# 2018 Carolina League season

The 2018 Carolina League was a Class A-Advanced baseball season played between April 5 and September 3. Ten teams played a 140-game schedule, with two teams from each division competing in the playoffs.
The Buies Creek Astros won the Carolina League championship, defeating the Potomac Nationals in the final round.

## Teams

2018 Carolina League :
| Division | Team | City | MLB Affiliate | Stadium |
| North | Frederick Keys | Frederick, Maryland | Baltimore Orioles | Harry Grove Stadium |
| North | Lynchburg Hillcats | Lynchburg, Virginia | Cleveland Indians | Calvin Falwell Field |
| North | Potomac Nationals | Woodbridge, Virginia | Washington Nationals | Northwest Federal Field at Pfitzner Stadium |
| North | Salem Red Sox | Salem, Virginia | Boston Red Sox | Haley Toyota Field |
| North | Wilmington Blue Rocks | Wilmington, Delaware | Kansas City Royals | Daniel S. Frawley Stadium |
| South | Buies Creek Astros | Buies Creek, North Carolina | Houston Astros | Jim Perry Stadium |
| South | Carolina Mudcats | Zebulon, North Carolina | Milwaukee Brewers | Five County Stadium |
| South | Down East Wood Ducks | Kinston, North Carolina | Texas Rangers | Grainger Stadium |
| South | Myrtle Beach Pelicans | Myrtle Beach, South Carolina | Chicago Cubs | TicketReturn.com Field |
| South | Winston-Salem Dash | Winston-Salem, North Carolina | Chicago White Sox | BB&T Ballpark |

## Regular season
### Summary

* The Winston-Salem Dash finished with the best record in the league for the first time since 2012.

### Standings

North division :
| Team | Win | Loss | % | GB |
| Potomac Nationals | 74 | 62 | .544 | – |
| Lynchburg Hillcats | 71 | 66 | .518 | 3.5 |
| Wilmington Blue Rocks | 68 | 72 | .486 | 8 |
| Frederick Keys | 65 | 72 | .474 | 9.5 |
| Salem Red Sox | 63 | 75 | .457 | 12 |
| South division |||||
| Winston-Salem Dash | 84 | 54 | .609 | – |
| Buies Creek Astros | 80 | 57 | .584 | 3.5 |
| Carolina Mudcats | 65 | 73 | .471 | 19 |
| Myrtle Beach Pelicans | 61 | 78 | .439 | 23.5 |
| Down East Wood Ducks | 59 | 81 | .421 | 26 |

## League Leaders
### Batting leaders

| Stat | Player | Total |
| AVG | Ryan McKenna, Frederick Keys | .377 |
| H | Osvaldo Duarte, Buies Creek Astros | 134 |
| R | Blake Perkins, Potomac / Wilmington | 87 |
| 2B | Gabriel Cancel, Wilmington Blue Rocks Brett Netzer, Salem Red Sox | 31 |
| 3B | Osvaldo Duarte, Buies Creek Astros Blake Rutherford, Winston-Salem Dash | 9 |
| HR | Bobby Dalbec, Salem Red Sox | 26 |
| RBI | Bobby Dalbec, Salem Red Sox | 85 |
| SB | D.J. Burt, Wilmington Blue Rocks | 32 |

### Pitching leaders

| Stat | Player | Total |
| W | Cristian Alvarado, Frederick Keys | 12 |
| ERA | Cam Roegner, Carolina Mudcats | 2.16 |
| SV | Luke Barker, Carolina Mudcats | 20 |
| SO | Tyson Miller, Myrtle Beach Pelicans | 126 |
| IP | Cristian Alvarado, Frederick Keys | 155.0 |

## Playoffs

* Due to Hurricane Florence, the final round of the playoffs was limited to only one game before the remainder of the series was canceled.
* The Buies Creek Astros won their first Carolina League championship, defeating the Potomac Nationals in one game.
* The semi-finals were changed from a best-of-three series to a best-of-five series.

### Playoff bracket

| Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Finals | Finals | Finals |
| N1 | Potomac | 3 | | | |
| N2 | Lynchburg | 2 | | | |
| N2 | Lynchburg | 2 | N1 | Potomac | 0 |
| | | | S2 | Buies Creek | 1 |
| S1 | Winston-Salem | 0 | S2 | Buies Creek | 1 |
| S2 | Buies Creek | 3 | | | |

## Awards

Carolina League awards :
| Award name | Recipient |
| Most Valuable Player | Bobby Dalbec, Salem Red Sox |
| Pitcher of the Year | Wil Crowe, Potomac Nationals |
| Manager of the Year | Omar Vizquel, Winston-Salem Dash |