Ahead of the announcement that Major League Baseball will be eliminating the affiliation of over 40 minor league teams, the league announced the addition of two college wood-bat leagues that some of the affected clubs would now be associated with.
Ahead of the announcement that Major League Baseball will be eliminating the affiliation of over 40 minor league teams, the league announced the addition of two college wood-bat leagues that some of the affected clubs would now be associated with them. One will be what the league is calling the “MLB Draft League” which will comprise teams that were within the NY-Penn League. The founding members will be the Mahoning Valley Scrappers, the State College Spikes, the West Virginia Black Bears, the Williamsport Crosscutters, and the Trenton Thunder, who is the former Double-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. The addition of a sixth team is under consideration and is expected to be announced in the coming weeks. The league would play a 68-game season. The teams impacted by the move to the new college wood-bat league reside in Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and New Jersey. By MLB moving their Draft back to July as part of the All-Star break, it will allow colligate athletes to play in the league without impacting their college eligibility. The league is partnering with Prep Baseball Report (PBR) on the effort. “We are thrilled to partner with Prep Baseball Report and the founding members of the MLB Draft League to create a one-of-a-kind league that will attract the nation’s top players who are eligible for each year’s MLB draft and allow local fans to see top prospects and future big-league stars in their hometowns. This announcement continues MLB’s commitment to preserving and growing baseball in communities around the United States,” said Morgan Sword, MLB’s executive vice president of baseball economics and operations.
