All four of the Rangers' full-season affiliates made the playoffs this season, which is something no other organization can say. (They can go 5-for-5 if the big league club hangs on to its advantage in the American League West.) Texas' excellence goes beyond that, though, because its minor league clubs all finished at or near the top of the standings.

Low Class A Hickory sported the best record in the South Atlantic League; Triple-A Round Rock (one game back) and Double-A Frisco finished second in the Pacific Coast and Texas leagues, respectively; and high Class A Myrtle Beach placed third in the Carolina League.

Five other organizations had three full-season affiliates qualify for the playoffs: the Athletics, Blue Jays, Giants, Royals and Padres. The liberal playoff structures of two leagues—the California (six of 10 teams qualify) and Midwest (eight of 16 qualify)—helped the Royals and Padres meet the threshold. They each had at least one playoff-bound affiliate hovering near or below .500 for the season.

International League (AAA)
Playoffs begin Sept. 7

Pawtucket (Red Sox) won Northern Division at 81-61
vs. Lehigh Valley (Phillies) won wild card at 80-64
Pawtucket won season series 10-6

Columbus (Indians) won Western Division at 88-56
vs. Durham (Rays) won Southern Division at 80-62
Columbus won season series 5-3

• Prospects To Watch: Durham enters the IL playoffs with the most prospect firepower. LHP Matt Moore (1.37 ERA, 13.5 SO/9 in 53 IP) and RHP Chris Archer (0.69 ERA, 8.3 SO/9 in 13 IP) front a strong rotation that also includes LHP Alex Torres. SS Tim Beckham, the first overall pick in the 2008 draft, batted .255/.282/.462 with five homers in 24 games for the Bulls . . . Banished to Triple-A after the Phillies' acquisition of Hunter Pence, RF Domonic Brown had a down year, batting .261/.391/.370 with three homers in 41 games for Lehigh Valley. He hit just .217 in 92 August at-bats. Brown broke his hamate bone in spring training, so look for a power rebound next season.

• Recent Champs: Columbus won the IL last year, while Durham won it in 2009 (as well as 2002-03).

Pacific Coast League (AAA)
Playoffs begin Sept. 7

American Conference
Omaha (Royals) won Northern Division at 79-63
vs. Round Rock (Rangers) won Southern Division at 87-57
Round Rock won season series 11-5

Pacific Conference
Reno (Diamondbacks) won Northern Division at 77-67
vs. Sacramento (Athletics) won Southern Division at 88-56
Sacramento won season series 9-7

• Prospects To Watch: You wouldn't know it from their performances this season, but Omaha's Mike Montgomery (5.32 ERA, 7.7 SO/9, 4.1 BB/9 in 151 IP) and Round Rock's Martin Perez (6.24 ERA, 6.8 SO/9, 3.7 BB/9 in 49 IP) are two of the top lefthanded pitching prospects in the minors.

• Recent Champs: Sacramento won the PCL in 2003-04 and 2007-08.

Eastern League (AA)
Playoffs begin Sept. 7

Western Division
Harrisburg (Nationals) won division at 80-62
vs. Richmond (Giants) finished runner-up at 76-66
Richmond won season series 13-8

Eastern Division
New Hampshire (Blue Jays) won division at 77-65
vs. Reading (Phillies) finished runner-up at 74-68
Split season series 9-9

• Prospects To Watch: New Hampshire has as many prospects as any playoff team at any level. C Travis d'Arnaud won the EL MVP award for batting .314/.373/.545 with 21 homers in 424 at-bats. He led the league in slugging. CF Anthony Gose hit .253/.349/.415 and led the EL with 70 steals in 85 attempts. On the pitching side of things, the Fisher Cats boast two strong late-season callups in RHP Deck McGuire (4.35 ERA, 9.6 SO/9 in 21 IP) and RHP Drew Hutchison (1.20 ERA, 12.6 SO/9 in 15 IP).

• Recent Champs: New Hampshire won the the EL in 2004; Harrisburg won four in a row from 1996-99.

