• It’s easy to forget about Jorge Soler because he hasn’t played in the big leagues since mid-June, but if you think back to the team in May, he was probably the most exciting part of it, and with good reason. Soler is a 26-year old with plate discipline, massive power and actual athleticism, and he was somewhat making good on his promise before yet another injury derailed his season. Now, it wasn’t all perfect. He hit just .175/.238/.361 over his final 105 plate appearances of the season, but he showed that he could actually carry an offense when he got hot. But since he got hurt, the Royals have added Brett Phillips and Brian Goodwin to the outfield mix and O’Hearn has entered the fray as another offensive piece for 2019 at least, so where do the Royals go with him? Looking ahead to 2019, the roster is a little bit cramped with Alex Gordon, the aforementioned outfielders, Jorge Bonifacio and Rosell Herrera, another new addition to the big club since Soler went down. Those five along with O’Hearn, Hunter Dozier, Whit Merrifield, Adalberto Mondesi, Salvador Perez and likely Cam Gallagher as a backup catcher leave the Royals with really one roster spot open given their proclivity to carry 13 pitchers. Soler can fit there, but one of two things needs to happen for it to work. They have to believe Herrera can handle shortstop because Mondesi is not a 162-game player like Alcides Escobar has been (for better or for worse) or they’ll have to move away from Herrera’s versatility and sign a utility infielder (please not Escobar) who can handle shortstop as a backup. But if they choose to sign that utility player and keep Herrera, I don’t know where Soler fits. And while he had a nice season offensively, I can’t imagine his trade value is especially high. It’s a bit of a conundrum.
• Some notable Royals who will be out of options next season are Mondesi, Bonifacio, Goodwin (he already is), Lopez and Brian Flynn. Of course, Cheslor Cuthbert is famously out of options and has been since seemingly 2010, so the Royals will have some restrictions on their roster next year. In addition, Paulo Orlando (big time DFA candidate) and Bubba Starling (same) will be out of options as well, which should enhance their DFA likelihood. Obviously, their hope is that Mondesi and Bonifacio are good enough to stay on the roster all year, so they’re not all that important. But Goodwin, Lopez and Flynn are interesting enough. I think Goodwin has shown a great deal since coming over with a nice bat and has shown well in center field. An outfield with him in center, Phillips in right and Gordon in left is one that can be one of the better defensive outfields out there, though Goodwin and Gordon aren’t the fleetest of foot, so from a ground covering perspective, Phillips might be needed to be in the middle even though his arm plays better in right than Goodwin’s. But there are other factors, such as Nicky Lopez and his potential callup to the big leagues that might push Whit Merrifield to center field again next year. So there are a lot of questions, but Goodwin is an interesting player to watch as someone who might be auditioning more for his next team than his role on the next good Royals team.
• Even before they started winning, the Royals pitching started to look much better and in their last 21 games before last night, they’d posted a 3.53 ERA with fewer hits than innings pitched and a reasonable home run rate. Their walk rate has dropped by a decent amount as well over the last few weeks, which is really nice to see. The starters are the real bread winners here, averaging about six innings per start before last night (and that includes Duffy’s outing of less than an inning) with an ERA of 3.11, fewer hits than innings pitched and very few home runs. It’s been really encouraging to see what the young (for the most part) rotation has done. And Fillmyer, I thought, was terrific last night even though the numbers aren’t quite as good because of the eighth inning. The bullpen has been better, but not enough. They’ve given up too many home runs and they’ve been way too hittable. I will say it looks better if you take Jason Hammel out, but it’s still not where you want it. To me, I think guys like Jake Newberry, Glenn Sparkman and newly acquired Jerry Vasto are going to have their chance to join Kevin McCarthy and probably Wily Peralta in the 2019 bullpen, but I really believe there’ll be at least a couple new faces along with the potential debut of Richard Lovelady next year. There’s work to be done.
• Since the start of this 18-game stretch where they’ve gone 12-6, one thing that I’m not sure stands out, but I’ve noticed is that they’re actually walking quite a bit more.  They’ve walked 59 times now in their last 18 games. That’s a walk rate of 8.8 percent, which isn’t anything special. It would rank around 11th or 12th in baseball, though, which is considerably higher than where they are. It’s also WAY higher than the 7 percent they were walking before this stretch. A lot of it is just silly randomness, but guys like Alex Gordon, Ryan O’Hearn and even Jorge Bonifacio have done a nice job of working walks and all have a place on the 2019 Royals. We’ve mentioned the patience of some of the players in the lower levels of the system, so we can at least dream a little that this is the start of a more patient lineup for years to come. I’m not holding my breath, but you never know.

