Grotjohn and Guerrero Nab Season Honors
September 7, 2021 - American Association (AA)
Kansas City Monarchs News Release
Ryan Grotjohn of the Kansas City Monarchs
(Kansas City Monarchs, Credit: John Ellis)
KANSAS CITY, Kan. - The Kansas City Monarchs, fresh off a 69-31 record-breaking season, announced this afternoon that Monarch's second baseman Ryan Grotjohn and outfielder Gaby Guerrero have been named to the 2021 American Association All-Star Team.
Ryan Grotjohn, a native of Phoenix, Arizona hit .329 for Kansas City with 10 home runs and 60 RBI. Playing primarily at second base and batting second in the lineup, Grotjohn swiped 12 bases in 12 tries this season. He finished seventh at the plate in the American Association this season and slashed a line of .329/.436/.523. Grotjohn was second on the team in average, and he led the team with six triples this season. He added 29 multi-hit games, placing him third on the Monarchs and was the team co-leader along with Darnell Sweeney in runs scored with 76. He trailed only Gaby Guerrero in hits with 109.
Ryan Grotjohn was drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 10th round of the 2017 draft out of California State University Bakersfield. He spent three years in the Arizona system after playing four seasons at Bakersfield in the Western Athletic Conference.
Gaby Guerrero led the Monarchs with 86 RBI and 127 hits this past season. A native of the Nizao, Dominican Republic and a member of the Guerrero baseball playing family, he hit 18 home runs and was second on the team in runs scored with 73. His 86 "ribbies" tied him for third in the American Association. His 37 multi-hit games led the Monarchs in 2021, and his 86 RBI places him fifth in the franchise in single-season RBI totals. Guerrero also had 398 at bats, placing him fifth in franchise history for a single season. For the season Guerrero slashed a line of .319/.355/.485. He makes his home in Paradise Valley, Arizona.
Guerrero played 14 games with the Cincinnati Reds in 2018, and his cousin is Vladimir Guerrero Jr., of the Toronto Blue Jays is an All-Star as well. His uncles are Vladimir Guerrero and Wilton Guerrero both former Big Leaguers. Guerrero came to KC after spending time with the Seattle, Cincinnati, Arizona and Miami organizations.
"We are very happy to announce that Ryan and Gaby are All Stars. Both players had outstanding years, and the honor is very well deserved," said Monarchs Manager Joe Calfapietra.
Both players were part of an offense that finished second in the league at the plate with a .389 average and rewrote the record book for home runs in the league in a season at 147, shattering the old mark of 128. Kansas City led the league in runs scored at 664. Kansas City had the best record in the American Association at 69-31 and set a franchise record in wins and games above .500.
The Monarchs will start postseason play at Legends Field on Friday September 10, facing the winner of the play-in game between the Sioux City Explorers and Cleburne Railroaders on Wednesday September 8. The first pitch Friday is at 7:00 p.m. and the game can be heard on the Monarchs Broadcast Network with the pre-game beginning 30-minutes prior to first pitch and the video stream airing on aabaseball.tv.
Post season tickets can be purchased by calling (913) 328-5618 or by visiting monarchsbaseball.com/tickets.
Images from this story
 Gaby Guerrero of the Kansas City Monarchs (John Ellis) |
 Ryan Grotjohn of the Kansas City Monarchs (John Ellis) |
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