American Association Championship Series

Laredo Lemurs

vs. Sioux City Explorers

The American Association Championship series begins tonight as the Laredo Lemurs host the first two games of the series against the Sioux City Explorers. This is a battle that will see two of the hottest teams in the league square off after the Explorers downed the St. Paul Saints in four-games and Lemurs battled back from 6-2 down in Game 5 of their divisional series against the Wichita Wingnuts to win 8-6.

The Sioux City Explorers finished the regular season with a league record 75-wins. If one adds the three victories over the Saints, Sioux City has won 78-total games, meaning they need just two wins to have the all-time winningest season in league history. That would be a nice mark but they want the three wins to claim their first American Association Championship.

The Laredo Lemurs are also seeking their first league title in just their fourth year of existence. Early hitting woes had the Lemurs struggling, but manager Pete Incaviglia made some brilliant additions to the team and Laredo nearly caught Wichita for the South Division title while holding off Joplin for the Wild Card lead. The Lemurs went up 2-0 on Wichita before watching that lead dissipate in Kansas. Down 6-2 the club battled back to pull within 6-5, then saw catcher Phil Pohl deliver the dramatic three-run homer that sent them to the next round.

Record:
Sioux City Explorers: 75-25, Central Division Winners, 25.5 Game lead. Beat St. Paul 3-1 in Divisional Round
Laredo Lemurs: 57-43, Finished Second in South Division, 2 Games Back, Won Wild Card by 2 Games, Beat Wichita in Divisional Round 3-2

Here is a position-by-position look at the matchups of the two teams. (The Explorers player(s) is listed first in each comparison.)

Catcher: Matt Koch vs. Phil Pohl

Koch was a key piece to the success of the Sioux City Explorers after joining the club. The Explorers catcher hit .280 in 89 games with 41 runs scored, 4 home runs and 42 RBI. He also threw out 23 percent of would-be base stealers (15-64) and calls one of the best games in the business. It is not a coincidence the club had the best ERA in American Association history with a quality catcher like Koch calling nearly 90 percent of their games. In the post-season Koch has only stepped up his game, posting a .385 average with 2 runs and 2 RBI in 4 games. He threw out one of the two runners attempting to steal in the divisional series.

Pohl came late to the Lemurs, appearing in only 23 games, but he hit .311 with 10 runs and 11 RBI. He is not particularly adept at throwing out runners, which is not a good quality to have against the club that set a league record for stolen bases in a season, so the pitchers better do a good job of holding runners on. Pohl is not in the lineup for his defense, however. He hit a league best .529 in the first round, scoring 6 runs and adding an American Association leading 8 RBI. He also homered twice. This guy is on fire and batting ninth!

Edge: Laredo Lemurs

First Base: Rene Tosoni vs. Travis Denker

Tosoni played well for Sioux City during the regular season, hitting .251 with 54 runs and 60 RBI in 87 games. The former Minnesota Twins player also stole 20 bases and made just 3 errors at first base. He can do it all, and in the playoffs he has stepped up his game even further. Tosoni led the Explorers with a .412 average, scored 2 runs and drove in 2 others. He also homered and had a double.

Denker has also only been with his team for short-time, but he has been a major bat in the Laredo Lemurs lineup as well. Denker hit .361 in 20 games with 17 runs, 4 homers and 15 RBI. The Lemurs first baseman entered the post-season on a seven-game hitting streak (12-28, .429) and was as hot as Tosoni in the first round. He hit .421 against the Wingnuts with 3 runs, 3 doubles, 2 home runs and 7 RBI. He is just a hitting machine.

Edge: Laredo Lemurs

Second Base: Ryan Court vs. Abel Nieves

Court had an absolutely impressive regular season, hitting .331 in 99 games with 65 runs scored, 9 home runs and 52 RBI. Teamed with Noah Perio the Explorers have the most dangerous offensive double-play combination in the league. Court did struggle in the field, making 17 errors, and he struggled in the divisional round going just 2-14. His return to his regular season numbers is a big key in this series.

No one has more post-season experience in this league than Nieves. He spent the last two seasons in the championships series with Wichita and now will be in his third finals series in a row. Nieves is just a hitting machine finishing with a .353 average with 48 runs, 2 home runs and 35 RBI in 66 games. He hit just .238 against his former club in the first round, but don’t expect that to continue.

Edge: Even

Shortstop: Noah Perio vs. J.D. Pulfer

Perio was named as the American Association’s top shortstop and with good reason. He hit .316 in the regular season with 61 runs scored, 7 home runs and led the team with 74 RBI. He stole 18 bases but, like Court, is a bit of a defensive liability, making 22 errors. In the divisional round he hit .286 with 3 runs and 3 RBI.

