Kevin Millar, right, was the Eastern League MVP for the Portland Sea Dogs in 1997, but might not have been drafted under the new minor league development system. The number of affiliated teams are being cut from 160 to 120, and the draft is expected to be reduced to 20 rounds. John Patriquin/Staff Photographer
Even without the Lowell Spinners, we can assume Mookie Betts still would have become the MVP-caliber player he is today.
Betts is a star, but the Spinners, a Boston Red Sox affiliate for 24 years, are no more, a victim of Major League Baseball’s contraction of the minor leagues.
The Spinners played a role in Boston’s player development, including the career of a young Betts, who was only 19 when he played the 2012 season in Lowell, a team in the advanced-rookie New York-Penn League. Betts batted .267 in 71 games; not an overwhelming average, but an introduction into pro ball.
When Betts moved to Class A Greenville in 2013, he struggled – batting .157 his first month – before turning it around.
Short-season teams have been a steppingstone for young players, preparing them for future years of full-season baseball.
Major League Baseball eliminated 40 of the 160 minor league teams, all of them in short-season leagues., all of them in short-season leagues. That will change the development process to a degree. There will still be the rookie Gulf Coast and Arizona leagues, but after that, there are only four levels – Low A, Advance A, Double-A and Triple-A.
Another factor affecting development will be MLB changing its draft, moving it to mid-July and likely reducing the draft to 20 rounds (still to be determined).
The result will be more importance on the development of high draft picks like Andrew Benintendi and Triston Casas, and less opportunity for low-round picks like Mauricio Dubon and Kevin Pillar, who likely wouldn’t have been drafted under the new system. But there could be more underdog stories, similar to the tales of Kevin Millar and Daniel Nava.
Without advanced rookie leagues, players will need to adjust quickly to Class A ball. Many teams, including the Red Sox, already push their top prospects. Casas, a corner infielder, was a first-round pick out of high school in the 2018 draft. In 2019, he skipped past Lowell and went to Class A Greenville.
Benintendi, a first-round pick out of college in 2015, played only 151 minor league games – including 63 in Portland – before reaching the majors.
Dustin Pedroia, Xander Bogaerts and Rafael Devers are among several Red Sox stars who skipped Lowell.
Moving the draft to July also means players chosen by Boston that year will either be rushed to Class A or sent to the Gulf Coast League, or some type of instructional camp.
• Less patience: Highly regarded prospects will get time to develop. Lesser-regarded players need to produce or face being cut. One less minor league team means more competition for fewer roster spots.
• Fewer draftees: The pandemic prompted MLB to reduce its draft from 40 rounds to five in 2020. Future drafts reportedly will be about 20 rounds. That will force hundreds of players to find other avenues to pursue their big-league dreams. Players drafted after Round 20 are considered longshots, but many make it. Two that come to mind are Pillar (32nd round, 2011), who has been in the majors for eight seasons and played for Boston last year; and Dubon, who was drafted by the Red Sox in the 26th round in 2013. Traded in the ill-fated Tyler Thornburg deal, Dubon made his major league debut in 2019 with the Brewers and is now on the Giants roster.
• Independent attention: Remember the underdogs stories of Kevin Millar and Daniel Nava? Both were overlooked in the draft and had to prove their worth in independent leagues. They eventually were signed by a major league organization and went on to win a World Series ring with the Red Sox (Millar in 2004, Nava in 2013). Now, with fewer players being drafted, more will have to begin their pro careers in the independent leagues.
The independent leagues will be scouted more than ever. And they won’t be as independent as before. MLB has formed a loose connection with the Atlantic League, Frontier League, American Association and Pioneer League, calling them “partner leagues.” MLB will provide support for the independents, which will serve as sort of a pseudo “taxi squad.”
More independent teams may pop up as cities look to fill the hole left by contraction. Lowell may be one of them. When the Red Sox announced their 2021 affiliates, they released a statement that they are continuing to “examine every option that would keep baseball in the City of Lowell.”
So the Spinners may return, but in a different form.
THE PORTLAND Sea Dogs are not likely to be affected much by the changes in the minor leagues, unless the scheduled is tweaked. There have been proposals to begin the minor league season in May, but nothing is official yet.
Sea Dogs president and general manager Geoff Iacuessa said he is not allowed to comment on any changes in the minor leagues. (MLB wants to contain public statements, especially with some changes already causing litigation; the Staten Island advanced rookie team is suing MLB and the New York Yankees after being abandoned.)
The Eastern League’s only change is the Yankees leaving the Trenton Thunder, moving 30 miles north in New Jersey to the Somerset Patriots, formerly an independent league team. Trenton is becoming part of the MLB Draft League, a new league for draft prospects.
Two Eastern League teams considered for contraction – the Binghamton Rumble Ponies and Erie SeaWolves – survived as Mets and Tigers’ affiliates, respectively. Erie will be managed by former Sea Dogs manager Arnie Beyeler.
The other Red Sox affiliates are undergoing changes. The Triple-A club has moved from Pawtucket, Rhode Island, to Worcester, Massachusetts (a move announced well before the contraction). The Class A affiliates are switching levels – Greenville, South Carolina, to advanced A, and Salem, Virginia, to low A.
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