The Kane County Cougars, the champions of the American Association in 2024, will represent the United States in the 2025 Baseball Champions League Americas in Mexico City.
The rotation will be led by righty Landen Bourassa, who pitched for Winnipeg in the American Association in 2024 and posted a 4.01 ERA and 96 strikeouts in 119 innings. He pitched for Sydney in the Australian Baseball League over the winter and posted a 3.99 ERA in 56 1/3 innings of work.
One of the leaders in the bullpen will be Vin Timpanelli, who pitched for Kane County in 2024 and posted a 2.70 ERA in 20 innings with 27 strikeouts.
Offensively, one of the leaders will be outfielder Max Murphy. The has been one of the most prolific home run hitters in American Association history with 74 home runs over the last three seasons, including 31 in 2022 for Winnipeg. They’ll rely on him for pop in this tournament.
Former Houston Astros minor league outfielder Ross Adolph will likely be among the best hitters for Kane County in this tournament. He made his American Association debut in 2024 with Kansas City and had a .923 OPS with 16 homers and 57 RBIs. He also swiped 14 bags, and along with Max Murphy, he’ll be one of the main power threats on this team.
Kane County will open the tournament against the champions of Curaçao’s AA championship, the Santa Maria Pirates. On the final day of pool play, they’ll play the Leñadores de Las Tunas, the champions of Cuba, to close out pool play on April 10th.
