The 2016 American Association playoffs kick-off on Wednesday evening with the Central Division champion Sioux City Explorers taking on the Wichita Wingnuts, the winners of the South Division. This will be a best of five-game series and will pit these teams together in the playoffs for the first time in league history.

Records:
Wichita Wingnuts: 61-39, Winners of the South Division, Second Best Record in the League
Sioux City Explorers: 54-46, Winners of the Central Division, Fifth Best Record in the League

Head-to-Head:
Wichita won the seasons series 2-1
June 23, at Wichita, 6-3 Wingnuts
June 24, at Wichita, 7-6 Explorers
June 25, at Wichita, 5-4 Wingnuts

Position Comparison: (Wingnuts Player Listed First)

Catcher: Martin Medina vs. Ralph Henriquez

Medina has had a solid season at the plate, hitting .245 in 45-games with a homer and 29-runs batted in. What really makes him stand out is his play behind the plate. It is no coincidence that the Wingnuts pitching staff was struggling mightily until Manager Pete Rose, Jr. brought Medina in. The team was 8-11 when he was signed and went 53-28 afterward. The pitching staff has responded well to him, and he has had a great influence on the team as a whole.

Henriquez has been a solid offensive performer for the Explorers. The Sioux City catcher hit .267 with 6-homers and 46-RBI in 96-games. He also walked 47 times and stole 7-bases. Henriquez has been especially hot of late, going 16-36 over his last 10-games. The pitchers really respond to him.

Advantage: Even

First Base: Matt Chavez vs. Ino Patron

Chavez missed a month of the season after suffering an injury and still won the American Association batting title and was named the league’s Rookie of the Year. The first baseman led the league with a .359 average. He also blasted 16-homers and drove in 61 in just 68-games. Chavez is not an outstanding defensive player, but he is solid and his bat more than makes up for any defensive shortcomings. Chavez enters the playoffs on a 9-game hitting streak (19-35)

Patron is not the offensive first baseman that Chavez is, but he is an outstanding defender, making just 3-errors in 46-games. Patron hit .264 with 2-homers and 19-RBI. Patron had back-to-back 3-hit games in the series against Texas when the Explorers clinched the division.

Advantage: Wichita Wingnuts

Second Base: Christian Stringer vs. Bryan Johns

Stringer is the one that gets this Wingnuts offense going, and he is quite good at it. In 98-games, Stringer hit .287 with a homer and 34-RBI. He also scored 82-runs which was second in the league. The second baseman can do so many things well, including run, as he stole 22-bases, third on the team. He is also an excellent defensive player and teams with Leo Vargas to form an incredible double-play duo.

Johns does not bring a big bat to the lineup (.215, 2-HR, 9-RBI in 30-games), but he is an outstanding second baseman. The former shortstop has played well since taking over the position, not making an error this season.

Advantage: Wichita Wingnuts

Shortstop: Leo Vargas vs. Nate Samson

Vargas got off to an unbelievably quick start at the plate before tailing off. He finished at .250 in 95-games with 47-runs scored, 38-RBI and 27 extra-base hits. He is as slick of a fielder as one can ask for, but he does make more errors than one would expect from someone with so much talent.

Samson was named the American Association Most Valuable Player and with good reason. The shortstop is one of the most complete baseball players that anyone will find, hitting .350, third in the American Association, with 6-homers and 68-RBI. He also scored 68-runs, stole 31-bases and walked 54 times. Samson as just as good of a fielder as Vargas and there is really no part of his game that he does not excel in.

Advantage: Sioux City Explorers

Third Base: Zack Cox vs. Tommy Mendonca

Cox has been a big time bat in this Wichita lineup, hitting .290 with 12-homers and 64-runs driven in. In the 96-games he played in this season, Cox scored 77-runs, stole 7-bases, and always seemed to be coming up with big hits. That included a huge walk-off homerun against Kansas City when they were riding a 7-game win streak.

Mendonca had another solid season for the Explorers. In 97-games he hit .254 with 8-HR and 61-RBI. He also hit 18-doubles and walked 56 times. Mendonca is one of the more adept third baseman in the league, and he mans the hot corner with the best of them.

Advantage: Wichita Wingnuts

Left Field: T.J. Mittelstaedt vs. Derrick Robinson

Mittelstaedt has been nothing short of brilliant for the Wingnuts since being acquired two seasons ago. In 2016, he had another great year, hitting .288 with 16-homers and 74-RBI. His RBI total led the team, and he was second in homeruns. He also walked a league leading 80 times and had 48 total extra-base hits, finishing fourth in the league in doubles. It does not matter what position he is penciled into play for the day, he will excel and has great speed, finishing second on the team with 23-stolen bases.

Robinson will play the outfield and DH in this series. The Explorers are quite deep in the outfield and all of them can play well at whatever position they are penciled into play for that night. Robinson has been a big bat for this team, hitting .313 in 84-games with 2-homers and 36-RBI. He was tied for the team lead in stolen bases (31) and scored 63-runs.

Advantage: Wichita Wingnuts

Center Field: Nick Van Stratten vs. Tim Colwell

For the second straight season, Van Stratten returned from Mexico to joined Wichita for a playoff run. In 15-games, he hit .339 with 10-runs scored and 9-RBI. He is a great contact hitter with good speed, both on the base paths and in the field. Van Stratten is one of the top defensive outfielders you will come across.

