Connor Nelson
KNOXVILLE, TN – For the first time since returning to Knoxville, the Smokies will compete in the Southern League playoffs. In a rematch of the 2022 Southern League North Division Series, the Smokies will take on the Rocket City Trash Pandas in a best of three series.
After trailing first-place Chattanooga by seven games on April 30, the Smokies stormed back to capture the Southern League North first-half title fueled by 22 comeback victories, the most in the Southern League and the second-most in all of Double-A. The title clinch has guaranteed Knoxville its first taste of affiliated postseason baseball since the 1999 Knoxville Smokies reached the playoffs as a Toronto Blue Jays affiliate. The city has not hosted a team that advanced to a league championship series since 1993, when Knoxville finished as runner-up.
After winning the first-half, Knoxville secured home field advantage in this round against the second-half champion Rocket City. Game one will take place at Toyota Field in Madison, AL, and then games two and three of the series will be hosted at Covenant Health Park.
First pitch for the series is set for 7:35 p.m. ET on Tuesday night.
The Smokies came just short of sweeping both halves, finishing one and a half games back of the Trash Pandas when the regular season concluded on Sunday. This will be the Smokies first playoff appearance since 2024 where they lost in the first round to the Birmingham Barons. The Rocket City Trash Pandas have only made one playoff appearance (2022) since they joined the Southern League in 2020. In 2022, the Trash Pandas held home field advantage over the Smokies and won game one in Knoxville. The Smokies won games two and three in Rocket City to bounce the Trash Pandas in the North Division Series.
The Smokies went 15-9 against the Trash Pandas this season, and have gone 90-80 against them historically. The pitching staff held a 3.93 ERA against RCT, 2nd-best in the SL. Key offensive contributors included Karson Simas (.284 BA) and Andy Garriola (.317 BA, .940 OPS).
Both teams feature six of the top-30 prospects for their respective affiliates, including each organization's number one. This past Friday, the Chicago Cubs called-up their top prospect OF Josiah Hartshorn to make his Double-A debut. He is now the third prep player from last year’s Draft to reach Double-A. Hartshorn is joined by top prospects OF Kane Kepley (No. 5), RHP Brooks Caple (No. 9), C Ariel Armas (No. 18), INF Angel Cepeda (No. 24), and RHP Brody McCullough (No. 29).
The Trash Pandas, Double-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels, host the top two organizational prospects. Leading their charge will be SS Arjun Nimmala (No. 1), RHP Tyler Bremner (No. 2), C Juan Flores (No. 14), RHP Nate Snead (No. 17), 3B Jake Munroe (No. 20), C Jacob Cozart (No. 22). Nimmala and Cozart were both acquired through trades at this year's deadline.
Over the past two weeks, the Smokies biggest strength has been their starting pitching. In 12 games since September 1st, Smokies starting pitchers have posted the second-lowest ERA and BAA (.187) in Double-A. The club also finished first in team ERA (4.21) and strikeouts (1,332) at the conclusion of the regular season.
The offense has bright spots as well, including Alex Madera who leads the Double-A in BA (.394) and OBP (.492) among players with at least 100 ABs since August 1st. More recently, Alex Ramirez has collected the most hits (16) in September among Southern Leaguers.
For Rocket City, their biggest strength has been their offense as of late. Since entering September the Trash Pandas lead the Southern League in hits (108), runs (85), and homers (24). Most recently the offense has been sparked by Caleb Cartolero who leads the team with 15 hits and 13 RBI in September, and Arjun Nimmala who leads the Southern League with seven homers since September 1st.
Players to Watch
While the Smokies have plenty of high-level talent to choose from, Kane Kepley has the tools to make a massive impact on this series. Between two Minor League levels, the Cubs’ No. 5 prospect has shown an exceptional feel for the zone, drawing 120 free passes, the fifth-most by a Minor Leaguer in a single season since 2005. On the basepaths, he's wreaked havoc, stealing a MiLB-leading 70 bags, which have aided him in scoring 127 runs this season, the second-most by a Minor Leaguer in a single campaign since '05. Kepley has been clutch since joining the Smokies on August 4th, batting .313 with 3 homers when batting with runners in scoring position.
The Smokies will send their two top prospect starting pitchers to the hill to open the series, but their X-factor lies in the bullpen. In his first year with the Cubs organization, Tyler Ras completed his first healthy season in affiliated ball since 2022 with career highs in game played (41), IP (67.2), and strikeouts (71). He finished with a 5-0 record and career lows in ERA (2.13), WHIP (0.99), and BAA (.194). Ras also went a perfect 8/8 in save opportunities. Going into the series, Tyler Ras has not allowed a run since August 13th, stringing together nine scoreless appearances in a row. He has not walked a batter and has allowed just two hits in that stretch.
On the offensive side, the key Trash Panda to circle is SS Arjun Nimmala. The 20-year-old shortstop was acquired via a trade with the Blue Jays in early August and has played 27 games for the Trash Pandas. He was limited in his lone series against Knoxville due to an injured finger, but he has played his best baseball as of late. Nimmala is ranked as the Angels’ No. 1 prospect and No. 38 overall by MLB Pipeline.
On the hill, Rocket City sends out their best weapon to start game one in Tyler Bremner, Angels No. 2 prospect. The 22-year-old RHP was the second overall selection in the 2025 draft out of UC Santa Barbara by the Angels. In one start against the Smokies, Bremner took the loss allowing four earned runs on six hits in five innings. Without issuing a free pass, he struck out seven. Bremner made his Double-A debut on 8/8 and has made five total starts with the Trash Pandas posting a 13.32 K/9 (best in the Southern League since his call up among pitchers with five starts).
Probable Pitching Matchup
9/15 Tuesday, 7:35 p.m. ET
RHP Brooks Caple (4-4, 3.24 ERA) vs. RHP Tyler Bremner (2-2, 4.44 ERA)
9/17 Thursday, 7:00 p.m. ET
RHP Brody McCullough (2-4, 2.98 ERA) vs. RHP Austin Gordon (8-7, 4.87 ERA)
9/18 Friday, 7:00 p.m. ET
TBA vs. TBA
Wrap Up
For Knoxville, the road back to a Southern League championship begins against a familiar opponent. The Smokies and Trash Pandas have battled 24 times this season, but everything resets Tuesday night as the two North Division rivals meet with their seasons on the line in a best-of-three series. With top prospects on both sides, this is set to be one of the most high profile playoff matchups across the minor leagues this year.
The winner will advance to the Southern League Championship Series to face the winner of the South Division matchup between the Biloxi Shuckers and Pensacola Blue Wahoos. With Game One in Rocket City before the series shifts to Covenant Health Park, the stage is set for postseason baseball to return to Knoxville, and for the Smokies to begin their pursuit of another Southern League title.
Tune in to the Smokies Baseball Network for all playoff games here: https://www.milb.com/knoxville/fans/audio-listen-live
Find tickets to upcoming Smokies’ playoff games here: https://www.milb.com/knoxville/tickets/single-game-tickets