The Single-A and High-A playoffs officially kicked off this past week, and a handful of teams with former WVU Baseball players are going strong in pursuit of a minor league championship. Read more: Around the Farm 12: Mountaineers’ MiLB playoff updates and more.
Three teams with Mountaineer representatives are competing in championship series, while the Double-A playoffs officially began Tuesday.
Triple-A players still have another week of play before their playoffs officially begin.
Read until the end to find out who this week’s Mountaineer MiLB Player of the Week is.
Read more: Around The Farm #11: Derek Clark called up to AA, Ian Korn’s first MiLB W
Single-A playoffs update
In Single-A, two teams with former WVU Baseball players competed in divisional playoff series matchups this past week.
San Jose Giants – Pitcher Ian Korn
The first team is the San Jose Giants (San Francisco Giants) of the California League North Division with pitcher Ian Korn.
Korn officially made his MiLB debut with the Giants August 28. Before Korn joined San Jose, the team had already clinched a playoff spot with the best record (37-29) in the North Division at the end of the first half of the season.
The Giants would go on to win the second half as well with a 43-23 record, putting them at 80-52 overall.
The Stockton Ports (Athletics) finished the second half with the second-best record, 35-31, clinching the other spot in the North Division Championship game.
The Giants won Game One, 10-5, and then won Game Two, 3-1, to punch its ticket to the California League Championship series.
San Jose now faces the Lake Elsinore Storm (San Diego Padres) for the championship in a best-of-three series. The series began on Sunday with the Storm taking Game One, 12-1.
Fayetteville Woodpeckers – Pitcher Carson Estridge
The other team is the Fayetteville Woodpeckers (Houston Astros) of the Carolina League North Division with pitcher Carson Estridge.
Estridge made his MiLB debut August 6 with the Woodpeckers. He helped Fayetteville to a 39-25 record, the best of the North Division in the second half.
Fayetteville was matched up with the first half winners, the Fredericksburg Nationals (Washington Nationals), in the North Division Champion series.
The Woodpeckers swept the Nationals 2-0; winning Game One, 4-2, and Game Two, 8-1, to win the North Division Championship.
In the Carolina League Championship, the Woodpeckers face the Charleston RiverDogs (Tampa Bay Rays). The Woodpeckers won Game One of the best-of-three series, 14-4.
Both the Giants and the Woodpeckers will play Game Two of their championship series Tuesday. If Game Three is necessary, it will be played Wednesday.
Korn and Estridge have not yet appeared in any playoff games.
High-A playoffs update
Four teams with former Mountaineers competed in High-A playoff games this past week.
Greensboro Grasshoppers – Pitcher Carlson Reed
The Greensboro Grasshoppers (Pittsburgh Pirates) of the South Atlantic League competed in a High-A playoff series this past week. The team has former WVU pitcher Carlson Reed rostered.
Reed has been a member of the Grasshoppers since 2025 and competed in the playoffs with them this past season as well.
The Grasshoppers were neither North Division first or second half champions in 2026, but had the second-best record in the second half of the season at 41-25.
The Frederick Keys (Baltimore Orioles) won both the North Division first and second half and were the Grasshoppers’ opponent in the North Division Championship.
The Keys took game one of the series, 13-1. The Grasshoppers would bounce back and win game two, 5-3, and game three, 7-5, to clinch a spot in the South Atlantic League Championship.
Greensboro now faces the Winston-Salem Dash (Chicago White Sox) in a best-of-three series for the championship. Winston-Salem took Game One, 15-8, with Game Two set for Tuesday.
Reed has yet to appear for the Grasshoppers in the playoffs.
Great Lakes Loons – Pitcher Robby Porco
The Great Lakes Loons (Los Angeles Dodgers) of the Midwest League, with pitcher Robby Porco, also competed in the playoffs this past week.
Porco was called up to the Loons May 25 this season. With Porco, the Loons won the East Division second half with a 39-26 record.
The first-half winner and the Loons’ opponent in the East Division series was the Dayton Dragons (Cincinnati Reds).
The Loons started the series with a 6-0 victory over the Dragons in Game One. Dayton would then win Game Two, 3-1, and Game Three, 5-0, eliminating Great Lakes.
The Dragons now face the Quad Cities River Bandits (Kansas City Royals) in the Midwest League Championship. Quad Cities leads the best-of-three series, 1-0.
Porco did not appear for the Loons in the playoffs.
Bowling Green Hot Rods (Pitcher Jack Kartsonas) and South Bend Cubs (Pitcher Chase Meyer)
The Bowling Green Hot Rods (Tampa Bay Rays) of the South Atlantic League are another team with a former WVU pitcher who qualified for a High-A playoff series.
The Hot Rods have Jack Kartsonas rostered, but he has been out with an injury since August 7.
The Hot Rods would fall to the Winston-Salem Dash, 2-0, in a best-of-three series to determine the South Division representative of the South Atlantic League Championship.
The South Bend Cubs (Chicago Cubs) of the South Atlantic League are another team with a former WVU pitcher rostered.