Pulfer had 80 games in Gary Southshore before coming to Laredo to finish the season. He had a quality season for the RailCats, hitting .275 with 43 runs and 27 RBI, but stepped up his game after coming to the Lemurs, hitting .294 with 9 runs and 13 RBI in those 20 games. He did make five errors. In the first round he struggled, hitting just .118 with a run scored.

Edge: Sioux City Explorers

Third Base: Tommy Mendonca vs. Juan Silverio

Mendonca had an outstanding season at the plate offensively, hitting .311 with 46 runs scored and 47 RBI in 90 games. He made only 11 errors and has good gap power, blasting 26 doubles. In the series against St. Paul he hit just .200, but did drive in 3 and scored 2 runs.

Silverio is a quality bat who can be a bit shaky at third. Silverio hit .269 with 13 home runs and 57 RBI. His home run and RBI totals were second on the team and he hit 36 extra-base hits. Silverio did make 19 errors and hit into 14 double-plays, so there is some downside, but he makes the bottom portion of this lineup a lot more formidable. In the first round he also hit .118, but walked three times and scored 4 runs.

Edge: Sioux City Explorers

Outfield: Brent Keys, Matty Johnson, Michael Lang, Tim Cowell vs. Denis Phipps, Ty Morrison, Drew Martinez

The outfield is the strength of this Sioux City roster. Each of these players can fly, can hit and play good defense. Keys led the team with a .348 average in 34 games played. He scored 18 runs and drove in 11, while posting a .427 on-base percentage. In the divisional series Keys hit only .167 with a run and an RBI, but he had two big throws from left that were keys (no pun intended) to the series. Lang is an MVP candidate with a .343 average, 75 runs scored, 10 triples, 6 home runs and 59 RBI. He also stole 45 bases, which was second in the American Association. Against the Saints Lang hit .353 with 2 runs and 3 RBI. Johnson played in all 100 games, hitting .264, with a league leading 80 runs scored, 38 RBI, and 42 steals. Johnson hit .235 in the divisional round with 3 runs and 2 RBI. Cowell hit .258 in 92 games with 44 runs scored and 26 RBI. He stole 29 bases while only getting caught 4 times, but may find himself more on the bench in the post-season.

The Lemurs have a quality outfield as well, led by Phipps, who hit .336 with 62 runs, 17 home runs and 76 RBI. He led the club in most offensive categories, and posted a .404 on-base percentage. Against Wichita he hit .350 with 6 runs and 6 RBI. Morrison played in 55 games for Laredo this year, and had an outstanding season at the plate. He hit .355 with 42 runs and 10 RBI. He also led the club with 22 steals and was solid in the outfield. He also had a hot first round, posting a .381 average with 2 runs and 2 RBI. Martinez has struggled since arriving in Laredo, hitting just .238 in 20 games, but he has proven that he can get hot at any time. Martinez was hitting .269 in Gary before coming to Laredo, after hitting .358 last season. He doesn’t have a lot of power, but is a great outfielder who has speed. Martinez caught fire in the first round, hitting .316 in the divisional round with 3 runs scored.

Edge: Even

Designated Hitter: Brock Kjeldgaard vs. Kevin Taylor

Kjeldgaard is the most dangerous hitter in this lineup as proven by the six walks he drew in the divisional round. He only hit .182, but you can’t argue with a .471 on-base percentage. During the regular season the DH hit .291 with a team leading 14 home runs and he added 70 RBI. Those are incredibly impressive numbers considering he took a month off to play in the Pan-Am Games. He walked 50 times during the season and posted a .390 OBP.

Taylor played in 98 games, and hit .327 with 11 home runs, 69 runs and 54 RBI. He led his team in runs scored and has power to all fields. He tied for the team lead in doubles (24) and his 65 walks helped him to generate a .435 on-base percentage. Taylor is a formidable bat, and will be a key to this series. In the first round he hit just .105 with 2 runs scored and an RBI.

Edge: Sioux City Explorers

Bench:

The fourth outfielder, likely Cowell, and backup catcher Brendan Slattery are the primary guys off the bench for the Sioux City Explorers. The problem for opposing pitchers is that there is not a weak spot in this lineup, so the bench is virtually unnecessary. Only Colwell saw time in the first round, going 0-2.

Laredo also has two guys on their bench in Roger Bernal and Ty Forney. Bernal appeared in just three games for the Lemurs, while Forney appeared in 35, although he hit just .158. The Lemurs like to go with their everyday lineup and don’t really need a pinch hitter, so two players is plenty enough for this team. No one on the Lemurs bench appeared in the first round.

