Saturday Smorgasbord
The good news is that “supposably” we’ll get an idea as to The 120 in the next week or two, according to Baseball America. The bad news is that some folks aren’t going to like what MLB will impose.
Take Fresno… please. The former Nationals affiliate is to be a Low-A affiliate whenever the minor leagues return, which makes neither the city nor the Grizzlies very happy. Yesterday, The Fresno Bee reported that MLB has responded to this resistance with a simple choice: Low-A or the highway.
I will make the very bold prediction that the Grizzlies will give in and accept the demotion (and the reported $12M payout) despite all the posturing. MLB has tied that decision to foregoing any claims against it or any of its entities, which means the only legal wrangling may be between Fresno and the Grizzlies.
SHORTER SEASONS?
Earlier this week, we learned that MLB plans to shorten the length of the minor-league seasons starting in 2022 from ~140 games to 132 at Low- and High-A and 138 games for AA. Meanwhile, AAA teams will gain two games from 142 to 144.
In theory, this change is negligible if the season starts later in April. But if it doesn’t it will further hamstring the minor-league operators, who will have more odd start times and fewer “Thirsty Thursdays” due to new travel requirements.
A COUPLE OF RELEASES
While double-checking to make sure I didn’t list someone on the 2021 Watchlist who had already been released, I did come across a couple of names that were familiar at the very lowest levels – Charls Jameson, and Thony Amoroso.
Jameson was on the 2019 Watchlist after posting a 0.31/3.19/1.14 line in 29IP in the DSL in 2018 as a 17-y.o. Last summer, he was knocked around for 23 hits and 13 runs in 16⅔ IP in the GCL. He’ll turn 20 in January.
Amoroso was a 2016 IFA who spent two years in the DSL, got the bump to the GCL in 2019, and was suspended after three appearances, then returned to the DSL. We never did learn more than that.
TOP 10’s
The more I think about this, the more I’m leaning towards skipping them. Why? Because we have so little to base them on. Namely, whether or not they were named to the 60-man player pool and whatever the coaches have said to Byron Kerr or Lacy Lusk. That’s it.
We now return you to your leftovers and online shopping…
After reading about the ‘Fresno Hardball’ last week I was wondering what was so bad there that they can’t even any other club to want to play there at even High A. Amazing!
Wonder what odds the bookies are offering for the Nats Low A city. There seem 4 choices– Wilmington, Delmarva, Frederick, and Lynchburg.
It’s not that Fresno can’t find a team that wants to play there at a level above Low-A, it’s that there won’t be any High-A league in California. The closest High-A team to Fresno will probably be Eugene, a ten-hour drive north. The closest Double-A team, Amarillo, is an eighteen-hour drive.
Here’s what I have right now:
PACIFIC COAST LEAGUE (AAA): Reno (ARI), Tacoma (SEA), Las Vegas (OAK), Sacramento (SFG), Albuquerque (COL), Salt Lake (LAA), El Paso (SDP), Round Rock (TEX), Sugar Land (HOU), Oklahoma City (LAD), Omaha (KCR), St. Paul (MIN), Iowa (CHC), Memphis (STL)
INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE (AAA): Indianapolis (PIT), Louisville (CIN), Toledo (DET), Columbus (CLE), Nashville (MIL), Gwinnett (ATL), Jacksonville (MIA), Charlotte (CWS), Durham (TBR), Norfolk (BAL), Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (NYY), Lehigh Valley (PHI), Syracuse (NYM), Worcester (BOS), Rochester (WSH), Buffalo (TOR)
