It’s here, and it’s official: the restructuring of the now 120-team Minor League system for Major League Baseball.
As discussed, the Chicago Cubs now have just four full-season affiliates – the AAA Iowa Cubs, the AA Tennessee Smokies, the High-A South Bend Cubs, and the Low-A Myrtle Beach Pelicans – together the their rookie ball teams in Arizona and the Dominican Republic.
The new league and division structures appear to be strongly interested in improving geographic alignment, and that will mean a pretty different look for the Cubs affiliates’ divisional opponents:
The Iowa Cubs, formerly in the Pacific Coast League, are now in a division that keeps them much more midwest-centric (including now hitting up cities like Indianapolis, Toledo, and Columbus, which I reckon will be well-received by Cubs fans in those areas (including this Cubs fan in Columbus (I am so there as soon as the Iowa Cubs come))). It’s not yet clear if all the teams in the Triple-A East league will play each other, or just the teams within their geographic region. If it’s the whole league, then, hey, folks in the east who’ve never had a chance to see the Iowa Cubs are in for a treat.