What you need to know about tickets, schedule and how the Peoria Chiefs reached the Midwest League playoffs
PEORIA — The last time the Peoria Chiefs were in postseason play, it was 2018 and manager Chris Swauger's team reached the Midwest League championship series. The Chiefs lost that best-of-5 to Bowling Green, starting a long trek through the bottom regions of the league standings until this year.
Peoria went 54-85, 15th in the 16-team Midwest league in 2019. There was no season at all in 2020 because of the pandemic. In 2021, Peoria returned to the field as part of the 12-team High-A Central League and finished 12th at 45-75. In 2022, Peoria was 56-76 and ninth of 12 teams in the restored Midwest League.
Those teams and those times are in the distant past for the 2023 Chiefs, and they carry no connection to the playoff-bound bunch under manager Patrick Anderson that will face Cedar Rapids in a best-of-3 next week.
The Chiefs, who finished 69-63 in the regular-season, frolicked on the field as they clinched a playoff spot Thursday, then retreated to their clubhouse for a sparking juice shower.
"Let's get the party started," said Chiefs right-handed starting pitcher Ian Bedell, when asked what he was thinking as he took it all in on the field.
More: Peoria Chiefs baseball team clinches spot in 2023 Midwest League playoffs
The Chiefs are here in part because Bedell had a 4-2 record with a 2.44 ERA and 1.15 WHIP and shows the promise of a fourth-round Cardinals pick in the 2020 MLB Draft.
The Chiefs are here in part because of Max Rajcic, a righty starter who was named Cardinals Minor League Pitcher of the Month for August, when he posted a 2-0 effort with a 1.55 ERA. He won those honors in June, as well.
And they are here in part because catcher Jimmy Crooks was Midwest League Player of the Month for August, during which he hit .379 in 24 games, piled up 36 hits, 10 doubles and finished in the top five for RBI, batting average, on-base percentage, slugging and OPS.
Crooks is rated No. 15 in the Cardinals prospect system. Bedell is at 16 and Rajcic is at 18. They are among five players on the Chiefs roster ranked as top 30 prospects in St. Louis' minor league organization.
"There were a lot of ups and downs to this season," Crooks said. "I'm happy with how our second half has gone. We've come together as a team, we trust each other.
"For me, I have always been told to take care of my catching, work on it, and that hitting will follow. And it did."
The Chiefs then and now
The Chiefs went to the Midwest League championship series in 2018 with a roster that produced 12 future major-league players. That lineup included Nolan Gorman and Juan Yepez and Elehuris Montero and Luken Baker, and pitchers Alex Reyes, Johan Oviedo, Kodi Whitley and Angel Rondon.
They swept Quad Cities and Cedar Rapids in the first two rounds of the playoffs.
The 2023 Chiefs face a Cedar Rapids team that finished a league-best 82-50 and took 15 of 21 games from Peoria during the regular season.
But a best-of-3 series is a format that begs upset.
"Anything can happen," said Bedell, who is a candidate to start Game 1. "We have guys here who have a lot of confidence. We played a long season series with Cedar Rapids, our teams know each other well."
Kernels of information
Cedar Rapids roster included power-hitting center fielder Emmanuel Rodriguez, who is the No. 3-ranked prospect in the Twins organization.
Second baseman Luke Keaschall is on the roster, the second-round pick (49th overall) taken by Minnesota in the 2023 MLB Draft. He is the Twins' No. 11-ranked prospect.
The Kernels also have a pair of right-handed pitchers in Cory Lewis (ranked 13th) and C.J. Culpepper (ranked 14th).
All told, Cedar Rapids has 11 players ranked among Minnesota's top 30 organizational prospects.
The Kernels have made the postseason 10 consecutive seasons.
Midwest League playoffs
The postseason format has been tweaked a bit since the Chiefs were last in the playoffs in 2018.
Only four teams make postseason play — the two division winners from each half of the season. If one team wins the division in both halves, then the second-place team in the second half gets a playoff spot. That's how the Chiefs got in, finishing 36-30 in the second half. Cedar Rapids finished 42-24 in the half and clinched the division title.
The first round will be a best-of-3 West Division series between Peoria (Cardinals) and Cedar Rapids (Twins). The East Division first round will match Great Lakes (Dodgers) against Fort Wayne (Padres).
The winners of the East and West division series advance to the Midwest League championship series, also a best-of-3.
Playoff schedule and tickets
The Chiefs host Cedar Rapids in Game 1 of the West Division playoff series on Tuesday. It's a 6:35 p.m. game at Dozer Park.
Game 2 will be in Cedar Rapids on Thursday, and Game 3 (if needed) is in Cedar Rapids on Friday.
The Midwest League Championship series opens with Game 1 at the East Division team site on Sept. 17.
If the Chiefs are in that series, they will host Game 2 on Sept. 19 and Game 3 (if needed) on Sept. 20 at Dozer Park.
Individual tickets for all Chiefs home postseason games are $15. Season ticket holders already have their tickets on hold and are discounted to $10. Additionally, suite tickets will be available for all contests. Suite tickets can be bought individually at $25 per ticket. Groups interested in purchasing a suite can buy 12 tickets at $252.
Tickets can be purchased in-person at the Dozer Park box office, online at peoriachiefs.com or by calling (309) 680-4000.
Dave Eminian is the Journal Star sports columnist, and covers Bradley men's basketball, the Rivermen and Chiefs. He writes the Cleve In The Eve sports column for pjstar.com. He can be reached at 686-3206 or deminian@pjstar.com. Follow him on Twitter @icetimecleve.
This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Playoff bound: Tickets, schedule and what to know about Peoria Chiefs playoffs
