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Minor League Baseball notes: There will be playoffs in 2021
The 2 teams with best win percentage will play for league championship in Double-A, High-A, Low-A
Jul. 3, 2021 3:55 pm, Updated: Jul. 6, 2021 11:48 am
CEDAR RAPIDS – Playoffs? Did you say playoffs?
Well, yeah, playoffs.
Minor League Baseball announced this week that there will be a postseason for Class A and Double-A leagues. Originally everyone was to play a 120-game regular season only because the COVID-19 pandemic pushed back the start of things in the minors until early May.
The playoffs will be brief, a best-of-5 championship series that runs Sept. 21 through Sept. 26. The lower-seeded team will host Games 1 and 2 on Sept. 21 and 22, there will be an off day Sept. 23, with the series concluding at the higher-seeded team’s ballpark Sept. 25 and 26.
The leagues involved include the High-A Central League, of which the Cedar Rapids Kernels are a member. The others are the Double-A Central, Double-A Northeast, Double-A South, High-A East, High-A West, Low-A East, Low-A Southeast and Low-A West.
“We are glad there is the opportunity to make the playoffs,” said Kernels Manager Brian Dinkelman. “The guys work hard all season, and a chance to play for a league title is always fun. Gives the guys something to play for and a chance to win a ring.”
The championship series participants in each league will be determined by overall win percentage, regardless of division. Going into Saturday’s play, Quad Cities was well ahead of everyone else in the High-A Central with a 34-16 record. Then it was Dayton (29-22), Great Lakes (28-24), Lake County (27-24) and Cedar Rapids (27-25).
The Triple-A East League will see its regular season extended from Sept. 19 to Oct. 3. The Triple-A West League season (of which the Iowa Cubs are a member) will extend from Sept. 21 to Oct. 3.
The team with the best overall record in each league will be determined league champion. The Rookie-level complex league seasons will remain the same, just starting this week and ending Sept. 14. in Arizona and Sept. 18 in Florida.
Around the horn
- The Kernels have made a plethora of roster moves in the past week. Most recently, pitcher Erik Manoah Jr. and catcher Kyle Schmidt were brought up from low-Class A Fort Myers, with catcher Allante Hall being sent to the parent Minnesota Twins Rookie-level complex team in Fort Myers. Manoah Jr. pitched in the old Midwest League for Burlington in parts of the 2016 and 2017 seasons.
- Relief pitcher Jonathan Cheshire has been placed on the Injured List with a right forearm strain that forced him to come out of last Sunday’s home game against Lansing. Cheshire is 3-3 with a 4.41 earned run average in 13 appearances for the Kernels.
- First baseman Gabe Snyder is on the IL with a right wrist sprain. Snyder had not played much prior to his IL stint because of his injury. He is hitting .230 with six home runs and 14 RBIs in 35 games.
- Pitcher Andrew Cabezas also is on the IL, leaving the Kernels with just 12 active pitchers, the fewest they’ve had all season. Cabezas is 2-1 with a 3.13 ERA in eight appearances, seven starts.
- Nick Allgeyer threw a scoreless relief inning Friday night for the Toronto Blue Jays against Tampa Bay in his major-league debut. Allgeyer is the first former Iowa Hawkeyes player under head coach Rick Heller to play in the big leagues. Allgeyer had been called up from Triple-A previously this season but did not appear in a game.
- Former Cedar Rapids Jefferson prep Connor Van Scoyoc has begun his minor-league season with the Angels Rookie-level complex team in Arizona. An 11th-round draft pick of Los Angeles in 2018, Van Scoyoc has thrown 1 1/3 innings in one appearance, giving up a hit, four walks and two runs (one earned), with two strikeouts.
- Former Mount Vernon prep and University of Iowa pitcher C.J. Eldred also is back at it. He has one appearance for the Royals Rookie-level complex team in Arizona. Eldred threw two innings in that appearance, giving up one hit and no runs, with no walks or strikeouts. Eldred spent the 2019 minor league season in low-A and high-A.
Comments: (319)-398-8258, jeff.johnson@thegazette.com
Teammates approach the mound as Cedar Rapids Kernels pitcher Ben Gross (21) is substituted out during their game at Veteran’s Memorial Stadium in Cedar Rapids on Sunday, May 30, 2021. (Andy Abeyta/The Gazette)
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