Third-highest level of competition in Minor League Baseball
High-A
, officially
Class High-A
, formerly known as
Class A-Advanced
, and sometimes abbreviated "A+" in writing, is the third-highest level of play in
Minor League Baseball
in the United States and Canada, below
Triple-A
and
Double-A
, and above
Single-A
. There are 30 teams classified at the High-A level, one for each team in
Major League Baseball
(MLB), organized into three leagues: the
Midwest League
,
Northwest League
, and
South Atlantic League
.
History
[
edit
]
Class High-A was established as a classification level within
Minor League Baseball
in 1990 by subdividing the existing
Class A
.
[1]
Class A had been the third-highest level in the minor leagues since 1936 (when it was below
Double-A
and Class A1) and a hierarchy of
Triple-A
and Double-A above Class A had been in place since 1946.
[2]
: 15
In 1963, the three classes below Class A (Classes B, C, and D) were abolished, with leagues at those levels moved into Class A.
[2]
: 15
In 1965, Class A was subdivided for the first time, with the establishment of lower-level
Class A Short Season
leagues.
The 1965 hierarchy was in place for 25 years, until Class A was further subdivided in 1990, with Class A-Advanced becoming the third-highest classification:
- Triple-A
- Double-A
- Class A-Advanced
- Class A ("Full-Season A")
- Class A Short Season ("Short-Season A")
- Rookie league
Three leagues, each previously Class A, received the Class A-Advanced designation: the
California League
,
Carolina League
, and
Florida State League
.
[1]
This arrangement continued until 2021, when
Major League Baseball
(MLB) restructured the minor leagues, eliminating Class A Short Season and discontinuing the use of all historical league names within Minor League Baseball.
[3]
The existing Class A-Advanced leagues were moved to the Class A level and operated under generic names (
Low-A West
,
Low-A East
, and
Low-A Southeast
) during 2021. The Class A-Advanced level was officially renamed as "Class High-A",
[4]
[5]
and also operated three leagues during 2021 with generic names:
High-A Central
,
High-A East
, and
High-A West
.
[6]
These three High-A leagues had historically been known as the
Midwest League
,
South Atlantic League
, and
Northwest League
?the first two had previously operated at the Class A level, while the latter had previously operated at the Class A Short Season level. Following MLB's acquisition of the rights to the names of the historical minor leagues, MLB announced on March 16, 2022, that the leagues would revert to their prior names, effective with the 2022 season.
[7]
In January 2023, it was announced that
Veronica Gajownik
had been hired to manage the
Hillsboro Hops
, making her the first woman to manage a High-A team.
[8]
Current teams
[
edit
]
- Midwest League
- Northwest League
- South Atlantic League
Midwest League
[
edit
]
Division
|
Team
|
MLB Affiliation
|
City
|
Stadium
|
Capacity
|
East
|
Dayton Dragons
|
Cincinnati Reds
|
Dayton, Ohio
|
Day Air Ballpark
|
7,230
|
Fort Wayne TinCaps
|
San Diego Padres
|
Fort Wayne, Indiana
|
Parkview Field
|
8,100
|
Great Lakes Loons
|
Los Angeles Dodgers
|
Midland, Michigan
|
Dow Diamond
|
5,200
|
Lake County Captains
|
Cleveland Guardians
|
Eastlake, Ohio
|
Classic Park
|
7,273
|
Lansing Lugnuts
|
Oakland Athletics
|
Lansing, Michigan
|
Jackson Field
|
9,500
|
West Michigan Whitecaps
|
Detroit Tigers
|
Comstock Park, Michigan
|
LMCU Ballpark
|
9,281
|
West
|
Beloit Sky Carp
|
Miami Marlins
|
Beloit, Wisconsin
|
ABC Supply Stadium
|
3,850
|
Cedar Rapids Kernels
|
Minnesota Twins
|
Cedar Rapids, Iowa
|
Veterans Memorial Stadium
|
5,300
|
Peoria Chiefs
|
St. Louis Cardinals
|
Peoria, Illinois
|
Dozer Park
|
7,377
|
Quad Cities River Bandits
|
Kansas City Royals
|
Davenport, Iowa
|
Modern Woodmen Park
|
7,140
|
South Bend Cubs
|
Chicago Cubs
|
South Bend, Indiana
|
Four Winds Field at Coveleski Stadium
|
5,000
|
Wisconsin Timber Rattlers
|
Milwaukee Brewers
|
Appleton, Wisconsin
|
Neuroscience Group Field at Fox Cities Stadium
|
5,900
|
Northwest League
[
edit
]
Team
|
Founded
|
MLB Affiliation
|
City
|
Stadium
|
Capacity
|
Eugene Emeralds
|
1955
|
San Francisco Giants
|
Eugene, Oregon
|
PK Park
|
4,000
|
Everett AquaSox
