It’s been a great minor league season for the Red Sox so far, with Mookie Betts hitting over .400 and many other prospects off to strong starts. With increased focus on prospects, it seems like we know more about these players than ever before. Even with all that exposure, a recent article details how little we know about the challenging conditions minor leaguers face.
Still hitting .400
Photo by Kelly O’Connor, sittingstill.smugmug.com
The article is by Dirk Hayhurst, and it outlines how many of these players get paid next to nothing while trying to make their major league dreams a reality. The Red Sox have seven minor league teams, with roughly 150-175 players in their minor league clubs during the season. Only a tiny fraction of these players will make the major league club, meaning most of them make terrific sacrifices without success.
It’s surprising that the conditions are so poor for minor league players when young talent provides so much value for teams. Every young player who contributes to a major league roster does so at miniscule cost compared to veteran players.
The anecdote Hayhurst related in his article suggests that the attitude of many is that the system is working, so why fix it. Setting aside the moral question of whether it’s right to exploit young players, there’s the baseball question of whether the system actually maximizes talent. Some players succeed under these conditions, but are some players failing because of lack of investment rather than lack of baseball skills?
Bryce Brentz
Photo by Kelly O’Connor, sittingstill.smugmug.com
To take it to the Red Sox level, could better nutrition and living situation be the difference for a borderline prospect? If the Red Sox gave Bryce Brentz nutritional help, a monitored offseason conditioning program, and better living quarters, would that make a difference in his on field play?
Buster Olney wrote in his column this week that modern baseball front offices have examined every facet of their baseball operations. The first team that looks into why minor league players play under such poor conditions could gain a significant competitive advantage.
A team like the Red Sox with plentiful financial resources could increase their minor league budget without too much effort. Just one player contributing to the major league roster at the minimum salary (like Daniel Nava has recently) would make the investment worth it. Bold investment in this area of improving minor league talent could lead to big results.
Hayhurst outlines several reasons why the conditions haven’t changed, and suggests that players need to take matters into their own hands. Another possible solution is for clubs to change the system out of their own self-interest, increasing their investment in minor league infrastructure in the hope it leads to more talent making the majors. The first team to do this could gain a competitive edge over the rest of MLB.