Low-A Baseball, Explained
The Fredericksburg Nationals are set to bring professional baseball to central Virginia for the first time in 2021 after 2020’s false start. If you’re new to the sport, you may not understand exactly what league the team even plays in.
If you’re expecting Derek Jeter and the New York Yankees to hit the field, let me assure you: they ain’t walking through that door. The FredNats play in the minor leagues. Plus Jeter’s been out of the game since 2014, you may need to update your mental references of who’s actually playing baseball.
So what league do they play in? For all you new FredNats fans who may be brand new to the game itself, here’s what you need to know about minor league baseball and the FredNats’ level of play: Low-A.
What is minor league baseball?
All of the four major professional U.S. team sports have an annual player draft. Some of them have a supplemental draft, but they’re a bit too complicated. No offense, but a second ago you thought Jeter was still playing for the Yankees. So let’s stick to the basics.
For pro basketball and football, drafted players often go right to the league. Hockey and baseball both have a minor league system, with professional teams in place meant to focus on player development.
The length of a minor league baseball season varies between the levels and minor league players typically fall into two camps: young and on their way up, or youngish-to-old and trying to prolong their career and crack a major league roster.
MLB teams often send established players returning from an injury down to the minors. This gives them a chance to get their timing back against a lower level of competition. It also gives minor league fans a chance to see someone like Bryce Harper potentially smash their car’s windshield in the parking lot with a home run ball.
How many levels of minor league baseball are there?
Every baseball team has multiple minor league affiliates (sometimes called “farm teams”) at the various levels. There are four levels of minor league baseball, spelled out below:
- Rookie league. Sometimes referred to as “short season,” this league begins in the middle of the MLB season and is specifically designed for players who were just drafted. For some reason, MLB holds its player draft smack dab in the middle of the regular season, making it hella inconvenient for newly drafted players to jump in anywhere. The rookie league gives these players a chance to get used to playing professional baseball before they “start” their careers.
- A. This level is separated into two classes: High-A and Low-A. This is typically the first official stop for a young player’s trek through a team’s minor league system. According to the MiLB website, Low-A is where college players will begin whereas Low-A is often where high school players start. If high school players went to High-A it would be a lot easier to remember, but they don’t. Sorry. You’re just going to have to come up with a different mnemonic device.
- AA. The next level up is for young players who aren’t quite ready for prime time but have advanced past A ball. You won’t see a lot of former major leaguers coming back down to AA. This station is reserved for players on their way up.
- AAA. The last stop before you get to the majors. AAA is a mixed bag. Some of them are future superstars getting a little more seasoning before they hit the Show. Others are former major leaguers hanging on to get another crack. This level is the closest to recreating actual major league baseball.
What league do the Fredericksburg Nationals play in?
The FredNats are playing in the Low-A East League. Before the pandemic hit and the FredNats were planning to take the field in 2020, they were originally scheduled to play in the Carolina League. That was before MLB reshuffled their minor league system to better align teams geographically to cut down on travel.
MLB issued a press release in February detailing their new minor league system structure, and in it they spelled out who the FredNats would be playing in 2021. Below is a list of teams featured in Low-A East, with each team’s affiliated MLB franchise in parenthesis:
North Division
Delmarva Shorebirds (Baltimore Orioles)
Fredericksburg Nationals (Fredericksburg Nationals)
Lynchburg Hillcats (Cleveland Indians)
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Salem Red Sox (Boston Red Sox)
Central Division
Carolina Mudcats (Milwaukee Brewers)
Down East Wood Ducks (Texas Rangers)
Fayetteville Woodpeckers (Houston Astros)
Kannapolis Cannon Ballers (Chicago White Sox)
South Division
Augusta GreenJackets (Atlanta Braves)
Charleston RiverDogs (Tampa Bay Rays)
Columbia Fireflies (Kansas City Royals)
Myrtle Beach Pelicans (Chicago Cubs)
One other major difference you may have noticed between the majors and the minors: the team names. They’re often a lot more creative and inventive. For example, I don’t think we’ll see an NFL or NBA expansion team with the mascot of “Woodpeckers” anytime soon.
What type of players can fans expect to see at Fredericksburg Nationals games?
There’s good news and there’s bad news for new baseball fans attending games in Fredericksburg this year. The bad news is that if you’re in the market to watch established stars play baseball, that isn’t what you’ll get. The Boston Red Sox won’t be getting off the downtown Amtrak stop or making a pit stop at Wegman’s before a three-game set against the FredNats.
The good news? The probability is high you’ll get to see many stars of tomorrow. Before the FredNats battled I-95 traffic to move, they were located in Prince William County in northern Virginia. In the past they served as an affiliate for teams like the New York Yankees and Pittsburgh Pirates. A few former players the franchise has inducted into its Hall of Fame are:
- Barry Bonds
- Albert Pujols
- Bernie Williams
- Andy Pettitte
- Jorge Posada
If you don’t recognize those names: 1) you really need to brush up on your baseball history before the season starts and 2) they include the all-time home run leader, a surefire Hall of Famer, and three borderline Hall of Famers who won multiple championships with the Yankees.
Low-A baseball isn’t what you can see Saturday afternoons on Fox or Sunday nights on ESPN. But you do get to watch great, young talented players at the genesis of what could be their long careers.
The minors aren’t remotely the same as the majors, but if you treat it as its own unique thing, it can be just as fun to take in. Watching the FredNats can give you a window into baseball’s promising future.
