Preseason Update: Apr. 2, 2021
For those of you who were surprised that the 2021 season has already had a postponement due to COVID-19, well, every day is April 1 for you. Don’t walk too close to the edge of the Earth, you might just fall off.
Speaking of April 1, MASN unveiled its streaming service yesterday – roughly an hour before the Orioles’ Opening Day against the Red Sox was rained out. Note the word “service” and not “app” as promised on January 25.
So if you’re a user in one remote outposts served by these tiny networks, well, this has to be biggest day since they put in a new Dollar General out by the Amazon warehouse!
Baseball America revealed two significant developments for 2021, should the minor-league season actually happen.
The first is that the full-season rosters will be expanded to 30 for AAA and AA, and 28 for High- and Low-A. This is probably going to matter most at the AAA level and for pitchers especially, as MLB teams are going to want to be able to call up guys to as replacements for injured or “otherwise unavailable” players.
At the lower levels, this will mean fewer cases of the “Hellenic Flu” and other machinations (e.g. 3-day TIL) which, to be honest, is long overdue. I will not miss having to explain/remind that not everyone on the disabled list is actually hurt.
The second development is more of a confirmation. Herr Manfred, et al have decreed that the 2021 Draft shall be 20 Rounds. This was widely reported last summer as MLB slowly executed its takeover of MiLB.
Folks smarter than I am about the intricacies of the Draft can weigh in on what this means, but seems rather obvious to me that it will be harder for second-tier HS players to threaten to sign with a college as leverage. It also seems more likely that second- or third-tier collegiate players may be forced to choose between playing for free in hopes of getting signed as NDFA or retiring.
Spike lives!
Spike Network is now Paramount
Plenty of change ahead in social platforms and “ cable “ networks
The increase in roster size is significant. There are probably going to be a lot of arm injuries this year across the board and this might mitigate them, at least a little bit.
Its been so long I forgot about all the ‘phony baloney’ nonsense with rosters that used to happen.
They can increase the rosters all they want, but unless they allow 14 players on the field at a time, it’s just going to mean more players on benches not getting to play. If they want more players in organizations, they shouldn’t have eliminated so many leagues and teams.
Knock on wood, but I think the minors are a lock. MLB should be delayed its own start to May. April is going to be a huge month for vaccinations; I think the chances of a significant viral outbreak on most teams a month from now will be quite low.
Agreed. The U.S. just reached 4 million vaccinations a day now. By May 1 all players should be vaccinated and that will be momentous.
I’ve had my 2nd jab already and am ready to watch some baseball.
Kudos to Yermin Mercedes who first came up with the Nationals, playing on their DSL team for 3 years. He hit quite well there, very surprising he was never brought Stateside. Was afraid he would be a Moonlight Graham since last year he made his first ML game, got 1 AB and got out. Since he was a catcher and the ChiSox seemed well supplied there, wasn’t sure he’d get another shot as a 28 yr old. He hit .302/.352/.396 in 2011, .327/.412/.398 in ’12, and .255/.359/.349 in for the DSL Nats.
He is the 4th player from that International class of 2011 to make the Majors, with Jose “Toast and” Marmolejos, Raudy Read, and Pedro Severino preceding him.
Another bites the dust – Denaburg TJ surgery.
Ouch High Schooler .
Sean Nolin and Ramon Flores in WP, Luke ??
OK, so who had the bet on Cody Wilson being on the Opening Day big-league roster? Anyone? Good for him, but boy, that’s certainly shocking for a guy who hit .215 at Hagerstown the last time there was real baseball. It’s also quite head-scratching for the team to bypass guys in the upper minors like Banks, Wiseman, and Freeman.
As for guys actually on the cusp, this is a big opportunity for Yadiel Hernandez and Luis Garcia. Yadiel had a huge spring; Garcia did not. It’s also a good chance for Sam Clay, who we haven’t mentioned as a “prospect” since he signed, but he’s 27 and has never appeared in the majors. The first batter he gets to face might be Freddie Freeman!
Mr. & Mrs. Wilson #kthxbai
And yes, sad/bad news on the Denaburg TJ surgery. At least we now know his whereabouts, unlike the 1st-round pick the year before him. Romero truly has entered the Witness Protection Program.