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, This Week in the Association and the Minor League Sports Report name Cleburne Railroaders outfielder Brian O’Grady as American Association Player of the Week for Week 5 of the 2024 season.

Railroaders OF Brian O’Grady Named Player of the Week

On Monday, This Week in the Association and the Minor League Sports Report named Cleburne railroaders outfielder Brian O’Grady as the Player of the Week for Week 5 of the 2024 season. O’Grady had an impressive week, hitting .423 with four homers and 16 RBI.

Cleburne took on the Gary SouthShore RailCats for all six games during the week and O’Grady was an absolute beast from the start. On Tuesday, he opened the series going 3-5 with two runs scored, two doubles, a homer, and four RBI in a 12-4 victory. The second game of the series on the outfielder go 1-3 with two runs scored, a home run, and two RBI. Thursday’s contest was one for the ages, as O’Grady homered for the third straight game, scored twice, and drove in six. He also walked twice in the contest and added a sacrifice fly and a stolen base.

In the fourth game, O’Grady was 4-6 with two runs scored, a homer, and three RBI. It was the fourth straight game that the outfielder homered in, the longest streak in the league this season. It was also his fourth straight game with at least two RBI, and gave him 15 RBI over the four-game stretch. After a 0-4 performance in the fifth game, O’Grady closed out the series by going 2-5 with an RBI on Sunday.

For the week, O’Grady led the league in home runs (4) and RBI (16). He was sixth in batting average (.423), going 11-26. His eight runs scored were third best and he was third in slugging (.962). He finished fourth in OPS (1.429).

Brian O’Grady was selected in the eighth round of the 2014 draft by the Cincinnati Reds. He quickly moved up the ranks, reaching AAA-Louisville in 2018. The next season he split time between Louisville and Cincinnati, hitting .191 in 28 games at the Major League level. The following season O’Grady found himself in a Tampa Bay Rays uniform, appearing in two games. In 2021, O’Grady joined the San Diego Padres, splitting time between AAA-El Paso and the big club. In 32 games in San Diego, he hit .157.

In 2022, O’Grady headed overseas to play in Japan, appearing in 123 games for Seibu. Last season he joined the Kansas City Monarchs, hitting .242 with 12 homers and 39 RBI in 57 games. This season he joined Cleburne where he is hitting .287 with 12 homers and 39 RBI in just 29 games.

O’Grady is the second Cleburne player to earn Player of the Week honors this season. Jaxx Groshans was selected in Week 3.

2024 American Association Players of the Week

Week 1 – Narciso Crook, Chicago Dogs
Week 2 – Blake Rutherford, Kansas City Monarchs
Week 3 – Jaxx Groshans, Cleburne Railroaders
Week 4 – Max Murphy, Winnipeg Goldeyes

By Robert Pannier