# 2024 American Association season

The 2024 American Association season was the 19th season of professional baseball in the American Association of Professional Baseball (AA) since its creation in October 2005. There are 12 AA teams, split evenly between the East Division and the West Division.
The Kansas City Monarchs entered the season as defending champions, having defeated the Chicago Dogs, three games to one, in the league's 2023 championship series.

## Season schedule

The league is split up into two divisions, the East and West Division. The season will be played with a 100-game schedule, with two home series and two road series inside a teams’ division, and one home series and one road series against the clubs outside its division. The top four teams in each division will qualify for the 2024 playoffs.
The league announced that the 2024 All-Star Game would take place at Legends Field, the home of the Kansas City Monarchs. The league's annual Home Run Derby will take place on Monday, July 22nd and the All-Star Game will take place on Tuesday, July 23rd.

## Regular season standings

East Division Regular Season Standings :
| Pos | Team | G | W | L | Pct. | GB |
| 1 | y – Cleburne Railroaders | 100 | 60 | 40 | .600 | -- |
| 2 | x – Kane County Cougars | 100 | 55 | 45 | .550 | 5.0 |
| 3 | x – Chicago Dogs | 100 | 55 | 45 | .545 | 5.0 |
| 4 | x – Lake Country DockHounds | 100 | 53 | 47 | .530 | 7.0 |
| 5 | e – Milwaukee Milkmen | 100 | 49 | 51 | .490 | 11.0 |
| 6 | e – Gary SouthShore RailCats | 100 | 30 | 70 | .300 | 30.0 |
West Division Regular Season Standings :
| Pos | Team | G | W | L | Pct. | GB |
| 1 | y – Winnipeg Goldeyes | 99 | 56 | 43 | .566 | -- |
| 2 | x – Sioux Falls Canaries | 99 | 55 | 44 | .556 | 1.0 |
| 3 | x – Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks | 100 | 53 | 47 | .530 | 3.5 |
| 4 | x – Sioux City Explorers | 100 | 49 | 51 | .490 | 7.5 |
| 5 | e – Kansas City Monarchs | 100 | 46 | 54 | .460 | 10.5 |
| 6 | e – Lincoln Saltdogs | 100 | 38 | 62 | .380 | 18.5 |
* y – Clinched division
* x – Clinched playoff spot
* e – Eliminated from playoff contention

## Statistical leaders

as of September 1, 2024

### Hitting

| Stat | Player | Team | Total |
| HR | Ryan Hernandez | Lake Country DockHounds | 29 |
| AVG | Jacob Teter | Chicago Dogs | .348 |
| H | Carter Aldrete | Cleburne Railroaders | 134 |
| RBIs | Jacob Teter | Chicago Dogs | 93 |
| SB | Ismael Alcantara | Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks | 70 |

### Pitching

| Stat | Player | Team | Total |
| W | Ty Culbreth | Sioux Falls Canaries | 12 |
| ERA | Joey Matulovich | Winnipeg Goldeyes | 2.12 |
| SO | Joey Matulovich | Winnipeg Goldeyes | 145 |
| SV | Joey Marciano | Chicago Dogs | 26 |

## Awards
### All-star selections

All-star game MVP — Ismael Alcantara, Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks
Home Run Derby Champion — Brian O'Grady, Cleburne Railroaders

### End of year awards

| Award | Player | Team |
| Most Valuable Player | Jacob Teter | Chicago Dogs |
| Pitcher of the Year | Joey Matulovich | Winnipeg Goldeyes |
| Rookie of the Year | Ryan Hernandez | Lake Country DockHounds |
| Manager of the Year | Logan Watkins | Winnipeg Goldeyes |

### Postseason All-Stars

| Position | Player | Team |
| Catcher | Jaxx Groshans | Cleburne Railroaders |
| First Base | Jacob Teter | Chicago Dogs |
| Second Base | Carter Aldrete | Cleburne Railroaders |
| Shortstop | Shed Long Jr. | Cleburne Railroaders |
| Third Base | Claudio Finol | Kane County Cougars |
| Outfield | Cornelius Randolph | Kane County Cougars |
| Outfield | Hill Alexander | Cleburne Railroaders |
| Outfield | Ismael Alcantara | Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks |
| Designated Hitter | Ryan Hernandez | Lake Country DockHounds |
| Utility | Dayson Croes | Winnipeg Goldeyes |
| Starting Pitcher | Joey Matulovich | Winnipeg Goldeyes |
| Relief Pitcher | Joey Marciano | Chicago Dogs |

## Playoffs
### Format

In 2024, the top four teams in each division will advance to the playoffs. In a nod to innovation, and to reward the clubs with the best regular seasons, the club that wins the division in the regular season will pick their first-round opponent of the qualifiers within the division, in the best-of-three Division Playoff Series.
In the second round, the Division Championship Series will also be a best-of-three series. The Miles Wolff Cup Finals will culminate in the crowning of a league champion, with a best-of-five series to determine the league champion.

