God help us all.

As Major League Baseball is trying to get their house in order with regards to the Shohei Ohtani posting/free agency situation, it’s created something of a mid-November malaise. Nothing is happening, other than the self-imposed negotiating deadline between the leagues getting extended 24 hours. So where does that leave us in the days before Thanksgiving?

Nowhere.

Let’s start with the prospect news from Monday. The Royals added Eric Stout and Tim Hill to the 40-man roster, along with Meibrys Viloria. Stout and Hill are left-handed pitchers. The moves were made to protect the players from exposing them in the Rule 5 draft, to be held at the end of the Winter Meetings next month.

Stout is a 24-year old who pitched all of last summer in Omaha. He appeared in 45 games, threw 69.1 innings and posted a 7.3 SO/9 with a 3.8 BB/9 and 2.99 ERA. Hill will turn 28 just ahead of spring training and toiled most of last year with Double-A Northwest Arkansas. He appeared in 36 games and threw 69 innings. He finished with a 4.70 ERA and a 9.8 SO/9 to go along with a 2.5 BB/9.

On the surface, it seems a bit odd to place those two on the 40-man roster. But there are a couple of things to remember going forward. First, pitching remains the currency of baseball. I’m only writing that half in jest. The way teams are constructed these days with just three or four bench players, teams don’t seem so anxious to add a bat in the Rule 5, taking a valuable place on the roster. A left-handed reliever? Well, there’s always plenty of room for one (or two) of those. Especially when they are used as lefty specialists.

Hill held lefties to .175/.211/.214 last year. Stout limited same-siders to .193/264/.301.

Let’s be perfectly clear. This doesn’t mean one or both will appear in Kansas City at any point this summer. Nor am I advocating for either to make any kind of 25-man roster. I’m merely trying to understand the Royals angle in protecting both. It seems the club feels both would fall into a “high risk” bucket of players who could be selected. The Royals see something in them where they could perhaps contribute at some point to the big league club. Hence, the move to place them on the 40-man roster.

So what about Viloria? Our Clint Scoles had him was the 12th best prospect in the Royals system at the start of 2017, and dropped him to 16th in his midseason rankings. He’s a catcher, who turns 21 at the start of spring training, and just finished his first full season of A-ball at Lexington. Not many teams would take a flier on a player with that position and those credentials, but the Royals clearly see a ton of value in their young backstop and believe there’s at least one team out there that would take a chance and stash him on their major league roster for a year.

Left unprotected are names you are probably familiar with like Frank Schwindel, Ryan O’Hearn, Elier Hernandez, Sam Selman and Yunior Marte. I’m trying to figure out why the Royals would protect the pair of left-handed relievers they did and not have Selman as one of their choices. Maybe it’s his walk rate. He posted a 4.3 BB/9 at Northwest Arkansas and a whopping 6.0 BB/9 after he was promoted to Omaha. Or maybe it was the reverse platoon split where left-handed batters had a .323 OBP against him. That’s actually a good number for him given his prior track record. It seems he finds it a little more difficult to throw strikes to same-side hitters.

The 40-man roster stands at 38, which gives the Royals a little flexibility over the next month.

There was also the aforementioned spring training news. Pitchers and catchers report on February 13 with the full squad scheduled to arrive on February 18.

After about a week of stretching and light calisthenics, the games start on February 24 against the Dodgers in Surprise. They play 33 games total (counting a handful of split squad games) and close out the exhibition schedule against the Storm Chasers in Omaha.

This gives me plenty of time to prepare my “spring training is too damn long” rant.

Finally, in a crime against good design, the Major League Baseball unveiled their spring training caps for all teams. They have apparently run out of ideas on how to handle the Royals.

I’m struck by the design for both the Royals and the Dodgers. It’s no secret that when the Royals came into existence 50 years ago, the Dodgers were their design inspiration. From their uniforms to the stadium, it’s easy to see the LA influence in KC. Both teams feature interlocking letters on their normal caps. So for spring training in 2018, it looks like MLB just decided to keep everything pretty much the same. They’re barely even trying.

