American Association SUNDAY Insider: Land of 10,000 baseball players plus Power Rankings

 Kevin Luckow

(non member of IBWAA)

In thinking of last week's Insider, I feel like I had all the bases covered on what Blaine should do to make a go of it in the American Association. But I left out one major thing. 

Minnesotans are very provincial. I don't know where it comes from, but it exists. They need time to warm up to outsiders, outside of government who warm up to and allow people to come into the state and steal taxpayer's money through fraud. 

There is nothing Minnesota sports fans like more than having "one of us" make an impact. Especially with the home team. Look at recent history, Adam Thelen was one of the most popular Vikings in recent history. Joe Mauer had a Hall of Fame career for the Minnesota Twins, playing his entire career with the Twins. And now, Brock Faber is on the verge of becoming captain and cornerstone for the Minnesota Wild. 

The Minnesota pipeline proved valuable for the St. Paul Saints. Jim Manfred, Brent Krause, Charlie Ruud. Nate Hanson, Dan Motl, Blake Schmit, Adam Bourassa, Mike Kvasnicka, Seth Rosin, Caleb Thielbar, Mark Hamburger and so many others had success in Independent Baseball playing in their home state, just a short drive from where they called home. 



The Minnesota State Amateur Baseball tournament began this weekend bringing amateur teams from throughout the state together in pursuit of championships in three classes. If you look at the rosters of the various teams, you'll notice a lot of players that served time in the American Association.

I think it would serve the Blaine team well to have a strong Minnesota presence to the roster. You can definitely do that without compromising quality. Take a look at some of the players that could be lured home. Sioux Falls has Josh Rehwaldt, Joe Vos, and  Kody Dalen. Imagine the immediate star that Rehwaldt would be. Henry George of Sioux City via Woodbury could be your speedster in the outfield having to only drive west on 694 from Woodbury. Cole Fuecker and Brady Rodning of Lake Country. Rodning, one of only two pitchers from Minnesota in AAPB currently. Logan Nissen who spends his off season coaching baseball for Bethany University could be your closer. Aidan Byrne of Eagan could be the everyday shortstop. And here's the final potential piece. It would all be a matter if he hasn't retired by then, but Max Murphy could be that player that could connect the past of the St. Paul Saints to the present of the new Blaine team. 

Tryouts could also unearth some good prospects. The Saints used to have tryouts before the season that would unearth the occasional gem. Some players coming out of it would head back to their amateur team, but under direction to stay in game shape in case the Saints were in need of bodies. 

And who could lead this team? Could it be someone with a connection to Minnesota? Would George Tsamis be open to a return to Minnesota? Tsamis currently runs youth camps for the St. Paul Saints in the off season. Mike Meyer spent several years of his career pitching for the Saints. Could he be looking for a new challenge by 2028? He will have been in Sioux Falls for 11 seasons by the end of 2027. He has had a knack for finding players with Minnesota roots. Could Meyer be lured to take the reins of an expansion team?

American Association Power Rankings as of August 22nd

1. Kansas City Monarchs 58

2. Milwaukee Milkmen 55

3. Lake Country DockHounds 53

4. Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks 52

5. Kane County Cougars 51

6. Winnipeg Goldeyes 51

7. Sioux Falls Canaries 47

8. Sioux City Explorers 45

9. Cleburne Railroaders 44

10. Gary SouthShore RailCats 43

11. Lincoln Saltdogs 40

12. Chicago Dogs 33




















 

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