### Playoff bracket

| Division Playoff Series (best-of-three) | Division Playoff Series (best-of-three) | Division Playoff Series (best-of-three) | Division Playoff Series (best-of-three) | Division Playoff Series (best-of-three) | Division Championship Series (best-of-three) | Division Championship Series (best-of-three) | Division Championship Series (best-of-three) | Division Championship Series (best-of-three) | Division Championship Series (best-of-three) | Miles Wolff Cup Finals (best-of-five) | Miles Wolff Cup Finals (best-of-five) | Miles Wolff Cup Finals (best-of-five) | Miles Wolff Cup Finals (best-of-five) | Miles Wolff Cup Finals (best-of-five) | Miles Wolff Cup Finals (best-of-five) | Miles Wolff Cup Finals (best-of-five) | |
| 1 | Cleburne | 6 | 0 | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 3 | Chicago | 3 | 4 | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 3 | Chicago | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | Chicago | 2 | 2 | X | | | | | | | | |
| East | East | East | East | East | 3 | Chicago | 2 | 2 | X | | | | | | | | |
| East | East | East | East | East | 2 | Kane County | 5 | 3 | X | | | | | | | | |
| 2 | Kane County | 6 | 1 | X | 2 | Kane County | 5 | 3 | X | | | | | | | | |
| 4 | Lake Country | 1 | 0 | X | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 4 | Lake Country | 1 | 0 | X | | | | | | E2 | Kane County | 2 | 1 | 5 | X | X | |
| | | | | | | | | | | W1 | Winnipeg | 1 | 0 | 3 | X | X | |
| 1 | Winnipeg | 0 | 7 | 10 | | | | | | | | | | | | W1 | Winnipeg | 1 | 0 | 3 | X | X |
| 2 | Sioux Falls | 5 | 3 | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 2 | Sioux Falls | 5 | 3 | 3 | 1 | Winnipeg | 10 | 3 | 3 | | | | | | | | |
| West | West | West | West | West | 1 | Winnipeg | 10 | 3 | 3 | | | | | | | | |
| West | West | West | West | West | 3 | Fargo-Moorhead | 1 | 5 | 1 | | | | | | | | |
| 3 | Fargo-Moorhead | 2 | 1 | 6 | 3 | Fargo-Moorhead | 1 | 5 | 1 | | | | | | | | |
| 4 | Sioux City | 1 | 7 | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

## Notable players

Former Major League Baseball players who played in the American Association in 2024
* A. J. Alexy (Kansas City)
* Abiatal Avelino (Kansas City)
* Beau Burrows (Cleburne)
* Narciso Crook (Chicago)
* Jaylin Davis (Milwaukee)
* Jon Duplantier (Lake Country)
* Trent Giambrone (Cleburne/Kansas City)
* Ashton Goudeau (Kansas City)
* Deivy Grullón (Lake Country)
* Matt Hall (Kansas City)
* Eric Hanhold (Lake Country)
* Damon Jones (Kansas City)
* Shed Long Jr. (Cleburne)
* Greg Mahle (Kane County)
* Ozzie Martínez (Sioux City)
* John Nogowski (Sioux City)
* Brian O'Grady (Cleburne)
* Yefry Ramírez (Kansas City)
* Zac Reininger (Winnipeg)
* Seth Romero (Cleburne)
* Blake Rutherford (Kansas City)
* Carlos Sanabria (Gary SouthShore)
* Brian Schlitter (Chicago)
* Sterling Sharp (Lake Country)
* Caleb Smith (Cleburne)
* Travis Swaggerty (Kansas City)
* Curtis Terry (Lake Country)
* Dillon Thomas (Fargo-Moorhead)
* Collin Wiles (Kansas City)
Other notable players who played in the American Association in 2024
* Jason Bilous (Chicago)
* Bryan Bonnell (Lake Country)
* Bret Boswell (Cleburne)
* Tucker Bradley (Kansas City)
* Yoelqui Céspedes (Fargo-Moorhead)
* Marek Chlup (Lake Country)
* Brett Conine (Lake Country)
* Thomas Dillard (Cleburne)
* Hayden Dunhurst (Kane County)
* Santiago Florez (Sioux City)
* Ethan Hankins (Gary SouthShore)
* Marshall Kasowski (Winnipeg)
* Joey Marciano (Chicago)
* Chris Muller (Cleburne)
* Joey Murray (Sioux City)
* Justin O'Conner (Kansas City)
* Ian Oxnevad (Lincoln)
* Franklin Pérez (Gary SouthShore)
* Cornelius Randolph (Kane County)
* J. D. Scholten (Sioux City)
* Nick Shumpert (Sioux City)
* Liam Spence (Sioux Falls)
* Chavez Young (Kansas City/Lake Country)