The final game of the Minor League Baseball season is tonight, when PCL champion Fresno faces International League winner Columbus in the Triple-A National Championship Game.
The game is played at rotating sites, and this year the El Paso Chihuahuas are hosting the event.
NBC Sports Network is televising the game nationally. It starts at 5:00 (Pacific).
This is an opportunity for you to check out the beautiful new downtown ballpark in El Paso – it really is a unique stadium. Let’s face the facts: you’re probably never going to visit El Paso, so this is your best chance to see what their cool ballpark looks like.
Columbus is starting lefty Ryan Merritt, who pitched the opening game of both series in the IL playoffs.
Fresno’s No. 1 starter Dan Straily got called up by the Astros, who are desperately trying to hang on to a playoff spot in the American League wild card chase. So the Grizzlies are going to start RHP Chris Devenski, a prospect of some regard who will be making his first Triple-A start.
There is money on the line: MiLB pays the players extra for this game (player salaries are paid by their major league teams, not MiLB), and the winning team gets more than the losing team. It’s a nice little bonus, especially for the players who haven’t reached the big leagues yet.
Links:
- We have some Triple-A National Championship Game previews, from MiLB.com, Baseball America, the Fresno Bee, and the Columbus Dispatch.
- The Houston Astros organization has won up and down the minor leagues.
- The Mariners were off last night, so Ryan Divish typed this nice feature on the amazing Franklin Gutierrez.
- Bob Dutton’s Mariners Notebook looks at the reemergence of Danny Farquhar, among other items of interest.
- The Mariners placed two teenage pitchers in the Arizona Rookie League’s Top 20 Prospects, according to Baseball America. Very young pitching is probably the strength of the organization after a disappointing 2015 on the farm.
