High-A Central

High-A Central
Sport	Baseball
Founded	2021
No. of teams	12
Country	United States
Most recent; champion(s)	Quad Cities River Bandits (2021)
Most titles	Quad Cities River Bandits (1)
Classification	High-A

The High-A Central is a 12-team Minor League Baseball league that began operating in the United States in 2021.[1] Along with the High-A East and High-A West, it is one of three leagues playing at the High-A level, which is three grades below Major League Baseball (MLB). The league was created in 2021 in conjunction with MLB's reorganization of the minor leagues.[1] The league is made up entirely of teams formerly of the Midwest League.

Current teams

Division	Team	MLB Affiliation	City	Stadium	Capacity
East	Dayton Dragons	Cincinnati Reds	Dayton, Ohio	Day Air Ballpark	7,230
	Fort Wayne TinCaps	San Diego Padres	Fort Wayne, Indiana	Parkview Field	8,100
	Great Lakes Loons	Los Angeles Dodgers	Midland, Michigan	Dow Diamond	5,200
	Lake County Captains	Cleveland Guardians	Eastlake, Ohio	Classic Park	7,273
	Lansing Lugnuts	Oakland Athletics	Lansing, Michigan	Jackson Field	11,000
	West Michigan Whitecaps	Detroit Tigers	Comstock Park, Michigan	LMCU Ballpark	9,281
West	Beloit Sky Carp	Miami Marlins	Beloit, Wisconsin	ABC Supply Stadium	3,850
	Cedar Rapids Kernels	Minnesota Twins	Cedar Rapids, Iowa	Veterans Memorial Stadium	5,300
	Peoria Chiefs	St. Louis Cardinals	Peoria, Illinois	Dozer Park	7,377
	Quad Cities River Bandits	Kansas City Royals	Davenport, Iowa	Modern Woodmen Park	7,140
	South Bend Cubs	Chicago Cubs	South Bend, Indiana	Four Winds Field at Coveleski Stadium	5,000
	Wisconsin Timber Rattlers	Milwaukee Brewers	Appleton, Wisconsin	Neuroscience Group Field at Fox Cities Stadium	5,900

Current team locations:

East Division

West Division

Champions

In the High-A Central's first season, the two teams with the highest winning percentages in the regular season competed in a best-of-five series to determine the league champion.[2]

Champions
Season	Champion	Score	Runner-up	Ref.
2021	Quad Cities River Bandits	3–2	Cedar Rapids Kernels	[3]

Awards

Four awards were presented in the High-A Central's first season: Most Valuable Player, Pitcher of the Year, Top MLB Prospect, and Manager of the Year.[4]

Most Valuable Player

Most Valuable Player
Season	Winner	Team	Organization	Position	BA	HR	RBI	Ref.
2021	Andy Pages	Great Lakes Loons	Los Angeles Dodgers	Outfielder	.265	31	88	[5]

Pitcher of the Year

Pitcher of the Year
Season	Winner	Team	Organization	Record	ERA	SO	Ref.
2021	Anthony Veneziano	Quad Cities River Bandits	Kansas City Royals	6–4	3.75	127	[6]

Top MLB Prospect

Top MLB Prospect
Season	Winner	Team	Organization	Position	BA	HR	RBI	Ref.
2021	Andy Pages	Great Lakes Loons	Los Angeles Dodgers	Outfielder	.265	31	88	[5]

Manager of the Year

Manager of the Year
Season	Winner	Team	Organization	Division	Finish	Record	Refs.
2021	Chris Widger	Quad Cities River Bandits	Kansas City Royals	West	1st	77–41	[7][8]

References

Mayo, Jonathan (February 12, 2021). "MLB Announces New Minors Teams, Leagues". Major League Baseball. Retrieved February 12, 2021.
Heneghan, Kelsie (July 1, 2021). "Playoffs Return to the Minor Leagues". Minor League Baseball. Retrieved October 8, 2021.
Avallone, Michael (September 27, 2021). "Quad Cities Claim First High-A Central Championship". Minor League Baseball. Retrieved October 9, 2021.
"Postseason All-Stars". Minor League Baseball. Archived from the original on October 8, 2021. Retrieved October 9, 2021.
"Andy Pages Minor Leagues Statistics & History". Baseball-Reference. Sports Reference. Retrieved October 9, 2021.
"Anthony Veneziano College, Amateur & Minor Leagues Statistics & History". Baseball-Reference. Sports Reference. Retrieved October 9, 2021.
"Chris Widger Minor & Independent Leagues Statistics & History". Baseball-Reference. Sports Reference. Retrieved October 9, 2021.
"2021 High-A Central". Baseball-Reference. Sports Reference. Retrieved October 9, 2021.