# 2022 Prospect League season

The 2022 Prospect League season was the 13th season of collegiate summer baseball in the Prospect League, a collegiate summer baseball league in the Midwestern United States, since its creation in June 2009. There are 16 Prospect League teams, split evenly between Eastern and Western Conferences. These conferences are then split up between the Ohio River Valley, Wabash River, Great River, and Prairie Land divisions.
The Cape Catfish entered the season as defending champions, having defeated the Lafayette Aviators, two games to one, in the league's 2021 championship series.

## Season schedule

Very little changed for the 2022 season, with the only difference in the team lineup being an ownership and name change for the Springfield, Ill. franchise as the Sliders became the Lucky Horseshoes. A new franchise for Jackson, Tennessee, was announced, which will take the field beginning with the 2023 season at the former home of the class Double-A Jackson Generals, The Ballpark at Jackson.
The 16 teams in the league are split evenly between two conferences Eastern and Western. These two conferences are then split up into four divisions, Ohio River Valley, Wabash River, Great River, and Prairie Land.
The season will be played with a 60-game schedule, which is split between two halves, with the first-half ending on July 4 and second-half ending on August 6. The first-half winners in each division will host the second-half winners in a one-game divisional championship round. (If the same team wins both halves, the team with the next-best second-half record makes the playoffs).

## Regular season standings
### First half standings
#### Eastern Conference

Ohio River Valley Division Regular Season Standings :
| Pos | Team | G | W | L | Pct. | GB |
| 1 | y – Chillicothe Paints | 31 | 21 | 10 | .677 | -- |
| 2 | Johnstown Mill Rats | 31 | 12 | 19 | .387 | 9.0 |
| 3 | West Virginia Miners | 29 | 11 | 18 | .379 | 9.0 |
| 4 | Champion City Kings | 29 | 9 | 20 | .310 | 11.0 |
Wabash River Division Regular Season Standings :
| Pos | Team | G | W | L | Pct. | GB |
| 1 | y – Danville Dans | 30 | 21 | 9 | .700 | -- |
| 2 | Illinois Valley Pistol Shrimp | 31 | 20 | 11 | .645 | 1.5 |
| 3 | Terre Haute REX | 30 | 19 | 11 | .633 | 2.0 |
| 4 | Lafayette Aviators | 30 | 14 | 16 | .467 | 7.0 |

#### Western Conference

Great River Division Regular Season Standings :
| Pos | Team | G | W | L | Pct. | GB |
| 1 | y – Quincy Gems | 32 | 19 | 13 | .594 | -- |
| 2 | Clinton LumberKings | 31 | 15 | 16 | .484 | 3.5 |
| 3 | Normal CornBelters | 30 | 14 | 16 | .467 | 4.0 |
| 4 | Burlington Bees | 31 | 11 | 20 | .355 | 7.5 |
Prairie Land Division Regular Season Standings :
| Pos | Team | G | W | L | Pct. | GB |
| 1 | y – Alton River Dragons | 31 | 18 | 13 | .581 | -- |
| 2 | O'Fallon Hoots | 32 | 17 | 15 | .531 | 1.5 |
| 3 | Springfield Lucky Horseshoes | 31 | 12 | 19 | .387 | 6.0 |
| 4 | Cape Catfish | 31 | 12 | 19 | .387 | 6.0 |

### Second half standings
#### Eastern Conference

Ohio River Valley Division Regular Season Standings :
| Pos | Team | G | W | L | Pct. | GB |
| 1 | y – Chillicothe Paints | 29 | 17 | 12 | .586 | -- |
| 2 | x – Johnstown Mill Rats | 29 | 17 | 12 | .586 | -- |
| 3 | Champion City Kings | 28 | 14 | 14 | .500 | 2.5 |
| 4 | West Virginia Miners | 28 | 9 | 19 | .321 | 7.5 |
Wabash River Division Regular Season Standings :
| Pos | Team | G | W | L | Pct. | GB |
| 1 | y – Danville Dans | 27 | 19 | 8 | .704 | -- |
| 2 | x – Illinois Valley Pistol Shrimp | 28 | 18 | 10 | .643 | 1.5 |
| 3 | Terre Haute REX | 30 | 18 | 12 | .600 | 2.5 |
| 4 | Lafayette Aviators | 29 | 11 | 18 | .379 | 9.0 |

