Dodgers Prospect Notes: OKC wins Pacific Coast League Championship, will play for AAA national title

Oklahoma City completed a two-game sweep of Round Rock last night with a 5-2 win to take home the Pacific Coast League championship. It’s the franchise’s first league title since becoming the Dodgers’ affiliate in 2015. It is also the first time any Dodgers affiliate has won a PCL championship since the Albuquerque Dukes did it in 1994.

The final out as the OKC #Dodgers became Pacific Coast League champions! pic.twitter.com/wC4uhgSJCe

— Bruce Kuntz (@Bnicklaus7) September 28, 2023

Three players who have made their MLB debuts this season led the way in the clinching Game 2. Homers from Michael Busch and Jonny Deluca accounted for OKC’s scoring, and Gavin Stone pitched excellent as the starter.

In the second inning, with the game still scoreless, Deluca got the offense going with a two-run homer to the deepest part of the yard. It was his 20th total long ball of the season.

Jonny Deluca hit a two-run homer to start the scoring in game 2 of the PCL Championship Series pic.twitter.com/AzjfbwRAZP

— Bruce Kuntz (@Bnicklaus7) September 28, 2023

Busch’s home run came in the fifth inning with two runners on. With this one, Busch has homered 30 total times in 2023 between Triple-A and the Major Leagues.

MICHAEL BUSCH THREE-RUN HOMER!

This one puts OKC ahead by four in Game 2 of the PCL Championship Series. Busch now has 30 home runs between Triple-A and the Majors pic.twitter.com/OFBJpx84TR

— Bruce Kuntz (@Bnicklaus7) September 28, 2023

Stone made one of his best starts of the season, striking out 10 and posting fantastic peripherals. He generated 19 whiffs and had a 40 called strikes plus whiffs percentage, each being fantastic numbers. Stone threw his changeup more than any other pitch and it was working great, as batters whiffed on 15 of the 23 swings against it.

Gavin Stone tonight in the PCL Championship Series:

6.1 IP
4 H
2 ER
2 BB
10 K
19 whiffs (!!!)
40 CSW% (!!!)

Fantastic show of stuff from Stone in his final Triple-A start of the year. He threw his changeup 38 times, & it got 15 whiffs on 23 swings (65%) pic.twitter.com/piDUHpijda

— Bruce Kuntz (@Bnicklaus7) September 28, 2023

Drew Avans had a big series while batting leadoff for OKC in both games. The speedy outfielder went 6-for-8 at the plate with a walk, three RBI and two runs scored. His 1.653 OPS in the series was best in the OKC lineup.

Kyle Hurt pitched very well in Game 1, setting up OKC for the sweep last night. The right-hander struck out eight in four innings, only allowing two hits and one earned run. Hurt continues to show premium strikeout stuff after he set down nearly 15 batters per nine innings on strikes in the regular season.

Hunter Feduccia was also a big part of Game 1, hitting a homer and adding an RBI groundout. The catcher added a double in Game 2 to finish the series with a 1.429 OPS.

Hunter Feduccia homered to extend OKC’s lead in game 1 of the PCL Championship Series pic.twitter.com/SnigrzR1cN

— Bruce Kuntz (@Bnicklaus7) September 27, 2023

To wrap up the season, OKC will head to Las Vegas for a one game, winner-take-all Triple-A National Championship against the winner of the International League. Rays affiliate Durham and Orioles affiliate Norfolk are playing Game 3 of their series tonight to determine who will play the Dodgers on Saturday.