2019 Pacific Coast League playoff preview
The Pacific Coast League playoffs look nothing like last season's edition. All four of this year's teams missed the postseason in 2018.In terms of past championships, Sacramento has the most with four, but they all came when the club was an affiliate of the Oakland Athletics. Now affiliated with the
The Pacific Coast League playoffs look nothing like last season's edition. All four of this year's teams missed the postseason in 2018.
In terms of past championships, Sacramento has the most with four, but they all came when the club was an affiliate of the Oakland Athletics. Now affiliated with the Giants, the River Cats will face the current A's affiliate, the Las Vegas Aviators, a franchise seeking its first title since 1988, when it was named the Stars.
The Bay Area rivals' Triple-A squads will face off for the Pacific Conference title in a best-of-5 series.
On the other side of the bracket, the American Conference championship will come down to the Round Rock Express and Iowa Cubs. Neither team has won a title, with Round Rock losing in the Finals twice (2006, 2015) since joining the PCL in 2005 and Iowa losing once to Sacramento (2004) since coming aboard in 1998.
Round Rock Express (84-56, American Southern Division champion) vs.
Iowa Cubs (75-65, American Northern Division champion)
Round Rock won season series, 11-5
Game 1 at Round Rock, Sept. 4 at 8:05 p.m. ET 
Game 2 at Round Rock, Sept. 5 at 8:05 p.m. ET
Game 3 at Iowa, Sept. 6 at 8:08 p.m. ET
Game 4 at Iowa, Sept. 7 at 8:08 p.m. ET (if necessary)
Game 5 at Iowa, Sept. 8 at 1:08 p.m. ET (if necessary)
An unbalanced season series between the teams does not necessarily portend an easy opening round for the Express.
Iowa has an interesting blend of veterans and prospects trying to get the team back to the Finals for the first time in 15 seasons. First baseman Jim Adduci (.301/.338/.465, 12 homers, 58 RBIs), third baseman Phillip Evans (.283/.371/.470, 17 homers, 61 RBIs) and shortstop Dixon Machado (.261/.371/.480, 17 homers, 65 RBIs) have brought a combined 357 games of Major League experience to the Cubs.
Shortstop Zack Short (.211/.338/.414, six homers, 17 RBIs) is the Cubs' No. 9 prospect and has been with Iowa for 41 games after missing time due to injury. Second baseman Trent Giambrone (.241/.314/.465, 23 homers, 66 RBIs, 17 stolen bases) has been a rock this season, befitting his No. 28 prospect status.
Complete playoff coverage »
Iowa's pitching staff is led by PCL Pitcher of the Year Colin Rea (14-4, 3.95 ERA), with support from Matt Swarmer (10-11, 5.65) in the rotation and Dillon Maples (4-4, 3.77, seven saves) in the bullpen.
Round Rock fended off a season-long challenge from its new in-state rival, San Antonio, overcoming key players being promoted or traded, including Yordan Alvarez, Josh Rojas, Derek Fisher and Kyle Tucker.
There's still plenty of talent on the roster, led by first baseman Taylor Jones (.291/.388/.501, 22 homers, 84 RBIs), middle infielder Jack Mayfield (.287/.350/.566, 26 homers, 79 RBIs), third baseman Nick Tanielu (.295/.360/.520, 19 homers, 84 RBIs) and outfielder Drew Ferguson (.281/.395/.440, 11 homers, 57 RBIs, 27 steals).
The Express' pitching staff is led by Astros Nos. 10 and 11 prospects Cristian Javier (1.64 ERA in two starts) and Brandon Bielak (8-4, 4.41), plus 22nd-ranked Rogelio Armenteros (6-7, 4.80). The bullpen is anchored by Ralph Garza (8-1, 4.04, five saves) and Brendan McCurry (3-5, 4.23, six saves).
Las Vegas Aviators (83-57, Pacific Southern Division champion) vs.
Sacramento River Cats (73-67, Pacific Northern Division champion)
Las Vegas won season series, 11-5
Game 1 at Sacramento, Sept. 4 at 9:35 p.m. ET
Game 2 at Sacramento, Sept. 5 at 9:35 p.m. ET
Game 3 at Las Vegas, Sept. 6 at 10:05 p.m. ET
Game 4 at Las Vegas (if necessary), Sept. 7 at 10:05 p.m. ET
Game 5 at Las Vegas (if necessary), Sept. 8 at 3:05 p.m. ET
The Aviators won 10 of the first 12 meetings with the River Cats before Sacramento took three of four in Las Vegas from June 21-24. That was the last meeting of the season between them, so plenty has changed for both clubs.
