How a career in professional baseball saved this Minor League manager
Benjamin Hill travels the nation collecting stories about what makes Minor League Baseball unique. This excerpt from his newsletter -- which he reported on from Lansing, Mich., on Aug. 27 -- is one of those stories. Read the full newsletter here, and subscribe to his newsletter here. By the time
One 2025 Rookie of the Year candidate for each team
A year ago, we provided one Rookie of the Year candidate for every team. How’d we do? We nailed the NL top rookie (Paul Skenes) and also picked out two others who received votes (Jackson Chourio and Mason Miller). That’s a good enough success rate to try the whole exercise
Salt Lake Bees generate buzz with evolution of logos, uniforms
"It's a refresh, not a rebrand. We would say it's an evolution, not a revolution." That's how Ashley Havili, VP of marketing and merchandise for the Salt Lake Bees, describes her team's new logos and uniforms. The Triple-A Angels affiliate unveiled its refreshed look on Monday, checking off a key
Here are 8 prospects standing out in winter ball
Now that the Arizona Fall League has crowned a new champion and MLB's awards season is winding down, the baseball world in the United States is preparing to turn its attention to the Hot Stove. But that doesn't mean baseball isn't being played. There are plenty of exciting and talented
Brewers' Single-A club set to soar into new digs with high-flying team name in 2026
The Milwaukee Brewers' Single-A team is moving from the water to the air. The Carolina Mudcats, a team with an iconic catfish logo based in Zebulon, N.C., will relocate 25 miles east and transform into the Wilson Warbirds following the 2025 campaign. This high-flying identity was unveiled Friday afternoon at
O's affiliate expands parameters with name change
The Bowie Baysox, established as the Baltimore Orioles' Double-A affiliate in 1993, have always referenced Chesapeake Bay in their name. Today, during an unveiling event at Annapolis's Chesapeake Bay Foundation, this connection was made explicit: The Bowie Baysox are now the Chesapeake Baysox. The Baysox have an updated name and
Here's an early look at the top 2025 Rookie of the Year candidates
With Paul Skenes and Luis Gil taking home their leagues' respective 2024 Rookie of the Year Awards, it's time to turn our attention to 2025.
How talent out of a program the White Sox started in Chicago led this High-A club
This is an excerpt from The Baseball Traveler Newsletter, formerly known as Ben's Biz Newsletter, delivering Minor League Baseball business and culture news to your inbox each and every Thursday. Check out the full newsletter HERE, and subscribe HERE.
Double-A Barons to return to Rickwood Field for Negro Leagues tribute in 2025
Minor League Baseball is coming back to America's oldest professional ballpark in 2025. The Birmingham Barons, Double-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox, will host the Rocket City Trash Pandas (Angels) at Rickwood Field in a tribute to the Negro Leagues on June 4, 2025, the team announced on Thursday.
Here are the top 30 prospects from the 2024 Arizona Fall League
Though the quality of pitching in the Arizona Fall League continued to decline, the developmental circuit's best prospect did his work on the mound. Phillies right-hander Andrew Painter returned to competition after missing the entire 2023 and 2024 seasons and quickly re-established himself as the most promising young arm in
8 stats to remember from the 2024 Arizona Fall League
There’s no denying that the 2024 Arizona Fall League season was historic. There was a little bit of everything in the desert, with record books being rewritten during the 32nd year of prospects putting their skills on display. It’s always difficult to gauge just how significant six weeks' worth of
Road to The Show™: Rockies’ Dollander
Each week, MiLB.com profiles an elite prospect by chronicling the steps he's taken toward achieving his Major League dream. Here's a look at second-ranked Rockies prospect Chase Dollander. For more stories about players on The Road to The Show, click here. Chase Dollander’s candidacy for the best pitching prospect in
Here's the 2024 All-Arizona Fall League Team
Season No. 32 of the Arizona Fall League is in the books, with the Salt River Rafters beating the Surprise Saguaros, 3-2, in the Championship Game on Saturday. It was another fall full of top prospects and top performances. Below is the 2024 MLB Pipeline All-AFL Team. This is based
'Great year of baseball' for Caglianone includes stamp of approval from Witt Jr.
