Pacific Coast League playoff preview

The Pacific Coast League playoffs will begin this week, minus a couple of familiar faces.

After winning three of the last four league titles, the Omaha Storm Chasers failed to qualify this year. Also absent are the Sacramento River Cats, who changed affiliations from the A's to the Giants prior to the season. Sacramento had a stretch of 11 playoff appearances in 13 years from 2000-12.

Instead of Omaha, Oklahoma City is representing the Northern Division against Southern Division champion Round Rock in the American Conference finals. Fresno, which beat out Sacramento for the Northern Division title, will face off with Southern Division champ El Paso in the Pacific Conference finals.

Round Rock Express (78-66, American Southern Division champion) vs.
Oklahoma City Dodgers (86-58, American Northern Division champion)

Oklahoma City won season series, 11-5

Game 1 at Round Rock, Sept. 9 at 8:05 p.m. ET
Game 2 at Round Rock, Sept. 10 at 8:05 p.m. ET
Game 3 at Oklahoma City, Sept. 11 at 8:05 p.m. ET
Game 4 at Oklahoma City, Sept. 12 at 8:05 p.m. ET (if necessary)
Game 5 at Oklahoma City, Sept. 13 at 3:05 p.m. ET (if necessary)

Oklahoma City's Damon Berryhill earned PCL Manager of the Year honors for two reasons: he guided the Dodgers to a division title and he overcame a whopping 300-plus transactions between his team and its big league counterpart in Los Angeles.

All of that player movement should leave Berryhill prepared when he has to fill out his lineup card for Game 1 of the playoffs on Wednesday.

"Obviously, we're excited for this opportunity," Berryhill said. "We're bringing a totally different club to the playoffs than we've had before. Hopefully, we can jell together."

Berryhill has a solid mix of veterans and prospects available on the mound. Right-hander Zach Lee (11-6, 2.70 ERA) and lefty Julio Urias (3-4, 2.77 at Double-A Tulsa), the Dodgers' 17th- and second-ranked prospects, respectively, are among starting options that also include lefties Eric Stults (2-1, 3.19) and Eric Surkamp (9-3, 3.57) and right-hander Brandon Beachy (1-1, 3.64).

"We're opening up with Zach Lee, who's been solid for us all year," Berryhill said. "Then we have Stults and then Surkamp lined up and then Urias."

The Oklahoma City bullpen has a similar mix of older and younger arms. The veterans include right-handers Ramon Troncoso (5-1, 1.98) and Chin-Hui Tsao (2-1, 2.77, 7 saves), while younger arms include right-hander Jharel Cotton (0-0, 4.91) and lefty Adam Liberatore (0-1, 3.74, 3 saves).

Despite losing several players to September callups, including top prospect Corey Seager, the Dodgers still have some noteworthy bats. First baseman O'Koyea Dickson (.262, 13 HR, 50 RBIs), second baseman Darwin Barney (.277, 4 HR, 31 RBIs) and third baseman Buck Britton (.265, 7 HR, 49 RBIs) anchor the infield; Kyle Jensen (.259, 20 HR, 71 RBIs) is the big bat in the outfield.

Round Rock has some talented Rangers prospects available, including outfielders Nomar Mazara (No. 2) and Lewis Brinson (No. 4).

Mazara, only 20, hit .358 with a homer and 13 steals in 20 Triple-A games after batting .284 with 13 long balls and 56 RBIs in 111 games at Double-A Frisco. Brinson, 21, hit .332 with 20 homers, 69 RBIs and 18 steals across three levels this season.

El Paso Chihuahuas (78-66, Pacific Southern Division champion) vs.
Fresno Grizzlies (84-59, Pacific Northern Division champion)

Fresno won the season series, 10-6

Game 1 at Fresno, Sept. 9 at 10:05 p.m. ET
Game 2 at Fresno, Sept. 10 at 10:05 p.m. ET
Game 3 at El Paso, Sept. 11 at 9:05 p.m. ET
Game 4 at El Paso (if necessary), Sept. 12 at 9:05 p.m. ET
Game 5 at El Paso (if necessary), Sept. 13 at 3:05 p.m. ET

The Grizzlies were the first PCL team to clinch their division and still have much of the pitching staff and lineup that got them there. They have six pitchers who made at least 11 starts available for the playoffs, although the rotation has not been determined.

Right-hander Mark Appel (5-2, 4.48 ERA), the Astros' No. 2 prospect, was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2013 Draft and has 61 strikeouts over 68 1 /3 innings since a promotion from Double-A Corpus Christi.

Left-handers Luis Cruz (7-5, 4.30) and Brett Oberholtzer (7-4, 3.88), along with righties Mike Hauschild (6-5, 3.75), Dan Straily (10-9, 4.77) and Asher Wojciechowski (8-4, 4.92) are the other starting options for Fresno. Oberholtzer, Straily and Wojciechowski have Major League experience.

The Grizzlies' bullpen by committee features righties Jake Buchanan (5-4, 4.37, 3 saves), James Hoyt (0-1, 3.56, 9 saves) and Jordan Jankowski (8-3, 3.23, 5 saves), while Kevin Chapman (3-2, 4.85, 8 saves) is the primary lefty.

The Fresno lineup features a solid combination of speed and power. Third baseman Matt Duffy (.294, 20 HR, 104 RBIs) is the PCL MVP, while first baseman Jon Singleton (.254, 22 HR, 83 RBIs) and designated hitter/first baseman Tyler White (.362, 7 HR, 59 RBIs) also swing potent bats.

Second baseman Tony Kemp (.273, 20 stolen bases) and outfielders Andrew Aplin (.275, 20 stolen bases), Robbie Grossman (.254, 14 stolen bases), L.J. Hoes (.295, 26 stolen bases) and Alex Presley (.292, 15 steals) are all fleet of feet on the basepaths.

El Paso edged Las Vegas for the Pacific Southern Division. Left fielder Rymer Liriano, the Padres' No. 10 prospect, was third in the PCL with 85 runs scored after hitting .292 with 14 homers, 64 RBIs and 18 steals. The Chiahuahuas will be without closer Jon Edwards, who was called up to San Diego on Sept. 2 after leading the PCL with 23 saves, but they still have righty Chris Smith, who went 5-7 with a 3.60 and 121 strikeouts [second in the league] over 127 2/3 innings in 22 starts.

First baseman and fan favorite Cody Decker turned in another solid season at the plate, hitting .252 with a team-leading 21 homers and 75 RBIs. Second baseman Ramiro Peno brings another experienced bat to the lineup -- the Major League veteran hit .308 with four homers and 57 RBIs. All Padres top prospect Hunter Renfroe did after a promotion from Double-A San Antonio was hit .333 with six homers and 24 RBis in 21 games.

In brief

Isotope impact: The Pacific Southern Division race featured two teams that had wildly different campaigns against bottom-dwelling Albuquerque. Las Vegas dominated the Isotopes, winning the first eight meetings and 12 of 16 overall. El Paso, on the other hand, could not solve Albuquerque, losing nine of 16 games.

All-Stars missing: The end-of-season PCL All-Star team is not well-represented in the playoffs. September callups took the biggest bite, with Oklahoma City catcher Austin Barnes joining the Dodgers and El Paso outfielder Alex Dickerson and reliever Edwards up with the Padres. Only PCL MVP Duffy and Manager of the Year Berryhill will participate in the postseason.

Old hat: Fresno manager Tony DeFrancesco is leading his third different team to the PCL playoffs. He previously was the skipper at Sacramento during much of the River Cats' prior success and then at Oklahoma City in 2013 when the former RedHawks reached the postseason.