Why Can’t I See The Atlanta Braves High-A Team?!
Atlanta Braves fans are curious: why can they not watch the Florida Fire Frogs on MiLB.tv?
I have been an advocate around here for MiLB.tv’s service for the last few years, and most of you know that I base a lot of my scouting reports on what I see from games on the service.
The last few seasons, the Braves have had all four full-season affiliates mostly available on MiLB.tv. All the games from every AAA and AA affiliate for any team are to be available on the service (though sometimes weather or other issues do prevent that, but it’s extremely rare).
The Braves have had their South Atlantic League affiliate in low-A and their Carolina League affiliate in high-A hooked up with MiLB.tv, however, which has allowed Braves fans to see their future players for the last number of years at all full-season levels.
What Changed?!
The biggest thing that changed for the Atlanta Braves in their minor league coverage this season is their league for their high-A affiliate.
The Atlanta Braves own 3 of their 4 full-season affiliates, which is why you notice the team name is the Braves for Gwinnett, Mississippi, and Rome.
When they signed a 2-year pact with the Carolina Mudcats of the Carolina League, it was noted by a few in the minor league industry as most deals are odd-number deals or longer than three years if they’re even-number deals.
The assumption was that the Braves were working to purchase a current high-A affiliate, but they focused on the Carolina League or the Florida State League. At the same time, they were also seeking new spring training digs.
There was some discussion that both could be in the same vein if they bough a current team and just moved the franchise after purchasing the rights to the team, but that would not be a great PR move in general for a new affiliate.
Instead, the Braves did re-brand an established team, turning the Brevard County Manatees into the Florida Fire Frogs.
The Fire Frogs are located in the Florida State League, and the FSL has not been active in MiLB.tv as a league. The Braves have wanted to get their affiliates on air in the past, and they reportedly pushed for all of the Carolina League to join during their tenure with Lynchburg and Carolina.
However, per a person with knowledge of the situation, the league does have the final say on whether teams are allowed to participate. The Atlanta Braves apparently pushed this issue immediately upon joining the Florida State League, and they were rebuffed for reasons I was not privileged to through the person I talked with.
That is an unfortunate event, especially with much of the exciting 2016 Rome Braves roster moved to high-A in 2017, including guys like Ronald Acuna, Austin Riley, Touki Toussaint, and Ray-Patrick Didder.
In spite of not being able to see the Florida squad, there are plenty of great games with the low-A Rome Braves, AA Mississippi Braves, and AAA Gwinnett Braves to watch, so I’ll not be able to recommend MiLB.tv enough.
***Writer’s Edit: After posting this story, the Florida Fire Frogs responded with this tweet. Very exciting news for Braves fans!***
We're working to make that happen soon! Keep an eye on our social media or website for more details.
— floridafirefrogs@gmail.com (@FireFrogsBB) April 9, 2017
Next: Braves Minor League Database
For those who were wanting some view of the newest Braves prospects from offseason deals, here is some video on lefty Luiz Gohara, who made his Atlanta Braves system debut on Thursday with a very good start. This was taken by Baseball America’s Ben Badler, who was at Thursday’s game.: