John Nogowski

Monarchs Sign One Of League’s Top Hitters

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KANSAS CITY, Kan. — A former major leaguer and one of the American Association’s top bats is heading to the Kansas City Monarchs.

John Nogowski, who played in the majors with St. Louis and Pittsburgh and posted a 1.014 OPS with Sioux City in 2024, has signed with the four-time league champions.

Nogowski is in the starting lineup at first base for the Monarchs’ game Monday night at Fargo-Moorhead. 

The Monarchs (15-6) own the best record in the 12-team American Association. They’re contending for their fifth league title in club history and fourth in the AAPB.  

“We’re excited to welcome John Nogowski to Kansas City,” Monarchs manager Joe Calfapietra said. “He brings another experienced major-league hitter to our lineup. Having 500 plate appearances and 30 strikeouts last season, that’s an eye-popping statistic. Bringing that kind of weapon into a lineup that we already think has some substance is significant.”

A 32-year-old in his 12th professional season, Nogowski has played 53 MLB games between the Cardinals and Pirates in 2020 and 2021. 

The Tallahassee, Florida native slashed .346/.461/.553/1.014 in 2024. His batting average, on-base percentage and OPS all ranked second in the league that season. 

Nogowski played college ball at Florida State, where he was named First-Team All-ACC in 2014. After some time in the Athletics organization, he signed with Sioux City to begin the 2017 season. 

After Nogowski hit .402 over 34 games with the Explorers that year, he had his contract transferred to the Cardinals organization. He’d quickly move up their minor-league ranks, making his MLB debut in 2020. 

Nogowski returned to the Cardinals to start the 2021 season before being traded to the Pirates on July 3. He’d play 33 games with Pittsburgh that season, posting a .677 OPS, including a home run.

The 6-1 infielder spent 2022 between the Braves and Nationals organizations. After starting 2023 in the Atlantic League, he returned to Sioux City in 2023. 

Nogowski left Sioux City to join Monclova in the Mexican League in July, but returned to the club August 19. He went 7-for-23 with a home run in the 2023 AAPB playoffs.

The Monarchs begin a 7-game road trip Monday night. Fans can hear every game on The Bet KC 1660 AM and the free Audacy app.

Gilliam Crowns Monarchs Sweep

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KANSAS CITY, Kan. – Isiah Gilliam capped off a standout weekend with his best performance of the 2025 season.

The Kansas City Monarchs’ cleanup batter clubbed a season-best four RBIs in an 8-6 win over the Sioux Falls Canaries on Sunday afternoon. The win sealed a second sweep for the Monarchs this campaign.

The Monarchs (15-6) started brilliantly with six runs in the first three innings.

Josh Hendrickson (2-1) let loose for another win at Legends Field. The Australian tied his season-high with seven strikeouts across five innings.

Gilliam smoked his team-leading seventh home run of the season in the first inning. The right fielder powered a two-run nuke over the left field wall to give KC a 2-0 advantage.

“I saw a lot of curveballs coming early,” Gilliam said. “I wanted to dominate that pitch. It was a good pitch, actually, but it was in my favor this time.”

The right-fielder dealt an RBI double in the third inning to lift KC to a 5-0 edge. Gilliam used an inside-out swing to stick one fair of the first-base line to score Jorge Bonifacio.

“I’m sticking to the same things I know; working down on the baseball and making contact,” Gilliam said. “I know my strengths, I know my weaknesses. Those come into play when I’m making contact with the baseball.”

Gilliam ripped an RBI single to left field for a key insurance run in the sixth inning. The former AAA bat socked a two-out, two-strike pitch to deliver Joshuan Sandoval to the plate for an 8-4 lead.

The Monarchs’ bullpen rolled again to keep the Canaries (9-13) in check. Connor Holden, Jake Brentz and Junior Cerda combined for 2.1 scoreless innings. 

The Canaries put together a late rally in the ninth inning with RBIs from Jordan Barth and Jabari Henry. 

Blake Goldsberry (1) delivered the goods with his back to the wall. Goldsberry fanned Canaries’ slugger Josh Rehwaldt to seal the sweep.

UP NEXT

The Monarchs begin a seven-game road trip on Monday night against the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks. First pitch is scheduled for 7:02 pm.