# 2023 Carolina League season

The 2023 Carolina League season was a Single-A baseball season played between April 6 and September 10. Twelve teams played a 132-game schedule, with two teams in each division qualifying for the post-season.
The Charleston RiverDogs won the Carolina League championship, defeating the Down East Wood Ducks in the final round.

## Teams

2023 Carolina League :
| Division | Team | City | MLB Affiliate | Stadium |
| North | Carolina Mudcats | Zebulon, North Carolina | Milwaukee Brewers | Five County Stadium |
| North | Delmarva Shorebirds | Salisbury, Maryland | Baltimore Orioles | Arthur W. Perdue Stadium |
| North | Down East Wood Ducks | Kinston, North Carolina | Texas Rangers | Grainger Stadium |
| North | Fredericksburg Nationals | Fredericksburg, Virginia | Washington Nationals | Virginia Credit Union Stadium |
| North | Lynchburg Hillcats | Lynchburg, Virginia | Cleveland Guardians | Bank of the James Stadium |
| North | Salem Red Sox | Salem, Virginia | Boston Red Sox | Carilion Clinic Field |
| South | Augusta GreenJackets | North Augusta, South Carolina | Atlanta Braves | SRP Park |
| South | Charleston RiverDogs | Charleston, South Carolina | Tampa Bay Rays | Joseph P. Riley Jr. Park |
| South | Columbia Fireflies | Columbia, South Carolina | Kansas City Royals | Segra Park |
| South | Fayetteville Woodpeckers | Fayetteville, North Carolina | Houston Astros | Segra Stadium |
| South | Kannapolis Cannon Ballers | Kannapolis, North Carolina | Chicago White Sox | Atrium Health Ballpark |
| South | Myrtle Beach Pelicans | Myrtle Beach, South Carolina | Chicago Cubs | Pelicans Ballpark |

## Regular season
### Summary

* The Myrtle Beach Pelicans finished with the best record in the league for the first time since 2015.

### Standings

North division :
| Team | Win | Loss | % | GB |
| Carolina Mudcats | 72 | 55 | .567 | – |
| Down East Wood Ducks | 66 | 61 | .520 | 6 |
| Lynchburg Hillcats | 67 | 64 | .511 | 7 |
| Fredericksburg Nationals | 65 | 63 | .508 | 7.5 |
| Salem Red Sox | 55 | 72 | .433 | 17 |
| Delmarva Shorebirds | 56 | 74 | .431 | 17.5 |
| South division |||||
| Myrtle Beach Pelicans | 75 | 55 | .577 | – |
| Kannapolis Cannon Ballers | 67 | 64 | .511 | 8.5 |
| Charleston RiverDogs | 66 | 65 | .504 | 9.5 |
| Columbia Fireflies | 66 | 65 | .504 | 9.5 |
| Augusta GreenJackets | 63 | 68 | .481 | 12.5 |
| Fayetteville Woodpeckers | 60 | 72 | .455 | 16 |

## League Leaders
### Batting leaders

| Stat | Player | Total |
| AVG | Justin Janas, Augusta GreenJackets | .310 |
| H | Cooper Kinney, Charleston RiverDogs | 125 |
| R | Reivag García, Myrtle Beach Pelicans | 72 |
| 2B | Jadher Areinamo, Carolina Mudcats | 26 |
| 3B | Wuilfredo Antunez, Lynchburg Hillcats Zac Fascia, Lynchburg Hillcats Daylen Lile, Fredericksburg Nationals | 7 |
| HR | Tim Elko, Kannapolis Cannon Ballers | 17 |
| RBI | Brett Squires, Columbia Fireflies | 69 |
| SB | Chandler Simpson, Charleston RiverDogs | 81 |

### Pitching leaders

| Stat | Player | Total |
| W | Zach Jacobs, Lynchburg Hillcats Trevor Martin, Charleston RiverDogs Manuel Veloz, Kannapolis Cannon Ballers | 10 |
| ERA | Aidan Curry, Down East Wood Ducks | 2.30 |
| SV | Billy Seidl, Kannapolis Cannon Ballers | 14 |
| SO | Trey Dombrowski, Fayetteville Woodpeckers | 148 |
| IP | Marcus Johnson, Charleston RiverDogs | 130.0 |

## Playoffs

* The Charleston RiverDogs won their third consecutive Carolina League championship, defeating the Down East Wood Ducks in two games.

### Playoff bracket

| Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Finals | Finals | Finals |
| N1 | Carolina | 1 | | | |
| N2 | Down East | 2 | | | |
| N2 | Down East | 2 | N2 | Down East | 0 |
| | | | S2 | Charleston | 2 |
| S1 | Myrtle Beach | 1 | S2 | Charleston | 2 |
| S2 | Charleston | 2 | | | |

## Awards

Carolina League awards :
| Award name | Recipient |
| Most Valuable Player | Samuel Basallo, Delmarva Shorebirds |
| Pitcher of the Year | Aidan Curry, Down East Wood Ducks |
| Manager of the Year | Victor Estevez, Carolina Mudcats |