Four Rangers minor league teams are slated to begin playoff series this week.  Don’t be surprised if at least two of them hoist championship trophies at the end of the season.  Below is a brief breakdown of the Rangers playoff teams and their opponents.

Spokane (NWL)
With one game left to play, Spokane's record currently stands at 50 wins against only 25 losses and they have won 6 of their last 10 games.  The Indians rank first in the NWL in both runs scored and fewest runs allowed.  The pitching staff ranks first in the league in ERA, WHIP, and strike-outs while the hitters rank third in avg, OBP, SLG and OPS.  The Indians rotation features four outstanding young pitchers (Boscan, NeRa, Perez, and Pimental) and a solid bullpen (Schelct, Brader, and Young all have sub 3.00 ERAs).  With the exception of Matt West, the lineup is devoid of high draft picks and was hurt by the loss of its best hitter, Mike Bianucci, who broke his hand in the last week of the season.  Fry, Butler, Kaase, Guinn, and Bolden take turns producing the runs that have netted the team a 667 winning percentage.

Spokane will play a best of five series against the two-time defending champion Salem-Keizer Volcanoes with the winner claiming the 2008 NWL Championship.  The Volcanoes clinched the NWL West Division crwon with a victory last night.  The SanFran farm team's record is currently 40-35 with one game left to play.  The Volcanoes rank 5th in the NWL in hitting (708 OPS) and 5th in pitching (4.28 ERA).  Only two of their starters have ERAs below 4.00 and their ace, Mike Loree, will likely be unavailable until game 4 of the championship series as he started and pitched 6 innings in the Volcanoes' division-cliniching game yesterday.

Forecast
On paper, Spokane appears to be the better team in the NWL championship series.  If Boscan, NeRa, Perez, and Pimental pitch to their usual levels, then only a team-wide hitting slump or a few bullpen meltdowns stand between the Indians and a championship.

Clinton (MWL)
Clinton finished the regular season with 78 wins and 59 losses.  The Lumberkings are the best-hitting team in the MWL (1st in avg, SLG, and OPS) and 4th to 6th in most pitching categories, though only Lansing has posted significantly better pitching numbers among the six best staffs in the league.  After winning the 1st half West Division title going away, the team experienced a mid-season swoon brought on by several bullpen meltdowns, sloppy defense, an injury to Kennil Gomez, and the promotions of Neftali Feliz, Derek Holland, Ian Gac, and Renny Osuna.  During the past 4-6 weeks, the Lumberkings have returned to their winning ways behind a rotation that features Beavan, Main, and Tim Murphy and a line-up that is stacked with Moreland, Beltre, Smoak, Tim Smith, Christian Santana, and others. 

Clinton will begin the playoffs with a best-of-three series against the Cedar Rapids Kernels (72-66).  The Kernels, who won only 5 of the 15 regular season games that they played against the LumberKings, have a below average line-up (687 OPS ranked 10th in the MWL) and average pitching (3.57 ERA ranked 7th in the MWL).  If Clinton defeats Cedar Rapids, then they will begin a best-of-three series against the winner of the Burlington/Kane County series, both of whom outplayed the LumberKings in head-to-head matchups during the season.  If the LumberKings win both best-of-three series, then they will meet one of four possible opponents in the best-of-five Midwest League Championship Series.

Forecast
On the strength of an amazing start and good finish, Clinton finished with the best record in the Midwest League.  With a rotation featuring three pitchers with ERAs below 2.60 (Beavan, Main, and Murphy) and a line-up that includes the league’s best hitter (Moreland) and 3 bonafide prospects (Smoak, Beltre, and Santana), the LumberKings are as talented as any team in the MWL.  Surviving two best-of-three series and a best-of-five final is a longshot for any team which leaves the LumberKings with a much greater chance of losing their final game than hoisting the Midwest League trophy.

Frisco (Texas League)
Frisco finished the regular season with 84 wins against only 56 losses and took both the first and second half South Division titles in the Texas League.  The RoughRiders ranked among the league leaders in every offensive category including first in SLG and OPS.  The team was above average in the TL in most pitching categories including fourth in team ERA.  The RoughRiders rotation improved significantly during the second half of the season with the additions of Feliz, Holland, and Hyatt.  The bullpen features Garr, Laughter, and Beau Jones.  The lineup is stacked with Borbon (380 OBP), Andrus (350 OBP), and Vallejo (341 OBP) at the top and Majewski (852 OPS), Steve Murphy (795 OPS), Tracy (892 OPS), and others at the bottom clamoring to drive them in.

Frisco will open the playoffs with a best of five series against San Antonio.  The Missions finished the regular season with a 75-65 record on the strength of a very good pitching staff (1st in the TL with a 3.58 ERA) and a few very productive hitters (Kyle Blanks, Chad Huffman, and Drew Macias).  If Frisco defeats the Missions, then they will face the winner of the Arkansas/Northwest Arkansas series in a best of five series that will determine the Texas League Champion.

Forecast
Frisco has been the premiere team in the Texas League this year.  They won 21 of 32 games against San Antonio during the regular season and were almost as dominant against the two teams from Arkansas.  If Holland, Feliz, Borbon, Andrus, Vallejo, et al play to their usual standards, then it will require super-human efforts from their opponents or an act of god to deny the RoughRiders their second Texas League Championship.

Oklahoma (PCL)
Oklahoma finished the regular season with 74 wins and 66 losses and won the PCL American South Division by 7.5 games.  The Redhawks ranked 3rd in the PCL in pitching (4.46 ERA) and 8th in hitting (794 OPS).  The Redhawks rotation includes one legitimate prospect (Hunter), a couple of fringe prospects (Mathis and Ballard), and the rotation’s anchor (Elizardo Ramirez).  The line-up has been depleted by call-ups (Cruz, Arias, Duran, Teagarden) and currently stands as MaxRam, Chris Shelton, and the seven dwarfs (note: Mayberry ranks as the minor’s tallest dwarf). 

Oklahoma will open the playoffs with a best of five series against the Iowa Cubs.  The I-Cubs had the best record in the PCL, finishing with an 83-59 record.  The Cubs combine good pitching (4th in the PCL) and good hitting (3rd in the PCL) to good effect. 

Forecast
Unless MaxRam goes on a tear and Mayberry reverts to his early-season self, the Redhawks seem unlikely to score enough runs to adequately support any of the pitchers in the Oklahoma rotation whose names don’t begin with an “H” and end with an “unter.”