# 2021 Low-A East season

The 2021 Low-A East was a Class A baseball season played between May 4 and September 19. Twelve teams played a 120-game schedule, with the top two teams meeting in the final round of the post-season.
The Charleston RiverDogs won the Low-A East championship, defeating the Down East Wood Ducks in the final round.

## League changes

* As part of Major League Baseball's reorganization of the minor leagues, the Carolina League was demoted to Class A and renamed the "Low-A East".
* The league expanded to 12 teams and a third division, the Central, was added.

## Team changes

* The Frederick Keys were demoted out of professional baseball.
* The Wilmington Blue Rocks were shifted to the South Atlantic League.
* The Winston-Salem Dash were shifted to the South Atlantic League.
* The Delmarva Shorebirds joined the league from the South Atlantic League and are affiliated with the Baltimore Orioles. The Shorebirds join the North Division.
* The Kannapolis Cannon Ballers joined the league from the South Atlantic League and are affiliated with the Chicago White Sox. The Cannon Ballers join the Central Division.
* The Augusta GreenJackets joined the league from the South Atlantic League and are affiliated with the Atlanta Braves. The GreenJackets join the South Division.
* The Charleston RiverDogs joined the league from the South Atlantic League and are affiliated with the Tampa Bay Rays. The RiverDogs join the South Division.
* The Columbia Fireflies joined the league from the South Atlantic League and are affiliated with the Kansas City Royals. The Fireflies join the South Division.

## Teams

2021 Low-A East :
| Division | Team | City | MLB Affiliate | Stadium |
| North | Delmarva Shorebirds | Salisbury, Maryland | Baltimore Orioles | Arthur W. Perdue Stadium |
| North | Fredericksburg Nationals | Fredericksburg, Virginia | Washington Nationals | FredNats Ballpark |
| North | Lynchburg Hillcats | Lynchburg, Virginia | Cleveland Indians | Bank of the James Stadium |
| North | Salem Red Sox | Salem, Virginia | Boston Red Sox | Haley Toyota Field |
| Central | Carolina Mudcats | Zebulon, North Carolina | Milwaukee Brewers | Five County Stadium |
| Central | Down East Wood Ducks | Kinston, North Carolina | Texas Rangers | Grainger Stadium |
| Central | Fayetteville Woodpeckers | Fayetteville, North Carolina | Houston Astros | Segra Stadium |
| Central | Kannapolis Cannon Ballers | Kannapolis, North Carolina | Chicago White Sox | Atrium Health Ballpark |
| 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 | Myrtle Beach Pelicans | Myrtle Beach, South Carolina | Chicago Cubs | TicketReturn.com Field |

## Regular season
### Summary

* The Charleston RiverDogs finished with the best record in the league for the first time in team history.

### Standings

North division :
| Team | Win | Loss | % | GB |
| Salem Red Sox | 71 | 49 | .592 | – |
| Delmarva Shorebirds | 68 | 52 | .567 | 3 |
| Lynchburg Hillcats | 58 | 62 | .483 | 10 |
| Fredericksburg Nationals | 44 | 76 | .367 | 24 |
| Central division |||||
| Down East Wood Ducks | 72 | 48 | .600 | – |
| Carolina Mudcats | 68 | 52 | .567 | 4 |
| Fayetteville Woodpeckers | 55 | 65 | .458 | 17 |
| Kannapolis Cannon Ballers | 40 | 79 | .336 | 31.5 |
| South division |||||
| Charleston RiverDogs | 82 | 38 | .683 | – |
| Myrtle Beach Pelicans | 59 | 61 | .492 | 23 |
| Augusta GreenJackets | 54 | 66 | .450 | 28 |
| Columbia Fireflies | 48 | 71 | .403 | 33.5 |

## League Leaders
### Batting leaders

| Stat | Player | Total |
| AVG | Nick Yorke, Salem Red Sox | .323 |
| H | Gilberto Jiménez, Salem Red Sox | 114 |
| R | Diego Infante, Charleston RiverDogs | 83 |
| 2B | Nicholas Northcut, Salem Red Sox | 32 |
| 3B | Ceddanne Rafaela, Salem Red Sox | 9 |
| HR | Nicholas Northcut, Salem Red Sox | 17 |
| RBI | Diego Infante, Charleston RiverDogs | 80 |
| SB | Jayce Easley, Down East Wood Ducks | 70 |

### Pitching leaders

| Stat | Player | Total |
| W | Taj Bradley, Charleston RiverDogs Jordan DiValerio, Salem Red Sox | 9 |
| ERA | Taj Bradley, Charleston RiverDogs | 1.76 |
| SV | Devon Roedahl, Salem Red Sox | 11 |
| SO | Joey Estes, Augusta GreenJackets | 127 |
| IP | Nick Krauth, Down East Wood Ducks | 102.2 |

## Playoffs

* The Charleston RiverDogs won their first Low-A East championship, defeating the Down East Wood Ducks in five games.

### Playoff bracket

| Finals | Finals | Finals |
| 1 | Charleston | 3 |
| 2 | Down East | 2 |

## Awards

Low-A East League awards :
| Award name | Recipient |
| Most Valuable Player | Diego Infante, Charleston RiverDogs |
| Pitcher of the Year | Joey Estes, Augusta GreenJackets |
| Manager of the Year | Blake Butera, Charleston RiverDogs |