TEXAS LEAGUE (AA): San Antonio (ARI), Corpus Christi (HOU), Frisco (TEX), Midland (OAK), Amarillo (SDP), Tulsa (LAD), Arkansas (SEA), Northwest Arkansas (KCR), Springfield (STL), Wichita (MIN)
SOUTHERN LEAGUE (AA): Bowling Green (CIN), Tennessee (CHC), Rocket City (LAA), Birmingham (CWS), Montgomery (TBR), Pensacola (MIA), Biloxi (MIL), Mississippi (ATL)
EASTERN LEAGUE (AA): Portland (BOS), New Hampshire (TOR), Hartford (COL), Binghamton (NYM), Somerset (NYY), Reading (PHI), Harrisburg (WSH), Altoona (PIT), Erie (DET), Akron (CLE), Frederick (BAL), Richmond (SFG)
MID-ATLANTIC LEAGUE (A+): Hudson Valley (NYY), Brooklyn (NYM), Jersey Shore (PHI), Wilmington (TBR), Aberdeen (BAL), Fredericksburg (WSH), Lynchburg (ATL), Salem (BOS), Greensboro (PIT), Winston-Salem (CWS), Hickory (TEX), Asheville (MIA)
MIDWEST LEAGUE (A+): Lake County (CLE), Dayton (CIN), Lansing (TOR), Great Lakes (LAD), West Michigan (DET), Fort Wayne (SDP), South Bend (CHC), Peoria (STL), Beloit (KCR), Wisconsin (MIL), Quad Cities (HOU), Cedar Rapids (MIN)
NORTHWEST LEAGUE (A+): Vancouver (OAK), Everett (SEA), Spokane (COL), Tri-City (LAA), Hillsboro (ARI), Eugene (SFG)
CALIFORNIA LEAGUE (A): Stockton (OAK), Modesto (SEA), San Jose (SFG), Fresno (COL), Rancho Cucamonga (LAD), Inland Empire (LAA), Lake Elsinore (SDP), Visalia (ARI)
SOUTH ATLANTIC LEAGUE (A): Delmarva (BAL), Carolina (MIL), Down East (TEX), Fayetteville (HOU), Kannapolis (CWS), Myrtle Beach (CHC), Charleston (WSH), Columbia (KCR), Augusta (CLE), Greenville (BOS), Rome (ATL), Chattanooga (CIN)
FLORIDA STATE LEAGUE (A): St. Lucie (NYM), Palm Beach (STL), Jupiter (MIA), Fort Myers (MIN), Charlotte (TBR), Bradenton (PIT), Tampa (NYY), Lakeland (DET), Clearwater (PHI), Dunedin (TOR)
On the move:
– Nashville moves from PCL (AAA) to IL (AAA)
– Fresno moves from PCL (AAA) to CAL (A)
– Wichita moves from PCL (AAA) to TL (AA)
– San Antonio moves from PCL (AAA) to TL (AA)
– Sugar Land moves from independent to PCL (AAA)
– St. Paul moves from independent to PCL (AAA)
– Jacksonville moves from SOUL (AA) to IL (AAA)
– Chattanooga moves from SOUL (AA) to SAL (A)
– Bowling Green moves from MID (A) to SOUL (AA)
– Frederick moves from CAR (A+, defunct) to EL (AA)
– Somerset moves from independent to EL (AA)
– Hudson Valley, Brooklyn, Aberdeen move from NYPL (A-, defunct) to MAL (A+)
– Jersey Shore, Greensboro, Hickory, Asheville move from SAL (A) to MAL (A+)
– Wilmington, Fredericksburg, Salem, Lynchburg, Winston-Salem move from CAR (A+, defunct) to MAL (A+)
– Carolina, Down East, Fayetteville, Myrtle Beach move from CAR (A+, defunct) to SAL (A)
Losing affiliation:
Jackson (SOUL), Bowie (EL), Trenton (EL), Kane County (MID), Clinton (MID), Burlington (MID), Boise (NWL), Salem-Keizer (NWL), Lancaster (CAL), West Virginia (SAL), Lexington (SAL), Hagerstown (SAL), Daytona (FSL), Florida (FSL), Lowell (NYPL), Tri-City (NYPL), Norwich (NYPL), Staten Island (NYPL), Auburn (NYPL), Batavia (NYPL), Vermont (NYPL), State College (NYPL), Williamsport (NYPL), Mahoning Valley (NYPL), West Virginia (NYPL), Billings (PIO), Great Falls (PIO), Idaho Falls (PIO), Missoula (PIO), Orem (PIO), Ogden (PIO), Grand Junction (PIO), Rocky Mountain (PIO)
And to offer some commentary on why this breaks down the way it does…
– Moving Nashville but not Memphis is just a numbers game so the AAA leagues don’t have odd numbers of teams, which would create serious scheduling issues unless they play interleague.
