The Cubs Farm Teams in 2021

[CaliforniaRaisin]

AAA - Iowa

AA - Tennessee

High-A - South Bend

A - Myrtle Beach

 

Eugene becomes the Giants’s high-A team.

 

https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/mlb-invites-119-teams-to-join-minor-leagues-in-2021/

 

Kane County is amongst the 11 teams that lost their affiliation:

 

There are 11 full season affiliated teams that did not receive invites.

 

Double-A: Jackson Generals (Southern), Trenton Thunder (Eastern)

 

High Class A: Charlotte Stone Crabs (Florida State), Florida Fire Frogs (Florida State), Frederick Keys (Carolina)

 

Low Class A: Burlington Bees (Midwest), Clinton LumberKings (Midwest), Hagerstown Suns (South Atlantic), Lexington Legends (South Atlantic), Kane County Cougars (Midwest), West Virginia Power (South Atlantic)

 

In addition the impasse over the fate of the Rockies affiliate in the California League appears to be unresolved. Major League Baseball has told Fresno that it will not be offered a Triple-A affiliation but that it is open to offering a low Class A California League club (which would be the Rockies affiliate). That issue remains unresolved, which means MLB sent out 119 invitations today, not 120. Lancaster and Fresno have not received invitations.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

MFers killed the LumberKings?!?!?!

[CaliforniaRaisin]

[UMFan83]

Ugh, I love going to Kane County games since its 20 minutes from my house and has legit rising prospects playing there. Went to go see several Cubs on their brief stops there over the last several years.

[WrigleyField 22]

That definitely sucks. Are they gonna go on as an independent league?

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Switching SB and MB makes much sense to me. It was weird to have hitters follow up SB, pitcher friendly but closer to neutral especially compared to MB, with such a tough spot to hit especially sandwiched between the NWL. Now hitters start with the toughest park first, move into more neutral environments (if still pitcher friendly) in High A and AA, and Iowa's neutral relative to the rest of the PCL. I like it for pitchers too since MB gives the guys who need it a big space to work on stuff similar to Eugene but a full season league instead. Great pitchers should be obvious early if very rare, unless the hitters are awesome they're going to be putting up mostly periphs until at least SB maybe Iowa. Something something Richard Gallardo

 

Trenton moving from the Yankees' AA affiliate to a draft league is something I'm into. I like the draft much, much, much more than Yankees' prospects, though I did get to see Gary Sanchez back then and whatabeast

 

I think breaking Latin Americans in to full season ball in the South rather than April in the Midwest is possibly the biggest benefit.

[FloridaCubbie]

I assume this has been explained elsewhere, but with R and A- gone, do high school picks report to A ball or spend a couple months to a year in Mesa? This question is for draft year and first full year.

 

I get that 'it depends' may be the correct answer, but what's expected from a non 1st RD HS kid?

[CaliforniaRaisin]

 

Seems odd with Eugene no longer being part of the system and everyone missing a year of game action.

 

The only thing I can think of is they want to protect arms and are worried about innings pitched coming off a missed season.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

I assume this has been explained elsewhere, but with R and A- gone, do high school picks report to A ball or spend a couple months to a year in Mesa? This question is for draft year and first full year.

 

I get that 'it depends' may be the correct answer, but what's expected from a non 1st RD HS kid?

 

R isn’t gone. The Cubs will still have a team in the AZL so I don’t think anything will change for HS kids in draft year. A- (shortseason NWL) is gone so I expect most second year kids will stay in Mesa for extended spring training and then in June, the better ones will go to A Myrtle Beach rather than start the new season in the AZL in June. I’m sure a guy like Ed Howard who is considered more advanced will have every chance start his first full year in full season.

 

Also, the Cubs will have a chance to go back to two AZL affiliates in 2022.

[Tim]

 

Seems odd with Eugene no longer being part of the system and everyone missing a year of game action.

 

The only thing I can think of is they want to protect arms and are worried about innings pitched coming off a missed season.

I think that part of it is that with only five players drafted last year for most teams, there are smaller numbers of players at that level.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

 

Seems odd with Eugene no longer being part of the system and everyone missing a year of game action.

 

The only thing I can think of is they want to protect arms and are worried about innings pitched coming off a missed season.