‘Last Man In’ Voting Today, Tomorrow, Highlighting Week for the MLB Partner League
MOORHEAD, Minn., July 2, 2026 –The American Association of Professional Baseball (@AA_Baseball) All-Star festivities are a couple of weeks away, and this week the league announced the game’s starters and reserves as well as its latest Hall of Fame inductees for the July 14-15 events in Lincoln, Neb. All AAPB games are as always available free for live viewing on AABaseball.tv. and the All-Star game can be seen LIVE on all AAPB platforms, the Unbeaten Channel, as well as MLB Network.
Here are 10 (or so) Things to Know about the AAPB this week:
- MOORHEAD, Minn., July 2, 2026 – The American Association of Professional Baseball (@AA_Baseball) All-Star festivities are a couple of weeks away, and this week the league announced the game’s starters and reserves as well as its latest Hall of Fame inductees for the July 14-15 events in Lincoln, Neb. All AAPB games are as always available free for live viewing on AABaseball.tv. and the All-Star game can be seen LIVE on all AAPB platforms, the Unbeaten Channel, as well as MLB Network.Here are 10 (or so) Things to Know about the AAPB this week:
- The All-Star Teams are locked in, with starters, reserves and pitchers all revealed this week. A star-studded lineup from each division will come together for two days for the All-Star Skills Competition/Home Run Derby and All-Star Game to showcase their talent and compete for mid-season bragging rights.
- Fans can vote for the “Last Man In” for the East and West teams today and tomorrow via the League Website at aabaseball.tv.
- The three newest members of the American Association Hall of Fame, as selected by a vote of league clubs, are Lincoln Saltdogs owner Jim Abel, Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks manager and former RedHawks and Major League World Series winning catcher Chris Coste, and longtime American Association standout Nate Samson, who spent eight seasons with the Sioux City Explorers and also played for the Winnipeg Goldeyes, St. Paul Saints, and Lincoln Saltdogs. They will be inducted at the dinner banquet on July 14 held in conjunction with the All-Star festivities.
- Milwaukee Milkmen infielder Michael Hallquist is the latest AAPBer to have his contract transferred to an MLB organization, as the Chicago Cubs grabbed the Fargo native who slashed .312/.399/.605 with 11 home runs and 27 RBI so far for the Milkmen after two strong seasons for Fargo-Moorhead in 2024 and 2025.
- That followed the news on Friday that Kansas City Monarchs outfielder Marcus Smith transferred to the Reds’ affiliate in Dayton. Smith had spent 2021 through 2025 in the Texas Rangers organization before latching on with KCM, slashing .306/.409/.552 in 33 games in 2026.
- Lake Country tied the record for most AAPB players whose contracts were transferred in a calendar month since 2021 with four in June:
- Beau Philip – Toronto Blue Jays
- Julio Carreras – Cincinnati Reds
- Luke Hansel – Colorado Rockies
- Connor Fenlong – Detroit Tigers
- On Monday, Cary Arbolida broke the Lincoln Saltdogs franchise record by reaching base safely in his 40th straight game. He made it 41 on Tuesday with three more hits before taking an 0-for-4 on Wednesday, and is now at .293/.372/.471 on the season.
- The Sioux Falls Canaries have won 899 games since joining the American Association in 2006 and are a win away from becoming the third franchise to reach 900 victories as members of the league.
- Since getting recalled to the majors by the Rays May 31, LHP Cam Booser (Chicago ’21) has been outstanding out of the ‘pen for the Rays, allowing just 1 earned run in 10 appearances (10.1 IP) so far.
- With Chicago Cubs RHP Tyler Ferguson (Chicago Dogs ’21) and Colorado RHP John Brebbia (Sioux Falls ’14, Laredo ’15) also receiving recent call-ups, 13 AAPB alumni are on big-league rosters.
- Media interest in AAPB remains strong. Some of the recent articles on teams include:
- Port Pass Travel selected a Kansas City Monarchs game as an easy day trip from the Lee’s Summit area
- World Baseball Network continued its extended coverage of the league this year with this item on the new AAPB Hall of Fame inductees.
- Dakota News Now took stock in the Canaries’ season to date.
- MLB.com introduced fans to Bryan Torres (Milwaukee ’22-’23), who hit his third homer of the season for St. Louis Sunday.
- Charlie Goldsmith chronicled the journey of Julian Garcia (Kansas City ’24-’25) to the Reds’ bullpen.
- A few team promotions of note are:
- The first 1,500 fans at Kane County’s game Saturday vs. Milwaukee will receive a George Washington bobblehead.
- Sioux Falls will celebrate the fourth a little early tonight with fireworks and “Throwback Thursday,” donning cream jerseys and playing throwback music during the game
- Lincoln will hold Triple Play Tuesday sponsored by Celerion, in which fans who donate three hygiene items for CenterPointe will receive a free general admission ticket.
- Chicago will help celebrate the nation’s 250th with a tribute to that All-American hero, Elvis Presley
About the American Association
The American Association of Professional Baseball (www.aabaseball.com) and (www.aabaseball.tv) is a Major League Baseball Partner League that operates in nine states and one Canadian province. Formed in 2006, the league consists of twelve member clubs with many beginning play in 1993. Through the 2025 season, 483 player contracts have been transferred to MLB organizations. In addition, 60 AAPB alumni have reached the Majors, including 17 participating in 2025.
– AAPB –
Contact:
Joe Favorito, joefavorito2@gmail.com, 917-566-8345
Jerry Milani, jerry@jerrymilani.com, 917-797-5663
