One Less Complex League Team in 2023?

[Mass Haas]

 

[CheeseheadInQC]

Unfortunate, but not terribly surprising.  The biggest current impact might be on the glut of infielders in the lowers levels.

[SF70]

Disappointing. This is going to keep some deserving stateside play held back in the DSL.

[Joseph Zarr]

Let's make a run for that coveted ACL championship babayyyyy! From a competitive standpoint, this will make a difference - there were several times last season we brought up the: "Man, if we combined the talent we'd probably be in the top 3 overall." But, as @CheeseheadInQC says above, this will impact the overall opportunities for the increasing wealth of talent we are seeing in the lowest levels of Brewers ball. 

My general thinking, given this development, is they might be prioritizing only the most advanced of DSL players - limiting overall opportunities but increasing validating criteria and further emphasizing the importance of the facilities and staffs 'South of the Border', so to speak - and, it also may hint at their continued emphasis on their juggernaut work in the Indy Ball circuits. Perhaps, continuing to use the ACL as a means of incubating faster promotions for these players and new draftees. I was quite impressed by the output I saw last season (on paper) from both the Indy signings and the 2022 draftees.

[clancyphile]

Not sure I like seeing them cut from two to one. If the Crew is going to be dealing players like Burnes, Woodruff, and Adames, they need to be able to evaluate more players.

I'd even go so far as to try and get another full-season A team (maybe in Charleston) as well. If they can't generate big contracts, put money into developing as many players as possible.

[Robocaller]

I disapprove.

 

[Mass Haas]

We’ll have to wait and see, this is a valid point but the BrewersPD tweet didn’t specify a “Gold” and “Blue” team.

 

[Mass Haas]

9 hours ago, clancyphile said:

I'd even go so far as to try and get another full-season A team (maybe in Charleston) as well. If they can't generate big contracts, put money into developing as many players as possible.

All the full-season leagues are locked after the elimination of Rookie Advanced leagues. Each MLB club gets one affiliate each at AAA, AA, High-A and A. There’s no room for your hopeful plan.

[MadThinker88]

On 2/3/2023 at 5:02 AM, Mass Haas said:

All the full-season leagues are locked after the elimination of Rookie Advanced leagues. Each MLB club gets one affiliate each at AAA, AA, High-A and A. There’s no room for your hopeful plan.

I was about to reply with the same message.

To be honest I am surprised ANY club was allowed more than 1 complex level team last year.  MKE was 1 of a handful of teams with 2 complex level teams.  The way the contraction was communicated and the stateside team development player limit was explained, it was to put all clubs on equal footing.  How some clubs got to have more players/ a 2nd complex team seems inconsistent.

Since the Jacobs brothers (& then the Dolan's) took ownership of the CLE franchise, the one constant was putting money into the farm system.  It was explained as a multiplier effect.  $100k is a drop in the bucket for a paying a MLB salary but the same $100k could pay for multiple milb players & their development over 1 year.  

[nate82]

On 2/4/2023 at 3:44 PM, MadThinker88 said:

To be honest I am surprised ANY club was allowed more than 1 complex level team last year.  MKE was 1 of a handful of teams with 2 complex level teams.  The way the contraction was communicated and the stateside team development player limit was explained, it was to put all clubs on equal footing.  How some clubs got to have more players/ a 2nd complex team seems inconsistent.

The one team per level is only applicable to A-AAA.  The teams can have as many as they want at the complexes and in the DSL. 

[CheeseheadInQC]

18 minutes ago, nate82 said:

The one team per level is only applicable to A-AAA.  The teams can have as many as they want at the complexes and in the DSL. 

Theoretically this might be true, but I think the stateside complex teams also fall under the system player cap, functionally limiting them to two complex league teams.

[nate82]

29 minutes ago, CheeseheadInQC said:

Theoretically this might be true, but I think the stateside complex teams also fall under the system player cap, functionally limiting them to two complex league teams.

Yes there is a player cap which includes the complex leagues.  So max of two with the current cap on how many players can be stateside.  The DSL doesn't count towards a teams minor league roster number. 

[Playing Catch]

This doesn't really bother me at all. There's probably an argument that could be made that skill development at that age trumps the development that comes from playing games.

Spending a couple hours a day in the cage or doing infield practice may be more valuable than playing a game where you get 3 ABs and a couple of chances in the field.