2022 American Association Season Review: Gary SouthShore RailCats
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 moves to the third installment of the 2022 American Association season review, looking back at the Gary SouthShore RailCats..
The Gary SouthShore RailCats Season in Review
The 2022 season was the first where Greg Tagert was not in the dugout for the Gary SouthShore RailCats since 2005. Lamarr Rogers was hired by the team late, giving him a limited amount of time to prepare for the 2022 season, but he had this club in contention until the final few weeks of the season. The team finished with just 42 victories, but that was the most since 2018, and good things are expected for 2023.
Tale of the Tape
(League ranking listed in parenthesis.)
Record: 42-58 (10)
Home Record: 16-35 (12)
Away Record: 26-23 (6)
Batting:
Average: .254 (12)
Homeruns: 92 (11)
Runs Scored: 511 (9)
On–Base Percentage: .334 (12)
Slugging Percentage: .400 (12)
Stolen Bases: 136 (2)
Pitching:
ERA: 5.40 (10)
Strikeouts: 796 (10)
Saves: 19 (10)
WHIP: 1.60 (10)
Shutouts: 3 (11)
CG: 0 (11)
Fielding:
Fielding Percentage: .976 (T-9)
Errors: 85 (9)
A Recap of the 2022 Gary SouthShore RailCats Season
This was a season where the team performed well in alternating months. They put themselves behind the eight ball early, going 6-12 in May as the club struggled to hit and score runs, hitting .218 with just seven homers. The 4.77 ERA was third-best in the league, but only two players who appeared in more than 10 games were hitting above .225 (Daniel Lingua and Jackson Smith). Lingua was off to a fast start, hitting .382 with 11 runs scored and 11 RBI and John Sheaks and Leif Strom were both spectacular, posting sub-two ERAs in a combined six appearances.
Things turned around in June, as the club went 14-12. The offense did not improve greatly, hitting just .250 during the month, but they clubbed 24 homers, a sign of good things to come for these RailCats. The pitching staff was spectacular, posting the second-best ERA at 3.96 and left the month with the second-best ERA in the American Association.
Strom’s contract was purchased and he was headed for affiliate ball, but Chris Erwin picked up the slack, going 1-1 with a 1.65 ERA in six starts. The bullpen was spectacular, led by Josh Vincent, Jack Eisenbarger, and Steven Colon, who all posted ERAs under three in a combined 24 appearances. Michael Woodworth caught fire as well, hitting .356 in the month to lead the club, and Sam Abbott began his march toward the RailCats record book, hitting six homers in 23 games.