"There's been a lot of roster turnover for both teams since then," Aviators manager Fran Riordan said. "There's gonna be guys not familiar with each other. But our guys have weathered a lot of bumps in the road. They're a resilient bunch."
Among the most prolific Las Vegas players still on the roster are outfielders Mark Payton (.334/.400/.653, 30 homers, 97 RBIs), Dustin Fowler (.277/.333/.477, 25 homers, 89 RBIs) and Skye Bolt (.269/.350/.459, 11 homers, 61 RBIs) and shortstop Jorge Mateo (.289/.330/.504, 19 homers, 78 RBIs, 24 stolen bases), the A's No. 4 prospect.
The team has been augmented by a number of young players promoted from Double-A Midland and Class A Advanced Stockton. Two of them -- Mikey White and Alfonso Rivas -- played key roles in Sunday's division-clinching win.
"Having guys prepared to play at this level, that's what it's all about," Riordan said. "Mikey White tied the game with a home run and Alfonso Rivas hit the go-ahead home run."
The Aviators' playoff rotation starts with veteran right-hander Daniel Mengden (4-3, 4.22 ERA), followed by Parker Dunshee (4-5, 5.38) and top A's prospect Jesus Luzardo (1-1, 3.19 in seven starts). If Games 4 and 5 are necessary, two other late-season promotees will start in righties Grant Holmes and James Kaprielian.
"The best part about those guys [Holmes and Kaprielian] is they're not scared," Riordan said.
Sacramento is a formidable opponent, led by outfielder Mike Gerber (.308/.368/.569, 26 homers, 83 RBIs). The River Cats' pitching staff is something of a patchwork group, however, with only Enderson Franco (6-5, 5.97) having thrown more than 60 innings at Triple-A.
In brief
Old affiliates, new affiliates: In terms of the length of affiliation, Iowa and the Cubs have been together for 38 years, the second-longest pact in the PCL behind only Omaha and the Royals (1969). In contrast, the Giants and Sacramento have been together since 2015, while Las Vegas and the A's are in their first season as affiliates. Round Rock and the Astros are in a second affiliation that started this season; the first lasted from 2000-10.
All-Stars on the rise: The only member of the All-PCL team who's participating in the postseason is Rea, the Pitcher of the Year. Tucker would have been in the Round Rock lineup, but the Astros recalled him on Monday. In fact, most of the All-PCL team is in the Majors, including catcher David Freitas (Brewers), first baseman Kevin Cron (D-backs), second baseman Isan Díaz (Marlins), third baseman and MVP Ty France (Padres), outfielders Yonathan Daza and Sam Hilliard (both Rockies) and designated hitter Jared Walsh (Angels).
Called up: A few other notable performers were called up by their big league affiliates over the weekend. The Cubs brought up right-handers Adbert Alzolay and Alec Mills, catcher Tyler Davis, second baseman Robel Garcia and outfielder Albert Almora Jr. The Astros also promoted catcher Garrett Stubbs and lefty Cionel Pérez. The A's added righty Paul Blackburn, catcher Sean Murphy and infielder Franklin Barreto. Giants callups included southpaw Conner Menez, righty Burch Smith, catcher Aramis Garcia and first baseman/outfielder Chris Shaw.
Chris Jackson is a contributor to MiLB.com.
These 15 moments led to season No. 15 of Minor League road trips
Benjamin Hill travels the nation collecting stories about what makes Minor League Baseball unique. This excerpt from his newsletter is a mere taste of the smorgasbord of delights he offers every week. Read the full newsletter here, and subscribe to his newsletter here.