BPKC Hitter of the Day Seuly Matias 2-3 2 HR, 4 RBI, IBB

BPKC Pitcher of the Day Josh Staumont 4.2 IP 3 H 1 R 1 ER 0 BB 5-2 GO-FO 72p/52k

Lexington Legends 8 Augusta GreenJackets 5

The Legends bats were alive in this one, powering their way to a second consecutive win over the Giants Low-A squad. The scoring got started in the second inning when Seuly Matias jumped on a first pitch fastball, sending it 372 feet to left to put Lexington up 2-0. Starter Andres Sotillet wasn’t quite as sharp as he’s been as of late, yielding three runs in five and two-thirds innings on nine hits including two runs in the sixth inning to draw the game closer at 4-3. Fortunately for him, a Brewer Hicklen double scored a pair in the seventh to expand the lead and another Matias blast in the eighth pushed the advantage too far out for the Augusta rally to even it up in the ninth. The Legends will attempt to secure the series win and draw within 3.5 games of first place Augusta on Sunday.

Brewer Hicklen 2-3 2-2b, 3 RBI
Cristian Perez 2-4 2R, 2b
Nick Pratto 0-3 BB, 2 K, SB (7)

Wilmington Blue Rocks 7 Salem Red Sox 5

The Rocks snapped their seven-game road losing streak to Salem Saturday night with a late comeback. A fielding error in the first inning opened the door to a pair of runs off starter Ofreidy Gomez to quickly put Wilmington down 2-0. The score was evened up in the fifth but Wilmington quickly fell behind in the bottom half of the inning when piggybacking pitcher Anthony Bender was tagged for three runs on a pair of home runs allowed in the inning. The Wilmington offense which has struggled mightily to cash in on scoring chances got things going in this one to dig out of that hole, scoring a run on a hit by pitch and a pair of singles in the sixth before loading the bases and scoring twice via a hit by pitch and a wild pitch in the seventh. With the game tied up 5-5 into the ninth outfielder, Kort Peterson obliterated a pitch to right, scoring Khalil Lee to push the Wilmington advantage to two runs. After giving up the two home runs Bender worked the final four innings scoreless to secure the win, working around a single in the ninth.

Khalil Lee 1-4 R, BB
Kort Peterson 1-4 2R, HR, 2 RBI
Nick Heath 2-4 2R, 2 SB (12)

NW Arkansas Naturals 3 Midland RockHounds 2

The Naturals halted their poor start streak with Scott Blewett’s seven innings of one-run ball against Midland in the second game of their series with the Oakland org. The right-hander worked around seven hits, giving up his only run on a solo home run by Tyler Marincov. Other than that Blewett used 10 groundouts and three strikeouts to navigate those six other hits before handing the game off to the bullpen. The Naturals took a 2-1 lead in the eighth when Nicky Lopez singled in Donnie Dewees following his one-out double. That lead held up until the ninth when a one-out double off Michael Mariot came home when reliever Sam Selman came in and uncorked a wild pitch to even up the game. In extras, both teams navigated the tenth inning without a run scoring before the Naturals cashed in their free runner in the eleventh inning on an Elier Hernandez rbi single. From there Jake Newberry didn’t allow the free baserunner to advance a base, getting a flyout, a groundout, and a strikeout to put away Midland in order to secure the win.

Jake Newberry 2 IP 0 H 0 R 0 ER 1 BB 2 K 2-2 GO-FO 20p/15k
Nicky Lopez 2-5 RBI
Elier Hernandez 2-5 R, RBI

Oklahoma City Dodgers 4 Omaha Storm Chasers 2

On Saturday the Chasers starting pitcher did something for a Royals organization team that he hadn’t done to that point in his career with the Royals. For Josh Staumont he started a game and didn’t walk a hitter in his time on the mound, working four and two-thirds innings without allowing a free pass while pounding the zone with 52 strikes on 72 pitches. A leadoff double by Henry Ramos in the third inning led to the only run against Staumont when Tim Locastro singled him in with two outs in that inning. The Chasers tied the game up in the sixth frame on an Adalberto Mondesi single but an error by Mondesi in the seventh helped the Dodgers take the lead back before Locastro added a solo home run in the eighth as part of a two run inning that helped put the game in hand late.