Colwell was a real force in this Sioux City lineup this season. In 98-games, the outfielder hit .298 with 55-RBI and 59-runs scored. He also stole 28-bases and made just 3-errors. Colwell has had an impressive season at the plate, but it is his play in the outfield that really separates him. He is one of the best in the league and has an outstanding arm as well.

Advantage: Even

Right Field: Harrison Kain vs. Michael Lang

This is going to be one of the most fun parts of this series. Kain was second in the league in hitting (.358), and is as good of an outfielder as one can ask for. Just as the Explorers have an outstanding group of defenders, so does Wichita and Kain may be the best of them all. In 66-games, he scored 38-runs and drove in 48 more, plus he stole 15-bases. His only challenge is staying healthy, as he is so quick and speedy that this can lead to him getting into some precarious situations because he can reach balls that many others would not and he plays with abandon.

Lang had another impressive offensive performance, hitting .284 with 5-homeruns and 41-RBI. He led the league in runs scored with 83 and stole 30-bases, being gunned down just four times, showing that it is not easy to catch the speedy outfielder. Lang is a great defender as well and has a strong arm.

Advantage: Even

Designated Hitters: Brent Clevlen vs. LeVon Washington

Clevlen is the veteran that every team loves to have. He not only hits incredibly well, but is a steadying influence in the dugout. Another coach without the title. Despite suffering a wrist injury that plagued him for large parts of this season, Clevlen hit .313 with 66-runs and 63-RBI in 66-games. His 17-homers led the team and he finished with 43 extra-base hits. He will play in the outfield some in this series, but you can be sure that his bat will be in the lineup some way or another.

Washington has only been with Sioux City for 39-games but has been a real find for Manager Steve Montgomery. Washington hit .336 with 27-runs and 36-RBI. He also walked and impressive 20 times, giving the outfielder a .408 OBP. His bat makes this a very tough lineup.

Advantage: Wichita Wingnuts

Bench: Brent Dean, Brennen Salgado vs. Brendan Slattery, Michael Abreu

Neither team has a very deep bench and that is by design. Several players on the Wingnuts can play three or four different positions, and Dean and Salgado are no exception. Salgado hit .276 and Dean .258. Dean is a threat to steal (13-bases), and the fact that one bats from the left-hand side and the other from the right is really a plus.

Slattery is a solid backup catcher, who will see some time in this series. He hit .292 with 2-homers in 54-games. His bat is just too good to keep on the bench for too long. Abreu can play short, second, and third.

Advantage: Wichita Wingnuts

Starting Rotation: Tim Brown, Alex Boshers, Jesse Pratt, Tyler Kane vs. Cody Forsythe, Ryan Zimmerman, Bryan Escanio

Brown continues to just be Tim Brown. The right-hander struggled to start the season, but finished with 9-wins and a 4.11 ERA. The biggest man in the rotation is Alex Boshers, who started the season in the bullpen, was then moved to the rotation and rattled off 12-wins as a starter, tied for most in the American Association. Pratt was moved into the rotation late in the season and has done well, even blanking the T-Bones for 6-innings, and Kane is a late edition to the team who has been outstanding in his three starts, posting a 2-1 record and a 1.68 ERA.

The Sioux City starters are not nearly as formidable as last season’s group, but there is some talent here. Zimmerman returned and struggled, posting a 3-9 record and a 6.41 ERA. He may not have the numbers this season, but he showed last year (14-wins, 1.79 ERA) that he has what it takes to be dominant. Forsythe finished 11-5 with a 4.38 ERA but he won 6-games in a row before falling at Texas in his last start of the season. Escanio won five of his 14-starts.

Advantage: Wichita Wingnuts

Bullpen: Frankie Reed, Chad Nading, Eddie Medina, Charlie Leesman, Gage Smith, Luis Pardo, Mike Devine, Chase Johnson vs. Shawn Blackwell, Rob Wort, Reinier Roibal, Jordan Risse, Dylan Rheault, Hobbs Johnson, Hasten Freeman, PJ Francescon, Jake Kuebler

                                                                                                                     There has become a philosophy that Manager Pete Rose has employed this season. He will use his starters for 6-innings, and then turn to his bullpen to take over from there. He has that luxury because he has the deepest bullpen of any playoff team. Reed was absolutely dominant this season with 21-saves and a 1.86 ERA. He has a lot of great arms to set up for him, led by Johnson, who was with the Wingnuts when they won it all in 2014, and who really helped to solidify this bullpen when the team was struggling early in the year. Add Leesman and Medina, both former starters, and there is not a part of the game that this team cannot cover

                                                                                                                        The Explorers lost their closer, Connor Overton, when he signed with the Giants. That meant that Wort moved into that role and he has done what he has always done for his manager – deliver. Wort made 35-appearances this season, posting a 6-4 record with 6-saves and a 2.37 ERA. The right-hander is not the only one with good stuff, however. Kuebler posted a 2.15 ERA and Roibal had a 3.11 ERA. He may move to the rotation if needed.

Advantage: Wichita Wingnuts

Managers: Pete Rose, Jr. vs. Steve Montgomery

Prediction:

The Sioux City Explorers defied many and came back to win their division. They have momentum and an experienced team that knows how to win. So do the Wichita Wingnuts. The Wingnuts have the most talented lineup and, if their pitching can hold out, they will likely go all the way. Take the Wingnuts to win a close Game 5 to advance.

By Robert Pannier