User:Barkeep49/Baseball Prospect Notability

First round draft picks and other high ranking prospects in baseball can present difficult cases when attempting to assess their notability given the interplay between WP:NBASEBALL (baseball's subject notability guidelines) and the general notability guideline (GNG). The currently extensive coverage of prospects does not, on its own, indicate notability for a baseball player. Instead for many prospects their being drafted is a single event and this is then followed by routine run of the mill coverage. Alternatives to deletion should be honored as there is often an appropriate redirect target for such players.

Sourcing Context

There is no shortage of baseball coverage. Historically newspapers in a team's hometown would have at least one dedicated "beat reporter" following the team. Even now with the decline of newspapers many maintain those beat reporters while others still offer regular coverage. Add to this, coverage by websites like MLB Advanced Media and The Athletic and it means that there is frequently no shortage of coverage on baseball from reliable sources. Further, combining the number of reporters, the length of spring training, and interest in baseball prospects, this means there is frequently no shortage of coverage of individual players, even those who have not made the major leagues, in these very same reliable sources.

GNG & Baseball Prospects

During articles for deletion and other discussions around the notability of minor league baseball players, some editors will point to WP:GNG being satisfied by a number of links to references. Editors will frequently point to the idea, directly or indirectly, that the player has received "significant coverage in reliable sources that are independent of the subject, it is presumed to be suitable for a stand-alone article" (all formatting from the original).

This argument can frequently be apparently persuasive but can fail to consider other elements of the notability guidelines. For some prospects the majority of substantial coverage is all related to their having been drafted by a professional team. This kind of draft coverage will frequently fall into policies around a person being notable for a single event. This substantial coverage is then followed by ongoing coverage which is run of the mill for a baseball player. This insubstantial coverage can be about single games, overall season performance, noting their change in teams as they move through the minor leagues, or noting some sort of minor league award or recognition. With dozens of minor league leagues and hundreds of minor league teams most of these awards lack any meaning or significance. Editors should be careful to not mistake this run of the mill coverage for evidence of sustained notability.

Sustained notability, reflective of an article which passes the 10 year test question, "In ten years will this addition still appear relevant?" is important. It is unlikely that for a baseball prospect who never makes it to the majors, even ones who are highly touted, the answer would be yes. Instead it is more appropriate to find other ways to make note of this prospect's career given that 90% of minor league players, and even 1/3 of first round draft picks will never reach the majors.

What to do

Just because a prospect is not notable does not mean that their page should be deleted. Instead there is frequently an alternative to deletion list page which serves as a suitable redirect target. For active prospects this can be a team's minor league player page while for former first round picks this can be a list of first round picks. Preservation of some source material honors the notability requirements while also making information available should a player more clearly pass the WP:NBASEBALL in the future via a major league appearance.

See Also

WP:PERMASTUB