Adalberto Mondesi 2-4 3b, RBI
Ryan O’Hearn 1-2 2BB
Justin Grimm 1 IP 0 H 0 R 1 BB 3 K 21p/11k

Saturday Boxscores

Sunday Probables
Omaha – Wily Peralta 0-0 5.33 ERA 1.74 WHIP
NW Arkansas – Emilio Ogando 3-2 6.02 ERA 2.06 WHIP
Wilmington – Gerson Garabito 1-5 3.96 ERA 1.39 WHIP
Lexington – Nolan Watson 3-5 6.56 ERA 1.83 WHIP

HR Roll Call Ramon Torres (6), Meibrys Viloria (8), Darrell Miller (5), Logan Gray (4), Travis Jones (2)

BPKC Hitter of the Day Travis Jones 3-4 3R, 2-2b, HR, 2 RBI, BB, SB (17)

BPKC Pitcher of the Day David McKay 7 IP 5 H 0 R 0 ER 0 BB 1 HBP 8 K 8-4 GO-FO

Iowa Cubs 5 Omaha Storm Chasers 4

The Chasers jumped out to an early lead in this one only to watch the defense help the Cubs get even.

The Royals likely callup later this month, Ramon Torres, gave Omaha an early lead when he launched a first inning slider 408 feet to right to take a 2-0 lead. A pair of doubles in the second by Garin Cecchini and Ruben Sosa in the second quickly upped the lead to 3-0 and a Corey Toups two out single in the fourth answered a Cubs run in their half of the fourth kept the lead at three runs.

With the game at 4-1 in the sixth the Cubs got a pair of hits and a sac fly off starter Jake Kalish to pull within 4-2, forcing manager Brian Poldberg to go to the bullpen. Turning to reliever Jake Newberry seemed like a solid move and it should have worked out for Omaha but an error by Ramon Torres when he nonchalantly threw to first and it ended in the dirt and past Frank Schwindel, allowing the tying runner to get to second after the error. The righty didn’t let the phase him, getting a flyout and another fly ball that appeared to be the inning ending out but left-fielder Corey Toups let it clang off his glove which allowed the Cubs to bring home the tying run.

Tied at 4-4 in the seventh inning John Andreoli jumped on a Newberry pitch sending it over the left-field wall to give the Cubs a one run lead. After putting just two baserunners on from the fifth through the eighth the Chasers would threaten with a walk and a single by Billy Burns in the ninth but Dean Anna would flyout to end the threat.

Boxscore Link

Frank Schwindel 1-4
Ramon Torres 1-4 HR, 2 RBI
Hunter Dozier 0-4

Tulsa Drillers 4 NW Arkansas Naturals 3

The Naturals likely can’t wait for the regular season to end as their long struggling second half continued. With the game tied at 1-1 in the fourth inning of this one Tulsa’s Johan Mieses connected on a three run home run off pitcher Zach Lovvorn that would give the Dodgers affiliate the lead.

With one of the Dodgers top prospects on the mound in Yadier Alvarez the Naturals had difficulty matching the offense needed to tie the game back up. The good guys would get a run scoring triple in the fifth and would draw within a run in the ninth on a wild pitch but they would get no closer to drop to 27-40 in the second half.

Boxscore Link

Donnie Dewees 1-3 2R, BB, K
Ryan O’Hearn 1-4 3b, RBI
Samir Duenez 0-1

Lynchburg Hillcats 13 Wilmington Blue Rocks 4

In what is likely his last appearance of the year Royals prospect Scott Blewett had a start that will likely motivate him in the offseason. The big 6’6 right-handed starter got tuned up for six runs thanks in part to six walks in just two and two-third innings. The Indians farm club didn’t stop with Blewett, scoring seven addition runs on the Wilmington bullpen while the Rocks could plate just four runs in the loss.

Boxscore Link

Nick Heath 2-5 R, SB (22)
Scott Blewett 2.2 IP 4 H 6 R 6 ER 6 BB 2 K 80p/39k 1-2 GO-FO

Hagerstown Nationals 5 Lexington Legends 4

The Legends lost a back and forth affair to the Nationals farm club Friday night. The game started with a three run home run by Nationals ’16 4th round draft pick Nick Banks, hitting it off Lexington starter Nolan Watson. The Legends answered in the fourth inning getting a three run home run of their own by Meibrys Viloria to tie the game back up.

