It’s time for Volume 5. I can’t even believe we’ve gotten this far with the blog, social media, and now our podcast (which you should all go check out, like, follow, etc. on Spotify). Thank you to everyone who has continued to support us, especially our special guests who have come onto the blog to help out with power rankings. We appreciate you for taking the time to do it!
We head to the Central region of High-A today and roam around the Midwest with a lot of teams that have been staples in High-A ball for years and years. We’re really building up our knowledge base and our big boards for a High-A draft to come in a few weeks.
Last week, we saw no team teach the teens in terms of their overall power-rank score, which was a first in T3S history.
This week, we had 4 guys on the rankings all together. Sean, Manny and Chris, plus 1 group of guests, a group of 3. This week we had the help of three awesome dudes, Justin, Greg, and Vince from the Baseball and Whatever Podcast (Twitter @BaseballAndWhat) to help rank the Midwest circuit, including the High-A affiliate of their Chicago Cubs. Justin actually took over the blog last week and wrote an awesome piece on the historical glitz and glam of Wrigley Field, and if you haven’t checked that out yet (What have you been doing?) you can read it here! We’re thankful to them both for taking the time to contribute to the rankings this week!
As usual, if you’re a regular reader of the blog, keep scrolling. We don’t want to drag you through all the scoring and category nonsense again. If you’re a first-time reader of either the blog or the Logo Power Rankings specifically, (THANK YOU for checking us out!), but check these blogs out now before reading on. It’ll definitely help you get a sense of how we do things!
As a reminder, we’re pulling our logos from this MiLB article series as our reference – the ones you see below 👇
Without Further Ado…
High-A East League Power Rankings
#12 DAYTON DRAGONS
Sean
“Guys. It’s Volume 5 already. Letter logos suck. I get they tried to spice it up a little with the dragon tail, but this logo resembles more of a D3 lax team than a professional baseball team.”
Manny
“EH. Major EH. It’s kinda neat and simple but like have fun with it! You guys are a minor league team. Put the whole dragon on the ball cap.”
CV9
“A great variation of a simple letter logo, adding the dragon tail was an awesome way to go.”
Scoop
“Could have done way more on this logo in my opinion. They somehow found a way to make Dragons look soft.”
Baseball and whatever
“This logo is awful. None of us liked it. Justin said, “This logo physically grosses me out a bit. I don’t like the tail on the D at all!” Oddly enough, the Dayton Dragons hold the record for most consecutive sellouts in pro sports, but it certainly isn’t for this logo.”
#11 LANSING LUGNUTS
Sean
“Definitely unique but other than that… what? This team looks like they really got… “screwed” here.”
Manny
“Kind of unique but also from afar it could be confused with a tornado. It’s a pretty “just get the ball over the plate” type of logo.”
CV9
“This looks like a backyard baseball logo. Good for the young fan and the name is a good meme along with it, but not as good as the legendary Modesto Nuts. #Nutup”
Scoop
“In this weeks’ rendition of pro ball logos straight out of 8U soccer….. lame.”
Baseball and whatever
“It’s unique, but, we don’t really have much to say besides that. I guess the geographic factor makes it sort of interesting, but overall, meh.”
#10 SOUTH BEND CUBS
Sean
“Classic colors, but is this actually Brother Bear?”
Manny
“Don’t have to be a baseball fan to know that this team is affiliated with the Chicago Cubs. There is something comical about the bear looking at you head on. It looks kind of cute, angry, and menacing all at once. Like I want to pet you, but I might lose a hand. Probably your catcher who’s an absolute wall behind the dish.”
CV9
“Stick with what you know I guess. Stemming down from their major league team they have 3 teams with the Cubs as their name. They just don’t seem to like changing what they know. Do better.”
Scoop
“Love the logo, but kinda basic that they just found a classic Cubbie logo and stamped it on their club.”
baseball and whatever
“Vinnie and Justin agreed that the bear face is something the Cubs should return too. “I’ve never liked the crawling Cubs logo and wish they’d return to what they used throughout the 80s and early 90s. This could be something the pro team could adapt, tweak, and have something really unique.”
#9 GREAT LAKES LOONS
Sean
“Colors – sick. Everything else, not great.”
Manny
“Only bird in this division and it’s a pretty big let down in my opinion. A real loon bird is much more terrifying with its red beady eyes. This was cartoonized too much. A raven-esque bird with red eyes would be much scarier”
CV9
“Now birds are overplayed but a duck? You only really see a duck logo with the Anaheim Ducks (NHL) and the Oregon Ducks (College). And the name Loons makes it even better for its originality.”
