The Angels’ rookie-level team in Orem, Utah is no longer an affiliate, part of a shift in the restructuring of minor league baseball. The eight-team Pioneer League is now an independent “partner league” of MLB rather than a part of the affiliated minors.
The Orem Owlz began as an Angels affiliate in 2001, but that 20-year run ended Monday with Major League Baseball’s announcement of the Pioneer League, who will join the formerly independent Atlantic League, American Association, and Frontier League as “partner leagues” of MLB.
From Major League Baseball’s press release:
As a Partner League, the Pioneer League will collaborate with MLB to provide organized baseball to communities throughout the Western U.