American Association Final Weekend Primer
Labor Day Weekend. It’s finally here. It’s already here. Regardless, it’s here and the American Association regular season is winding down this weekend. Each team has only one four-game series separating them from the postseason or winter. There are still a few notable developments to look at, so why waste any more time? Last Two…
Monarchs, Milkmen close in, Sioux’s sweat it out in final week
It’s here. Okay, maybe not quite here with no games on tap tonight, but one week from today, the curtain closes on the 2026 American Association regular season. It’ hard to believe the 100-game dash is already in the homestretch, but here we are. Naturally, playoff talk is the name of the game as there…
Playoffs start in two weeks. Every team’s magic (or tragic) number
The stretch run is here in the American Association with the postseason opening two weeks from tonight: Wednesday, September 8. Last Sunday saw the first two postseason berths get locked up by the two best teams in the AA this year: Milwaukee and Lake Country. With six more spots up for grab, we’ll look at…
Push for Division Lead, Expansion Highlight Upcoming Week
The entire American Association is off today, marking the second-to-last day of the 2026 regular season (also August 31) without at least one game in the circuit taking place. Today also marks exactly four weeks from the final day of the season as the season rapidly approaches the postseason. A pair of winning streaks made…
Fish & Cougs Climb, Sioux’s Swoon as Calendar Flips to August
It was an eventful week in the American Association with two teams streaking, a few wobbling, separation coming to the playoff races, and the big news that was revealed on Saturday night: expansion is coming to the AA, with Commissioner Joshua Schaub stating that the AA’s 13th franchise will be announced on August 12. More…
2026 MLB Contract Transfers Affiliated Update
So far in 2026, a total of 26 players signed to American Association teams have had their contracts purchased by an MLB organization, the most for the league in any season since 2021. That also includes 10 contracts that were sold between January 1 and Opening Day, including three players quickly released and returned to…
12 Teams, 12 Thoughts
By next week, the calendar will have flipped to August, which means the end of the American Association season will be rapidly approaching with six weeks left in the season. Last week, I outlined how the muddled playoff race could really start to become clearer, which…sort of happened. The East seems pretty well sorted out…
Is Separation Finally Coming to Tight Races?
The second half of the American Association season kicked off last Friday, with one of the glaring themes being a few series that seemed to be rather…decisive. Two ended in sweeps: Sioux Falls over Lincoln and Cleburne over Sioux City, but a couple other matchups showed one time that was clearly making a statement over…
American Association Midseason Report Cards
With the All-Star break upon us, yesterday I took a shot at naming the American Association Midseason All-Star team. While Major League Baseball plays their All-Star Game tonight in Philadelphia, the AA’s All-Star tilt will have to wait till tomorrow night in Lincoln. On this extra day without baseball, it’s time to take stock in…
Picking the American Association’s First Half All-Star Team
We are past the midway point of the 2026 season, plus the American Association began the All-Star break today, with their midsummer showcase coming up on Wednesday in Lincoln. Naturally this is also the time to spotlight the best of the Association to this point in the season. Obviously, the league picked their All-Star teams…
AA All-Star Game Roster Breakdown: Biggest snubs and surprises
We are now one week away from showtime—of course with showtime being the American Association All-Star Game being televised on MLB Network for the first time. First pitch is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. CDT on Wednesday, July 15 from Haymarket Park in Lincoln, Nebraska. Rosters were revealed on July 2nd, with last man in voting…
A Wild, Mild West: Diving inside a sputtering division
At the end of the the last two seasons, the Kane County Cougars out of the American Association East Division lifted the Miles Wolff Cup. Make no mistake, though, despite that result, since the AA moved to East and West Divisions for the 2022 season, the West has regularly established itself as the clearly better…
AA has huge opportunity with All-Star Game heading to MLB Network
On Tuesday, the American Association made a notable announcement that the league’s annual All-Star Game will be televised on MLB Network. The game will be hosted by the Lincoln Saltdogs at Haymarket Park, with first pitch scheduled for 8:30 EDT/7:30 CDT on Wednesday, July 15. The Jeremiah Johnson Brewing Company Home Run Derby will precede…
Five going forward: most-improved players
With Father’s Day in the rear-view, we are now about 1/3 of the way through the American Association season. Obviously, a lot can happen, but we’re also far enough along that we can start to see some teams being sorted out and players accruing large enough sample sizes to judge them a little more accurately.…
Increased offense at forefront this season
Baseball, as they say, is a cyclical sport. Indeed, in Major League Baseball, there has been a constant throughout history: the amount of offense is always going to be cyclical, meaning that for a period of years, hitters will dominate, but at some point, the pendulum swings back the pitcher’s way for a period of…