Obviously, the big difference is the crown on the Royals cap. That’s probably in some kind of focus group or something.

When I’m writing about baseball caps, you know it was a slow news day. It’s in everyone’s best interest to get this Ohtani situation resolved. Before we all sink into a winter of insanity.

Omaha Storm Chasers

The Chasers have been ravaged by injuries to their pitching staff and constant shuffling of players back and forth to Kansas City, leaving their season as an underperforming one. Currently in last place in their division, the lack of available arms have done the biggest damage to the Chasers season, but in addition, the lack of consistent offense hasn’t helped either with the squad ranking in the bottom third of the league offensively.

Jul 1, 2017; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Royals left fielder Jorge Soler (12) hits a home run in the sixth inning against the Minnesota Twins at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steven Branscombe-USA TODAY Sports

Position Player

Jorge Soler – Royals fans had hoped that the player Dayton Moore had acquired in the Wade Davis trade would be a big contributor at the major league level, but after suffering an injury in spring and then performing poorly in the bigs in limited opportunities while watching Jorge Bonifacio, the Royals sent Soler to Omaha for the majority of the season.

Just taking the Omaha season into consideration, Soler was solid at the plate, leading the squad in home runs, on base percentage and OPS. Defensively, Soler was inconsistent with his effort but when playing hard his arm was outstanding and he could get to the balls the team needed.

Pitcher of the Year

Eric Stout - With injuries and pitchers constantly traveling back and forth, finding consistent pitching for Brian Poldberg has been a difficult proposition. With that said, he always had a lefty arm late in games that he knew he could turn to for a solid outing in Stout. From fireman to closer, Stout limited right-handed hitters (.249) while dominating lefties (.188), leading the team in appearances while leading the bullpen arms in innings and strikeouts. Likely a lefty specialist who can pitch some to right-handed hitters, Stout could see an opportunity in KC this September.

NW Arkansas Naturals

The Naturals finished strong in the first half of the season winning the division by four games while playing eight over .500 baseball and clinching a playoff spot as Frank Schwindel did much of the lifting. The second half hasn’t gone quite as positive for the squad with the power hitter now in Omaha, playing well under .500 baseball and currently sitting in last place.

Position Player

Donnie Dewees – With the limitations of playing at least half of the team’s games to qualify, that eliminates catcher Nick Dini and first baseman/designated hitter Frank Schwindel from consideration for the Naturals honors. With those players ineligible, that leaves Donnie Dewees as the winner of the award for the Naturals. Also a product of a Cubs trade, Dewees season started slow as he hit just .218 through the first two months of the season. Things started to click for the speedy outfielder as he won Texas League Player of the Month honors in June. He compiled a .317/.368/.515 slash line from June through the end of July to become one of the squad’s most consistent offensive performers this season.

Pitcher of the Year

Emilio Ogando – It wasn’t likely that Ogando would get on the Naturals roster early enough to win this award, but the 2014 12th round pick was pushed into duty early in the season. The lefty performed solidly for the Naturals throughout the year while tossing 122.2 innings with a 3.08 ERA. The control Ogando exhibits has been his best asset to date, showing plus control that allows his average stuff to limit the opponents damage. The 2.3 BB/9 allows his average stuff to perform while he has pushed around left-handed hitters with a sub .600 OPS against him. Primarily a fly ball pitcher, Ogando should get a hefty test should he arrive at Werner Park next season.

Wilmington Blue Rocks

The Rocks, much like the Naturals, played good baseball the first half of the season, only to finish in last place in the second half. The difference for Wilmington was that they finished 1.5 games out of first place in that first half, missing out on the playoffs in the process. That first half was led by quality pitching on both ends by the starters and bullpen, while a few position players who earned promotions led the way on offense.

Position Player

Nicky Lopez – No position players was a bigger catalyst to the quality first half Wilmington put up than Lopez. Hitting at the top of the lineup, Lopez got on base with regularity (.376) while also anchoring the defense up the middle at shortstop. Typically Wilmington hitters struggle at Frawley field, but Lopez showed a smaller split than normal, hitting .283 but actually getting on base at a .381 clip. The bat and on base skills were a pleasant surprise for the shortstop who is a plus defender who makes as big, if not bigger, impact on the game with his consistent glove and defensive skills.

Pitcher of the Year

Foster Griffin – The Rocks received quality pitching for much of the season as evident in the team’s third best ERA in the league. Leading Wilmington up until the point of his promotion was former first round pick, Foster Griffin. The lefty was dominant in his 10 starts with Wilmington with one blow up start versus Salem that inflated his ERA to 2.86 and pushed his WHIP to 1.11. Had that start not occurred Griffin would’ve posted a sub-2.00 ERA with a WHIP below 1.00.

Lexington Legends

Inconsistent pitching was a problem throughout the season for a Lexington team that boasted one of the best offenses all season. Unfortunately, that offense couldn’t carry the league’s worst pitching staff, leaving the Legends well out of first place during both halves of the season.

Emmanuel Rivera 3b (Photo Alexandra Lexington)

Position Player

Emmanuel Rivera – Multiple players had quality seasons offensively for Lexington when you look at the numbers Khalil Lee, Gabe Cancel, and non-qualifier Chris DeVito all had put up. They were all solid seasons, but no player was as consistent from beginning to end than third baseman Emmanuel Rivera. The Puerto Rican infielder drafted in the 19th round of the 2015 draft, Rivera leads the South Atlantic League in hits, ranks second in average and is top five in the league in OPS. The 20 errors committed by Rivera stands out as a high number, but Rivera flashes the ability to make the outstanding play and has good range and instincts which could result in him becoming an above average defender going forward.

Pitcher of the Year

Jace Vines – This award was all but wrapped up for Gerson Garabito after getting off to an outstanding start through the middle of May but the injury bug hit and opened the door for others. Another pitcher who was holding his own early before earning a promotion was 2015 fourth round pick Jace Vines. The right-hander started the season on the back half of a piggyback but quickly pushed his way into the starting role before earning a South Atlantic League All Star nod. The Texas A&M product doesn’t miss a ton of bats, but rather tries to induce groundballs and weak contact. That was certainly the case while working with the Legends, earning 56% groundballs and a 21% infield fly ball rate in his 100 innings with Lexington prior to his promotion.

Feature Photo Eric Stout via Minda Haas Kuhlmann

HR Roll Call: Ryan O’Hearn (16), Logan Moon (6), Anderson Miller (9), Jon McCray (5)

BPKC Hitter of the Day: Ryan O’Hearn 3-4 2R, HR, 2b, 2 RBI

Postgame Audio from O’Hearn

BPKC Pitcher of the Day: Yender Caramo 6 IP 4 H 1 R 1 ER 0 BB 2 K 8-5 GO-FO 62p/45k

Omaha Storm Chasers 9 Colorado Springs Sky Sox 7

The Chasers built a big lead during their Tuesday afternoon contest and then had to hang on late for the win.

Starting pitcher Yender Caramo tossed six innings of efficient shutout baseball on just 60 pitches before tweaking his shoulder on the second pitch of the seventh inning. With a 7-0 lead at the time, it seemed as if the Chasers would cruise to a victory only to watch the bullpen struggle and end up in a dog fight. Reliever Christian Binford walked four of the five hitters he faced allowing three runs before yielding to Seth Manness who gave up five hits and three runs of his own. With their lead wavering at 8-6, the Chasers turned to reliable reliever Eric Stout to close the door, getting a four out save for his first Triple-A save.

The offense was keyed by a pair of two run home runs from Ryan O’Hearn and Logan Moon. Those hitters were on base multiple times each, accounting for seven of the nine runs scored in the game for Omaha.

Boxscore Link

Ryan O’Hearn 3-4 2R, 2b, HR, 2 RBI
Cheslor Cuthbert 0-3 R, BB
Eric Stout 1.1 IP 0 H 0 R 0 ER 1 Bb 1 K 2-1 GO-FO 23p/15k

Springfield Cardinals 8 NW Arkansas Naturals 3

The struggles to Josh Staumont’s season continued in this game versus Springfield. He threw just 38 strikes on 81 pitches in this one for Staumont who walked five hitters in just four innings while allowing five runs on seven hits. After three innings of shutout ball from Zach Lovvorn helped NW Arkansas claw within a couple runs, reliever Yunior Marte was roughed up for three runs on a pair of home runs to put the game out of reach.

A pair of hitters moved up from Wilmington had good nights at the plate with Nicky Lopez collecting three hits and Anderson Miller connecting on a double and a home run.

Boxscore Link

Nicky Lopez 3-5
Samir Duenez 1-4 R, BB
Donnie Dewees 0-4 BB
Anderson Miller 2-5 2b, HR, 3 RBI, OF Assist

Potomac Nationals 7 Wilmington Blue Rocks 3

The Rocks Scott Blewett kept them in the game despite less than his best stuff, working around three first inning runs and nine hits to limit the damage against to four runs in seven innings. This gave the lineup some time to pull within a couple runs but an 0 for 8 night with runners in scoring position and reliever Walker Sheller’s three runs allowed ultimately blew the game for Wilmington.

Boxscore Link

Brandon Downes 0-4 BB
Chris DeVito 3-4
Chase Vallot 1-2 2b, RBI, BB
Scott Blewett 7 IP 9 H 4 R 4 ER 2 BB 4 K 7-5 GO-FO 88p/57k

Idaho Falls 6 Missoula Osprey 1

For a team that has struggled to pitch, Holden Capps has been a welcome addition. The lefty worked another scoreless outing, tossing five innings while striking out four hitters. The offense backed Capps up with three runs in the third inning, two coming on an Amalani Fukofuka triple before he scored on a wild pitch. After a run in the fifth another triple, this one from Robby Rinn plated two more to put the game well out of reach.

Boxscore Link

Holden Capps 5 IP 4 H 0 R 0 ER 1 BB 4 K 6-2 GO-FO
Amalani Fukofuka 1-3 2R, 3b, 2 RBI, SB (17)
Cristhian Vasquez 2-3 2R, 3b

Johnson City Cardinals 6 Burlington Royals 3

The Royals two pitchers were knocked around for 11 hits and six runs while the offense was limited to just six hits. Catcher Sebastian Rivero had two hits at the plate while driving in a pair of runs. The 18-year-old is doing a decent job of holding his own at the plate hitting .263/.305/.408 with a pair of home runs.

Boxscore Link

Nolan Watson 4 IP 6 H 4 R 4 ER 2 BB 3 K 68p/44k 2-2 GO-fO
Michael Gigliotti 0-2 RBI, 2 BB
Jeison Guzman 0-4 2K
Seuly Matias 0-4
Sebastian Rivero 2-4 R, 2 RBI

AZL Royals 5 AZL Mariners 3

The Royals 3rd round pick, Dan Tillo, took the hill again on Tuesday for the Arizona League squad, tossing three innings with one run allowed. The lefty worked two scoreless innings before a one out triple and infield single plated a run in the third inning. An Isaiah Smith double plated Mauricio Ramos and Esteury Ruiz in the fourth to give the Royals a one run lead that they would not relinquish.

Royals Latin lefty Andres Sotillet struggled in Idaho Falls but has performed well in Arizona, working five and two-thirds innings on this night while allowing two runs and striking out nine to earn the win.

Boxscore Link

Esteury Ruiz 3-4 R, 2b, SB (8), PO
MJ Melendez 0-3 BB, 1/2 CS/Att, 1 PB
Dan Tillo 3 IP 3 H 1 R 1 ER 0 BB 4 K
Cristian Perez 1-4 2R,

DSL Royals 1 DSL A’s 0

The Royals Delvin Capellan is making a serious case to win DSL pitcher of the year after another solid start on Tuesday. Coming into the game Capellan had a microscopic WHIP of 0.66 and all he did in this one is lower it, allowing just one hit in his six innings of work. The righty didn’t miss as many bats, as usual, striking out just one in that time but he got 11 groundouts and left with a season high innings worked for a game. The games lone run came on a two out rbi single by Edickson Soto in the fourth inning.

