Minor League Baseball Teams In Michigan (2024)

Great Lakes Loons are one of the prominent Michigan minor league baseball teams. Affiliated with LA Dodgers, they are located in Midland.

The Loons also compete in Midwest League, it is a class league recognized by MLB since 2021. They made it into the league championship playoffs and remained in the 6th position in 2016.

Great Lakes finished 2nd in the League Championship in 2000 during the tenure of Al Pedrique. They only advanced to the championship in 2016 during the Gil Velazquez era.

This club was formed in 1995. Since then they have changed the name of the club and mascot four times. In the late 90s to early 2000s, they were known as Michigan Battle Cats.

They play their home games at Dow Diamond. It is a beautiful field with a capacity of 5,500 baseball events and 9,000 on-the-stage events.

Great Lakes Loons Alumni

• Scott Barlow
• Rafael Betancourt
• John Buck
• Melky Cabrera
• Tyler Clippard
• Wade Davis
• Tim Redding
• Bubby Rossman
• Carlos Santana
• Johan Santana
• Corey Seager and others

Lansing Lugnuts is a Minor League Baseball MI affiliated with Oakland Athletics. They have the most league titles and first-half titles.

Lugnuts has been part of multiple MLB teams like Toronto Blue Jays, Chicago Cubs, Kansas City Royals, San Diego Padres, Cleveland Indians, and Boston Red Sox. They recently left Toronto Blue in 2020 and joined Oakland next year.

Lansing team formed in 1955, they were known as Lafayette Chiefs and Lafayette Red Sox in the 50s. The MiLB team has already changed its name eight times.

Their current name does justice to their Mascot Big Lug which has been the same since the inception of the team. Lansing also holds 14 titles to date. The club's latest win was in 2015.

Lansing Lugnuts Alumni

• Juan Brito
• Lance Carter
• Jose Snaiago
• Ronny Cedeno
• Jake Fox, Rich Hill
• Ryan Theriot
• Felix Pie
• Corey Patterson
• brad Mills
• Kevin Pillar
• Jonathan Davis and others

West Michigan Whitecaps are High-A certified affiliate among the list of minor league baseball teams. Whitecaps play in the East division.

West Michigan team was formed in 1994, they were previously affiliated with Oakland Athletics in the 90s but later joined the Tigers in 1997.

This Michigan team is also one of the most celebrated and decorated teams in the Minor League titles. They have won a total of 12 titles which includes six league titles and six divisions.

Whitecaps held the record of 547,401 attendance in the year 1996. They had an average of 10,000 audience per game in the late 90s. At present, the capacity of their home stadium LMCU ballpark is above 8,500.

West Michigan Whitecaps Alumni

Whitecaps players who entered into MLB are as follows;

• Benito Baez
• Emil Brown
• Jeff DaVanon
• Juan Moreno
• George Williams
• Burke Badenhop
• Adam Bernero
• Willie Blair
• Brent Clevlen
• Nate Cornejo
• Casey Crosby
• Matt Joyce
• Omar Infante

Westside Woolly Mammoths are a minor league team from Detroit. They play in the USPBL in Metro Detroit alongside Diamond Hoppers, Utica Unicorns, and Bloomfield Beavers.

Mammoths participate in the independent league alongside the aforementioned clubs. Their team logo is a mammoth and their playing colors are blue and orange.

They are one of the few independent clubs that is rated a single A. This club's inception was in 2017. Some amateur and college-level players tend to play in their independent league.

Current Roster of Westside Woolly Mammoths

• Francis Florentino
• Burle Dixon
• Fox Leum
• Ward Hacklen
• Jorden Hussein
• Livingston Morris
• Alex Garbacik
• Priamo Lozada
• Duncan Hewitt
• Resse Trahey
• Alex Steinbach
• Nick Webre
• Denver Blinn
• Zach Beadle
• Colby Seltzer
• Lamar Briggs
• Nick Caruso
• Dre Nelson
• Scott Combs
• Marcos Catillo
• Beau Atkins

Utica Unicorns is an independent baseball team in Michigan. They also play in the USPBL which takes place at Jimmy John's Field in Utica, MI.

Unicorn players and the USPBL league is for players who are around 18-25 years old, who were undrafted out of college, or released from their minor league contracts.

The logo of Utica is quite unique. It features a raging horse with a horn which is often symbolized by an ancient creature known as a unicorn.

USPBL's league team is loveable but fierce, it is part of the four-league teams performing in this competition.

Current Roster of Utica Unicorns

• Nick Pastore
• Josh Baker
• Lucas Goodin
• Donovan Curiel
• James Moses
• Jacob Bisharat
• Patrick Baggett
• Justin Gomez
• Cam Norgren
• Alec Burnson
• Alejandro Lara
• Alex Crump
• Nick Caruso
• Felix Aberouette
• Ryan Major
• Jared Weber
• Angel Diaz
• Taj Porter

Eastside Diamond Hoopers are part of the Michigan-based league, USPBL. They are one of the best-performing teams in the leagues.

They are also known as independent farm leagues that provide prospects for college athletes to enter into MiLB. Additionally, it is mainly based on marketing and promoting the game of baseball by utilizing new tactics and strategies.

The participants of the league are 18-25 years old. Their salary pay ranges from $600-$800 per month, with housing provided by host families.

Also, the league revenue primarily comes from sponsors, advertisem*nts, ballpark concessions, and ticket sales.

Current Roster of Eastside Diamond Hoopers

• Joe Kalafut
• Joe Burke
• Bryant Shellenbarge
• Luis Acevdeo
• Anthony Flores
• Chris O' Neal
• Whit Hughes
• Taj Porter
• Todd Mattox
• Alex Pup
• Chandler Dunn
• Chris Iazzetta
• Noah Mrcoux
• Jacob Wosinski

Birmingham Bloomfield Beavers are the independent Michigan-based team that participates in United Shore Professional Baseball League.

They are among the four clubs that participate and perform in the independent competition. USBPL is mainly focused on highlighting the achievement of amateur players or minor league demoted players.

It offers an opportunity for players to bounce back from hiatus, injury, or the prospect of working in their game before going back to MiLB.

Moving on, amenities for players include monthly pay and housing incentives from the host families.

Current Roster of Birmingham Bloomfield Beavers

• Chris Davis
• Raymond Hilbrich
• JD Stubbs
• Ben Wilcoxson
• Malek Bolin
• Tremaine Spears
• Travious Ford
• Rudy Ramirez
• Marcus Judd
• Shoma Yoshida
• Luke Stephenson
• David Meech
• Andres Ugarte
• Alex Crump
• Michael Esposito