The Futures Is Now
Is the Major League Showcase for Minor League Talent Killing Off the Minor League All-Star Game?

Jason Blasco
MLNSportsZone.com

PITTSBURGH – An Alfonso Soriano two home run performance in the inaugural All-Star Futures game sent Soriano on to professional success and elevated the game to a premier showcase for minor league baseball players. It has also permanently removed most of the relevance of minor league all-star events that roll out at the same time.

The first game in 1999 attracted more media jeers than cheers. It was largely labeled a ‘stunt,’ derided as another desperate attempt by Major League Baseball to attract attention to the flagging interest in the All Star event by a post-strike broken national audience.

Today, the premier prospects of minor league baseball get a taste of media frenzy and the daily rigors of being in the Major Leagues.

“The first time we brought a whole bunch of guys to play in this game, they didn’t really know what they were doing and didn’t really get it,” Head of Minor League Operations Sylvia Lind said.

“They knew they were going to Fenway so it was a good thing, but now we’ve built so much of a track record with the Futures Game that every player is honored and wants to be here.”

This season, 17 players who are participating in the Major League All-Star game are All-Star Futures game alumni that helped paved the way for the success and function of the Futures game.

Prior to the national event, the only way that you could see these players shine was by attending the half dozen All Star games put on by the leagues of Minor League Baseball.

The cream of the crop is selected after many meetings and conversations by MLB with the scouts, Baseball America, and the major league teams’ development departments to make sure the right representatives are selected. 

“We are very wary of who we select,” Lind said. “We don’t want to have a guy that may be a very high prospect, but is not having a good year. We don’t want to put that additional pressure on them.”

Showcasing these athletes from all levels gives clubs a real world opportunity to see their players play talents in other clubs that they may face as major leaguers.  It also gives scouts a unique opportunity to do strength assessments that may lead to trades.

“There are a lot of players involved in trades as a result of the All-Star Futures game,” Lind said, “because they were desired by other clubs.”

The game also gives a national television audience a chance to weigh in on the career star track.  Electrify the crowd, or kick up the television audience, and your stock in the world can change overnight.

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