Today the list of 2021 Minor League Baseball Player Development Licenses (PDL) were sent to teams. The list represents what MLB wants MiLB to look like next year, but each of the teams needs to agree to those terms. While for most it is an obvious decision, it is not out of the question that some teams will choose to not sign and another team will need to be found. I’m going to assume that this is what 2021 will look like and I’ll provide updates as things change.
The link above doesn’t contain everything, but I’ll fill in the rest based on other sources. It’s also unclear what the league structures will be, so I’ll make my best guesses there.
At the AAA level, things fell out pretty much as people expected with the only remaining question marks being Nashville and Round Rock affiliating with the Brewers and Rangers respectively. While some thought that the Rangers returning to a Texas AAA affiliate was obvious, others pointed out that the Brewers left Nashville on bad terms previously.
At AA, the biggest surprise was the Diamondbacks going to Amarillo since I was unaware of that being a possibility, but since San Antonio needed a new partner, the Padres aren’t too illogical since they were there in the not too distant past. We also received confirmation that while there were early rumors about Bowling Green jumping to AA, Chattanooga did make the cut and Bowling Green will stay at a lower level.
I was saying previously that the High A / Low A distinction was a jumbled mess and I was assuming that they would try to break up some of the overlap. It doesn’t look like that was quite the case as High A will stretch from New York to Georgia on the east coast. And based on that, and the natural separate of teams, I’m going back to assuming that there will be a Mid-Atlantic League and a Carolina League, each with six teams. Interestingly, of the 2019 Carolina League that consisted of ten teams, only two will remain at High A (Wilmington and Winston-Salem) and six will drop to Low A. I’m also going to assume that Lake County goes to the Mid-Atlantic League and Bowling Green remains in the Midwest League, but one of those two teams would have to join a league on the east coast. And the South Atlantic League appears to have only two previous members with the same affiliations as last time. Some of the affiliations did move around from previous guesses, but I don’t think there are any that seem too out of place.
Note: I originally had Asheville as Astros High A, then changed it to Fayetteville, but it looks like Asheville is correct, so I updated it back to the original.
Red denotes changes. Blue denotes ownership stake.
So according to this Minor League Baseball would look something like this:
International League (AAA)
Buffalo Bisons – Blue Jays
Charlotte Knights – White Sox
Columbus Clippers – Indians
Durham Bulls – Rays
Gwinnett Stripers – Braves
Indianapolis Indians – Pirates
Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp – Marlins
Lehigh Valley IronPigs – Phillies
Louisville Bats – Reds
Nashville Sounds – Rangers Brewers – Move from Pacific Coast League?
Norfolk Tides – Orioles
Rochester Red Wings – Twins Nationals
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders – Yankees
Syracuse Mets – Mets
Toledo Mud Hens – Tigers
Worcester Red Sox – Red Sox
Pacific Coast League (AAA)
Albuquerque Isotopes – Rockies
El Paso Chihuahuas – Padres
Fresno Grizzlies – Nationals – Move to California League (Low A)
Iowa Cubs – Cubs
Las Vegas Aviators – A’s
Memphis Redbirds – Cardinals
Oklahoma City Dodgers – Dodgers
Omaha Storm Chasers – Royals
Reno Aces – Diamondbacks
Round Rock Express – Astros Rangers
Sacramento River Cats – Giants
Salt Lake Bees – Angels
San Antonio Missions – Brewers – Move to Texas League (AA)
St. Paul Saints – Twins
Sugar Land Skeeters – Astros
Tacoma Rainiers – Mariners
Wichita Wind Surge – Marlins – Move to Texas League (AA)
Eastern League (AA)
Akron RubberDucks – Indians
Altoona Curve – Pirates
Binghamton Rumble Ponies – Mets
Bowie Baysox – Orioles
Erie SeaWolves – Tigers
Harrisburg Senators – Nationals
Hartford Yard Goats – Rockies
New Hampshire Fisher Cats – Blue Jays
Portland Sea Dogs – Red Sox
Reading Fightin Phils – Phillies
Richmond Flying Squirrels – Giants
Somerset Patriots – Yankees
Trenton Thunder – Yankees
Southern League (AA)
Biloxi Shuckers – Brewers
Birmingham Barons – White Sox
Chattanooga Lookouts – Reds
Jackson Generals – Diamondbacks
Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp – Marlins – Move to International League (AAA)
Mississippi Braves – Braves
Montgomery Biscuits – Rays
Pensacola Blue Wahoos – Twins Marlins
Rocket City Trash Pandas – Angels
Tennessee Smokies – Cubs
Texas League (AA)
Amarillo Sod Poodles – Padres Diamondbacks
Arkansas Travelers – Mariners
Corpus Christi Hooks – Astros
Frisco RoughRiders – Rangers
Midland RockHounds – A’s
Northwest Arkansas Naturals – Royals
San Antonio Missions – Padres
Springfield Cardinals – Cardinals
Tulsa Drillers – Dodgers
Wichita Wind Surge – Twins
Carolina League (High A)
Asheville Tourists – Astros
Carolina Mudcats – Brewers – Move to South Atlantic League (Low A)
Down East Wood Ducks – Rangers – Move to South Atlantic League (Low A)
Fayetteville Woodpeckers – Astros – Move to South Atlantic League (Low A)
Frederick Keys – Orioles
Fredericksburg Nationals – Nationals – Move to South Atlantic League (Low A)
Greensboro Grasshoppers – Pirates
Greenville Drive – Red Sox
Hickory Crawdads – Rangers
Lynchburg Hillcats – Indians – Move to South Atlantic League (Low A)
Myrtle Beach Pelicans – Cubs – Move to South Atlantic League (Low A)
Rome Braves – Braves
Salem Red Sox – Red Sox – Move to South Atlantic League (Low A)
Winston-Salem Dash – White Sox
Mid-Atlantic League (High A)
Aberdeen IronBirds – Orioles
Brooklyn Cyclones – Mets
Hudson Valley Renegades – Yankees
Jersey Shore BlueClaws – Phillies
Lake County Captains – Indians – Move from Midwest League?
Wilmington Blue Rocks – Royals Nationals
Midwest League (Low A) (High A)
Beloit Snappers – A’s Marlins
Bowling Green Hot Rods – Rays
Burlington Bees – Angels
Cedar Rapids Kernels – Twins
Clinton Lumber Kings – Marlins
Dayton Dragons – Reds
Fort Wayne TinCaps – Padres
Great Lakes Loons – Dodgers
Kane County Cougars – Diamondbacks
Lansing Lugnuts – Blue Jays A’s
Peoria Chiefs – Cardinals
Quad Cities River Bandits – Astros Royals
South Bend Cubs – Cubs
West Michigan Whitecaps – Tigers
Wisconsin Timber Rattlers – Brewers
Northwest League (A – Short Season) (High A)
Boise Hawks – Rockies
Eugene Emeralds – Cubs Giants
Everett AquaSox – Mariners
Hillsboro Hops – Diamondbacks
Salem-Keizer Volcanoes – Giants
Spokane Indians – Rangers Rockies
Tri-City Dust Devils – Padres Angels
Vancouver Canadians – Blue Jays
California League (High A)(Low A)
Fresno Grizzlies – Rockies
Lake Elsinore Storm – Padres
Lancaster JetHawks – Rockies
Modesto Nuts – Mariners
Rancho Cucamonga Quakes – Dodgers
San Bernardino Inland Empire 66ers – Angels
San Jose Giants – Giants
Stockton Ports – A’s
Visalia Rawhide – Diamondbacks
Florida State League (High A)(Low A)
Bradenton Marauders – Pirates
Charlotte Stone Crabs – Rays
Clearwater Threshers – Phillies
Daytona Tortugas- Reds
Dunedin Blue Jays – Blue Jays
Florida Fire Frogs – Braves
Fort Myers Mighty Mussels – Twins
Jupiter Hammerheads – Marlins
Lakeland Flying Tigers – Tigers
Palm Beach Cardinals – Cardinals
St. Lucie Mets – Mets
Tampa Tarpons – Yankees
South Atlantic League (Low A)
Asheville Tourists – Rockies – Move to Carolina League (High A)
Augusta GreenJackets – Giants Braves
Carolina Mudcats – Brewers
Charleston Riverdogs – Yankees Rays
Columbia Fireflies – Mets Royals
Delmarva Shorebirds – Orioles
Down East Wood Ducks – Rangers
Fayetteville Woodpeckers – Astros
Fredericksburg Nationals – Nationals
Greensboro Grasshoppers – Pirates – Move to Carolina League (High A)
Greenville Drive – Red Sox – Move to Carolina League (High A)
Hagerstown Suns – Nationals
Hickory Crawdads – Rangers – Move to Carolina League (High A)
Jersey Shore BlueClaws – Phillies – Move to Mid-Atlantic League (High A)
Kannapolis Cannon Ballers – White Sox
Lexington Legends – Royals
Lynchburg Hillcats – Indians
Myrtle Beach Pelicans – Cubs
Rome Braves – Braves – Move to Carolina League (High A)
Salem Red Sox – Red Sox
West Virginia Power – Mariners
NY-Penn League (A – Short Season)
Aberdeen IronBirds – Move to Mid-Atlantic League (High A)
Auburn Doubledays
Batavia Muckdogs
Brooklyn Cyclones – Move to Mid-Atlantic League (High A)
Hudson Valley Renegades – Move to Mid-Atlantic League (High A)
Lowell Spinners
Mahoning Valley Scrappers
Norwich Sea Unicorns
State College Spikes
Staten Island Yankees
Tri-City ValleyCats
Vermont Lake Monsters
West Virginia Black Bears
Williamsport Crosscutters
Appalachian League (Rookie – Short Season)
Bluefield Blue Jays
Bristol Pirates
Burlington Royals
Danville Braves
Elizabethton Twins
Greeneville Reds
Johnson City Cardinals
Kingsport Mets
Princeton Rays
Pulaski Yankees
Pioneer League (Rookie – Short Season)
Billings Mustangs
Grand Junction Rockies
Great Falls Voyagers
Idaho Falls Chukars
Missoula PaddleHeads
Ogden Raptors
Orem Owlz
Rocky Mountain Vibes
