Tonight, both Triple-A leagues - the International League and the Pacific Coast League - begin their best-of-three championship series.

The Playoffs and what they mean are different in affiliated minor league baseball. Sure, it's nice to make the playoffs, and it's great to win a championship, but both of those team goals in recent years have fallen behind individual player development as the ultimate goal of the thousands upon thousands of minor league games played each year.

At least partly because of the changed focus of minor league baseball and partly because of the expense of travel and slower ticket sales in the fall, the playoffs have largely been truncated to a short series at the end of the season. This year, the IL and PCL will each play a best-of-three championship series hosted by the team that had the best record in the first half of the season. For the IL, that's the Memphis RedBirds, while in the PCL, the Las Vegas Aviators will host the series. The winner of each series advances to the one-off Triple-A National Championship Game on Saturday in Las Vegas.

Years ago, from 1904-75, save for a few years when no series was held, the International League and American Association faced off in a championship series that was dubbed the "Little World Series" or the "Junior World Series", depending upon the year.

The Triple-A American Association ceased to exist in the late 1990s, leaving the IL and the PCL as the country's two Triple-A leagues, and since 2006, the champions of each league have squared off in the Triple-A National Championship Game, with the last four having been held in Las Vegas.

Where to Watch - Both series are available to stream for free on BallySportsLive, the streaming platform that carries every game in affiliated leagues classified as Low-A and above.

International League

The Rochester Red Wings, in their 114th season in the International League, won the second half title on the season's final day with a 15-8 win over I-90 rival Buffalo, earning themselves a date with the Memphis RedBirds, who will host the three-game IL championship series at AutoZone Park.

Memphis won the first half with a 47-28 record, while Rochester won the second half after going 45-28 to earn a spot in this week's series.

Rochester Red Wings (Washington Nationals)
Manager - Matthew LeCroy, Sixth Season (425-417 Career)
Overall Record - 90-58 (45-30 First Half, 45-28 Second Half)

Key Players - 3B Trey Lipscomb, C Riley Adams, SS Seaver King, CF Andrew Pinckney, OF Leandro Pineda, RHP Riley Cornelio, RHP Chandler Champlain

Players on Washington's 40-Man Roster - RHP Clayton Beeter, RHP Jake Bird, LHP Connerly Early, RHP Zak Kent, RHP Kyle Nicolas, LHP Carson Palmquist, RHP Paxton Schultz, LHP Jared Simpson, RHP Gus Varland, RHP Eddy Yean, OF Andrew Pinckney

Memphis RedBirds (St. Louis Cardinals)
Manager - Ben Johnson, Seventh Season (511-502 Career)
Overall Record - 83-67 (47-28 First Half, 36-39 Second Half)

Key Players - C Jimmy Crooks, OF Colton Ledbetter, SS Brody Moore, 3B Noah Mendlinger

Players on St. Louis's 40-Man Roster - RHP Ryan Fernandez, RHP Richard Fitts, RHP Hancel Rincon, RHP Tekoah Roby, RHP Matt Svanson, C Jimmy Crooks, OF Everson Pereira

Forecast - The RedBirds had a great first half, but have lost good number of their players to either call-ups, or, in the case of Bligh Madris, the KBO league. The Red Wings, under longtime manager Matt LeCroy, have been solid all year and have a pretty good young core at the plate. For both teams, the revolving door for pitchers going to and from the Major Leagues is an issue to contend with - 21 of 40 pitchers to appear in a game for Memphis this year have some MLB experience, as do an astonishing 44 of 56 pitchers who've appeared for Rochester. The Red Wings have the edge at the plate, with the fourth-best OPS in the IL at .795, though not by much, as Memphis is sixth at .787. Like nearly every championship in baseball, it'll likely come down to which team gets pitching. Rochester has the third-best ERA in the IL at 4.39, while Memphis is ninth at 4.57.

International League Championship Series Schedule
All times Eastern Daylight Time
* - if necessary

Sept. 22
7:45 p.m. - Rochester Red Wings at Memphis RedBirds - Game 1

Sept. 23
7:45 p.m. - Rochester Red Wings at Memphis RedBirds - Game 2

Sept. 24
7:45 p.m. - Rochester Red Wings at Memphis RedBirds - Game 3*

Pacific Coast League

In the Pacific Coast League, Triple-A's 10 team league which only has half of its teams in cities on the Pacific Coast, the Las Vegas Aviators (The Athletics) won the first half of the season with a 44-29 mark, while the Oklahoma City Comets (Los Angeles Dodgers) took the second half title with a 48-27 record.

The Aviators, who have called Sin City home since 1983 under three different names and played at two different stadiums, won last year's PCL title with a two-game-to-none series win over the Tacoma Rainiers before falling in the Triple-A National Championship Game at home 8-7 to the International League's Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp.

Las Vegas Aviators (The Athletics)
Manager - Fran Riordan, Seventh Season (610-542 Career, 538-474 with Las Vegas)
Overall Record - 87-61 (44-29 First Half, 43-32 Second Half)

Key Players - 1B Joey Meneses, CF Brayan Buelvas, C Bryan Lavastida, SS Drew Swift, RHP Joey Estes, RHP Kade Morris, RHP Luis Morales

Players on The Athletics' 40-Man Roster - RHP Hunter Bigge, RHP Joey Estes, RHP Hayden Juenger, RHP Luis Morales, RHP Kade Morris, LHP Joe Rock, IF Darell Hernaiz, IF Joshua Kuroda-Grauer, OF Jonathan Rodriguez

Oklahoma City Comets (Los Angeles Dodgers)
Manager - Scott Hennessey, Second Season (173-126 Career)
Overall Record - 89-60 (41-33 First Half, 48-27 Second Half)

Key Players - RF James Tibbs III, 3B Ryan Fitzgerald, OF Zach Erhard, 1B Ryan Ward (DFA'd on Sept. 16), LHP Cole Irvin, RHP Christian Romero, RHP Ryder Ryan, RHP Jerming Rosario

Players on Oklahoma City's 40-Man Roster - RHP Ben Casparius, RHP Jake Cousins, RHP Paul Gervase, RHP Seth Halvorsen, RHP Landon Knack, LHP Ronan Kopp, RHP Bobby Miller, RHP Emmet Sheehan, RHP Gavin Stone, C Eliezer Alfonzo, IF Hyeseong Kim

Forecast - The Aviators have put together another stellar season, winning games and developing prospects for the Athletics, who will soon displace the Triple-A club from Las Vegas. The Comets, meanwhile, have a solid group of prospects who've spent the bulk of the season at Triple-A, as it's hard to crack the lineup of the two-time defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers. Both clubs are relatively evenly matched at the plate, with Las Vegas's .816 OPS just .004 better than Oklahoma City's .812. Oklahoma City's pitching staff, however, leads the league with a 4.30 ERA and 1,375 strikeouts, while Las Vegas is sixth in the league in ERA at 5.62 and fourth in strikeouts at 1,235. Both teams are in the bottom half of the PCL in walks allowed.

Pacific League Championship Series Schedule
All times Eastern Daylight Time
* - if necessary

Sept. 22
10:05 p.m. - Oklahoma City Comets at Las Vegas Aviators - Game 1

Sept. 23
10:05 p.m. - Oklahoma City Comets at Las Vegas Aviators - Game 2

Sept. 24
10:05 p.m. - Oklahoma City Comets at Las Vegas Aviators - Game 3*