|
1995
|
Seattle Mariners
|
Everett
,
Washington
|
Funko Field
|
3,682
|
Hillsboro Hops
|
2013
|
Arizona Diamondbacks
|
Hillsboro, Oregon
|
Hillsboro Ballpark
|
4,500
|
Spokane Indians
|
1898
|
Colorado Rockies
|
Spokane, Washington
|
Avista Stadium
|
6,803
|
Tri-City Dust Devils
|
2001
|
Los Angeles Angels
|
Pasco, Washington
|
Gesa Stadium
|
3,654
|
Vancouver Canadians
|
2000
|
Toronto Blue Jays
|
Vancouver
,
British Columbia
|
Nat Bailey Stadium
|
6,500
|
South Atlantic League
[
edit
]
Division
|
Team
|
MLB Affiliation
|
City
|
Stadium
|
Capacity
|
North
|
Aberdeen IronBirds
|
Baltimore Orioles
|
Aberdeen, Maryland
|
Leidos Field at Ripken Stadium
|
6,300
|
Brooklyn Cyclones
|
New York Mets
|
Brooklyn, New York
|
Maimonides Park
|
7,000
|
Greensboro Grasshoppers
|
Pittsburgh Pirates
|
Greensboro, North Carolina
|
First National Bank Field
|
7,499
|
Hudson Valley Renegades
|
New York Yankees
|
Wappingers Falls, New York
|
Heritage Financial Park
|
4,500
|
Jersey Shore BlueClaws
|
Philadelphia Phillies
|
Lakewood, New Jersey
|
ShoreTown Ballpark
|
8,000
|
Wilmington Blue Rocks
|
Washington Nationals
|
Wilmington, Delaware
|
Daniel S. Frawley Stadium
|
6,404
|
South
|
Asheville Tourists
|
Houston Astros
|
Asheville, North Carolina
|
McCormick Field
|
4,000
|
Bowling Green Hot Rods
|
Tampa Bay Rays
|
Bowling Green, Kentucky
|
Bowling Green Ballpark
|
4,559
|
Greenville Drive
|
Boston Red Sox
|
Greenville, South Carolina
|
Fluor Field at the West End
|
6,700
|
Hickory Crawdads
|
Texas Rangers
|
Hickory, North Carolina
|
L. P. Frans Stadium
|
5,062
|
Rome Emperors
|
Atlanta Braves
|
Rome, Georgia
|
AdventHealth Stadium
|
5,105
|
Winston-Salem Dash
|
Chicago White Sox
|
Winston-Salem, North Carolina
|
Truist Stadium
|
5,500
|
Playoffs
[
edit
]
| This section
needs expansion
with: playoff structure prior to the 2021 re-org. You can help by
adding to it
.
(
June 2021
)
|
On June 30, 2021, Minor League Baseball announced that the top two teams in each league (based on full-season
winning percentage
, and regardless of division) would meet in a best-of-five postseason series to determine league champions.
[9]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
Cronin, John (2013).
"Truth in the Minor League Class Structure: The Case for the Reclassification of the Minors"
.
SABR
. Retrieved
April 16,
2021
.
- ^
a
b
Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds. (2007).
The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball
(Third ed.).
Baseball America
.
ISBN
978-1932391176
.
- ^
Creamer, Chris (February 15, 2021).
"A Breakdown of Minor League Baseball's Total Realignment for 2021"
.
sportslogos.net
. Retrieved
April 16,
2021
.
- ^
The Official Professional Baseball Rules Book
(PDF)
.
New York City
: Office of the Commissioner of Baseball. 2021. p. 10
. Retrieved
May 1,
2021
– via mlbpa.org.
- ^
The Official Professional Baseball Rules Book
(PDF)
.
New York City
: Office of the Commissioner of Baseball. 2019. pp. 158?159. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on July 31, 2019 – via
Wayback Machine
.
- ^
"Teams by League and Classification"
.
Minor League Baseball
. Retrieved
November 8,
2020
.
- ^
"Historical league names to return in 2022"
.
milb.com
. Minor League Baseball. March 16, 2022
. Retrieved
March 29,
2022
.
- ^
"Diamondbacks affiliate Hillsboro names woman as manager"
.
Laredo Morning Times
. January 21, 2023.
- ^
Heneghan, Kelsie (June 30, 2021).
"Playoffs return to the Minor Leagues"
.
MiLB.com
. Retrieved
July 1,
2021
.
External links
[
edit
]
|
---|
Americas
| Major
| |
---|
Minor
| |
---|
Independent
| MLB Partner Leagues
| |
---|
Non-partnered leagues
| |
---|
|
---|
Off-season
| MLB-affiliated
| |
---|
Independent
| |
---|
|
---|
Defunct
| MLB-recognized
| |
---|
Other major
| |
---|
Minor
| |
---|
|
---|
|
Asia
| China
| |
---|
Israel
| |
---|
Japan
| Major
| |
---|
Minor
| |
---|
Off-season
| |
---|
Independent
| |
---|
Women's
| |
---|
|
---|
South Korea
| |
---|
Taiwan
| Major
| |
---|
Minor
| |
---|
Defunct major
| |
---|
|
---|
|
Europe
| Italy and San Marino
| |
---|
Netherlands
| |
---|
|
|
|
|
---|
East Division
| |
---|
West Division
| |
---|
Former teams
| |
---|
|
|
---|
North Division
| |
---|
South Division
| |
---|
|