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- When the Royals selected Jac Caglianone with the sixth overall pick in July, fans and the front office alike saw the vision: a power-hitting middle-of-the-order bat with prolific collegiate slugging exploits teaming with Bobby Witt Jr. at the heart of the lineup for years to come. Those
Briceño, Rosario earn Week 6 AFL honors
The Arizona Fall League concluded with the Salt River Rafters claiming an unlikely title with their win over Surprise in Nov. 16’s AFL championship game, bringing a dramatic close to Week 6, and this year, of AFL play. The players honored for their performances in the season’s final week were
'Big Apples' alternate identity makes Yankees' affiliate New York to the core
The Hudson Valley Renegades, seeking to celebrate core aspects of their home state, planted a seed that has now borne fruit. At a gala event on Friday morning, the New York Yankees' High-A affiliate unveiled their "Big Apples" alternate identity. New York state is the second-largest producer of apples in
Rafters surprise Saguaros for first Arizona Fall League crown since 2019
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – As the Salt River Rafters posed with their Arizona Fall League champions banner, they held their pinky fingers and thumbs pointed out in the form of “the shaka” or hang-ten as they cheered. “Kala’i Rosario is from Hawaii, he's been one of our team leaders here,” Rafters
2024 Arizona Fall League award winners
For six more weeks again this year, some of the best prospects in baseball shined in the Arizona Fall League, the game’s most elite prospect circuit. Now it’s time to give out some hardware. The Fall League annually awards the Joe Black MVP Award to its top performer, and since
8 prospects who stood out in the AFL Championship Game
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- And just like that, the curtain has fallen on the 2024 Fall League campaign. The Salt River Rafters thwarted the Surprise Saguaros’ attempt at a three-peat in unconventional fashion as the road club in their home park (by virtue of Surprise finishing with the regular season’s best
Tigers prospect Briceño takes home Fall League's Joe Black MVP Award
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – You don’t always know that you’re witnessing history when you see it. But anyone who watched Josue Briceño on a daily basis during the 2024 Arizona Fall League campaign knew that he was hitting at a prolific rate unlike anything seen in the circuit’s 32 years. On
Phils prospect Painter named Arizona Fall League Pitcher of the Year
When you’re as good as Andrew Painter can be on the mound, a rehab assignment can turn into an award-winning performance. After a two-year layoff following Tommy John surgery, the goal was for the No. 32 prospect in baseball to simply get his first competitive innings in the Arizona Fall
Angels prospect Kavadas named AFL Offensive Player of the Year
MESA, Ariz. – MLB’s July 30 Trade Deadline had passed five minutes earlier when Triple-A Worcester catcher Mark Kolozsvary approached first baseman Niko Kavadas with a fist bump. “Congrats,” Kolozsvary said. “We survived the Deadline.” Kavadas reciprocated, then was getting ready to take the field when he was told manager
AFL's Saguaros have the best record -- and the best celly
SURPRISE, Ariz. -- Watching Chase DeLauter hit a double can be a thing of beauty. And at the Arizona Fall League this season, the entertainment didn't stop when he got to second. MLB's No. 41 prospect, as well as his Surprise Saguaros teammates, would strike a saguaro cactus-like pose to
This Minors team takes concessions very seriously -- watch out for the grasshoppers
This is an excerpt from The Baseball Traveler Newsletter, formerly known as Ben's Biz Newsletter, delivering Minor League Baseball business and culture news to your inbox each and every Thursday. Check out the full newsletter and background on the name change HERE.
Tigers prospect Briceño becomes Fall League's first Triple Crown winner
GLENDALE, Ariz. -- The Arizona Fall League has been host to a who’s who of baseball royalty that cut their teeth in pro ball early in their careers -- future Rookies of the Year and Most Valuable Players Bryce Harper, Mike Trout and Ronald Acuña Jr., to name a few.