The Los Angeles Dodgers, Cincinnati Reds and Cleveland Indians highlight the first installment of CttP’s minor league notes.
There are six levels of minor league baseball—Single-A, Double-A, etc. Each of those levels has at least two leagues. All 30 major league franchises have a team at each level. Baseball publications such as Baseball America, Baseball Prospectus and MLB.com rank the players within a franchise’s minor league system. Usually there is some consensus, but there’s lots of subjectivity in the process.
Keeping track of what’s going on in the minor leagues is a daunting task. In fact, it can be borderline overwhelming. And with baseball being swept away by the tsunami of young talent in the game, it seems as if teams are promoting players through the ranks more quickly.
Which is why, every week for the rest of the season, I will be doing a weekly notes column about baseball’s minor leagues. This is for readers’ benefit and my own, as it will allow me to write about a large number of topics in a succinct manner.
I’ll split the column up into sections based on level of the minors and I’ll try to give readers updates on different topics and players every week. A weekly J.P. Crawford slash line probably wouldn’t carry a column for an entire season.
But enough with the introductions. Let’s talk some baseball. First up: your favorite team’s newest starting pitcher.
Next: Triple-A