Carolina League Report

Frederick Keys (Baltimore Orioles)
Last Week: 8-2; Second Half: 44-26
The Keys clinched the Northern Division second-half title last week and will play first-half champ Lynchburg in the first round of the playoffs. The opener of the best-of-three series will be Wednesday at Frederick. Much will be expected of Mario Delgado, Jeff Fiorentino and Branden Florence. They combined to hit 64 home runs.

Kinston Indians (Cleveland Indians)
Last Week: 5-3; Second Half: 35-35
After winning the first half, Kinston struggled in the second. Despite the second-half finish, the Indians will play the winner of Tuesday's Salem/Winston-Salem one-game playoff in the first round of the playoffs. The opener of the best-of-three series is Wednesday. Kevin Kouzmanoff will play a big role after hitting .339.

Lynchburg Hillcats (Pittsburgh Pirates)
Last Week: 4-4; Second Half: 38-32
Although they did not play as well as they did in the first half, the Hillcats still finished second in the Northern Division in the second half. They start the playoffs Wednesday with the opener of a best-of-three series at Frederick. The Hillcats gave the Keys something to think about last week, taking the final two games of a four-game set by a 21-4 margin.

Myrtle Beach Pelicans (Atlanta Braves)
Last Week: 3-6; Second Half: 28-42
Myrtle Beach limped home after struggling greatly in the second half. Sean White provided some nice work by going 9-3 with a 3.71 ERA before being promoted and Jake Stevens led the team in wins, going 10-8 with a 4.45 ERA.

Potomac Nationals (Washington Nationals)
Last Week: 4-4; Second Half: 32-38
Potomac ended the second half much like it finished the first -- well out of the playoff race. Frank Diaz was solid for the Nationals all year, hitting .312 with 16 home runs and 74 RBIs. Kory Casto (.290/22/90) and Josh Whitesell (.293/18/66) were right behind.

Salem Avalanche (Houston Astros)
Last Week: 3-5; Second Half: 37-33
The Avalanche will meet Winston-Salem on Tuesday in a one-game playoff to determine the Southern Division second-half champion. Regardless of what happens, Chance Douglass was solid all year, going 12-9 with a 2.89 ERA in 27 starts.

Wilmington Blue Rocks (Boston Red Sox)
Last Week: 3-6; Second Half: 29-41
Wilmington was unable to catch Potomac last week, ending the second half at the bottom of the Northern Division. It wasn't the fault of Bryan Pritz, who hit .296 in 95 games. Brant Ust, Jeff Ontiveros and Chad Spann tied for the team lead with 13 homers.

Winston-Salem Warthogs (Chicago White Sox)
Last Week: 4-4; Second Half: 37-33
Winston-Salem will participate in a one-game playoff Tuesday at Salem to determine the Southern Division second-half champion. The winner plays Kinston on Wednesday in the opening game of a best-of-five series. Leo Daigle was named Carolina League MVP after just missing out on the Triple Crown. He won the batting title (.338) and led the league with 111 RBIs, but finished one home run off the lead with 28.