Scoop
“Totally forgot that a loon is a bird and not just some crazy dude that wanders the town. This one is money.”
baseball and whatever
“”I’m a sucker for a good duck logo, take the Mighty Ducks, Quad City Mallards, or even the Oregon Ducks. This one doesn’t do it for me though” – Justin / “The red eyes give it sort of a Zombie duck vibe.” – Vinnie / Greg was completely on board with the color scheme though.”
#8 LAKE COUNTY CAPTAINS
Sean
“The colors had me. The lighthouse tugged at my Jersey Shore roots. But ultimately I wanted this to be better than it could have ever been. It’s just not there for me.”
Manny
“Lighthouse on the lake. I get it, doesn’t mean I like it though. The color scheme is fantastic but it’s not really doing much else for me.”
CV9
“Along with all the logos so far, this one is also solid. The lighthouse intertwined with the Capital C is great.”
scoop
“This one right here. This is a logo I need in my collection. Just hovers over the rest of the league. They are the captain now.”
Baseball and whatever
“This was Justin’s favorite logo. Greg and Vinnie both think because it has a bit of a Islanders hockey vibe to it. “I just love different shades of blue in a logo, and this one nails it for me.” – Justin / Greg felt the logo wasn’t intimidating at all, but loved the logo itself.”
#7 CEDAR RAPIDS KERNELS
Sean
“Corn. As a baseball bat. *Batman Voice* I. Am. Bat…corn? Not intimidated at all, but extremely unique and fits the region perfectly.”
Manny
“This is a very fitting logo considering we just had the field of dreams game not too long ago. I get a very Modesto Nuts vibe looking at this dude. He’s not very scary but I get Sillyville Tree vibes from him. The longer I look at him the creepier he gets.”
CV9
“Very unique logo, reminds me of a set up reliever who hasn’t been good in 5 years and only throws junk.”
Scoop
“We got the Planters guy chillin’ in Cedar Rapids. Shoutout Hillary.”
baseball and whatever
“Greg found the color scheme of the Kernels pretty neat, where Vinnie and Justin were not on board. Greg doesn’t see any uniqueness to the geographic inclusion factor. “It’s the midwest, theres corn everywhere out here.” Vinnie also added – “This isn’t Christmas, it’s baseball. I don’t want red and green colors together.””
#6 WISCONSIN TIMBER RATTLERS
Sean
“Okay, the letter in the logo, wack. The snake though? My god. Awesome. It’s not facing the left or the right like most logos. This snake is pointed directly at you. Every time i look at it I feel like I’m going to be hypnotized. It stares directly into your soul. I’m here for this experience.”
Manny
“The “W” detracts sooo much from this logo. I think the snake around a baseball bat or ball would be awesome. The snake itself is great. Menacing and viscous. It’s ready to strike. But the W is just so large and in your face.”
Cv9
“Best letter logo we’ve seen here at The Three Spot. Adding the rattle snake to wrap around the W is a huge move, and a win for the organization.”
Scoop
“This one is cool, but if you have been following the blog, you know how much ya boy Scoop hates letter logos. Take the W away and just make the snake thicccccer and this one is top of the heap.”
baseball and whatever
“”When I played fall ball as a kid, the Timber Rattlers were my actual team, so I have a soft spot for this one” – Justin / We all loved the color scheme and the logo overall too. It’s fun to see the logo wrapped around part of the letter, so credit for originality too. Turns out the Timber Rattler is actually federally protected by Wisconsin, so it was neat to see this tied into the geographic location. This was Greg’s favorite logo overall.”
#5 FORT WAYNE TINCAPS
Sean
“Give me this and then give me some more. They Johnny Appleseeded the shit out of this thing. This is the first fruit I found widely engaging and captivating since Annoying Orange in high school.”
Manny
“Electrodes lost cousin. This is what minor league logos are to me – super unique and fun logo that doesn’t really make sense to the general public and forces you to read up on it.”
CV9
“An Apple with a pan on its head ? Now thats a memorable one. I think this logo really stands out from all because of the originality behind it.”
Scoop
“Johnny Appleseed would be proud of this logo that absolutely shits on the chest of that apple at Citi Field.”
Baseball and whatever
“We all were fans of the TinCaps logo. It screams minor league fun, which is perfectly okay with us.”
#4 BELOIT SNAPPERS
Sean
“This little guy looks scared. Not gonna lie I love the backyards cap on the dude, and apparently the area is like turtle heaven. Pop of yellow with the shell and official whiffle ball bat is awesome too. Need a shirt with Snappy D. Turtle. Matter of fact – going to follow his Twitter now.”