The teams would exchange runs again in the following two innings with Oliver Ortiz homering to take the lead in the fourth before a passed ball in the fifth tied it up for Lexington. From that point of the game, it stayed tied until the bottom of the ninth when the Nationals walked it off with a one out single that scored Blake Perkins from second after his double earlier in the inning.

Boxscore Link

Emmanuel Rivera 1-3 R, BB
Khalil Lee 0-3 SB (20)
Michael Gigliotti 0-3 R, BB, SB

Idaho Falls Chukars 16 Grand Junction Rockies 5

The Chukars offense went bonkers in this total laugher versus the Rockies. Scoring in each of the first seven innings Idaho Falls piled up 19 hits including three home runs while piling up 16 runs. All nine hitters reached base not once but two times in the game while also either scoring or driving in at least one run. Former Texas Longhorn Travis Jones did a little bit of everything, connecting on a 416 foot home run in the 1st inning to start the scoring, doubling two times and also stealing his fourteenth bag while scoring three runs on the night.

All this offense was backing up lefty David McKay who put his best start of the year together, working seven innings of shutout baseball while tying a career high with eight strikeouts to earn the win.

Boxscore Link

Travis Jones 3-4 3R, 2-2b, HR, 2 RBI, BB, SB (17)
Matt Morales 4-6 R, 2b, 4 RBI, SB (9)

AZL Dodgers 11 AZL Royals 4

The Royals jumped out to a 3-0 after the first inning but the Dodgers answered and kept answering as they piled up 14 hits and 11 runs off three different Royals pitchers in an easy win. In addition to the hit total, the Royals pitchers combined to walk eight Dodgers hitters as they struggled to keep the bases clear.

An unearned run in the second inning was the only offense the Royals could answer with in the loss.

Boxscore Link

Cristian Perez 1-4 R
MJ Melendez 1-4 RBI
Nick Pratto 2-4 R

HR Roll Call Peter O’Brien (3), Donnie Dewees (2), Alfredo Escalera (1), Ruben Sosa (1)

BPKC Hitter of the Day: Donnie Dewees 2-4 2R, 3b, HR, BB, 2 RBI, SB (2)

BPKC Pitcher of the Day: Josh Staumont 6.2 IP 4 H 1 R 1 ER 3 BB 12 K HR WP 4-2 GO-FO 107p/72k

Game 1
Omaha Storm Chasers 2 Oklahoma City Dodgers 1

The Royals Josh Staumont felt in control of all three pitches during his Monday start versus the Dodgers Triple-A affiliate. With his fastball featuring more movement than usual, he was able to limit the opponent to just four hits while striking out 12 in an efficient 6.2 innings. The 72 strikes in 107 pitches were both career highs for Staumont who earned 17 swinging strikes with his one hiccup coming on a Willie Calhoun home run in the third inning.

Oklahoma City’s Justin Masterson had a no-hitter through four innings before Dean Anna broke it up in the fifth inning with a leadoff single. Following a double play in that inning, Omaha started to get to the veteran major leaguer, connecting on three consecutive hits in the inning to score in that frame before Jorge Soler got nailed at the plate to end the inning.

The game went to the bottom of the seventh when a pop-up off the bat of Billy Burns dropped on the mound prior to Raul Mondesi’s bunt single and the eventual walk-off bases loaded hit by Paulo Orlando.

Boxscore Link

Raul Mondesi 2-4 R, E (1)
Paulo Orlando 2-4 2 RBI
Al Alburquerque 0.1 IP 1 H 0 R

Game 2
Omaha Storm Chasers 2 Oklahoma City Dodgers 1 F/11

Game two lacked offense as well with the Chasers scoring a run in the first inning on a Paulo Orlando sacrifice fly and a home run by the Dodgers Ike Davis in the fifth inning. The two teams got through 9 innings in a much different way with Oklahoma City striking out just once in that times while the Storm Chasers lineup was flailing about with 16 strikeouts in that same amount of time.

The game remained tied until the bottom of the 11th inning when Peter O’Brien sent all 3,096 fans home with a walkoff bomb to centerfield.

