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, This Week in the Association and the Minor League Sports Report name Sioux Falls Canaries first baseman Mike Hart as American Association Player of the Week for Week 15 of the 2023 season.

Canaries 1B Mike Hart Named Player of the Week

On Monday, This Week in the Association and the Minor League Sports Report named Sioux Falls Canaries first baseman Mike Hart as the Player of the Week for Week 15 of the 2023 American Association season. Hart had an impressive week, hitting .429 with four home runs and seven RBI.

The Canaries started their week with a three-game set in Kansas City against the Monarchs. Hart went 2-4 in each of the first two games. That included hitting his first home run of the week on Tuesday, driving in two. He finished the series with a 0-4 performance, and was 4-12 with a run scored and two RBI in the three-game set.

Sioux Falls then returned home to welcome the Sioux City Explorers. Hart was 5-9 in the series, scoring three runs and recording four extra-base hits. He drove in five. In the opener, the infielder was a perfect 2-2 with a double and a hit by pitch. Hart then went 1-3 on Saturday, with his one hit being a home run. He saved his best performance of the week for Sunday, hitting two homers and driving in four. Hart also walked in each of the final two games of the series.

For the week, Mike Hart had nine hits in 21 at bats (.429) and led the American Association in home runs. He scored four runs and drove in seven. Hart posted a .538 on-base percentage, fourth best, and led the league in slugging (1.048). He was also first in OPS (1.586).

Hart began his professional career with the Lincoln Saltdogs in 2018, moving to the Sioux Falls Canaries that year. He remained in Sioux Falls through 2021, then signed with the Schaumburg Boomers (Frontier League) in 2022 where he had a career-high 19 homers. This season, Hart has already broken that record, hitting a career-high 21 homers while batting .309 with 53 runs scored and 57 RBI. In seven professional seasons, the Canaries All-Star has hit .286 with 305 runs scored and 261 RBI in 458 games. He also has an impressive .404 on-base percentage.

Hart is the third Sioux Falls player to earn Player of the Week honors this season. Jordan Barth won back in Week 8 and Jabari Henry earned the honors in Week 11.

2023 American Association Players of the Week

Week 1 –Zach Nehrir, Outfielder, Cleburne Railroaders
Week 2 – Chris Herrmann, Catcher, Kansas City Monarchs
Week 3 – Matt Lloyd, Sioux City Explorers
Week 4 – Nick Anderson, Lincoln Saltdogs
Week 5 – Bryan Torres, Milwaukee Milkmen
Week 6 – Jonah Davis, Kane County Cougars
Week 7 – Hill Alexander, Cleburne Railroaders
Week 8 – Jordan Barth, Sioux Falls Canaries
Week 9 – Luke Roskam, Lincoln Saltdogs
Week 10 – Matt Lloyd, Sioux City Explorers
Week 11 – Jabari Henry, Sioux Falls Canaries
Week 12 – Todd Lott, Kane County Cougars
Week 13 – Justin Wylie, Kansas City Monarchs
Week 14 – Max Murphy, Winnipeg Goldeyes

By Robert Pannier