American Association Daily provides insights, features, and recaps of the action from around the American Association of Professional Baseball League, as well as player and coaching profiles and transactions. In today’s edition, Robert Pannier begins a look back at the 2022 American Association season for each team in the league, starting today with the Sioux Falls Canaries.

The Sioux Falls Canaries Season in Review

The Sioux Falls Canaries finished the 2022 season with the worst record in the American Association, finishing 33-67, 32 games behind the Kansas City Monarchs in the West Division. It was a disappointing season for Sioux Falls on many levels, as the pitching staff looked ready to compete in the ultracompetitive division, but the pitching staff failed to deliver and the offense was not what Canaries fans have become accustomed to seeing.

Tale of the Tape

(League ranking listed in parenthesis.)

Record: 33-67 (12)
Home Record: 20-31 (10)
Away Record: 13-36 (12)

Batting:
Average: .260 (11)
Homeruns: 105 (8)
Runs Scored: 464 (12)
On–Base Percentage: .342 (11)
Slugging Percentage: .403 (10)
Stolen Bases: 40 (12)

Pitching:
ERA: 6.17 (11)
Strikeouts: 799 (9)
Saves: 18 (11)
WHIP: 1.61 (10)
Shutouts: 3 (T-9)
CG: 1 (T-7)

Fielding:
Fielding Percentage: .980 (4)
Errors: 70 (T-4)

A Recap of the 2022 Sioux Falls Canaries Season

The Sioux Falls Canaries found themselves under the gun as soon as the season got underway. The club went 5-12 in May, as the pitching staff was shelled early on. Through the 17 games in the month, the club posted an 8.58 ERA as all seven starters posted ERAs well above six. That necessitated a lot of innings from the bullpen, as Charlie Hasty appeared nine times and Mitchell Walters and Colby Wyatt each made seven appearances. Only Wyatt had some success, posting a 4.66 ERA, the lowest among any pitcher who appeared in more than two games.

The offense was solid in May, hitting .276 with 21 homers, but that was not enough to overcome the challenges of the pitching staff. That continued into June, where the club with 10-16. The pitching got better, posting a 5.25 ERA and Ty Culbreth put together an impressive run, posting a 2.46 ERA in five starts. The bullpen was solid during the month as well, as Riley Ferrell (1.54), Hasty (2.46), Matthew Dunaway (1.13), Walters (3.86), and Wyatt (3.97) all put together solid months to keep this team in games. Wyatt Ulrich continued to impress the top of the order, hitting .354 in 26 games and Jabari Henry had a monster month, hitting 10 homers and driving in 29.

However, that was not enough to help this team win. They left the month 13 games under .500, but were showing some signs of life. That brought some optimism in July when the club went 10-13, clubbing 29 homers in the 26 contests. Ulrich continued to swing a hot bet, hitting .385 and nine games, which earned him a contract to join a Major League affiliate (San Diego Padres) for the first time in his career. The bullpen continued to be the strength of the pitching staff, as Walters, Hasty, and Ferrell all posted ERA is under three.

July got off to a great start, as the Canaries boasted a six-game winning streak to begin the month, sweeping a three-game series from the Sioux City Explorers while taking two of three from the Cleburne Railroaders. The club was 8-2 through the first 10 games, but things turned quickly as they were swept at home by the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks (July 19-21), then lost two of three to the Kane County Cougars, before traveling to Kansas City where they were swept by the Monarchs. The Monarchs then came to Sioux Falls where they took the first two games of that series, making the Canaries 1-10 during the 11-game stretch.

The club finished out July and led into August on a positive note, taking five of six games starting on July 31. However, things went terribly wrong from there. After losing two of three to the Lake Country DockHounds, the team returned home where they lost two of three to the DockHounds. Back to the road they went where they were swept in a four-game series in Fargo, then swept in Milwaukee, before returning home to face the Explorers, a series where they lost four of the five games. Kansas City then came to town and swept the three-game set, with Lincoln following with a sweep of their three-game series.