Boxscore Link

Raul Mondesi 1-3 BB, Sac bunt, 2K, 3SB (3)
Peter O’Brien 1-5 HR, 4K
Ryan O’Hearn 0-5 4K

NW Arkansas Naturals 7 Tulsa Drillers 6

The Naturals hung on for a series-deciding win Monday in Tulsa. Things got off to a good start for NW Arkansas when Donnie Dewees hit one that barely cleared the left-field wall for a home run. It was so close a call that Tulsa manager Ryan Garko disagreed before being given the opportunity to check the placement out himself on his way back to the clubhouse via the umpire. The Naturals would push their lead to 2-0 on the very next batter following the argument when Alfredo Escalera hit a no-doubt homer to left, his first of the season.

The lead would be pushed to 3-0 in the 4th and was looking quite comfortable with starter Miguel Almonte dominating through four innings until running into trouble in the 5th. In that frame, the righty would give up a one-out double and a walk prior to allowing his second home run of the season off the bat of Jacob Scavuzzo. Two more doubles in the sixth and seventh would help dent the scoreboard a couple more times off Almonte before ending his day at a season high 6.2 innings.

A three-run seventh frame by the Naturals helped stake Almonte to a lead and an insurance run in the eighth gave them a needed insurance run.  That run came in handy as reliever Tim Hill quickly gave up a triple and a single to see their lead sliced in half to just one run at 7-6. Manager Vance Wilson called on Jake Newberry and the righty did the job getting a flyout and a fielder’s choice play at the plate prior to a lineout to Ruben Sosa to end the game.

The Naturals three home runs in the game were by three players that had combined to just one coming into the game.

Boxscore Link

Ruben Sosa 2-4 HR
Alfredo Escalera 2-5 HR, 2 RBI
Miguel Almonte 6.2 IP 6 H 5 R 4 ER 3 BB 9 K 2 WP 5-4 GO-FO 117p/71k

Salem Red Sox 4 Wilmington Blue Rocks 3 F/10

The Wilmington team has faced Salem in four games so far this year after the first game of their series on Monday with the bullpen failing to secure leads in the last three.

In this one, A.J. Puckett worked five scoreless innings until the sixth. With a one-run lead, Puckett ran into problems, allowing a run and facing a bases loaded jam. Fortunately for the righty, though he was able to buckle down and earn a pair of strikeouts prior to a force out get out of the inning without any further damage.

The Blue Rocks took leads in the 4th, 6th and 7th only to watch pitchers give up tying runs. In each of the last two instances, it was bullpen members who surrendered leads. In the ninth inning, Richard Lovelady retired the first two hitters of the inning only to give up a single, a hit by pitch and a game-tying single before finishing the inning.

In the tenth inning, Andres Machado gave up a pair of doubles to allow Salem to take the lead. The home squad would get a runner on with Anderson Miller extending his on-base streak to 16 games, but fail to score in dropping the game.

Boxscore Link

A.J. Puckett 6 IP 6 H 1 R 1 ER 4 BB 6 K 7-1 GO-FO 102p/59k
Chase Vallot 2-5 2b, RBI
Nicky Lopez 2-5 RBI

HR Roll Call Frank Schwindel (3), Chris DeVito (5), Kort Peterson (1)

BPKC Hitter of the Day: Kort Peterson 4-5 2R, HR, 3 RBI

BPKC Pitcher of the Day: Christian Binford 6.2 IP 5 H 1 R 1 ER 1 BB 6 K 7-5 GO-FO 94p/63k

Oklahoma City Dodgers 3 Omaha Storm Chasers 2 F/12 

The Chasers took a 2-1 lead into the ninth inning in the first game of their series with Dodgers affiliate Oklahoma City. The Chasers had built that lead in the third inning on Paulo Orlando’s single to score Corey Toups and Billy Burns. That lead stood at 2-0 until the eighth when the Dodgers got on the board with a two-out double by O’Koyea Dickson double that scored Charlie Culberson from first base to pull the game within a run. From that point, the Omaha offense went dormant, the Dodgers tied the game with a mammoth home run by Ike Davis in the ninth and then scored again in the 12th on a sac fly to win it.

Starter Jon Dziedzic left with shoulder discomfort after tossing a few warm-up pitches prior to the fifth inning. Manager Brian Poldberg said pulling him out was precautionary.

Boxscore Link

Jon Dziedzic 4 IP 1 H 0 R 2 BB 3 K hasn’t given up a run at Werner Park this season
Paulo Orlando 2-5 2 RBI
Raul Mondesi 1-4 2BB, 2 K

NW Arkansas Naturals 4 Springfield Cardinals 3 F/11

The Naturals bullpen allowed Springfield to tie the game late, only to walk it off in extra innings. Starter Christian Binford was solid in his 6.2 innings, allowing just a solo home run while striking out six and leaving the game with a 3-1 lead. That lead was built on the back of Frank Schwindel’s third home run of the season, a two-run homer that brought in Samir Duenez in the sixth inning. The game remained tied until the ninth when reliever Jake Newberry allowed a two-run home run to Jacob Wilson to push the game to extras.

