Royals new-look farm system set to include new affiliates in Iowa and South Carolina
The Kansas City Royals announced they’ve extended affiliation invitations to four franchises in baseball’s newly structured farm system format starting in 2021, and the minor-league shake-up that has been expected since last year includes the end of the Royals’ parent club relationship with both the Lexington Legends and the Wilmington Blue Rocks.
The Royals four full-season affiliates feature a continued Triple-A affiliation with the Omaha Storm Chasers as well as an ongoing Double-A link with the Northwest Arkansas Naturals. Meanwhile, two new clubs join the system as the Quad Cities River Bandits of Davenport, Iowa, and the Columbia Fireflies of Columbia, South Carolina, become Royals Single-A teams.
The announcement from the Royals noted that each of the four invited affiliates still must agree to MLB’s Player Development Licenses before their affiliations can become official. That may not happen until early 2021.
Quad Cities, which plays home games at Modern Woodmen Park in Davenport, Iowa, most recently served as a Low-A affiliate of the Houston Astros in the Midwest League. It will become the Royals’ High-A affiliate.
Columbia, which makes its home at Segra Park, had been the Low-A affiliate of the New York Mets in the South Atlantic League. Ballpark Digest chose Segra Ballpark its Ballpark of the Year in 2016 and the Ballpark of the Decade for the 2010s.
Lexington and Wilmington won their respective league championships in 2019, their most recent seasons. Lexington, a Royals affiliate since 2013, won a second straight South Atlantic League title. Wilmington won the Mills Cup and the franchise’s first Carolina League championship in two decades.
It’s not clear what Lexington’s immediate future holds, though playing in an independent league may be a possibility.
Wilmington had been a Royals farm club since 2007 after having previously been an affiliate from 1993-2004. Wilmington served as a key outpost along the path to the majors for Royals prospects in the previous decade who eventually formed the core of a World Series championship team in 2015.
Baseball America dubbed the Royals farm system the “Blue Wave” and proclaimed it the best minor-league system in baseball going into 2011. The previous season, Wilmington’s roster included Eric Hosmer, Salvador Perez, Wil Myers, Jarrod Dyson, Danny Duffy, Christian Colon and Mike Montgomery.
The Washington Nationals announced Wilmington has been offered an affiliation in their farm system.
Last week, MLB and the Appalachian League announced a partnership with USA Baseball that will convert the league from a Rookie level minor-league to a collegiate summer league in MLB’s Prospect Development Pipeline. Burlington, North Carolina had been a Royals affiliate in the Appalachian League since 2007. It will now operate as a collegiate summer team.
The Idaho Falls Chukars had been an affiliate of the Royals in the Rookie level Pioneer League. However, last week the Pioneer League was pushed out of the affiliated minor leagues and into one of several MLB “Partner Leagues.”
The Kansas City Royals also issued a release “to express their gratitude for long-time affiliates Wilmington, Lexington, Idaho Falls and Burlington” on Wednesday morning.
“Each one of these clubs has played an integral role in the success of our franchise and for that we cannot thank them enough for how they’ve taken care of our players,” Royals assistant general manager J.J. Picollo said in a release from the club. “Each stop along the minor league route, these clubs have literally been caretakers of our athletes while also providing the championship culture we strive for organizationally.”
