American Association Sunday Insider: Miles Wolff Cup Preview Edition

I had a hard time deciding what I was going to do on an unseasonably warm Sunday afternoon with no American Association playoffs going on. Then I saw a post that today is the six year anniversary of the St. Paul Saints winning the 2019 Miles Wolff Cup. I knew I had to be at CHS Field today, sitting right where I was in 2019. Yes, the AAA Saints have a game today, I didn't break into the ballpark. With all the St. Paul connections in the Miles Wolff Cup this season, it makes for the perfect place to preview this season's match up.

I'm sure nobody had the Cougars vs. Canaries in their preseason picks. Matter of fact, I'm guessing nobody had them meeting in the Finals in their playoff pool (if anyone actually does pools for that). It is an intriguing match up as you can find. Both teams are pretty even in the pitching department. You may say Sioux Falls has the advantage at the plate, but we've seen Kane County rise to the occasion in the first two rounds of the playoffs. So let's take a deeper dive into this series. I'm going to tell you right away, if you're expecting me to pick a winner, it isn't happening. I talked to Sean Aronson before the Saints game, he asked me for a prediction and I drew a blank. 

Sioux Falls

Pitching: Starting pitching thus far has been everything manager Mike Meyer could ask for. Tanner Brown is the kind of pitcher you go up against and think he's average at best. He doesn't have dynamic stuff, but then after six innings, he's held you to two runs or less. Thomas Dorminy had an 11 win season but has not dominated in his two playoff starts. Ryan Zimmerman has been great in his post season starts. Matt Solter got a big win in Game Two and has also been throwing out of the bullpen along with the fifth starter Cole LaLonde. Going on regular rest, Dorminy wouldn't go till Game Two, Brown or Zimmerman till Game Three. Will Solter go in Game One after throwing an inning of relief on Saturday night? In the bullpen, Samuel Alvarado, LaLonde and Will Levine have been workhorses pitching in five of eight playoff games. Closer Charlie Hasty only threw one game versus Fargo-Moorhead and it didn't go well giving up four runs in an inning to blow a save. Will Meyer be cautious about using Hasty in the ninth again with Alvarado and Levine throwing so well?

Hitting: Whatever Jabari Henry has found in the postseason, bottle it up and sell up and you'll make a mint. Henry is hitting .400 with five home runs and 17 runs batted in, from the #2 spot in the Canaries lineup, not traditionally an RBI spot in the order. Josh Rehwaldt after struggling in the second half of the season has found his swing once again, hitting lower in the Canaries batting order. Jordan Barth only trails Henry for hits in the postseason with 12. Matt Bottcher and Calvin Estrada have struggled in the 3-4 spots in the lineup and you wonder if Meyer may tinker with the order with the risk of messing with the chemistry at the bottom of the order. I could see Henry getting pitched around if Bottcher and Estrada continue to struggle. Peter Zimmerman has also hit well for the Canaries highlighted by a three hit game on Saturday night. The X factor could be Trevor Achenbach who has struggled the entire season and in the playoffs but is capable of getting on a hot streak. 

Kane County

 Pitching: What more can you say about Konnor Ash? Ash has won all three of his post season starts. But with having to use him in Game Five, he will only get one start in the Finals, likely in Game Three. Chris Mazza brings a big league pedigree, but has been battling a blister issue. He did throw better going five innings his last time out. Vin Timpanelli has kept the Cougars in the ballgame in both of his starts pitching into the sixth inning. Jack Fox is the only other Cougar to get a post season start. He was hit hard in the first inning before settling in. And we remember well his start in Game Two of the MWC Finals against Winnipeg a season ago. The bullpen has been set up this post season with a combo of Logan Nissen and Casey Crosby bridging the gap to closer Jake Gozzo. The combo of the three have pitched 13.1 innings and have not allowed a run on seven hits and striking out 16 batters. Will lefty Zach Veen, a former Canaries bullpen member be an X factor against his old mates?

Hitting: When the Cougars were struggling to get going offensively this season, much of it was from slow starts, in particular from Josh Allen and Claudio Finol, two of the major offensive cogs from 2024. Nick Dalesandro was expected to provide offense from behind the plate coming over from Chicago but that didn't materialize. Marcus Chiu came over from Fargo-Moorhead and provided a spark in support of Todd Lott who had an incredible season. Come playoffs, everyone previously mentioned along with Armond Upshaw are all hitting over .300 in the playoffs. Rookie Zach Spinn has been a revelation for the Cougars, batting .280 in the playoffs after hitting .291 in 30 plus games in the regular season. It will be important for Trendon Craig to get going as he's hitting .200 in the playoffs after being a force in the lead off spot in the regular season. Alex McGarry could be the X factor for the Cougars as he had a three hit win in the clinching game on Saturday night. The right field porch at the Birdcage could prove to be friendly to McGarry. 

Head to Head in 2025

Sioux Falls won two of three games in Sioux Falls June 6-8. The Canaries handed Ash a rare loss in the series opener. The Cougars won a back and forth win in the series finale with a two run home run from Armond Upshaw in the ninth inning being the difference in a 9-8 win.

The teams met back in Geneva June 13-15 with the Canaries getting the sweep scoring 30 runs in the process. In a 10-6 Canaries win in the series finale, Mazza did not get out of the second inning, allowing seven runs.

But both teams will tell you that two series played three months ago will have no bearing on this series.

Pitching matchups

Game One: Matt Solter vs. Jack Fox

Game Two: Thomas Dorminy vs. Chris Mazza

Guessing from here....

Game Three: Tanner Brown vs. Konnor Ash

Game Four: Ryan Zimmerman vs. Vin Timpanelli.