Boxscore Link

Delvin Capellan 6 IP 1 H 0 R 0 ER 0 BB 1 K 11-4 GO-FO
Reynin Reynoso 2-3 R, CS (10)
Ismaldo Rodriguez 0-3 3K

Wednesday’s Projected Starters
Omaha RHP Luke Farrell 7-4 4.14 ERA
NW Arkansas LHP Emilio Ogando 7-6 3.86
Lexington RHP Jace Vines 9-4 2.71
Burlington LHP Joey Markus 0-1 9.45
AZL Royals LHP Marlin Willis Royals 18th Round Pick makes his debut.

HR Roll Call Frank Schwindel (5), Anderson Miller (3), Chase Vallot (3), Emmanuel Rivera (1)

BPKC Hitter of the Day: Anderson Miller 3-5 HR, 3 RBI

BPKC Pitcher of the Day: Eric Stout 2.1 IP 3 H 0 R 0 ER 0 BB 1 K 2-3 GO-FO 32p/20k

West Virginia Power 12 Lexington Legends 6

The Power name was appropriate as they powered their way through the Lexington pitchers to an easy win in game one of their series on Friday.

Starter Travis Eckert got tagged for nine runs, giving up a pair in the first inning, another run in the third before getting blown up for a six run fifth. In that inning, a bevy of singles preceded a bases loaded triple to push the Power lead to take back a lead they wouldn’t relinquish. The Pirates affiliate would follow Eckert by attaching three runs to Ofrediy Gomez with single runs in the following three frames.

The Legends put together a four run fifth and scored with Emmanuel Rivera hitting his first home run of the year prior to a two run ninth inning.

Boxscore Link

Emmanuel Rivera 2-4 HR, 2 RBI
Chris DeVito 2-4 R, 2b
Meibrys Viloria 1-4 R, 2b

Down East Wood Ducks 8 Wilmington Blue Rocks 7

The Rocks brought their bats again versus Down East but fell short once again in a one run game.

After the Rangers affiliate got after starter Colin Rodgers in the second inning, the Blue Rocks came back in their half of the third inning, putting four runs across. The big blow in that inning for Wilmington was a three-run bomb off the bat of Anderson Miller who extended his on-base streak to 20 games with a three-hit game.

The Rocks failed to the tie the game with multiple opportunities late, leaving 10 runners on base for the night. The loss dropped their record in one run games to 4-12 which accounts for their eight games under .500 as a team.

Boxscore Link

Chase Vallot 2-4 HR, BB
Jecksson Flores 2-4 2R, 2b
Nicky Lopez 2-4 R, BB, CS (4)

Springfield Cardinals 4 NW Arkansas Naturals 3

The Naturals ran into a Cardinals buzzsaw on Friday night and it didn’t go well.

Baseball Prospectus #10 Cards prospect Jack Flaherty brought his full arsenal to the mound and it was just too much for the Naturals lineup to compete with. The right-handed starter who is a former 1st round pick tossed 99 pitches in seven innings, 73 of which found the zone with very little contact coming from his opponent. In those seven innings, he put away 12 hitters via the strikeout, allowed just two hits and walked one in that time while shoving the first place lineup around. The lone blemish in his night came via a Frank Schwindel solo home run in the second that Schwindel ambushed out to left.

While Flaherty was dominant the Naturals starter Zach Lovvorn was solid once again but came up short. The right matched the innings but gave up two runs in the 3rd on a ball that Schwindel probably should have snagged before getting to the outfield. A pair of solo innings followed when extra base hits to lead off both innings came home to score. Despite the four runs on eight hits and a pair of walks Lovvorn set a season high with nine strikeouts.

The Naturals trailing 4-1 into the ninth threatened with a pair of runs and loaded the bases with one out but Logan Moon hit into a 4-6-3 double play to kill the rally.

