1. Sioux City Explorers (42-23, 1st, West)
Record last week: 2-1 @ Lincoln, 2-1 vs. Sioux Falls
It was another take-care-of-business week for Sioux City, which capped off a heck of a first half with a big series win against rival Sioux Falls that could have gone either way. The Explorers have not lost a series since the end of June in Winnipeg and they lead the league in team ERA (3.61) by a good margin, thanks to having three of the top eight starters in the league in terms of ERA, including reigning pitcher of the week Austin Drury.
2. Lake Country DockHounds (38-24, 1st, East)
Record last week: 4-0 vs. Gary SouthShore, 3-0 @ Chicago
The hottest team in the American Association going into the all-star break resides in Oconomowoc. The DockHounds ended the first half on an eight-game winning streak, including what could be a series that defines their season with a sweep on the road in Chicago to put them a full 3.5 games up. They remain a fascinating team on the stat sheet, ranking third in the league in team ERA (4.02) and just sixth in team batting average (.259) despite playing in a very hitter-friendly ballpark. All but one series in the second half for Lake Country is against teams from the East, so they still have plenty of work to do to secure their first division title in club history.
3. Sioux Falls Canaries (37-27, 3rd, 4.5 GB in West)
Record last week: 3-0 vs. Winnipeg, 1-2 @ Sioux City
Despite the tough series loss in Sioux City, the Canaries have to go into the break feeling encouraged about their ability to contend with the two top dogs in the West in Sioux City and Kansas City. What they can definitely do is contend with them offensively, leading the league with a .829 team OPS thanks to having five players with 11 home runs or more. If they can improve on the pitching side of things in the second half, they can easily be in the conversation with the top teams in either division.
4. Kansas City Monarchs (39-26, 2nd, 3 GB in West)
Record last week: 1-3 @ Fargo-Moorhead, 1-2 vs. Fargo-Moorhead (in Kansas City)
The RedHawks got the best of the Monarchs this week in their home-and-home series, sweeping a doubleheader on Tuesday and very nearly sweeping all seven games they played throughout the week. Perhaps most surprising about the week was the lack of offense for the team that still leads in team batting average (.277) as they were shutout once and scored two runs or less in four other games. Going into the break down three in the division has to be a disappointment for a team which had a big lead and could have halted the Explorers’ momentum last week, but there is tons of talent still on this team to make a run at a title this season.
5. Cleburne Railroaders (33-31, 3rd, 6 GB in East)
Record last week: 2-1 @ Kane County, 3-0 @ Milwaukee
Here comes Cleburne! What a week on the road for the Railroaders to get back above .500 and back in the conversation in the East. It can never be understated for a team over 1,000 miles away how tough these week-long road trips can be and they took care of business while also furthering themselves in the standings from both Kane County and Milwaukee. Like typical Cleburne teams, they have multiple big time sluggers in Kyle Martin who leads the league with 18 homers and reigning batter of the week in former major leaguer Aaron Altherr who leads the league with 57 RBI.
