(Mandatory Credit: Peter Aiken-USA TODAY Sports)
The wave of contraction and realignment that swept through minor league baseball over the winter shook the KC Royals and their organization. Gone from the Kansas City system were long-time affiliates Wilmington and Lexington, both of whom served as early professional homes for so many future Royals.
Save for two seasons, Wilmington’s Blue Rocks were KC’s High-A club from 1993-2019 (the pandemic shut down the minors last year), and Lexington’s Legends had been a Class A affiliate since 2013. The Royals replaced those clubs with the Quad Cities River Bandits and Columbia Fireflies.