Boxscore Link 

Frank Schwindel 1-3 2R, HR, BB
Samir Duenez 1-4 R, 3K 10 game hitting streak
Zach Lovvorn 7 iP 8 H 4 R 4 ER 2 BB 9 K 4-3 GO-FO 100/65p

Memphis Redbirds 4 Omaha Storm Chasers 2

The Redbirds finished off a four-game sweep of the home Storm Chasers by once again limiting their offense to just two runs.

In this one, it was Memphis starter, Arturo Reyes who limited the Chasers to just four singles in eight shutout innings while working an efficient 89 pitches. The righty killed plenty of worms, earning 15 ground balls off the bat of Omaha hitters who didn’t get a runner to second base off of him after the first inning.

The Chasers gave up two runs in the third inning and ninth, the second of which killed an Omaha rally in their half of the ninth despite run scoring extra base hits off the bat of Peter O’Brien and Bubba Starling. The sweep finished off a 2-6 homestand for Omaha that featured six games of two or fewer runs by the home squad.

Boxscore Link

Ramon Torres 2-4 R
Raul Mondesi 1-4 2SB (5)
Yender Caramo 5 IP 3 H 2 R 1 ER 1 BB 3 K 5-4 GO-FO 55p/41k

HR Roll Call: Tony Cruz (4), Ryan O’Hearn (13), Alex Gordon, Jose Caraballo (2)

BP KC Hitter of the Day Ryan O’Hearn 3-3, 2R, 2b, HR, BB

BP KC Pitcher of the Day Eric Stout 2.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K

Single-A Lexington Legends and High-A Wilmington Blue Rocks won’t play games due to their All Star breaks until Thursday.

Colorado Sky Sox 4 Omaha Storm Chasers 2 F/5

The Chasers fell victim to some early runs – and weather – to drop the rain-shortened series finale. Starter Christian Binford was dinged for a pair of two-run home runs in his four innings to drop to 1-5 since joining the Triple-A rotation. The Chasers had their own two-run home run via Tony Cruz, but could muster just two additional singles during their five frames of the shortened game.

Boxscore Link

Tony Cruz 1-2, HR, 2 RBI
Hunter Dozier 0-0, R, 2 BB
Jorge Bonifacio 0-1, BB

Arkansas Travelers 5 NW Arkansas Naturals 3

The Naturals received a good night from one Royals player on a rehab assignment and a not-so-good of an effort from another. Outfielder Alex Gordon went 2 for 3 with a home run and a walk, completing the full game in the outfield, while pitcher Kris Medlen struggled. Medlen, on an abbreviated pitch count, struggled with the strikezone, tossing 35 strikes in 56 pitches. He surrendered four runs on six hits in just three innings. In addition to Gordon’s nice day at the plate, Royals prospect Ryan O’Hearn connected on his 13th home run of the season and his 21st double while completing a perfect 3 for 3 night at the dish. NW Arkansas was able to connect on just one other hit besides what O’Hearn and Gordon provided in dropping their fifth consecutive game.

Boxscore Link

Alex Gordon 2-3, HR, BB
Mauricio Ramos 1-4, 2b, RBI
Bubba Starling 0-4, 2K – consecutive sub. 200 BA months

Orem Owlz 8 Idaho Falls Chukars 5

Chukars starting pitching got knocked around early and a comeback effort fell short Monday night. Starter Andres Machado gave up four first inning runs and then single runs in each of the next three innings to help put Idaho Falls in a 8-2 hole. The Chukars got an RBI triple from Ricky Aracena to plate speedster Nick Heath in the seventh. An inning later, Meibrys Viloria doubled in a run and scored to trim the deficit to three, but the Chukars were unable to continue the rally to drop their first game of the season.

Boxscore Link

Meibrys Viloria 3-4, R, 2-2b, RBI
Ricky Aracena 3-5, R, 3b, RBI
Yeison Melo 1-5

DSL Royals 8 DSL Red Sox1 6 

A four run eighth, combined with two runs in extra innings, gave the DSL Royals a come from behind win.

Boxscore Link

Raymond Lopez 2-4, 2R, 3b, 3RBI, 2BB
Angel Medina 1-4, 2b, RBI
Cristian Perez 2-4, 2R, RBI, BB