In extras, it was a wild pitch that brought home Ruben Sosa to walk it off for NW Arkansas.

Boxscore Link

Samir Duenez 3-4 R, RBI, BB
Frank Schwindel 3-5 R, 2RBI
Jake Newberry 2.1 IP 2 H 1 R 1 ER  4 K 2-1 GO-FO 41p/32k

Myrtle Beach Pelicans 4 Wilmington Blue Rocks 0

The Blue Rocks offense was held scoreless on four hits Thursday while going 0-6 with runners in scoring position. While the offense was being pushed aside, lefty Cristian Castillo was finding difficulty navigating around seven hits, allowing four runs in six innings to drop his second decision of the season.

Boxscore Link

Nicky Lopez 1-4 3b
Elier Hernandez 1-4 OF Assist
Cristian Castillo 6 IP 7 H 4 R 4 ER 1 BB 2 K 8-7 GO-FO 72p/47k

Lexington Legends 12 Hagerstown Nationals 2

The Legends offense was basically non-existent in their last series, but broke out Thursday in their first game with Hagerstown. The team pounded out six extra-base hits among their 11 on the night including three home runs. After the two teams exchanged runs in the first inning, Nick Dini hit a two-run homer in the second inning to give Lexington a lead they wouldn’t relinquish. A run in the fourth pushed the lead to 4-1 before Lexington would open things up in the seventh frame. In that inning Chris “The GirthQuake” DeVito would hit his fifth home run of the season, a three run shot as part of the five run inning. Outfielder Kort Peterson would add three more runs an inning later with his first of the season to push the final advantage to 12-2.

Lefty Garrett Davila would push his record to 2-0 with six innings of two run ball despite just two strikeouts.

Boxscore Link

Khalil Lee 1-4 2R, 2b, RBI
Chris DeVito 1-3 HR, 4 RBI, BB
Gabe Cancel 3-4 3R, 2b, BB

HR Roll Call Samir Duenez (3)

BPKC Hitter of the Day: Samir Duenez 2-4 HR, 2 RBI

BPKC Pitcher of the Day: Travis Eckert 6 IP 3 H 0 R 0 ER 1 BB 5 K 4-4 GO-FO 75p/51k

New Orleans Baby Cakes 4 Omaha Storm Chasers 1

Omaha’s starter Jake Junis struggled some in this one as the righty gave up eight hits and four runs in just four and two-third innings. A fourth inning three-run home run by former Storm Chaser Moises Sierra was the big blow off Junis. Despite his struggles, Jake set his personal best at Triple-A with eight strikeouts in in his limited time on the mound.

A 3 for 15 effort with runners in scoring position limited Omaha to just one run despite outhitting New Orleans in the game.

Boxscore Link

Ryan O’Hearn 2-3 BB
Peter O’Brien 2-4 RBI
Jake Junis 4.2 IP 8 H 4 R 4 ER 1 BB 8 K 5-0 GO-FO 84p/61k

Springfield Cardinals 6 NW Arkansas Naturals 4

A two-run home run by Samir Duenez gave the Naturals a lead in the first inning, but the pitching staff couldn’t secure it leading to a late loss. Lefty Matt Tenuta gave up a three-run second inning home run that put NW Arkansas behind. The Naturals would tie the game in the fourth, fall behind in the fifth and tie it up again in the sixth on a Ruben Sosa single. The game would stay tied until the ninth inning when Springfield would get to reliever Jake Newberry for two hits and a pair of runs, his first allowed, to saddle NW Arkansas with the loss.

Boxscore Link

Zane Evans 2-4 2R, 2b
Pedro Fernandez 3 IP 4 H 1 R 1 ER 1 BB 4 K 3-0 52p/32k
Donald Dewees 2-5 R, RBI

Augusta GreenJackets 2 Lexington Legends 1 F/10

Through eight and two-third innings, the Legends had scored the game’s only run. At that point, Augusta got in a rundown between first and second base which allowed the tying run to score from third prior to the out being recorded. Tie game and with just one hit in the affair, Lexington was unable to mount a threat before the GreenJackets scored the winning run in the tenth inning.

