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 Kansas City Monarchs outfielder Blake Rutherford as American Association Player of the Week for Week 2 of the 2024 season.

Monarchs OF Blake Rutherford Named Player of the Week

On Monday, This Week in the Association and the Minor League Sports Report named Kansas City Monarchs outfielder Blake Rutherford as the Player of the Week for Week 2 of the 2024 season. Rutherford had an outstanding week, leading the American Association an RBI while hitting .364.

Rutherford appeared in six games during the week, playing two against Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks to begin the week. He was a combined 3-7 in the series, going hitless in the first contest before going 3-4 on May 14. He had two RBI in the three-hit performance.

Kansas City then return home to welcome the Winnipeg Goldeyes. Rutherford was a combined 5-15 in the series, scoring twice while driving in eight. He hit a three-run homer in the first contest of the series, a 6-1 victory. In the second game he went hitless, but went 2-3 with a run scored and an RBI on May 18, a 5-3 victory. Rutherford closed out the series with a 2-4 performance, homering and driving in four in a 10-6 victory. Kansas City won three of the four games with the only loss coming in the contest where Rutherford was hitless.

For the week, the outfielder hit .364 (8-22) with three runs scored, two homers, and 10 RBI. He also walked twice.

Blake Rutherford was selected in the first round of the 2016 draft by the New York Yankees. He was later dealt to the Chicago White Sox organization and worked his way to AAA-Charlotte in 2021. In 2023 he began at AAA-Rochester for the Washington Nationals, reaching the Major Leagues where he appeared in 16 games, hitting .171. Rutherford spent seven years in the minors, hitting a combined .279 in 672 games. He played at the AAA level in each of the last three seasons. This is his first year with the Monarchs, where Rutherford is hitting .367 through the first eight games, driving in 14.

2024 American Association Players of the Week

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By Robert Pannier