Florida Rookie League

Florida Rookie League Founded 2017
Level Rookie Countries USA Teams 20 Current champions Miami Motorheads

The Florida Rookie League (FRL) is a professional baseball league that operates in the state of Florida, in the United States. As the name suggests, it plays at the rookie level within the Bull Baseball Leagues and each of the teams are affiliated with a Bull League parent club.

The league name accurately describes the constitution of the league, which includes only teams based in various cities in Florida. As a rookie-level league, it is the usual entry point for international scouting discoveries and free agents who are not already established players.

The league began as a winter rookie league in 2017 but was reorganized into a regular spring/summer scheduled league commencing with the 2018 season.

The league champion is determined at the end of every season.

History

The FRL began as a winter league in 2017, playing a 62-game schedule from mid-January until the end of March. The inaugural regular season, 2017, started on January 16, ended on March 22. The 20 teams were divided into two divisions of ten teams each.

During the summer of 2017, the league reorganized into a summer league intended for international prospects and younger draftees to gain baseball experience before moving up to Short Season A or A level.

Structure and season

The FRL was created from the remnants of the former winter league version of the FRL, which ran from January to March in 2017. The current structure has the league's 20 teams divided into an Atlantic Coast League (ACL) and a Gulf Coast League (GCL). Each league is further divided into two divisions of five teams each.

The divisions are named for Hall of Fame Bull League players. The ACL has the Carl Simms and Chuck Provost divisions, while the GCL has the Chris Felix and Iron Arm divisions. The divisions are not grouped geographically, but the two league split the state roughly down the middle, with ACL teams based in cities up and down the Atlantic coast, but including Orlando, while the GCL includes the Gulf Coast cities.

The teams play an 84-game schedule which begins in mid-April, and ending in mid-July, and each team will play each other team either 8 or 12 times. The schedule is a "split season" format, meaning the standings at the half (after 42 games) determine the playoff contenders for the first round of the playoffs, with the standings for the second half determining the playoff contenders for the second round of the playoffs.

Championship and interleague play

At the end of the season, a three-round playoff is held to determine the FRL World Series championship team. The league plays a split season format, so the division winners of the first half, if different from the division winners from the second half, must go through a best-of-three playoff to determine who will advance from each season half.

The first half champions and the second half champions play for the WS title.

There is no all-star game in the rookie league.

Current teams

Atlantic Coast League

Division	Team	Affiliation	City
Carl Simms	Daytona Beach Danger	Denver Danger	Daytona Beach, FL
	Hollywood Cowboys	Arizona Cowboys	Hollywood, FL
	Jupiter Brawlers	Boston Brawlers	Jupiter, FL
	Miami Motorheads	Detroit Motorheads	Miami, FL
	Orlando Tidals	California Tidals	Orlando, FL
Chuck Provost	Ft. Lauderdale Nomads	Toronto Nomads	Ft. Laurderdale, FL
	Jacksonville Beach Ravens	Minneapolis Ravens	Jacksonville Beach, FL
	Key Largo Oxen	Ohio Oxen	Key Largo, FL
	Vero Beach Metros	Montreal Metros	Vero Beach, FL
	West Palm Beach Dragons	New York Dragons	West Palm Beach, FL

Gulf Coast League

Division	Team	Affiliation	City
Chris Felix	Clearwater Attack	Battle Creek Attack	Clearwater, FL
	Ft. Myers Deputies	Dallas Deputies	Ft. Myers, FL
	Largo Pit Bulls	Chicago Pit Bulls	Largo, FL
	Naples Aces	Anchorage Aces	Naples, FL
	Sarasota Inferno	Calgary Inferno	Sarasota, FL
Iron Arm	Lakeland Salts	Seattle Salts	Lakeland, FL
	Ocala Sharks	Norfolk Sharks	Ocala, FL
	Pensacola Speeders	Nevada Speeders	Pensacola, FL
	Tallahassee Cannons	Kingston Cannons	Tallahassee, FL
	Tampa Fighting Moose	Rimouski Fighting Moose	Tampa, FL

Champions

Championship wins by team

Wins	Team (Affiliate)	Championship years
1	Miami Motorheads (DET)	2018

League Rules

Florida Rookie League Rule Summary

Level	Rookie
Designated Hitter	Yes
Roster limit	No limit
Age range	Max. 23 yrs
Disabled list	7 days
Pro time limit	None

As the league is intended for international amateur prospects to begin their baseball journey, the maximum age for players on FRL rosters is only 21. Players drafted from high school may be assigned to rookie-level, but college draftees will generally be too old.