Manny
“Looking like the Daytona Tortugas older brother. That batting stance tells the tale, this little reptile easily hits for contact and gets on base 90% of the time. Base path speed is nothing to write home about.”
cv9
“Great color scheme, gives me Ricky Johnson vibes from backyard baseball.”
Scoop
“Loving the Pablo Sanchez Turtle boi. Logo is a slow burning fire of greatness. Would look sick on a blacked out uni.”
baseball and whatever
“We’re all pretty familiar with this logo being within driving distance of Beloit, WI. Sadly, the logo and name are going away next year. The final vote for the new team name is down to the “Moo, Cheeseballs, Polka Pike, Sky Carp, and Supper Clubbers. “I love the color scheme and have a nostalgia factor for this logo.” – Justin”
#3 PEORIA CHIEFS
Sean
“Now I actually appreciated the Chiefs rebranding from an indigenous chief, and using a firehouse dog seems a bit childish and paw patrol-y, but honestly I’m all for it. This guy is the chief and he knows it.”
Manny
“If you’ve ever watched Paw Patrol….well this is Marshalls older cooler brother. That smug look lets you know you’re not allowed to come into my room while my friends are over. This logo is top tier in my book and pays homage to Illinois and the rich firefighting history. Def your #4 hitter that uses no batting gloves.”
CV9
“Very much Paw Patrol vibes here and I’m loving every second of it. Great color scheme as well.”
Scoop
“Thank the lord they went with a firehouse dog instead of positioning themselves to become the Peoria Baseball Team.”
baseball and whatever
“”I can definitely appreciate the effort of rebranding in order to keep the Chiefs name. I think that’s really cool overall.” – Justin / “All I see is Paw Patrol,” says Greg. Vinnie agreed and said it looked like a grown up version of one of the Paw Patrol characters.”
#2 WEST MICHIGAN WHITECAPS
Sean
“Again, loving the shore and ocean theme. I’m really a sucker for things like this. But, Western Michigan? Giant waves? Doesn’t add up for me. But if you’re looking to make more waves in the wave pool next summer, the Whitecaps had a 5/3 pound burger (yes, you read that right) at their stadium. It was retired in 2018, but if you’ve ever eaten one of those, please seek medical assistance and then tweet us about your experience. Too bad I couldn’t give them extra points for that.”
Manny
“Low-A South: take notes. All you teams using waves and water in your logos. This is how you do it. There’s a little something odd about the wave monsters right eye but this color scheme and the way the wave is enveloping the baseball is top tier. Not sure how much wave action Michigan gets but it’s a well executed logo.”
CV9
“Probably a top 3 logo in here a great infusion of ball and wave here. The eyes give a strong intimidation factor.”
Scoop
“The iciest logo I’ve seen thus far. Kinda like a tsunami had a baby with a Monstar.”
baseball and whatever
““I didn’t realize there were that many waves in the middle of Michigan?” – Vinnie / “I love the aquatic theme, the colors, and overall logo. It doesn’t make any sense, but I really enjoy it” – Justin”
#1 QUAD CITIES RIVER BANDITS
Sean
“I freaking loved this logo. I really did. But for them to just come up with this from a community naming contest really killed it for me. No connection to the area. The raccoon as a bandito is still sick though.”
Manny
“A Racoon. With a bandana and cowboy hat. WHAT MORE DO YOU WANT? This is a sly and sneaky trash panda that is not scared to pull out the heat if situations get sticky. He’s stealing 40 bags every season.”
cv9
“A real raccoon logo, The Hudson Valley Renegades should learn something from this. This logo is going to swipe 20 bags, your lunch and probably your girlfriend.”
Scoop
“This logo is absolute heat. Wouldn’t wanna see this raccoon in a dark alley.”
baseball and whatever
“Vinnie did some research on this one and apparently, there was an actual group called the Quad City River Bandits who supposedly killed the towns namesake and founder. Really weird direction to go with the team name if the case, but unique nonetheless. Vinnie and Greg really liked this logo and the color scheme. Very good overall. This was Vinnie’s favorite logo overall.”
Complete Rankings
- Quad City River Bandits
- West Michigan Whitecaps
- Peoria Chiefs
- Beloit Snappers
- Fort Wayne TinCaps
- Wisconsin Timber Rattlers
- Cedar Rapids Kernels
- Lake County Captains
- Great Lakes Loons
- South Bend Cubs
- Lansing Lugnuts
- Dayton Dragons
The Three Spot 