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 Minor League Sports Report name Keon Barnum the American Association Player of the Week for Week 1.

Milwaukee Milkmen 1B Keon Barnum Named Player of the Week

On Monday, This Week in the Association and the Minor League Sports Report named Milwaukee Milkmen first baseman Keon Barnum as the American Association Player of the Week for Week 1 of the 2022 season. Barnum finished the week fifth in batting average (.433), first in homeruns (5), and second in RBI (12).

Barnum appeared in eight of the first nine games for Milwaukee. He started the season with a bang, homering twice and going a perfect 4-4 in his debut with the Milkmen, leading the club to an 8-4 victory over the Lake Country DockHounds. Over the next two games, Barnum was a combined 0-6, but he did walk four times, giving him five walks through the first three games. The Milwaukee first baseman finished the series 4-10 with four runs scored and four RBI.

Barnum appeared in two of the three games against the Cleburne Railroaders, going a combined 2-7 with two walks.

The club then headed on to Sioux Falls, where Barnum opened the series with a 4-5 performance, homering twice in the game and driving in six runs. He also scored three runs in the game. In the second contest of the series, Barnum homered for the second straight game, going 2-4 with a run scored and two RBI. He closed out the series with a 1-4 performance, going 7-13 with four runs, three homeruns, and eight RBI in the three-game set.

Barnum finished 13-30, with eight runs scored, five home runs, 12 RBI, and eight walks. He leads the American Association with a .933 slugging percentage and is third with a .553 on-base percentage. His 1.486 OPS leads the league.

Kim Barnum set the American Association record for homeruns in a season in 2019 when he was playing for the Chicago Dogs, hitting 31 homeruns. That mark was eclipsed last season by former Milkmen star Adam Brett Walker II, but Barnum looks like he is ready to reclaim his single-season homerun crown. The first baseman spent the last two seasons playing in the Atlantic League.

By Robert Pannier