– Frederick over Bowie is just a hunch. It seems like there’s a lot of local opposition to losing Frederick, and they share an ownership group that would be on the hook for major facility improvements at both sites if both Frederick and Bowie remain affiliated (which would also bump either Aberdeen or Delmarva out of the picture). This could work out a few different ways, but this is what I think as of right now.
– Scuttlebutt has seemed to be Bowling Green moves to AA but Chattanooga stays somehow. The easiest place to put Chattanooga without causing an imbalance at AA is the Low-A Sally, which also helps Rome with travel time by giving it a nearby rival. But this is speculation.
– Fredericksburg seemed ticketed for Low-A until Baseball America reported the Mid-Atlantic League would extend from the Carolinas to at least upstate New York, passing right through NoVa. This now seems like an easy call the other way.
– Barring a major surprise, all of the affiliations in the Sally are locked in except: Columbia, Charleston, Augusta, and Chattanooga.
– There have been rumors of an FSL shakeup with Tampa Bay finding an affiliate in the Sally while Cincinnati keeps its affiliation with Daytona. Personally, I don’t buy it — it’s oodles less convenient for both the teams and the already-beleaguered FSL scheduler — but it wouldn’t affect much outside that league either way.
– This isn’t really important to us, but presumably after it’s jettisoned from the NWL, Boise would join the Pioneer League, which is likely to be an official “partner league”. (On this note, I’m a little surprised there’s been no speculation about the Rockies planting their AAA flag in Grand Junction, which they own outright; Arizona would probably love to move into Albuquerque, which would leave Reno open. Alas!)
Ugh. John Calvagno, formerly of Notes from the Sally and more recently with Prospects365, is in a coma and isn’t expected to wake up. Terrible news for the baseball/minor league community.
Before anyone ponders, it was sepsis, not COVID. Sadly, I never crossed paths with him but I’m sure I’ve come across his work while researching prospects.
It was a surprise to me that there was someone who’s sole focus was the Sally league. Truly dedicated. Sad.
It’s looking like Fredericksburg is going to end up with some crazy bus rides if they extend into Upstate NY.
I feel sorry for so many of these cities and the local team operaters, including Fresno. Yes, there was need for contraction and reorganization, but there were much, MUCH better ways to do it . . . like just hiring Sao for a weekend.
I’ll admit, I’m a sucker for knowing who is on the prospect lists. I don’t see links to many of them in the course of where I look, and I don’t have subscriptions to see some of them. That said, I certainly agree that nothing about the lists, at least in regard to Nat prospects right now, is based on much more than speculation and pre-draft hype.
Heads up everybody, there’s a great article in the Washington Post on Spencer Kieboom.
The last I heard is he injured his shoulder in August 2019 and then he just disappeared. This really filled in a lot of the rest of the story.
The great news is he got a World Series ring at the end of the year. We followed him here for 8 years.
Harrisburg’s pennlive.com is reporting that state college and Williamsport are two of the teams in the new MLB pre draft league. Trenton is also included.
Yep, announced this morning. Ballpark Digest says the sixth team mentioned in the announcement appears to be our old friends, the Hagerstown Suns. If that’s finalized, that would make the league cities Niles (OH), State College (PA), Williamsport (PA), Hagerstown (MD), Morgantown (WV), and Trenton (NJ).
It sounds like the Tri-City Valleycats, Vermont Lake Monsters, Norwich Sea Unicorns and maybe Lowell Spinners are angling for independent ball. They could fit into the Frontier League. Not sure what happens to the Auburn Doubledays or the Batavia Muckdogs, but honestly, I’m not sure those communities can even support a baseball team at any level above high school anymore.
Sao, you are so right about at least Batavia. It has been the smallest city to have affiliated ball for a long time and it’s a declining one at that.
At least the high schools will have a nice place to play.