Southern League (AA)
Playoffs begin Sept. 8

Northern Division
Chattanooga (Dodgers) won second half, finished 77-62
vs. Tennessee (Cubs) won first half, finished 83-57
Chattanooga won season series 13-11

Southern Division
Mobile (Diamondbacks) won second half, finished 84-54
vs. Birmingham (White Sox) won first half, finished 71-69
Mobile won season series 10-9

• Prospects To Watch: Tennessee has ’07 third overall pick 3B Josh Vitters on its roster, but pitching figures to be the story of the SL playoffs. Mobile's rotation features this year's No. 3 overall pick, RHP Trevor Bauer (7.56 ERA, 14 SO/9 in 17 IP), as well as three of Arizona's other elite arms: LHPs Tyler Skaggs (2.50 ERA, 11.4 SO/9 in 58 IP) and Pat Corbin (4.21 ERA, 8 SO/9 in 160 IP) and, making his return from Tommy John surgery, RHP Jarrod Parker (3.79 ERA, 7.7 SO/9 in 131 IP) . . . Despite losing Nate Eovaldi to a big league promotion, the Chattanooga pitching staff still includes RHPs Allen Webster (5.04 ERA, 7.2 SO/9 in 91 IP), Chris Withrow (4.20 ERA, 9.1 SO/9 in 129 IP) and Ethan Martin (4.02 ERA, 9.6 SO/9 in 40 IP).

• Recent champs: Jacksonville and Montgomery won five of last six titles, but they didn't qualify for playoffs this year. Birmingham in 2002 is last outright SL champ among this year's contenders.

Texas League (AA)
Playoffs begin Sept. 7

Northern Division
Northwest Arkansas (Royals) won second half, finished 73-64
vs. Arkansas (Angels) won first half, finished 68-69
Arkansas won season series 15-14

Southern Division
Frisco (Rangers) finished runner-up at 79-61
vs. San Antonio (Padres) won both halves, finished 94-46
San Antonio won season series 19-13

• Prospects To Watch: Last year's Northwest Arkansas playoff squad featured top prospect talent like Eric Hosmer, Johnny Giavotella, Danny Duffy and Mike Montgomery. Kansas City has enough prospects left over to furnish this year's Naturals team with RHP Jake Odorizzi (4.72 ERA, 7.1 SO/9 in 69 IP), RF Wil Myers (.254/.353/.393 in 354 AB) and SS Christian Colon (.257/.325/.342 in 491 AB), though the position players endured tough years  . . . San Antonio's rotation features LHP Robbie Erlin (1.38 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 10.7 SO/9 in 26 IP) and RHP Joe Wieland (2.77 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, 6.2 SO/9 in 26 IP), both of whom the Padres acquired in the Mike Adams deal with Texas. The duo gets to match up against their former Frisco teammates in the first round. RHP Casey Kelly (3.98 ERA, 6.6 SO/9 in 142 IP) rounds out the top three. He's the product of last offseason's Adrian Gonzalez deal with the Red Sox.

• Recent Champs: Northwest Arkansas won its first TL title last year, while Arkansas won in 2001 and ’08; San Antonio won in 2002-03 and ’07; and Frisco won in ’04.

California League
Playoffs begin Sept. 7

Northern Division
First-round bye: San Jose (Giants) won first half, finished 90-50

Modesto (Rockies) won second half, finished 74-66
vs. Stockton (Athletics) won second-half wild card, finished 75-65
Modesto won season series 14-10; San Jose went 16-7 vs. Modesto and 14-8 vs. Stockton

Southern Division
First-round bye: Rancho Cucamonga (Dodgers) won first half, finished 80-60

Lake Elsinore (Padres) won second-half wild card, finished 69-71
vs. Inland Empire (Angels) won second-half wild card, finished 69-71
Lake Elsinore won season series 13-12; Rancho Cucamonga went 13-12 vs. Lake Elsinore and 12-9 vs. Inland Empire

• Prospects To Watch: Minor league strikeout champ LHP Edwar Cabrera (3.56 ERA, 11.9 SO/9 in 81 IP) fronts a Modesto rotation that also includes RHP Chad Bettis (3.34 ERA, 9.8 SO/9 in 170 IP). 3B Nolan Arenado (.296/.347/.482, 20 HR in 517 AB) leads the Nuts' offense . . . San Jose boasts top prospects at two premium positions with CF Gary Brown (.336/.407/.517, 53 SB in 559 AB) and C Tommy Joseph (.270/.317/.471, 22 HR in 514 AB) . . . Stockton CF Michael Choice led the Cal League with 30 homers . . .  Two Angels prospects who suffered lost years with injuries return in time for the playoffs: SS Jean Segura and RF Randal Grichuk.

• Recent Champs: San Jose won the last two Cal League titles (and also the 2005 and ’07 versions), but Stockton won in ’08 and ’02, Inland Empire in ’06 and Modesto in ’04.

