This time last week, we overreacted about some developments in the American Association after a whopping…three games. Understandably, some of those overreactions (Milwaukee’s Eastern dominance) are already starting to age poorly, while others are still looking good (Namely Jose Sermo and the rest of the Fargo-Moorhead bats).

However, we now have a little more to go off of, with every team at 9-10 games into the season and having also actually seen multiple opponents. So, let’s take a look at some of the interesting trends so far:

Fargo-Moorhead flexes muscles

The Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks had an awful offense for the first half of last season, then re-tooled the lineup on the fly, helping the squad to a strong finish, but they still scored the fourth-fewest runs in the league.

This year, they are not having that problem.

Through ten games, the RedHawks are slashing .319/.394/.565 as a team with 113 hits, 81 runs, 27 doubles, and 18 home runs. Every one of those categories (besides on-base percentage) leads the league, some by a wide margin.

However, the RedHawks pitching, which was the best in the AA a year ago, has wobbled to a 5.51 ERA, puking away a six-run lead in the finale of their season-opening series in Cleburne and losing a late three-run lead in the second game of a doubleheader this weekend. As a result, despite all that firepower, the RedHawks are just 5-5 after a 4-0 start.

Oh, and reigning AA Pitcher of the Year Jake Dykhoff just got picked up by the Baltimore Orioles (more on that later), so the bats may need to carry the load even more.

Kansas City and Chicago stagger

The Kansas City Monarchs and Chicago Dogs are a pair of organizations who you can reliable pencil into the postseason every year. The Monarchs have made it in all but one season since 2018 (not counting 2020), winning three championships, while the Dogs don’t have a Miles Wolff Cup yet, but they do have five straight winning seasons and playoff berths in each season.

However, both have staggered early. Kansas City is a respectable 5-4 thanks to allowing the fewest runs in the league, but Chicago is 3-6. You could say the Monarchs are fine, and they aren’t in bad shape currently, but both clubs are trying to sort out scuffling offenses. The Dogs are slashing just .227/.320/.361 as a club this season, while the Monarchs have been even worse, lugging a .208/.286/.343 slash line for a putrid (and league-worst) .629 OPS. Both clubs are tied for the AA worst with 36 runs scored, though the Monarchs have played one more game.

Both teams are expecting to compete for division titles and play deep into September, but neither one has fielded anything close to a championship-caliber lineup. They don’t need to be hitting at a clip close to anything Fargo-Moorhead is doing, but they can’t be at the bottom of the league in scoring if they have any hope at a legitimate title shot.

Milwaukee comes back down to earth

After I picked them to finish last in the East Division, the Milwaukee Milkmen came out and rather decisively swept Winnipeg to open the season, then had some hiccups, but still won a series over Gary SouthShore to finish a season-opening homestand 5-1.

Then they hit the road to face Winnipeg again, only for the Goldeyes to turn the tables north of the border and soundly sweep the Milkmen, outscoring them 23-7 with a pair of 9-2 thumpings to bookend the series.

Milwaukee boasts a .289 team batting average and .834 OPS, both second-most in the league, while being one of just four teams with double-digit home runs and are the toughest team in the league to strike out. Yet, they’ve only scored 43 runs, eighth in the league.

It doesn’t get any easier, as the Milkmen continue a ten-game road trip with the two defending division champions: four games in Sioux City, then three more at Lake Country. If they can’t cash in opportunities, the road could get much bumpier.

Sioux Falls finds a way

The Sioux Falls Canaries had a rather unimpressive offseason with several major pieces from last years AA runner-ups depart and largely non-descript replacements coming in, seemingly pointing to a high likelihood for notable regression.

They started off with a bad Lincoln squad and swept that series, though all three wins were by one run and one of those required extra innings. However, the Canaries came home and split four with a quality Lake Country squad, then shut down Chicago, surviving a ninth-inning meltdown on Sunday to win in 11 innings and sweep the Dogs for a 5-2 homestand that put them atop the league at 8-2.

Sioux Falls, unsurprisingly, is second in the league in runs, but the squad is also fourth in ERA despite a mostly-rebuilt rotation. Chase Gearing was cast off by Milwaukee after a terrible 2025, but has a 1.50 ERA in two quality starts, while journeyman Garett Martin (who also struggled in ’25) took a shutout into the ninth on Sunday.

A difficult week with a trip to Kane County then a visit from Fargo-Moorhead on deck could very well batter this cast of spare parts, but then again, the Canaries handled two solid clubs surprisingly well this week.

New offensive stars emerging

Many established AA stars are back, including Jose Sermo leading the league with seven home runs and 17 RBI, while veterans such as Josh Rehwaldt and Josh Allen are producing and future Hall of Famers Jabari Henry and Max Murphy are coming around after sluggish starts.

However, a notable emerging group has broken out to start the season. Arguably a Postseason All-Star-caliber talent, Gary SouthShore’s Elvis Peralta is leading the pack, slashing .412/.512/.794 with four home runs (after hitting just three in all 100 games a year ago), 15 RBI, and five stolen bases.

Plenty of others are being him, such as Braulio Vasquez (Sioux City) and hit league-leading 18 hits and .439 batting average, Alex McGarry (Kane County) with seven extra-base hits and a .424 average, Michael Hallquist (Milwaukee) hitting .405 with three homers and three doubles, and Jesus Lujano (Fargo-Moorhead) with a .389 average and 11 RBI. Griffin Doersching (Milwaukee) has been one of the best stories early on; after missing all of 2025 due to a pulminary embolism, he’s back and hitting .343 with three homers and 10 RBI.

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