July was an off month, as Gary Southshore went 7-18, primarily behind a collapse of the pitching staff. The ERA ballooned three full runs per game, as the bullpen began to wear down. Vincent, who had been virtually untouchable through the first two months, struggled, posting an 8.04 ERA. Adam Heidenfelder and Harrison Francis also struggled in the starting role. Thomas Walraven had a huge month at the plate, hitting .313 with six homers, and Abbott added four, but it just .140 in the month.
The start of the month had been terrible for the RailCats, as the team was 4-15 through the first 19 games of July, but closed out the month on a positive note, going 6-3 from July 26-August 3. That continued through the first 13 days of August, as the club put together a six-game winning streak and was 9-2 through their first 11 August games. However, the team finished 6-14 over the remaining three weeks, making them 15-16 over the final 31 games.
The pitching staff struggled in August, posting a 6.01 ERA, but the offense came out swinging, hitting .271 with 29 homers. Abbott was particularly hot, hitting .290 with seven homers. Aaron Phillips (1.13) and Julio Vivas (2.63) were outstanding out of the bullpen and Sheaks (2-2, 3.19) and Heidenfelder (2-2, 3.19) gave outstanding performances in their 10 combined starts.
It was a solid performance to start the month that helped this team to stay in the pennant race until the final two weeks of the season, but the red-hot Cleburne Railroaders kept winning, keeping the RailCats on the outside of the playoff picture.
What Went Right
There was a lot to like about this Gary SouthShore RailCats team in 2022. The team set a club record for homeruns in a season with 92, and Abbott became the first RailCats hitter to reach the 20-homerun mark in a single season. To give a little perspective, in the previous 10 seasons the biggest homerun total was 10, recorded by Colin Willis in 2020 and the club never hit more than 44 homeruns in any of those seasons. Walraven also had a breakout season, hitting 16 homers to go along with a .272 batting average.
While the bullpen struggled over the final two months of the season, this was a very good group. The combination of Vivas, Phillips, and Reyson Santos should help to reduce some of the innings of the backend of the bullpen. If Rogers is able to keep much of this bullpen intact, he has a solid group to work with.
This should also be an improved rotation next season. Erwin was spectacular after joining the starting staff, and Francis and Heidenfelder had a couple of tough outings, but pitched very well overall. They have the makings of a top line 1-3.
One must also tip his cap to the job that Rogers did. It is not easy taking over a team a couple of months before the season begins, especially when you have a different vision of what you want from your roster. Rogers did a great job of utilizing this talented young team that Tagert had constructed, and acquired some key pieces that kept this team competitive. Had this team made the playoffs, Rogers likely would have been the Manager of the Year.
What Went Wrong
The offense saw a drastic improvement in terms of power numbers, but batting average and on base took a deep nosedive. The club finished last in both categories, and they finished last in slugging as well. Only one player who appeared in more than 50 games (Jesus Marriaga) hit over .300 and no player had as many as 50 walks. This is a very tough division with potent offenses, and Gary SouthShore is going to have to step up their offensive game if they are going to compete.
Finding a way to win at home is going to be critical for this team in 2023. The RailCats had the worst home record in the American Association last year, surprising considering that US Steel Yard used to be Death Valley for opponents.

Team MVP: Thomas Walraven
Walraven had a spectacular 2022, hitting .272 with 61 runs scored, 16 homers, and 55 RBI. The infielder has seen his batting average decline in each of his three seasons in the American Association, but had a breakout power campaign last year. Through his first two seasons he had 12 combined homeruns, but easily eclipsed that number and set personal marks in runs scored and RBI. He also stole 15 bases.
Walraven had two four-hit games during the season (July 15, September 4) and had what may be the greatest game in American Association history on September 4 when he went 4-6 with three runs scored, two grand slams, and added nine RBI. Walraven had back-to-back grand slams in the second and third innings, becoming the first American Association player to hit two grand slams in the same game.

Top Pitcher: Adam Heidenfelder
There were several choices that could have been considered here, but Heidenfelder was the best. The right-hander went 7-6 with a 4.50 ERA, starting 19 games and relieving in two others. He led the club in wins and in innings pitched (100.0). His 19 starts were also the most on the club.
Heidenfelder was having a solid season until getting hammered on July 9 at home in an 11-3 loss to the Chicago Dogs. Heidenfelder gave up seven runs in four innings, seeing his ERA rise to 4.89. However, that proved to be a turning point. After giving up four earned runs in each of his next two starts, seeing his ERA reach 5.11, the right-hander was dominant down the stretch, allowing 15 earned runs over his final seven starts. That included allowing two earned runs in seven innings in his final outing of the year.
What to Expect in 2023
This is a team that may be a little difficult to figure out when 2023 gets underway. Rogers will have a full off-season to build his club, and no one is exactly sure what kind of club he will build. He made some key acquisitions before the 2022 season got underway, and clearly wants to see a more power laden lineup, but he handled the pitching staff quite uniquely from his predecessor and it may be a month or two before American Association fans are able to determine exactly what this Gary SouthShore RailCats team will be like.
That could bode well for the club. This is a very tough division, and a little mystery may give the RailCats an early advantage. This team was clearly in the playoff hunt, boasting one of the best pitching staff in the league. However, the offense failed them early and the pitching staff wore down. If this club gets off to a fast start offensively, they will be the nightmare of the East Division.
American Association Transactions
January 25, 2023
Sioux Falls: Signed C Shamoy Christopher and RHP Charlie Hasty
By Robert Pannier