MiLB podcast crew makes Opening Day predictions
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
Everything you need to know for Triple-A Opening Day
First, there was big league Opening Day. Now it's Triple-A's turn to take the spotlight. The Minor League season opens Friday when the Triple-A International League and Pacific Coast League seasons get underway for the first of MiLB’s two Opening Days. And right out of the gates, several of baseball's
Top prospects to watch at Triple-A -- one for each organization
It’s Triple-A’s turn up to bat on Friday. The regular season begins for the Minor Leagues’ highest level one day after the action starts on the Major League side. Fun fact: it’ll be the earliest start to a Minor League season since 1951 (March 27). Double-A, High-A and Single-A will
Here's where every Top 100 prospect is expected to start the season
The 2025 Opening Day prospect roster announcements began last week when the Cubs informed Matt Shaw (MLB No. 19) he was making the trip overseas to compete in the Tokyo Series. Roki Sasaki (No. 1) also received the good news, but his assignment was much less of a surprise. Now
Nationals prospect King joins MiLB podcast
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
Here are the 2025 All-Spring Breakout Teams
Fifteen games, several jersey swaps and countless highlights later, the second edition of Spring Breakout has officially concluded – and it lived up to its billing. Of the 16 contests sprinkled across four days, only one game (Dodgers vs. Cubs) was rained out. Coincidentally, the Cubs were one of two
Rox young sluggers aim to bring pop back to Coors Field
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Coors Field may provide the best run-scoring environment in Major League Baseball, but the Rockies haven’t taken advantage of it in recent years. Even without adjusting for Coors, they have fielded offenses worse than the league average the past three seasons, and they scored the fewest runs
Astros brass sees potential in consistently 'underranked' farm system
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- The last time the Astros landed in the top 10 of MLB Pipeline’s farm system rankings was before the 2019 season. Since those rankings expanded to all 30 teams ahead of the 2020 season -- 11 lists in total -- they’ve never ranked higher than
Complete results and highlights from Spring Breakout
The second edition of MLB Spring Breakout is complete, and there was no shortage of highlights from the future stars of Major League Baseball over the four-day showcase. Here's a complete breakdown of the 16-game exhibition:
Southpaw Spring Breakout: White Sox future on display with Schultz, Smith
GLENDALE, Ariz. -- If all goes as planned for the White Sox, left-handers Hagen Smith and Noah Schultz won’t spend much time following each other to the mound in a single game. Schultz, the No. 1 White Sox prospect and No. 16 overall, per MLB Pipeline, and Smith, who is
In first pro game, Rainer offers pop, promise to Tigers fans
NORTH PORT, Fla. -- Bryce Rainer’s pro career consisted of workouts and batting practice until Sunday.
'Me and Brady on the dirt again': House, King reunite at Spring Breakout
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- The 2025 Spring Breakout was a flashback for Brady House and Seaver King. Over 10 years ago, the infielders were travel ball teammates in Georgia who shared the dream of making it to the Major Leagues. Now, they are top prospects in the same organization,
Lambert -- 'an adrenaline guy' -- hoping to be next Mets bullpen gem
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Ryan Lambert loves throwing hard. He relishes the idea of getting to two strikes and blowing hitters away. “Get me in a game,” Lambert said, “cool things will happen.”
Stewart embraces Spring Breakout: 'What's not to love?'
PHOENIX -- Sal Stewart was one fired-up Reds prospect. On Sunday in the first inning during the organization's 9-7 Spring Breakout win over Brewers prospects, Stewart lifted a 2-2 pitch that sailed over the center fielder's head to the wall. Already not known as a speedster, he stumbled running between
Prospect Peña quietly drawing raves in Brewers' farm system
PHOENIX – Jesús Made was at the top of the Brewers’ lineup for Sunday’s 9-7 loss to the Reds in the finale of MLB’s four-day Spring Breakout, a fitting perch when you consider that the 17-year-old infielder is under a bright spotlight as MLB Pipeline’s No. 55 prospect. Made could
Brecht -- in 1st outing since '24 Draft -- wows at Spring Breakout
GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Sunday's Spring Breakout showcase was the perfect unveiling for Rockies No. 5 prospect Brody Brecht. A right-handed pitcher from the University of Iowa whom the Rockies selected 38th overall last summer, Brecht had a nice collegiate resume, an interesting backstory as a former wide receiver for the
Braves prospects show promise in Spring Breakout
NORTH PORT, Fla. -- As Terry Pendleton prepared to serve as the manager of the Braves prospect team that played the Tigers prospect team in a Spring Breakout game on Sunday afternoon, he said fans should be patient with John Gil and Luis Guanipa, a pair of teenagers who have
Yanks' Lagrange flashes triple-digit heat in Spring Breakout
SARASOTA, Fla. -- There was an audible “Ooh” from the crowd at Ed Smith Stadium, and Carlos Lagrange quickly glanced beyond the right-field wall, checking the velocity of the pitch he’d just thrown in Saturday’s 5-4 Spring Breakout loss to the Orioles. It had registered in the triple digits, and
Bradfield dedicates Spring Breakout performance to late friend
SARASOTA, Fla. -- It was about more than playing in the national spotlight. More than the dinner bet placed with an old college teammate earlier in the month. More than a game. As Enrique Bradfield Jr. slid home to score a run during the first inning of Saturday night’s Spring