In American Association Daily, the Minor League Sports Report and This Week in the Association have named their Player and Pitcher of the Month for July in the American Association. The Cleburne Railroaders Jesus Sanchez was selected as the Pitcher of the Month after going 3-0 with a 1.39 ERA in five starts. The Chicago Dogs Keon Barnum was named the Player of the Month after hitting .381 with seven homers and 32 RBI in 26 games.   

Player of the Month – July: Keon Barnum, Chicago Dogs

Chicago Dogs 1B Keon Barnum was selected as the Player of the Month for July by This Week in the Association and the Minor League Sports Report. Barnum had an awesome month, hitting .381 in 26 games. He scored 20 runs, drove in 32, had seven homers, and 14 total extra base hits. The first baseman also finished with a .427 on base percentage and a .657 slugging percentage.

Barnum appeared in 26 games in July, including the All-Star game. He posted hits in 21 of those contests, including two four-hit contests. Barnum had 12 multi-hit games, and never went two consecutive games without a hit. He also set a franchise record with seven RBI against the Gary Southshore RailCats on July 19.

The outburst by Keon Barnum moved the Chicago slugger into the discussion for league MVP. He raised his average 38 points during July and added 27 points to his on-base percentage.

While he did not win the Home Run Derby in St. Paul, the slugger did put on a show. In the first round, he clubbed 14 homers in three minutes and added 11 in round two, narrowly losing to eventual champion Brady Shoemaker of the St. Paul Saints.

Pitcher of the Month – July: Jesus Sanchez, Cleburne Railroaders

Jesus Sanchez of the Cleburne Railroaders was named the Pitcher of the Month in the American Association by This Week in the Association and the Minor League Sports Report. Sanchez made five starts in July, posting a 3-0 record and a 1.39 ERA. In 32.1 innings pitched, the right-hander allowed 30 hits, walked just three, while striking out 16. He recorded an opponent batting average of .242 and allowed just five earned runs.

The Railroaders won all five of his starts during July. The first came on July 2 when the righty allowed two earned runs in a 7-4 victory over the Chicago Dogs. Cleburne entered that contest on a six game winning streak after sweeping Lincoln and Texas, and Sanchez helped extend the streak to seven with 6.1 solid innings against the potent Dogs.

On July 7, he tossed seven shutout innings against the Gary Southshore RailCats, earning a no-decision in a contest that Cleburne won, 1-0. He allowed just four hits and one walk in that contest.

Five days later, Jesus Sanchez took the hill against the RailCats once again, allowing one earned run in six innings in a 13-2 victory. Sanchez struck out three, but did not walk a batter, starting an impressive run of three straight starts in July where he did not walk a batter.

On July 17, the righty allowed one run in seven innings to the Lincoln Saltdogs. Sanchez allowed five hits and struck out four in a 3-2 victory over Lincoln. After pitching 0.2 perfect innings in the All-Star game, the Cleburne starter allowed just one run in six innings against the potent St. Paul Saints. The Railroaders won that contest, 8-1.

Jesus Sanchez is not walked a batter in his last 21.2 innings pitched in July.

Players of the Month for 2019

June – Alay Lago, Sioux Falls Canaries
May – Craig Simpson, Cleburne Railroaders

Pitchers of the Month for 2019

June – Kyle Kinsman, Lincoln Saltdogs
May – Eddie Medina, St. Paul Saints; Luke Westphal, Chicago Dogs

By Robert Pannier