That left the team 7-22 in August, as several key pieces of the pitching staff failed to deliver. Cescilio Pimentel, who was brought in as the ace of the staff, went 1-3 with an 8.07 ERA, and no starter had an ERA under five. The offense simply could not keep up, having their worst month of the season (.249, 23 HR, 120 R).

The Canaries then traveled to Winnipeg to close out the season, losing three of the four games to the Goldeyes.

What Went Right

While the pitching staff was a disappointment on many levels, the bullpen put together a solid performance. Ferrell led the team with 11 saves and boasted an impressive 1.73 ERA, allowing just 12 hits while striking out 36 in 26.0 innings. Dunaway (2.38) and Nate Garkow (2.70) each posted ERAs under three and Hasty (3.69), Walters (4.29), Wyatt (4.88) and Stevie Ledesma (4.64) all posted solid ERAs considering that 51 of the team’s games were played at the Bird Cage.

The Canaries also had their best season fielding team in years. They finished fourth in least errors committed and in fielding percentage. The resurfacing of the turf may be paying dividends.

Henry had battled through some injuries since 2018, but hit 21 homers in 2021 and topped that with 29 this last season. Gavin LaValley (.324, 20, 73) had a solid campaign in his first season in Sioux Falls, and Aaron Takacs was an exceptional find for Manager Mike Meyer, hitting .293 in 53 games after being acquired from Lake Country.

What Went Wrong

The starting staff was an absolute disaster for this club. Culbreth finished 7-6 with a 5.18 ERA, and Neil Lang performed well when moved into the starting rotation, finishing 2-5 with a 4.95 ERA. However, they were the exceptions. Six pitchers who made at least two starts had ERAs well over seven, including Tyler Garkow (8.17), who was expected to be a top of the rotation guy.

The offense simply could not overcome the challenges of pitching staff, but this was a disappointing offensive season by Sioux Falls Canaries standards. Finishing last in runs scored in the Bird Cage is unheard of and the team finished in the bottom half in the league in homeruns despite having two players who hit 20+ homers.

Team MVP: Jabari Henry

Henry is not only an outstanding hitter, but has become a part of the Sioux Falls community. This past season was his fifth in Sioux Falls, and he continues to put up outstanding numbers, finishing with a .259 batting average, while scoring 62 runs, hitting 29 homers, and driving in 86. His homer and RBI totals were third in the American Association. The 29 homers also tied his club record, initially set back in 2017. H

e played in 98 games, the most he has played for Sioux Falls in a single season, and put together a solid .868 OPS. At 31, Henry is showing no signs of slowing down, finishing second in the Home Run Derby and his three-run homer in the ninth in the All-Star game proved to be the winning hit.

Top Pitcher: Riley Ferrell

Ferrell came to Sioux Falls with an impressive set of credentials, reaching AAA for the Houston Astros and Miami Marlins organizations. In 2022, Ferrell gave Meyer something he had not had in his five seasons as manager of the club – a closer he could depend upon to shut the door.

Ferrell appeared in 27 games, posting a 1-3 record and 11 saves with an impressive 1.73 ERA. He did walk 16 batters, but only allowed 12 hits while striking out 36 in 26.0 innings. In his 27 appearances, he allowed five earned runs, which all came into appearances, a loss against Cleburne on July 1 and a loss against the RedHawks on June 8. In 22 of his 27 appearances, he did not allow a run at all.

What to Expect in 2023

This upcoming season may be a pivotal one for Meyer. This will be his sixth season with the club, and the team has finished in last twice and in fifth place twice. Only in the 2020 season has Sioux Falls had a winning record in Meyer’s tenure, reaching the American Association championship series that year, but one has to believe that he enters the season on the hot seat.

The off-season has always looked good for the Sioux Falls Manager, where he has put together what appears to be a solid starting rotation that simply vaporizes. What may be necessary is for Meyer to change his approach to building the pitching staff. He has relied on hurlers who have delivered credible numbers for him in the past, but may need to blow up the drawing board and be less loyal, more cutthroat. The Canaries Skipper is one of the best in the business, but the results have not been what he expects. It may be time for an overhaul if he is going to compete in this very competitive West Division.

By Robert Pannier