Chase Meyer is a member of the Cubs organization and joined South Bend September 8 ahead of the playoffs.
Meyer left WVU early on in the Mountaineers’ 2026 season and planned to transfer to Arizona State for 2027. However, the Cubs drafted Meyer with the 277th overall pick in the 2026 MLB draft and he joined the organization, ending his college career.
The Cubs lost a best-of-three series to the Quad Cities River Bandits in the West Division Championship.
Meyer has not appeared with South Bend since being called up.
Double-A playoffs update
This week, the Double-A playoffs will begin, and four teams with former Mountaineers will compete.
In the Eastern League, the Hartford Yard Goats (Colorado Rockies) with infielder Tevin Tucker will compete in the Northeast Division Championship.
The Yard Goats won the Northeast Division first half with a 39-29 record. Tucker was called up to Hartford August 11.
In the Northeast Division Championship, the Yard Goats will face off against the Reading Fightin Phils (Philadelphia Phillies).
Also in the Eastern League, the Richmond Flying Squirrels (San Francisco Giants) will face the Erie SeaWolves (Detroit Tigers) in the Southwest Division Championship.
The Flying Squirrels have pitcher Tyler Switalski rostered, but he will not appear as he is on the 60-day injured list. Switalski last appeared with Richmond August 21.
The Flying Squirrels were the Southwest Division first-half winners with a 43-25 record.
In the Southern League, the Rocket City Trash Pandas (Los Angeles Angels) will face the Knoxville Smokies (Chicago Cubs) in the North Division Championship. The Trash Pandas have pitcher Derek Clark rostered.
Clark has yet to play for Rocket City since being called up September 7.
The Trash Pandas clinched their spot in the North Division Championship by winning the second half with a 37-32 record.
The final team is the Amarillo Sod Poodles (Arizona Diamondbacks) of the Texas League with pitcher David Hagaman. It will face the Frisco RoughRiders (Texas Rangers) in the South Division Championship.
Hagaman is ranked as the Diamondbacks fourth-best prospect and touts a 7-6 record with 132 strikeouts in 2026. He was called up to the Sod Poodles August 4.
The Sod Poodles earned their spot in the playoffs by winning the South Division second half with a 41-28 record.
All Double-A playoff series are best-of-three and begin Tuesday.
Triple-A updates
The Triple-A playoffs begin September 22. Currently, no teams with former Mountaineers have clinched a playoff spot, nor is it likely that one will clinch one of the last two spots.
Previously, the Memphis Redbirds (St. Louis Cardinals) had former WVU outfielder Victor Scott II, but he was called back up to the Cardinals September 1.
The Redbirds will compete in the playoffs since it won the International League first half with a 47-28 record. There is still about a week left for Scott to potentially be optioned back.
The other team that has already clinched is the Pacific Coast first-half winner, the Las Vegas Aviators (Athletics). The Athletics have pitcher Griffin Kirn and catcher Logan Suave in its organization, so it is possible one of them could be called up to play.
It is not likely a team with a WVU player will clinch either of the remaining two spots. The team with the best chance is the Toledo Mud Hens (Detroit Tigers), with pitcher Jackson Wolf, but they are 5.5 games back with six games remaining.
The Durham Bulls (Tampa Bay Rays) are 3.5 games back and recently had pitcher Michael Grove rostered. Grove was recently designated for assignment September 12, and it is unclear what his future holds in the MLB.
Top performers across the MiLB this past week
In his final regular-season MiLB start, David Hagaman picked up a win for the Amarillo Sod Poodles. He pitched five innings Friday against the San Antonio Missions, allowing no runs and striking out three batters.
Jackson Wolf also picked up a win this week for the Toledo Mud Hens. He pitched five innings against the Iowa Cubs Thursday and only allowed one run with five strikeouts.
The final top performer is catcher Paul McIntosh, who appeared in four games with the Lehigh Valley IronPigs this past week. He hit a solo homer Saturday, his ninth of the season.
Mountaineer MiLB Player of the Week
Unfortunately, the options were limited this week for Mountaineer MiLB Player of the Week. It really could be a coin flip between Hagaman and Wolf, but I am going to give it to David Hagaman.
Hagaman is considered a top prospect within the Diamondbacks organization. Finishing the regular season with a win gives him momentum headed into the playoffs. I expect Hagaman to get a start at some point in the South Division series. With his high strikeout capability, the Sod Poodles will be in a good position.
Remember, you can potentially watch former Mountaineers in the following championship/playoff series this week.
- San Jose Giants vs. Lake Elsinore Storm – September 15-16
- Fayetteville Woodpeckers vs. Charleston RiverDogs – September 15-16
- Greensboro Grasshoppers vs. Winston-Salem Dash – September 15-16
- Frisco RoughRiders vs. Amarillo Sod Poodles – September 15, 17-18
- Knoxville Smokies vs. Rocket City Trash Pandas – September 15, 17-18
- Hartford Yard Goats vs. Reading Fightin Phils – September 15, 17-18
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