Breaking down Tuesday night's Triple-A National Championship Game between the Omaha Storm Chasers and the Columbus Clippers at Isotopes Park.
Catcher: Veteran Luke Carlin, 30, gets the nod for Columbus, while Omaha goes with Cody Clark, also 30. Both are experienced backstops with good defensive skills. Carlin hit just .213 (40-for-188) during the regular season, though he did draw 44 walks for a .365 on-base percentage. Clark hit .233 (37-for-159) but only drew 12 walks for a .293 OBP. Advantage: Even
First base: With Clint Robinson out after surgery for a sports hernia, John Whittleman gets the nod for Omaha. He spent most of the year with Single-A Wilmington, batting .234 with 20 home runs. Beau Mills moved up to Columbus at midseason and hit .269 with seven homers. Advantage: Clippers
Second base: Former New York Met Argenis Reyes hit .313 (26-for-83) after joining Columbus from the independent ranks. Lance Zawadzki, usually a shortstop, will shift to second for the game. He batted .233 with eight home runs during the year, but defense is his forte. Advantage: Even
Shortstop: Juan Diaz joined Columbus for the playoffs after batting .255 with nine home runs and 60 RBI with Double-A Akron. The versatile Irving Falu will start for Omaha. He hit .301 with 47 RBI and 21 stolen bases while seeing time at second, short, third and outfield. Advantage: Storm Chasers
Third base: Jared Goedert did not become a regular until the Indians called up Lonnie Chisenhall, but he has made an impact since, batting .271 with 15 home runs and 39 RBI in 79 games. Omaha has had a revolving door at third base since the Royals called up Mike Moustakas. The light-hitting Kurt Mertins batted .274 (17-for-62) in 20 games and will get the nod. Advantage: Clippers
Left field: Jered Head paced Columbus in home runs with 24 while hitting .284 with 70 RBI. He was the MVP of last year's Triple-A title game. Omaha's David Lough does not have the power, but he hit .318 with nine homers and 65 RBI while stealing 14 bases. Advantage: Even
Center field: Tim Fedroff came up from Double-A Akron during the season and hit just .272 with 28 RBI. He offers a good glove, but minimal power and not much speed. Jarrod Dyson is a light-hitting speedster who batted .279 with 38 stolen bases. He spent time with Kansas City early in the year and projects as a fourth outfielder in the big leagues. Advantage: Storm Chasers
Right field: Journeyman Chad Huffman was a fixture for Columbus this season, leading the team in games played (124) and at-bats (431) while batting .246 with 13 homers and 58 RBI. Former Brewers top prospect Lorenzo Cain, who was acquired by the Royals in the Zack Greinke trade, has hit .312 with 16 homers and 81 RBI. Advantage: Storm Chasers
Designated hitter: Travis Buck has big-league experience with Oakland and Cleveland earlier this season. He has hit .256 with four home runs in 36 games with Columbus. Kila Ka'aihue began the year with Kansas City but was dropped from the 40-man roster in May when Eric Hosmer was called up. Since being sent down, he has hit .272 with 11 homers and 65 RBI. Advantage: Storm Chasers
Bench: Columbus can call upon veteran catcher Paul Phillips, light-hitting infielder Cristo Arnal, speedy outfielder Ben Copeland and ex-Yankee and National Nick Johnson, who is mainly a designated hitter. Omaha has catcher Manny Pina, a good defender, plus ex-Rangers infielder Joaquin Arias. Omaha did not replace the injured Robinson on the roster. Advantage: Clippers
Starting pitcher: Joe Martinez made 16 starts and 19 relief appearances this season, going 8-9 with a 4.04 ERA for Columbus. A former Giant, the right-hander struck out 101 and walked 29 in 118 innings. Sean O'Sullivan began the year with Kansas City, went on the DL for a while and was then outrighted to Omaha. He was 8-2 with a 4.22 ERA in 14 starts. He struck out 55 and walked 16 in 74.2 innings. Advantage: Even
Bullpen: Columbus lost almost its entire relief corps to the Indians. Chen Lee (4-0, 2.27) made 21 appearances, the most of anybody left. Matt Langwell (1-0, 4.00), Eric Berger (0-1, 10.05) and Paolo Espino (2-1, 3.43) are still on hand. Cory Burns and Kelvin de la Cruz came up from Akron for the playoffs. Omaha counters with a group led by fireballing closer Kelvin Herrera (1-0, 2.12, six saves). Former Tiger Zach Miner (2-1, 1.59) and ex-Royal Robinson Tejeda (0-3, 3.80) bring experience, while Brandon Sisk (4-2, 1.41) is the primary lefty. Advantage: Storm Chasers
Final analysis: Both clubs dominated their respective league playoffs, with each losing just one game out of seven. The Clippers may technically be the home team, by virtue of the International League's victory in the Triple-A All-Star Game, but Omaha has more of a home-field advantage. It should be just enough to prevail. Final score: Storm Chasers 9, Clippers 6
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