Edge: Even

Starting Pitchers: Starting Pitchers: Ryan Zimmerman, Patrick Johnson, John Straka, Eric Wordekemper vs. Matt Loosen, Henry Garcia, Luis Pollorena, Matt Sergey

This was already the best starting staff in the league entering the playoffs, and now Wordekemper makes it even better, coming out of the bullpen to start game four and absolutely dominating the Saints. Sioux City has quite possibly the two best starters in the American Association in Johnson and Zimmerman. All these two did was combine to win 29 games this season. Johnson was 15-1 with a 2.08 ERA in 132 innings pitched, and he led the team with 132 strikeouts. Zimmerman was 14-2 with a league leading 1.79 ERA in 120.1 innings. Straka was 11-3 with a 3.27 ERA and was second on the team with 110 strikeouts. Johnson and Wordekemper looked dominant in the first round. Johnson allowed just one hit in 7.2 innings pitched in Game 2 and Wordekemper shut out the potent Saints lineup in Game 4. Zimmerman allowed just one earned run but did not look particularly sharp and Straka gave eight quality innings in a Game 3 loss.

Sergey will get the Game 1 start and he has been nothing short of brilliant since joining the Lemurs. He has yet to be scored upon in his four starts lasting over 26 innings. That includes a one-hit shutout in his second start. He has allowed just 10 hits. Against Wichita he gave up just 2 hits in 6 innings of work while striking out 7. Loosen was 7-6 with a 4.42 ERA and led the team in strikeouts. Loosen allowed 3 runs in 5.2 innings of work in Game 3. Pollorena was 5-4 with a 3.89 ERA in 36 appearances, 11 starts. He allowed 2 runs in 5 innings in Game 4. Garcia was 6-6 with a 3.65 ERA in 25 appearances, 15 of which were starts, and made two more starts in the first round.

Edge: Sioux City Explorers

Bullpen:

It isn’t just the starting rotation of the Sioux City Explorers that has made this the best pitching staff in league history. Setup man Rob Wort has been a beast out of the bullpen this year, posting a 1.79 ERA and winning 11 games. He also saved 4 others and struck out 92 in 65.1 innings. Jose Flores is the club’s closer, and he is a good one. Flores finished with 22 saves and a 2.70 ERA in 36.2 innings pitched. The backend of Flores and Wort is quite devastating, but this is a deep bullpen besides these two. Jimmer Kennedy also had a 2.70 ERA, and was 2-0 with 2 saves in 38 appearances. In the first round series, the Explorers used only these three and no one should think it will be much different in the Championship round. Flores was perfect in his two saves, and Wort finally was scored upon, but he still gave up only one run in six innings pitched. Kennedy was not scored upon in his one appearance.

The bullpen was a focus for the team this off-season, and it has paid off in a big way. John Brebbia has become one of the most deadly closers in the American Association, saving 19 games and winning seven more. He has a 0.98 ERA in 51 appearances, allowing a miniscule 34 hits and 15 walks in 64.1 innings pitched, while striking out 79. His four inning save in Game 5, where he retired all 12 batters he faced, will be remembered in the lore of this league for a long time. Setup man Ryan Beckman is a sniper himself, posting a 1.37 ERA in 49 appearances. He has yielded just 70 baserunners in 72.1 innings pitched, and what this says is that if you are looking to rally late against Laredo – FORGET IT! Beckman allowed 2 runs in 6.1 innings of work in Round 1. Luis De La Craz is another outstanding arm in this bullpen, going 2-2 with a 2.57 ERA in 31 appearances, as is B.J. Hyatt who was 4-1 with a save and a 2.49 ERA in 41 appearances. This is as good of a group of relievers as anyone will face, and if teams don’t score in the first five innings, they shouldn’t count on it afterward. Both De La Cruz and Hyatt struggled against Wichita.

Edge: Laredo Lemurs

Managers: Steve Montgomery vs. Pete Incaviglia

In 2013 the Sioux City Explorers won just 38 games. At the end of that season Montgomery became the manager, and in two years he nearly doubled that win total, as the club won 75 and he was named the Manager of the Year by the league. He led this team to several American Association records, including wins in a season, road wins (38), stolen bases (188) and team ERA (3.04). Montgomery is not only a master leader on the field, but he showed he is equally as brilliant in the way he built this team. Montgomery pushed all the right buttons against the Saints, especially the brilliant move of starting Wordekemper in Game 4.

The fiery Incaviglia is one of the more colorful characters in the American Association, and this season he is proving that he is one of the best managers as well. In four seasons with the Laredo Lemurs Incaviglia has now won 221 games. He has already won a championship in 2008 with the Grand Prairie AirHogs, and consistently finds a way to get the most out of his players. To the outside world he may seem a bit over the top at times, but his team loves playing for him and they are quite loyal to the Lemurs manager. The comeback against Wichita shows that there is no quit in this club.

Edge: Even

Outlook:

There are clearly reasons to like both teams, but two things really stand out most and will be the deciding factors in the series. Sioux City clearly has the better starting rotation, and Zimmerman and Johnson will combine to make three starts if needed. Laredo cannot match that. Also the Lemurs are not going to be able to shut down the Explorers running game, and I think this will be the biggest factor in the series. They will be popping champagne in Sioux City as the Explorers win in four.

By Robert Pannier