Explaining The Tricky League

The informal Dominican league helps recently signed Latin American prospects prepare for pro ball

- Ben Badler

When draft picks sign, they typically play right away.

High school players usually go to a Rookie-level complex league in Arizona or Florida, while a college player might spend his summer with a more advanced short-season team in the New York-Penn or Northwest league.

For international prospects, July 2 is when 16-year-old players are eligible to sign. But unlike draft picks in the united states, those players aren't eligible to play in official games until the following year. That’s because Minor League Baseball rules stipulate that players must turn 17 by the end of the minor league season to be eligible.

At the age of 16, it’s remarkable how much players can change in a span of a few months. With the Dominican Summer League opening 11 months after these players sign on July 2, that’s nearly a full year of development that can take place before they play their first official pro games.

So when Latin American players sign on July 2, what do they do for the next year?

For many players, their introduction to professional baseball comes in the informal Tricky League. While it’s not an official league like the DSL, the Tricky League is similar to the instructional league and opens on July 15 and runs for six weeks through late August. Games are staged at clubs’ academies in the Dominican Republic, mostly in Santo Domingo and Boca Chica.

Sixteen teams participate in the Tricky League, with clubs playing two to four games per week from Monday through Friday. Teams keep stats on their own players, but there isn’t a centralized, official accounting of stats, nor are there league standings or playoffs. The Tricky League is a versatile tool for clubs, but its primary purpose is for teams to get their 2019 signings playing in games as soon as possible.