American Association Baseball SUNDAY Insider: Down the stretch they come, East Division edition

 On Friday night the first games since the calendar flipped to August were played. Whereas it's the Dog Days of August in Major League Baseball, in the league that matters, it's our version of stretch time. Let's take a look at how the East Division is stacking up as we head down the stretch.

Lake Country DockHounds

The DockHounds are currently in uncharted waters sitting in first place in the East Division. I think what has got the job done for the DockHounds is the moves made by Manager Ken Huckaby. Imanol Vargas was an impact player for his brief time in Oconomowoc. If he were around for an entire season, the numbers he would've put up would have been arcade like. But after going to the Mexican League, Vargas was replaced effectively by the additions of Brian O'Keefe and Freddy Rojas Jr. Brian Rey and Daunte Stuart have been the pillars of the lineup, both hitting over .300. Quietly the DockHounds have pitched well with a team ERA under four runs a game. Luke Hansel has eight wins but no other DockHound has more than four wins. Eric Torres and Robert Gsellman have been great out of the bullpen. Looking ahead it's all games within the division for the DockHounds. 19 games remain against the Chicago Dogs and the resurgent Kane County Cougars, those will dictate whether the DockHounds can raise a divisional banner, though at this point the DockHounds seem to be the favorite in my eyes to win the East. 

Chicago Dogs

A team that has rode the roller coaster of emotions this season, the Dogs are currently on a bad ride losing eight of their last ten games, including a damaging sweep at the hands of Lake Country.  But the potential remains for the Dogs to make a run at the DockHounds. Brantley Bell is healthy now and leads the Dogs with a .308 average with Henry Kusiak right on his tail as he has hits in eight of his last nine games and he has hit ten home runs. MLB veteran catcher Chance Sisco has seen his average rise from .266 to .302 during the month of July. Look out for Jacob Teter. Though it has been a down year compared to 2024, Teter is very capable of going on a streak that can carry a team. Jeff Lindgren has been the Dogs best starter in spite of John Baker having seven wins, three more than Lindgren. Jack Nedrow has been a nice find and with Steven Lacey back in the rotation, the starting pitching is shaping up nicely. Jacob DeLabio has been great at the back end of the Dogs pen with a 1.32 ERA and nine saves. Next week may tell us if the Dogs can catch the DockHounds. They go to Kansas City for three and then have a showdown against the DockHounds in Wisconsin next weekend. The week after however sees them playing six against Gary SouthShore, a chance to make up ground. The final week will be a battle as the Dogs go to Kane County before yet another series at Lake Country to wrap up the season, maybe with a division titles on the line. 

Kane County Cougars

I'll say it until I'm blue in the face, never count out a George Tsamis led team. Although I'm sure Tsamis is not satisfied with overtaking Cleburne with a win on Friday night with his team still a game under .500. The resurgence has been led by faces familiar to Cougars fans. Josh Allen raised his average from .229 to .265 in the month of July. Todd Lott has been incredible all season but has found a new gear as of late. His walk off grand slam with live in Cougars lore for years to come, and he had a three home run game in Chicago on Thursday night, nearly doubling his home run total in the last week. Tredon Craig and Armond Upshaw are other returners playing well. The pickup of Marcus Chiu has been huge as Chiu was the batter of the month for July. Pickups last week of Alex McGarry and defensive specialist shortstop Andy Armstrong has strengthened the lineup. Injuries have affected what was a deep bullpen with Daniel Bies and Tyler Beardsley out of the picture since June 1. Jake Gozzo has emerged as the closer with Logan Nissen setting him up. The rotation outside of Konnor Ash and Jack Fox doesn't have a starter with an ERA less than 4.50. I expect Tsamis to try to come up with a starter via trade or from within like he did in 2019 when the Saints were decimated by injuries in the rotation. Although overtaking Lake Country will be tough from 7.5 games out currently, the Cougars have ten games left against the DockHounds to try to make a run. Though at this point, I think their focus is to have the right mix of players ready by Labor Day to make another championship run.

Cleburne Railroaders

This is a club that I'm having a hard time trying to figure out. Coming into the season it looked like the offense was going to be second to none in AAPB. At times they have been exactly that with Kyle Marting leading the way with 20 home runs. But there has been too many stretches where the offense has dried up, including a three game sweep in Lake Country where the offense only could manage two runs in three games in a hitter's ballpark. The sweep ended up being the back end of a six game losing streak that result in Kane County overtaking the Railroaders for third place. A team that relies on the long ball as they have four batters with more than 10, and only have 32 stolen bases for the season, the potential is there with Aaron Altherr and Dustin Peterson joining Martin in the double digit home run club. Kade Mechals is the only starting pitcher with an ERA under 4.5 and he has not started a game since July 3rd as he's coming back from injury. The Railroaders as a team has only recorded eight saves. The Railroaders will have six games at LaModerna Field against Gary SouthShore next week to get on track, but as we saw this week in Sioux Falls, the RailCats are not the sure win that you'd think they were. From there the Railroaders will not have a game against the East Division the remainder of the season. It may be the Railroaders making the playoffs by default with the Milkmen nor RailCats not posing a threat. 

Milwaukee Milkmen

Ever since Anthony Barone took over the reins of the Milkmen in 2020, they have been in the mix for a championship, winning in 2020 and coming within a game in 2022. This year however is shaking up to being an aberration. The Milkmen have shown signs of finding their groove, but then come crashing back to Earth. Take this last nine game stretch where they won six in a row on the road, then dropping the last three games to the two bottom teams in the West Division. It's unfortunate that they are wasting a great season from Erik Ostberg. Chase Estep, Scott Ota and Delvin Perez have played well in support and Baron Radcliff has been outstanding after bottoming out in Gary SouthShore hitting six home runs, and driving in 17 runs in 15 games. Jhordany Mezquita leads the Milkmen in wins with six but has seen his ERA approach five runs a game. Although they only trail Cleburne by five games for the final playoff spot, they haven't shown me the ability to win consistently in order to be a playoff club. It may be a bitter pill to swallow, but the Milkmen may want to trade some pieces and look forward to 2026.

Gary SouthShore RailCats

People that I have talked to around the league had one question when the RailCats came up, how long is the leash for Lamarr Rogers. We found out the answer a few weeks ago when Rogers was let go in favor of Jeff Isom. The rest of this season will be an audition for next season. Rogers brought back players this season that left us wondering. As someone said at a last place Minnesota Twins game when they played the regulars for Fan Appreciation Night in 1990, "these are the guys that got us in this mess!!". They are ten games behind a free falling Cleburne Railroaders team and would have to go 20-6 the rest of the way to get to 45 wins which may get a playoff spot in the East Division. Elvis Peralta and Jairus Richards are two offensive trade targets that would fetch some pretty good futures for 2026. No RailCats pitcher has more than four wins but have all shown flashes of brilliance that could be intriguing in a trade. Save leader Jacob Coats could be a boost to a contender looking to shore up a bullpen. Other than that, it's audition time for the RailCats for next year, and that may be motivation to make them at least a dangerous team but not a playoff club. 

Complete American Association Power Rankings, a 10th Inning Stretch Original

1. Sioux City Explorers 55

2. Lake Country DockHounds 49

3. Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks 49

4. Sioux Falls Canaries 47

5. Kansas City Monarchs 46

6. Kane County Cougars 42

7. Chicago Dogs 42

8. Cleburne Railroaders 38

9. Milwaukee Milkmen 35

10. Winnipeg Goldeyes 33

11. Lincoln Saltdogs 32

12. Gary SouthShore RailCats 30