Whitecaps Get Big Affiliate Promotion With the Detroit Tigers
The Whitecaps got a nice promotion which was announced on Thursday morning as they will move from a low-A minor league affiliate, which they've been for the last 27 years, to a High-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers, according to WOODTV.
The change means that more of the Tiger's top prospects will now be spending time in West Michigan rather than skipping over the Whitecaps all together. With the promotion, there are now just two levels between the West Michigan Whitecaps and the Detroit Tigers.
Whitecaps CEO Joe Chamberlin told WOODTV,
“We’ve known for a while that Grand Rapids and West Michigan is one of the best minor league sports markets out there. It’s a signal of the work we have put in over 27 years, our track record of fantastic attendance and fan interest, and so it’s a really exciting reward.”
Jim Jarecki, the Whitecaps General Manager also pointed out to WOODTV that as cool as it is, for the Whitecaps, it means other teams will be sending their top prospects to Grand Rapids to play as well, which means we'll start seeing players playing in West Michigan that will eventually be in the spotlight either for the Tigers or other MLB teams.
Both Chamberlin and Jarecki were very hopeful that 2021 will see baseball being played again at Fifth Third Ballpark after the coronavirus canceled the 2020 baseball season.
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