Ten Things to Know in the American Association: Closing in on Playoffs
Published on August 21, 2025 under American Association (AA) News Release
MOORHEAD, Minn. - The West is won, or at least the playoff teams are settled in the division as Sioux Falls became the fourth and final team from the American Association of Professional Baseball (@AA_Baseball) West to secure a slot. The East still has a race of sorts with Milwaukee four games out of fourth with just over a week to play. All regular season games in the MLB Partner League remain free for live viewing on AABaseball.tv.
Here are 10 (or so) Things to Know about the AAPB this week:
Lake Country (50-38, four game lead on second-place Chicago) and Sioux City (57-32, 3.5 ahead of Kansas City) saw their leads narrow over the past few days but are solidly in first place in the East and West divisions, respectively, with fewer than a dozen games left on the schedule. It's especially important since Division winners select their respective first round opponents, with the playoffs beginning on Sept. 3.
The standings aren't the only races fans are watching. Sioux Falls' Calvin Estrada kept his stranglehold on the batting crown with three more multi-hit games in the past week, including a neat four-for-five on Tuesday and at .346 is more than 20 points ahead of the next qualifier, Kansas City's Todd Lott. Cleburne's Kyle Martin went deep three times last night vs. Sioux Falls and his 26 home runs are six more than the Canaries' Jabari Henry and his six-RBI night pushed him ahead of Estrada for the RBI crown, 83-79.
Sioux City righty Kyle Marman set a new team single-season record for strikeouts in a season (133) when he whiffed nine Lincoln Saltdogs in the X's 7-3 win on Tuesday.
The X's have been a running team all season, and they're putting all of those stolen bases to an even better use, with "Voice of the Explorers" Dan Vaughan donating two dollars for each theft to the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Siouxland. With an AAPB-leading 243 steals to the team's credit, Vaughn's debit stands at $486 to date.
We talked a few weeks back about the Winnipeg Goldeyes visit to Rankin Inlet, Nunavut, for MLB PLAYBALL Weekend Camp. Here's a video the team put together recapping the event, which featured partner CalmAir taking GM Andrew Collier and the clinicians 900 miles north to teach local youth the game.
The Gary SouthShore RailCats continue their support of STEM education as Challenger Learning Center of Northwest Indiana will host a fundraiser in conjunction with Friday's game vs. Milwaukee.
Playoff fever is hitting hard in Fargo, where the RedHawks and Cleburne played before a sellout crowd of more than 4,700 on Friday night at Newman Outdoor Field.
The Kansas City Monarchs have had more than their share of player movement in 2025. The latest is a happy reunion with Isiah Gilliam, who was the top hitter in the American Association before leaving for the Mexican League in June. At the time of his departure, Gilliam led the AAPB with a .389/.478/.770 slash line. He's now at .390/.487/.756. He celebrated with four hits in his first three games back this week.
Sioux Falls's win on Sunday in Lincoln marked the 379th career managerial victory for Mike Meyer, a new Canaries franchise record. Meyer surpassed Steve Shirley, who previously had held the record since 2010.
Some of this week's notable promotions across the league include:
Big weekend for the kids at Gary SouthShore, with Back to School Night on Saturday and Rusty's Birthday on Saturday
Don't forget Louie - this weekend is Lake Country's mascot's birthday bash too (what a coincidence!)
Elvis will be leaving the building on Saturday in Cleburne... Elvis Andrus bobbleheads, that is. And some fans will even pull one signed by the Texas Rangers hero.
Each year, the Société de la Francophonie hosts the Soirée francophone des Goldeyes. On Friday in Winnipeg, the french language will be in the spotlight with the bilingual national anthem, a Francophone announcer and Francophone music throughout the game.
Chicago Dogs fans can get their Irish up on St. Pat's Day on Saturday, complete with celebratory giveaway hat and fireworks presented by Wintrust.
Fans in the holiday spirit can celebrate Halloween early on Fright Night at the Birdcage on Friday in Sioux Falls. Saturday it's Native American Heritage Night, a celebration of Native American history, culture and music, as the team dons specially-styled jerseys.
Fan Appreciation days dot the schedule the next two weeks at nearly every AAPB park as well.
American Association Stories from August 21, 2025
- Jake Dykhoff Needs Only 86 Pitches to Complete Shutout Win - Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks
- Canaries Sweep Cleburne, Push Winning Streak to Four - Sioux Falls Canaries
- September Is Coming ðź'? - AA
- Ten Things to Know in the American Association: Closing in on Playoffs - AA
- RailCats Bats Awaken to Even Series with Fargo - Gary SouthShore Railcats
- Dogs offense shows no signs of slowing down - Chicago Dogs
- Lincoln Capitalizes on Explorers Miscues to Even Series - Lincoln Saltdogs
- Lincoln Evens Series Behind Castaneda - Sioux City Explorers
- Zimmerman Shines as Birds Withstand Cleburne Rally - Sioux Falls Canaries
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