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By Bob Wirz The story continues to get better. When Seattle announced it was bringing former Sioux City southpaw Ian McKinney to its major league spring training camp the total of onetime American Association players due to train with American and National League teams climbed to 20.  That is three more than one year ago...Read More

By Bob Wirz One is in his prime with a strong bat and glove while the other is veteran trying for a fresh opportunity. This describes the American Association’s two latest non-roster invitees to major league spring training camps that open the doors one week from now.  First baseman John Nogowski, who continued to build...Read More

By Bob Wirz It is no small feat that the American Association is going to be so well represented when the prestigious Caribbean Series kicks off its week-long festival featuring champions from six countries on Saturday.  Even though current and former major leaguers take up many of the roster spots, more than 20 players with...Read More

By Bob Wirz It is not often when a player gets invited to a major league spring training camp right after spending a season in an Independent league unless he has some type of high profile history. The Chicago Dogs‘  D. J. Snelten, who had four brief relief appearances (4.1 innings) with San Francisco early...Read More

By Bob Wirz It does not matter where Eddy Rodriguez’s baseball career takes him in the future, the one highlight from the Cuban native’s 12-year playing career that everyone will want to talk about is the home run he hit off of Johnny Cueto in Cincinnati August 2, 2012. Rodriguez, the sturdy catcher already pretty...Read More

By Bob Wirz Call it whatever you want.  Threesome.  Triumvirate.  Triad. Regardless of the choice, it is more than a little bit intriguing to notice that a trio–yes, that number–of former Gary SouthShore RailCats position players have gone on to the Boston Red Sox organization in recent times.  All three are drawing some attention, too....Read More

By Bob Wirz While the steady tick of American Association players getting opportunities in major league organizations has been impressive the list has one noticeable omission. Where is Chicago Dogs first baseman Keon Barnum? All the young slugger has done within the last few months is break the league’s home run record with 31 bombs...Read More

Release and photo courtesy Chicago Dogs Rosemont, Ill. — Chicago Dogs 1B Keon Barnum, the American Association’s 2019 Player of the Year, he has been selected as the top player in all of independent baseball, being named Baseball America’s Independent Baseball Player of the Year, the outlet announced. In Barnum’s first season with the Dogs,...Read More

Nearly two dozen current and former American Association players are spending their off-seasons in the Australian Baseball League. The league features a mix of players from Australia and New Zealand, as well as the rest of the baseball world. In his first season in the ABL, C Jeremy Martinez (pictured, St. Paul ’19,), one of...Read More

By Bob Wirz When the subject comes up of trying to pinpoint the next group of American Association players who could join the major league ranks before long one certain indicator is to find those now in Triple-A, the top minor league level. Offseason rosters usually get set before the Winter Meetings, and looking at...Read More