Elle's Baseball Musings: Sunday Belonged to Double-A
By Elle Elena · Wed Sep 23 2026
I used to think minor-league baseball was something you watched until the real thing started. Then I sat close enough behind home plate at a Double-A game that I could hear the catcher's glove pop, and the developmental side of the sport quietly rearranged my entire brain. Sunday night explained why. Three Double-A championship series opened the same day, and the one that grabbed me hardest was in Amarillo. Springfield's Tai Peete went 5-for-5 on the road against the Sod Poodles. Double, homer, steal, four RBI. Tanner Franklin punched out nine over six and a third. Final: 7-2. I need to see this guy in person. A five-hit night in a championship series makes the next game feel mandatory. One box score does not settle a prospect. It does make you curious how the same swing looks the second time through. Reading beat Erie 1-0 on a ninth-inning sac fly from Caleb Ricketts in Game 1 of the Eastern League finals. FirstEnergy Stadium gets Games 2 and 3. One win from the Fightin Phils' first Eastern League title since 1995. If you've never watched a tightly scored Double-A final in person, I'm not saying you need to drive for it. I'm also not saying you shouldn't. Those 1-0 games are fantastic when they're 1-0 for interesting reasons, and a championship opener decided by a ninth-inning sac fly qualifies. Rocket City beat Biloxi 5-4 the same Sunday night. Nick Rodriguez's ninth-inning RBI single plated Arjun Nimmala after Jacob Cozart's earlier two-run homer. The Trash Pandas are one win from their first Southern League crown, and the Huntsville area's first since 1994. Championship baseball in a town with a mascot named after trash pandas is, frankly, peak America. This is exactly what I want from the minor leagues: strange identities, weird logos, and baseball that still feels unresolved. This is why Double-A is my favorite level. The players are good enough that you're watching legitimate future major leaguers, and there's still enormous uncertainty about who will actually make it. Raw tools finally collide with hitters and pitchers who can exploit weaknesses. Rankings are useful when they get people arguing about a player. They are a lot less useful when everyone treats the list as finished business. A title-series box score can pull your attention toward someone the lists have not caught up to yet. Put Peete on your radar. Development is the story. The ranking can catch up later. -Elle