While the Wild Card and division winners are busy mapping out their next few moves in the postseason, the Milwaukee Brewers are mapping out their minor league future for the next few years.
On Wednesday, the team released news that they had resigned a contract with the Triple-A Colorado Sky Sox that would carry through the 2018 season.
The news about the Sky Sox may be surprising, as Colorado Springs has already generated a reputation for skewing statistics for both batters and pitchers, leaving much more doubt on both sides as to when a player is truly ready for promotion.
On the offensive side, in the short view, it’s easy to argue that anywhere that increases a hitter’s confidence at the plate is a good place to end up before making the jump to the majors. Then again, any slump sustained after arriving may also incur additional frustration or force hitters to make gratuitous adjustments they may not have perceived as necessary coming from anywhere else.
The same logic applies in a similar manner to pitching, as facing difficulties before joining the major league team may prepare players more thoroughly than another venue is inherently capable of. Of course, that also means their confidence could be damaged or destroyed, or force them to attempt to compensate by changing their approach or delivery or even create other complications.
Regardless of the results, the Brewers seemingly had little choice in the matter. The same scenario arose two years ago when Triple-A Nashville parted ways with Milwaukee’s organization for the Oakland Athletics and the Colorado Rockies moved their Triple-A team to Albuquerque, leaving only one option available – Colorado Springs.
The issue again surfaced this year, as there was little organizational movement in terms of other Triple-A teams, leaving the Brewers to sign with the Sky Sox for another two years – the minimum contract allowed.
With that said, the new agreement may not be all doom and gloom for Milwaukee. Earlier this year, Sky Sox owners met with officials in San Antonio to look at the possibility of moving the franchise to Texas. As recently as September, a market feasibility study was released in attempts to gauge the realistic possibility of bringing another minor league team to the area.
The results? It was determined that San Antonio, despite not being able to afford to bring in a Major League Baseball team, would be one of the largest Triple-A markets in the country. San Antonio mayor Ivy Taylor currently has the proposal shelved, as there was not enough activity shown from potential funding partners, but is still open to finding an appropriate deal with the right financial backing for the project, estimated at $80 billion.
Whether or not the project moves forward would still have no effect on the most recent contract with the Brewers, as any tangible development wouldn’t likely be breaking ground until 2019. But with the right relationship established, it could prove to be beneficial for Milwaukee’s organization in the long run.
Jonathan Powell is the Managing Editor of Outside Pitch MLB and the Milwaukee Brewers writer. Follow him on Twitter @jonathannashhh.
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