American Association Daily provides insights, features, and recaps of the action from around the American Association of Professional Baseball League, as well as player and coaching profiles and transactions. In today’s edition, the Minor League Sports Report and This Week in the Association name Cleburne Railroaders 1B D.J. Peterson as the PURE Performance Player of the Month for August.

This Week in the Association and Minor League Sports Report Sponsored by PURE

D.J. Peterson Named PURE Performance Player of the Month.

This Week in the Association and the Minor League Sports Report in partnership with PURE Performance name Cleburne Railroaders 1B D.J. Peterson as the PURE Performance Player of the Month for August. Peterson led the American Association in homeruns (11) and RBI (30) in August despite playing in only 25 games.

To give some context on how impressive of a month it was for D.J. Peterson, he was not even acquired by the Cleburne Railroaders until August 4. It took the Cleburne slugger a little time to adjust, but he then caught fire.

His first two games were against the Chicago Dogs, where he opened his American Association career with a 2-3 performance, including driving in his first run. In the final game of that series, Peterson went 0-3.

Next up was the Kansas City Monarchs, and Peterson struggled through the first two games, going 1-8 with a run and an RBI. However, on August 7, he busted out a 4-6 night, scoring two runs and adding an RBI. He drew a pinch-hit walk the next night, finishing the series 5-14, with three runs and two RBI.

Next up was a three-game series against the Sioux Falls Canaries. Peterson went 4-13 with two runs, two doubles, a homerun, and three RBI. He began the series with a 1-3 performance, scoring two runs and hitting his first homerun in a Railroaders uniform. After a two hit, two RBI performance in the second game of the series, the Railroaders’ first baseman finished 1-5 in the final game.

Next up was a three-game set with the Sioux City Explorers, where Peterson went 3-11. He drove in two runs in the series and scored his seventh run since joining the team.

The Cleburne Railroaders returned home to face the Milwaukee Milkmen next. Peterson went 3-8 in the series, homering in each of the first two contests. He scored four runs and drove in four. After a 1-4 performance in the opening contest, a game where he hit a homerun and drove in three, the Cleburne infielder went 2-3 with three runs scored, a double, and a homerun.

Sioux City then came to town, and Peterson went 5-13 in the series, scoring two runs, adding two doubles, and two RBI. After a hitless contest to begin the series, Peterson went 2-4 with two runs, two doubles, and two RBI in the second game. That started a nine-game hitting streak, which is still running entering September.

This past week, Peterson appeared in five of the team’s seven games. He only appeared once in the series against Sioux Falls, but made his presence known, going 4-5 with three home runs and five RBI. That included hitting a double.

Next, the team took on Lincoln where he went 9-15 with five runs scored, three homeruns, and seven RBI. It was an impressive series, recording three hits, two runs scored, and a homerun in the second and third game of the series. In the second game, Peterson homered starting a run of five straight games with a homerun entering September.

In the final two games of the month, Cleburne welcome Houston. Peterson is 2-7 so far this series with three runs, two homers, and three RBI. He walked three times on Tuesday evening.

For the month, Peterson went 37-92 (.402), the best batting average in the American Association during the month. He hit eight doubles and 11 home runs. His 11 homers and 19 extra-base hits led the league. He also walked 10 times, posted a .481 on-base percentage and an .848 slugging percentage. His 1.329 OPS led the league.

For earning the PURE Performance Player of the Month award, D.J. Peterson will receive a check for $250 from PURE. Peterson was also named as the PURE Performance Player of the Week for Week 15.

2021 PURE Performance Players of the Month

May – Jared Walker, Sioux City Explorers
June – Adam Brett Walker II, Milwaukee Milkmen
July – Josh Altmann, Lincoln Saltdogs

This Week in the Association and Minor League Sports Report Sponsored by PURE

About PURE

PURE is a company founded on passion, creating a line of products that are ideal for professional athletes, those looking to improve performance at home, work, or on the field, court, or rink, or for those who simply want to improve their health and wellness. Professional athletes in the NFL, NBA, Olympics, NASCAR, minor league hockey, minor league baseball, tennis and golf use these products to help give them an edge over their competition.

Learn more about PURE by following the link where you can also order a trial pack.

by Robert Pannier