#### Western Conference

Great River Division Regular Season Standings :
| Pos | Team | G | W | L | Pct. | GB |
| 1 | y – Normal CornBelters | 29 | 17 | 12 | .586 | -- |
| 2 | Clinton LumberKings | 29 | 13 | 16 | .448 | 4.0 |
| 3 | Quincy Gems | 28 | 12 | 16 | .429 | 4.5 |
| 4 | Burlington Bees | 28 | 9 | 19 | .321 | 7.5 |
Prairie Land Division Regular Season Standings :
| Pos | Team | G | W | L | Pct. | GB |
| 1 | y – Springfield Lucky Horseshoes | 29 | 15 | 14 | .517 | -- |
| 2 | Cape Catfish | 28 | 14 | 14 | .500 | 0.5 |
| 3 | Alton River Dragons | 29 | 14 | 15 | .483 | 1.0 |
| 4 | O'Fallon Hoots | 28 | 11 | 17 | .393 | 3.5 |

### Full season standings
#### Eastern Conference

Ohio River Valley Division Regular Season Standings :
| Pos | Team | G | W | L | Pct. | GB |
| 1 | y – Chillicothe Paints | 60 | 38 | 22 | .633 | -- |
| 2 | x – Johnstown Mill Rats | 60 | 29 | 31 | .483 | 9.0 |
| 3 | Champion City Kings | 57 | 23 | 34 | .404 | 13.5 |
| 4 | West Virginia Miners | 57 | 20 | 37 | .351 | 16.5 |
Wabash River Division Regular Season Standings :
| Pos | Team | G | W | L | Pct. | GB |
| 1 | y – Danville Dans | 57 | 40 | 17 | .702 | -- |
| 2 | x – Illinois Valley Pistol Shrimp | 59 | 38 | 21 | .644 | 3.0 |
| 3 | Terre Haute REX | 60 | 37 | 23 | .617 | 4.5 |
| 4 | Lafayette Aviators | 59 | 25 | 34 | .424 | 16.0 |

#### Western Conference

Great River Division Regular Season Standings :
| Pos | Team | G | W | L | Pct. | GB |
| 1 | x – Normal CornBelters | 59 | 31 | 28 | .525 | -- |
| 2 | x – Quincy Gems | 60 | 31 | 29 | .517 | 0.5 |
| 3 | Clinton LumberKings | 60 | 28 | 32 | .467 | 3.5 |
| 4 | Burlington Bees | 59 | 20 | 39 | .339 | 11.0 |
Prairie Land Division Regular Season Standings :
| Pos | Team | G | W | L | Pct. | GB |
| 1 | x – Alton River Dragons | 60 | 32 | 28 | .533 | -- |
| 2 | O'Fallon Hoots | 60 | 28 | 32 | .467 | 4.0 |
| 3 | x – Springfield Lucky Horseshoes | 60 | 27 | 33 | .450 | 5.0 |
| 4 | Cape Catfish | 59 | 26 | 33 | .441 | 5.5 |
* y – Clinched division
* x – Clinched playoff spot

## Statistical leaders
### Hitting

| Stat | Player | Team | Total |
| HR | Eddie King | Alton River Dragons | 15 |
| AVG | Blake Burris | Alton River Dragons | .361 |
| H | Alec Brunson | Terre Haute REX | 84 |
| RBIs | Alec Brunson | Terre Haute REX | 59 |
| SB | Blake Burris | Alton River Dragons | 47 |

### Pitching

| Stat | Player | Team | Total |
| W | Nick Lallathin, Connor Lockwood | Chillicothe Paints, Champion City Kings | 6 |
| ERA | Jake Curtis | Springfield Lucky Horseshoes | 2.86 |
| SO | Connor Lockwood | Champion City Kings | 73 |
| SV | Garrett McClain | Terre Haute REX | 7 |

## Awards
### End of year awards

| Award | Player | Team |
| Most Valuable Player | Eddie King Jr. | Alton River Dragons |
| Pro Prospect of the Year | Khal Stephen | Danville Dans |
| Starting Pitcher of the Year | Josh Leerssen | Danville Dans |
| Relief Pitcher of the Year | Landon Tomkins | Danville Dans |
| Manager of the Year | Eric Coleman | Danville Dans |

