The Brewers contract with their low Class A affiliate, the West Virginia Power, ends after the current season.

Though the Brewers seem to be content with the Power, there might be a better option for both the Brewers and their fans: the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers, whose player development contract with the Mariners ends after this year as well.

Are the Milwaukee Brewers pulling the plug on the West Virginia Power?

The low Class A player development contract between Milwaukee and West Virginia ends in September.

However, Milwaukee baseball officials still haven't sat down with Power executives to discuss the organizations' future together.

....

Rumor has it, the Brewers want to move their Class A franchise to nearby Appleton, Wis. That would end the affiliation between the Seattle Mariners and Wisconsin Timber Rattlers.

From the Charleston Daily Mail.

The Timber Rattlers haven't been too happy with the Mariners lately. Most top-tier prospects have skipped the low-A stop in the Mariner chain, and the T-Rats have suffered through two very bad seasons, record-wise.

The main roadblock seems to be the cold-weather issue. One of the reasons the Brewers left Beloit was that they didn't want their pitchers in the cold weather of early April. However, from what I've heard, Beloit's stadium is sub-par and they didn't draw particularly well. The T-Rats don't have those issues. Fox Cities Stadium is new and in prime condition, and attendance is good considering how terrible the T-Rats teams have been the past two years.

via wisconsin.timberrattlers.milb.com

via wisconsin.timberrattlers.milb.com

The second picture doesn't even show the entire seating section, there is more seating down each line.

It would be awesome to see the Brewers move up here. I think the benefits are pretty obvious for both sides:

• The Brewers get a near-by place for rehab assignments and scouting
• The Brewers get to grow the fan base and merchandise network up here, where few people are aware of their existence among the constant barrage of Packers coverage
• The T-Rats get a quality organization who sends them good players
• The T-Rats get an attendance boost from people like me who would actually go to/care about their games, as well as general people who become more interested
• Finally, the T-Rats get the allure of having a potential rehabbing player come visit for a game

By no means is this a done deal, in fact, teams cannot even negotiate until after the year without violating tampering rules. But I can only hope a deal is struck- if so, BCB will gain a few reporters up here in Appleton who can bring pictures, video, and scouting reports to all of the rest who never get to see any good low A players because they're in West Virginia.

Here's the Brewerfan.net thread on the issue.