Complex League schedule change

[2wins87]

BA reported today that both the complex leagues are pushing their schedules up to start and finish a month earlier in response to the new minor league roster limits, so they will run May 4 to July 25 this year.

If the draft ends on the date of the All-Star game as it did last year, the FCL will finish just over a week after the draft completes, leaving basically no chance for draftees to play in the FCL in the year they are drafted.  Obviously this changes some typical development paths.

College draftees will now always start in low-A or higher; no more short stints in the complex league, which is probably better for the HS draftees and IFAs playing in the complex leagues.  The more raw HS draftees likely will not play in official minor league games at all until the year after they are drafted; the advanced high-schoolers will probably face a tougher challenge going straight to low-A.  The players that do excel in the complex leagues will likely get a longer shot in low-A after playing the full FCL season; it's now possible to have essentially a full season of games split between rookie and A-ball, which again seems like it could be good for IFAs and many HS draftees that aren't immediately ready for A-ball the first year after being drafted.