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 of American Association Daily, the Minor League Sports Report and This Week in the Association name Chicago Dogs outfielder Michael Crouse as the Player of the Week and Fargo-Moorhead starter Matt Tomshaw as the Pitcher of the Week for Week 4.

Player of the Week: Michael Crouse, Chicago Dogs

The Minor League Sports Report and This Week in the Association selected Chicago Dogs outfielder Michael Crouse as the Player of the Week for Week 4. Crouse had an impressive week, hitting .385 with 11 runs scored, eight RBI, and four homers in six games. He was one of several Dogs players who had a big week but stood out with a .500 on-base percentage and 1.462 OPS, tops in the American Association.

Crouse recorded hits in five of the six games during the week and reached base in all six contests. He started out the week with a 3-5 performance against the Winnipeg Goldeyes on July 28. He scored two runs in the contest and added a double. The next night, the outfielder went 0-3 with a run scored and a walk. He then went 1-3 in the final game of the series, homering to start the game for Chicago. He scored two runs and added a walk. In the three-game series, Crouse was 4-11 with five runs scored, a homer, two walks, an RBI, and a stolen base.

The Dogs travelled to Sioux Falls, where they brought out the lumber, scoring 38 runs in the three contests. Crouse was a huge part of that barrage, going 6-15 with six runs scored, three homeruns, and seven RBI. He also walked four times, giving him at least one walk in all six games during the week. He stole two bases in the series.

In the opener, Crouse went 2-5 with two runs scored, a triple and an RBI. The next night, the Dogs outfielder went 1-4 with two runs scored, two walks and a homer. He added an RBI. In Sunday’s great battle, Crouse led off the game with a homerun then homered two innings later to give his team a 3-0 lead. He finished 3-6 with two runs scored, two homers, a walk, and a stolen base. He also drove in three runs for the second straight night.

Crouse finished tied for ninth in hitting last week (.385), third in on-base percentage (.500), and was tied with Goldeyes catcher John Nester in OPS (1.462). He was first in runs scored (11) and second in extra-base hits (6).

Crouse is the second consecutive Chicago Dogs player to be selected as Player of the Week. Victor Roache won last week.

Pitcher of the Week: Matt Tomshaw, Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks

The Minor League Sports Report and This Week in the Association selected Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks left-hander Matt Tomshaw as the Pitcher of the Week for Week 4. The lefty tossed seven shutout innings in a 7-0 victory over the Milwaukee Milkmen on August 1.

Tomshaw was dominant in his start against Milwaukee, allowing four hits and four walks in seven innings, while striking out five. He gave up a single and walk in each of the first two frames, then settled down to allow no more than one base runner to reach over the next four frames. In the seventh, a walk and an error set up first and third with two down, but he got a ground out to end the threat. He threw 107 pitches, 68 of which were strikes.

The start earned Tomshaw his first win of the season and extended his string of scoreless innings to 16.2. He is the first RedHawks player to receive honors this year.

2020 Players of the Week:

Week 1 – Damek Tomscha, Sioux Falls Canaries
Week 2 – Chesny Young, St. Paul Saints
Week 3 – Victor Roache, Chicago Dogs

2020 Pitchers of the Week:

Week 1 – Mitch Lambson, Winnipeg Goldeyes
Week 2 – Mike Devine, St. Paul Saints
Week 3 – Frank Duncan, Winnipeg Goldeyes

The Pitcher and Player of the Week are chosen by the staff of the Minor League Sports Report and This Week in the Association. The winners will be named each Monday during the 2020 American Association season.

By Robert Pannier