The lack off offense gave starter Travis Eckert a no-decision despite six shutout innings.

Boxscore Link

Emmanuel River 1-4 3b
Khalil Lee 0-3 BB, R, SB (6)
Ofreidy Gomez 4 IP 5 H 2 R 2 ER 0 BB 4 K 6-1 GO-FO 66p/44k

HR Roll Call: Manny Olloque (2)

BPKC Hitter of the Day: Kort Peterson 4-4, 3R, 2 RBI, BB, SB 

BPKC Pitcher of the Day: Andre Davis 6 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 8 K, 2 HR, 2-5 GO-FO, 90p/60k

Players Spotlights

Relievers Jake Newberry and Richard Lovelady stood out on this night.

Newberry – At Double-A, the righty who joined the organization in 2012, shows a mid-90s fastball that he was spotting deep in the low part of the zone on Monday night. While that fastball is nice, the real gem was a tight slider he was working in the mid-80s. It reminded me of what I saw from Greg Holland at the same level several years ago, but with less effort. Of course, Holland’s velocity ticked up some more to push him from a 7th inning to fringe 8th inning guy into Saveman. The stuff Newberry is showing currently is worthy of a 40-man roster spot this offseason and another tick of velocity could earn him a call-up this year.

Lovelady – CJ Wittman of Perfect Game liked what he saw of Lovelady on Monday night.

Corpus Christi Hook 3 NW Arkansas Naturals 2

The Naturals couldn’t get a whole lot of offense going in their game with Corpus Christi, connecting on just seven hits and two runs to drop to 1-4 on the season. New Double-A starter Corey Ray didn’t help himself much, giving up a solo home run to the second hitter he faced before walking four more and allowing two other runs to take the loss. Coming into the game the Naturals had scored a league-worst 12 runs and their 0 for 4 with runners in scoring position prevented them from tying this one.

Boxscore Link

Mauricio Ramos 1-3, 2b, BB
Humberto Arteaga 2-4, R
Corey Ray 5 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 4 BB, 2 K, 77p/43k, 3-4 go-fo

Carolina Mudcats 2 Wilmington Blue Rocks 1

The final mark in his first High-A start for A.J. Puckett results in a check in the loss column, but that doesn’t tell the entire story. The righty held velocity throughout the start even as he struggled with the zone, walking four against six strikeouts. Fortunately for him, he yielded just one hit, leaving the damage at just two unearned runs in his five innings of work. The Rocks offense couldn’t muster much on their end, going hitless for the first seven frames before three consecutive singles put them on the board in the eighth. That offense could do no more in taking a third consecutive loss.

Boxscore Link

A.J. Puckett 5 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 4 BB, 6 K, 8-2 go-fo, 87p/46k
Richard Lovelady 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, 2 GO, 16p/8k
Brandon Downes 1-3, 3b, BB

Lexington Legends 12 Greenville 4

The Legends enjoyed the mini-replica of Fenway park in Greenville on Monday night, pounding out 12 runs and 14 hits in an easy win. The biggest victim of Lexington’s offensive onslaught was 2016 1st round pick Jay Groome who gave up nine runs on seven hits and three walks in just 1.1 innings. Eight of the nine Legends hitters had a hit in the game with Kort Peterson going 4 for 4 with a walk, two runs batted in and three runs scored to help pace the squad. Big lefty Andre Davis was the beneficiary of the offense, earning the win with six innings of four-run ball, while striking out eight on the night. The two teams will face off on Tuesday with Nolan Watson taking the mound for Lexington.

Boxscore Link

Gabe Cancel 2-5, 2R, 2b
Manny Olloque 1-4, Grand Slam
Emmanuel Rivera 3-5, R, 4 RBI

Corey Ray – The organization is high on this righty with his mid 90’s fastball and average change up while he continues to refine his curveball. Things started to click for Ray as the season finished, putting away 10.8 hitters per 9 over his final five starts this year, allowing just two runs in that span of 29 innings. The Texas A&M product can run his fastball as high as 96-97 mph, but generally works in the low to mid range with it. The control, which had been fringy, got better during that stretch run, walking six in 29 innings which was considerably better than his 2.9 per 9 over the year. With a frame of 6’4, 175 lbs, he has the body needed to pile up innings in a starter role should he continue to improve his below average curve.