## Playoffs
### Format

The Divisional Championship Round consists of one winner-take-all game between the winner of the first half in each division and the division's second-half winner (If the same team wins both halves, the team with the next-best second-half record makes the playoffs). Division Championship games will take place August 7.
The winners of the divisional games advance to the Conference Championship Round. Again, this is a one-game, winner-take-all game between the two winners of the division championship games in the Eastern Conference and the two-division championship game-winners in the Western Conference. These games will take place August 9.
The Eastern and Western Conference champions play each other in the best-of-three Prospect League Championship Series. Game one is August 11, hosted by the team with the lesser regular-season record. After a travel day, game two is August 13. If necessary, game three will take place August 14, at the same stadium as game two. The team with the best overall record gets to pick to either host game one or games two and three.

### Playoff bracket

| Divisional Championship Round | Divisional Championship Round | Divisional Championship Round | | | Conference Championship Round | Conference Championship Round | Conference Championship Round | Prospect League Championship Series (best-of-three) | Prospect League Championship Series (best-of-three) | Prospect League Championship Series (best-of-three) | Prospect League Championship Series (best-of-three) | Prospect League Championship Series (best-of-three) | |
| Chillicothe Paints | Chillicothe Paints | 16 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Johnstown Mill Rats | Johnstown Mill Rats | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Johnstown Mill Rats | Johnstown Mill Rats | 0 | | | Chillicothe Paints | Chillicothe Paints | 7 | | | | | | |
| ↑ Ohio River Valley / ↓ Wabash River | ↑ Ohio River Valley / ↓ Wabash River | ↑ Ohio River Valley / ↓ Wabash River | | | Chillicothe Paints | Chillicothe Paints | 7 | | | | | | |
| ↑ Ohio River Valley / ↓ Wabash River | ↑ Ohio River Valley / ↓ Wabash River | ↑ Ohio River Valley / ↓ Wabash River | | | Illinois Valley Pistol Shrimp | Illinois Valley Pistol Shrimp | 4 | | | | | | |
| Danville Dans | Danville Dans | 10 | | | Illinois Valley Pistol Shrimp | Illinois Valley Pistol Shrimp | 4 | | | | | | |
| Illinois Valley Pistol Shrimp | Illinois Valley Pistol Shrimp | 11 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Illinois Valley Pistol Shrimp | Illinois Valley Pistol Shrimp | 11 | | | | | | Chillicothe Paints | Chillicothe Paints | 5 | 0 | 14 | |
| ↑ Eastern / ↓ Western | ↑ Eastern / ↓ Western | ↑ Eastern / ↓ Western | ↑ Eastern / ↓ Western | ↑ Eastern / ↓ Western | ↑ Eastern / ↓ Western | ↑ Eastern / ↓ Western | ↑ Eastern / ↓ Western | Chillicothe Paints | Chillicothe Paints | 5 | 0 | 14 | |
| ↑ Eastern / ↓ Western | ↑ Eastern / ↓ Western | ↑ Eastern / ↓ Western | ↑ Eastern / ↓ Western | ↑ Eastern / ↓ Western | ↑ Eastern / ↓ Western | ↑ Eastern / ↓ Western | ↑ Eastern / ↓ Western | Alton River Dragons | Alton River Dragons | 3 | 2 | 4 | |
| Quincy Gems | Quincy Gems | 6 | | | | | | | | | | Alton River Dragons | Alton River Dragons | 3 | 2 | 4 |
| Normal CornBelters | Normal CornBelters | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Normal CornBelters | Normal CornBelters | 3 | | | Quincy Gems | Quincy Gems | 7 | | | | | | |
| ↑ Great River / ↓ Prairie Land | ↑ Great River / ↓ Prairie Land | ↑ Great River / ↓ Prairie Land | | | Quincy Gems | Quincy Gems | 7 | | | | | | |
| ↑ Great River / ↓ Prairie Land | ↑ Great River / ↓ Prairie Land | ↑ Great River / ↓ Prairie Land | | | Alton River Dragons | Alton River Dragons | 8 | | | | | | |
| Alton River Dragons | Alton River Dragons | 4 | | | Alton River Dragons | Alton River Dragons | 8 | | | | | | |
| Springfield Lucky Horseshoes | Springfield Lucky Horseshoes | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | |