Jose Sermo, Tommy Collier Earn Week 16 American Association Honors
In American Association Daily, the Minor League Sports Report names their American Association Player and Pitcher of the Week for Week 16 as chosen by Robert Pannier and Kevin Luckow. Sioux City Explorers infielder Jose Sermo was chosen as the Player of the Week while Tommy Collier from the Kansas City T-Bones was named as the top pitcher.
Jose Sermo, Tommy Collier Honored in Week 16
The Minor League Sports Report and This Week in the Association have named their Player and Pitcher of the Week for Week 16, the final week of the regular season in the American Association. The Kansas City T-Bones Tommy Collier was named as the top pitcher for the week, a day after being named Pitcher of the Month for August, while Jose Sermo of the Sioux City Explorers was chosen as the top player for Week 16
Player of the Week: Jose Sermo, Sioux City Explorers
The Minor League Sports Report has named Sioux City Explorers infielder Jose Sermo as the Player of the Week for the final week of the American Association regular season. Sermo hit .462 with 4-homers while driving in 14 in seven games during the week. Jose Sermo had hits in six of the seven games that Sioux City played this week.
The first two games were the conclusion of a three-game set with the Kansas City T-Bones, contests where the infielder was 6-9 in the final two games with 4-runs scored and 7-RBI. He also homered in each of those contests.
Sioux City then battled the Texas AirHogs for three games where Sermo was 3-10 with 2-runs scored and 3-RBI. He added two doubles and walked five times in the series.
Onto Wichita the Explorers went where, in the first two games of their series with the Wingnuts, Jose Sermo was 3-7 with 3-runs and 4-RBI. He clubbed two home runs in the September 2 game, driving in all four runs in a 4-0 victory which eliminated the Wingnuts from playoff contention.
Overall, Jose Sermo was 12-26 with 9-runs scored, 14-runs driven in, 3-doubles, and 4-home runs. He also walked seven times. Sermo posted a .559 on-base percentage, a 1.038 slugging percentage, and had an OPS of 1.597.
Jose Sermo is the third Sioux City Explorers player to earn Player of the Week honors, joining Daniel Jackson (Week 1) and Jay Baum (Week 11).
Pitcher of the Week: Tommy Collier, Kansas City T-Bones
The Minor League Sports Report has named their Pitcher of the Week for the final week of the American Association season, choosing Kansas City T-Bones right-hander Tommy Collier. Collier had one start this past week, but it was a big one, blanking the Wichita Wingnuts for 6.2-innings in a 6-0 victory in a game the T-Bones needed to hold off Wichita from moving into second place in the South Division.
The start for Tommy Collier came on August 30, a night after Wichita had won 6-3 behind eight outstanding innings by Travis Banwart to pull within a half game of Kansas City. The right-hander made sure they would get no closer, allowing no more than a single hit in any inning through the first six frames.
Collier struck out two batters in each of the first three innings, then struck out the side in the fifth. He would strike out two more in the sixth and add one more in the seventh before his night would end. That came when Wichita delivered back-to-back singles with two outs in the frame. Collier finished with 6-hits and no walks allowed in 6.2-innings. He struck out 12.
Tommy Collier is the first Kansas City T-Bones hurler to earn Pitcher of the Week honors, but he has twice been named by the Minor League Sports Report as the Pitcher of the Month (July, August).
2018 Players of the Week
Week 15 – Noah Perio, Jr., Kansas City T-Bones
Week 14 – Curt Smith, Lincoln Saltdogs
Week 13 – Angel Reyes, Wichita Wingnuts
Week 12 – Tim Colwell, Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks
Week 11 – Jay Baum, Sioux City Explorers
Week 10 – David Bergin, Sioux Falls Canaries
Week 9 – Tony Thomas, Wichita Wingnuts
Week 8 – Tim Colwell, Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks
Week 7 – Fernando Perez, Wichita Wingnuts
Week 6 – Brady Shoemaker, St. Paul Saints
Week 5 – Zach Walters, Kansas City T-Bones
Week 4 – Colin Willis, Gary Southshore RailCats
Week 3 – Brandon Jacobs, Lincoln Saltdogs
Week 2 – Angel Reyes, Lincoln Saltdogs
Week 1 – Daniel Jackson, Sioux City Explorers
2018 Pitchers of the Week
Week 15 – Austin Robichaux, Lincoln Saltdogs; Trey McNutt, Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks
Week 14 – Will Solomon, Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks
Week 13 – Travis Banwart, Wichita Wingnuts
Week 12 – Keaton Steele, Gary Southshore RailCats
Week 11 – Daniel Minor, Gary Southshore RailCats
Week 10 – Tyler Matzek, Texas AirHogs
Week 9 – Mitch Lambson, Winnipeg Goldeyes
Week 8 – Cesilio Pimentel, Sioux Falls Canaries
Week 7 – Austin Robichaux, Lincoln Saltdogs
Week 6 – Daniel Minor, Gary Southshore RailCats
Week 5 – Charlie Gillies, Wichita Wingnuts
Week 4 – Jake Esch, St. Paul Saints
Week 3 – Alex Gunn, Gary Southshore RailCats
Week 2 – Eddie Medina, St. Paul Saints
Week 1 – Michael Tamburino, Lincoln Saltdogs
By Robert Pannier
B. Medina
September 4, 2018 @ 1:39 pm
C’mon Robert check your facts first – Jason Garcia plays the Explorers not KC. He was the Pitcher of the week in the Association (9/3/18). Both Sermo and Garcia play for the Explorers not KC.
Maybe the AA league should also check their some facts first. How does S. Montgomery not get Manager of the year? His team goes wire to wire in 1st place with 70+ wins and the 2nd place team mgr is the Manager of the year? Bad, real bad! This league should be embarrassed by this non-sense.
The other S.C. Explorers (Kelly, Baum, and Vernia) that were also left off the All-Star team make this look like the “good old boys league”. It’s not who was the best player I guess, it’s who you know or like.
A 70+ win team should be all over this all-star team. Maybe YOU should question the league about what games they were really watching this year. Not a good look at all AA.
Robert Pannier
September 4, 2018 @ 5:19 pm
Brian I know that Garcia plays for Sioux City and not K.C. He was not chosen by the Minor League Sports Report as the Pitcher of the Week – Collier was. We are not always in agreement with the league on their choices because theirs are based solely on a point system.
A clear case can be made for Steve Montgomery to be Manager of the Year. The league chose Calfapietra and a great case can be made for him as well, as can one for Greg Tagert and George Tsamis. We have not named our Manager of the Year yet, but we acknowledge that Steve did a great job. Since I chose Sioux City to win the championship before the season began, I obviously believe that Mongo has done an amazing job. Four guys are well deserving of this award.