Carolina League
Playoffs begin Sept. 7

Northern Division
Frederick (Orioles) won both halves, finished 80-59
vs. Potomac (Nationals) finished runner-up at 68-71
Frederick and Potomac split season series 10-10

Southern Division
Kinston (Indians) won second half, finished 76-62
vs. Myrtle Beach (Rangers) won first half, finished 72-67
Kinston and Myrtle Beach split season series 10-10

• Prospects To Watch: Frederick finished with the top record in the league, and they boast arguably the league's finest prospect. SS Manny Machado, the third overall pick in 2010, missed a month with injury, however, and didn't set the Carolina League on fire when healthy. He batted .245/.308/.384 with five homers in 237 at-bast for the Keys.

• Recent Champs: Potomac won the Carolina League title last year and also in ’08. Frederick won in 2005 and ’07.

Florida State League
Playoffs began Sept. 6

Northern Division
Dunedin (Blue Jays) won second half, finished 79-61
vs. Daytona (Cubs) won first half, finished 76-61
Dunedin won season series 10-8

Southern Division
Bradenton (Pirates) won second half, finished 74-63
vs. St. Lucie (Mets) won first half, finished 72-68
Bradenton won season series 10-8

• Prospects To Watch: RHP Zack Wheeler made six starts for St. Lucie after coming over from the Giants in the Carlos Beltran trade. He struck out 31, walked five and allowed 26 hits in 27 FSL innings . . . Daytona CF Matt Szczur won a legion of believers with his fine full-season debut, which began in low Class A and ended with a 43-game trial in the FSL, where he batted .260/.283/.410 with five homers in 173 at-bats.

• Recent Champs: Tampa, two-time defending FSL champs, didn't make the cut this year. Daytona won the FSL in 2008, while St. Lucie did the same in ’06.

Midwest League
Playoffs begin Sept. 7

Eastern Division

Lansing (Blue Jays) won first-half wild card, finished 77-60
vs. Dayton (Reds) won second half, finished 83-57
Dayton won season series 9-7

Bowling Green (Rays) won first half, finished 77-63
vs. Fort Wayne (Padres) won second-half wild card, finished 69-70
Bowling Green won season series 8-6

Western Division

Quad Cities (Cardinals) won second half, finished 81-56
vs. Clinton (Mariners) won second-half wild card, finished 63-76
Quad Cities won season series 10-5

Burlington (Athletics) won first half, finished 76-62
vs. Kane County (Royals) won second-half wild card, finished 65-74
Burlington won season series 8-7

• Prospects To Watch: Lansing CF Jake Marisnick (.320/.392/.496, 14 HR, 37 SB in 462 AB) enjoyed a big all-around season, while LHP Justin Nicolino (3.12 ERA, 9.4 SO/9 in 9 IP) received a late promotion from the short-season Northwest League . . . Dayton SS Billy Hamilton stole 103 bases in 123 attempts while batting .278/.340/.360 in 550 at-bats . . . Top strikeouts pitchers such as Bowling Green LHP Enny Romero (4.26 ERA, 11.1 SO/9 in 114 IP) and Fort Wayne RHP Keyvius Sampson (2.90 ERA, 10.9 SO/9 in 118 IP) could make things interesting . . . Midwest League MVP RF Rymer Liriano batted .319/.383/.499 in 455 at-bats with 12 homers and 65 steals for Fort Wayne . . . First-round pick and Prospect Hot Sheet regular 2B Kolten Wong (.335/.401/.510 in 194 AB) and league batting titlist CF Oscar Taveras (.386/.444/.584 in 308 AB) power the Quad Cities offense.

• Recent Champs: Even with eight of 16 MWL teams making the playoffs, this year's field does not contain many recent league champions. Fort Wayne won the MWL in 2009 and Burlington did so in ’08, but the other recent champions have been Lake County (last year), West Michigan (2004, 2006-07) and South Bend (’05).

South Atlantic League
Playoffs begin Sept. 7

Northern Division
Greensboro (Marlins) won second half, finished 79-60
vs. Hickory (Rangers) won first half, finished 79-58
Greensboro won season series 7-3

Southern Division
Augusta (Giants) won second half, finished 70-68
vs. Savannah (Mets) won first half, finished 79-60
Savannah won season series 15-6

• Prospects To Watch: Switch-hitting SS Jurickson Profar batted .286/.390/.493 in 430 at-bats for Hickory with 12 homers, 37 doubles and 23 steals (in 32 attempts) to win SAL MVP honors.

• Recent Champs: Two-time defending champion Lakewood did not qualify for this year's SAL playoffs. Augusta won the 2008 SAL title and Hickory won in 2002 and ’04.