or two ago that three Iowa teams, including QC, were not on the contraction list and the Bandits owner seemed fairly confident that was still the case last week.

 

Right on. Definitely sounds like a lot of confidence that QC (along with the Iowa Cubs and Cedar Rapids) are sticking around. Not a good outlook for Burlington and Clinton.

[LincolnDD]

Sports writer from Minneapolis, says if the Twins can't strike a deal with St. Paul that they'll likely move AAA to Wichita:

 

 

The rumor from April had Wichita and San Antonio demoted to AA. If that's no longer the case for Wichita, have to wonder if San Antonio is sticking at AAA as well. If that's the case, maybe the Brewers are staying put there.

 

Another Minnesota writer suggests the Indy team in Sioux Falls, S.D., could be another option for the Twins if St. Paul doesn't happen, though the stadium there may be an issues. He also feels the Nationals are Rochester-bound:

 

https://www.twincities.com/2020/09/19/charley-walters-mlb-wants-the-saints-to-be-a-twins-affiliate/

[balsamlaker]

Would it make sense for the Brewers to try to strike a deal with a city? Dayton, anyone?

[LincolnDD]

This is really interesting. It's the first mention that I've seen of Richmond actually being a possibility for the Nats' AAA affiliate:

 

https://richmond.com/sports/professional/giants-would-like-their-double-a-team-to-remain-in-richmond-but-nothings-set-yet/article_8737669a-d14b-53f3-8c70-f088ce888a38.amp.html

 

It also explains how the minor league teams won't have nearly the control they once did in determining their parent clubs.

 

I found this interesting as well:

 

No new deal between MLB and MiLB has been reached, but reportedly each MLB team will express interest in four minor league markets for Triple-A, Double-A, high Class-A and low Class-A affiliates, and those preferences will represent starting points for overall affiliations of big league organizations.

 

I know teams were asked at one point to rank their preferred four of their existing affiliates, but I didn't know they were also asked to provide four places that might not be currently aligned with them.