A year of working with Luebber in NW Arkansas is maybe the answer to improving that curveball and keeping Ray in the rotation as a mid to backend starter. Should that not work out he definitely has the fastball needed to become a seventh or eighth inning type reliever.

Pedro Fernandez – On the down low, Fernandez had a pretty solid season when he was on the mound for the Royals affiliates, limiting hitters to a 1.04 WHIP in Wilmington before graduating to the Naturals. Once with NW Arkansas, Fernandez ran into some injury issues that cut his season short and likely gave an idea of what his future looks like. Working with a fastball that ranges 92-94 mph, a solid average change up and developing low 80’s slider, Fernandez is probably too small at 6′ 180 lbs to stay in his starter role. Even still, the control is sound and he’s able to spot his fastball while showing a propensity to miss bats his entire way up the chain. The move to the slider was the added step to help him get more advanced hitters out a second and third time through an order, but a move the pen could free him up to work in the mid to upper 90’s with his fastball, while leaning on the pair of secondary offerings to earn outs.

This is a bargain level Herrera right here with a chance to be the Royals future eighth inning setup man if he can stay healthy.

Brandon Downes – The usual Royals draft strategy is seen with Downes, taking a college hitter with upside in the hopes he finds that that thing that clicks it all together. In Downes, the Royals have an athletic center fielder who can play an average or better outfield while simultaneously adding some power from the right side. Unfortunately, the problems from his Virginia days remain, as Downes continues to struggle making contact, striking out in nearly 32% of his plate appearances in 2016. Things aren’t all bad as Downes provided a .159 ISO rate in Wilmington while playing in a tough hitting park for right-handed hitters, a move to Double-A could show off that power even more.

Long-term, Downes could turn into a Drew Stubbs-like center fielder, working against lefties who he has hit 10 home runs off in 230 AB’s over the past two seasons.

Evan Beal – This South Carolina righty has been a pitcher the Royals have liked since first drafting him in the 8th round of the ’11 draft, before redrafting him in the 21st round of 2014. The control was an issue in college and a struggle at first when he arrived to pro ball, but he’s seemed to correct that problem and had a strong season in ’16 for the NW Arkansas Naturals and Wilmington Blue Rocks while also earning a quick appearance at Omaha in between. A two-pitch pitcher with a fastball that peaks around 96 mph while working mostly in the 92-94 range that pairs well with his slider. Not incredibly overpowering with that mix, the slider operates in the low to mid 80’s has been an effective weapon against both righties and lefties, limiting left-handed bats to just a .208/.298/.396 line this past season.

He doesn’t profile as the elite relievers the Royals have produced in the past, but Beal still has a shot to be a 6th/7th inning type who can take advantage of the spacious K.

Anderson Miller – The Royals third round pick of their rather uninspiring 2015 draft is raw but talented as a former two-way player. At 6’3, 210 pounds, Miller has power in his smooth, but somewhat long swing at times. Still, when short, he has a quick bat and speed that produce results from a corner outfielder with the athleticism to develop into a plus corner defender. A former pitcher in college, Miller could work in the low 90’s from the mound, leaving him with a plus outfield arm. A patient approach at the plate lead Miller and his swing into some bad positions this past season, striking out 101 times in just 340 plate appearances.

A hamate bone injury cost Miller more than a month last summer. Generally a hitter’s power takes a little more than a year to fully return after that type of injury. If I was to pick a hitter off this list to breakout, it would be Miller.

Kyle Bartsch – the Royals liked Bartsch quite a bit after drafting him in the seventh round in 2013, enough that J.J. Picollo picked him as a potential breakout performer that year in my season preview article. Not long after, they traded Bartsch for Reymond Fuentes who earned a brief cup of coffee with the big league club in KC this past season while the lefty was washing out with the Padres. A renewal with the Royals and pitching coach Steve Luebber corrected Bartsch and his good moving low 90’s fastball with three offspeed pitches in his curve, slider and change up all of which can profile as average at times. The profile reads like that as a LOOGY, and that is what I consider him going forward, but it should be noted that righties hit just .162 once he rejoined the Royals org.

The Royals haven’t employed a true LOOGY since Yost took over the manager duties.

Jake Newberry – The Royals have been patient with Newberry after taking him in 2012 in the 37th round, a process that started to show off good results from the bullpen this past season. Working his fastball in the mid 90’s with a power slider, Newberry missed bats this past year at a near 8.4 K/9 clip while allowing just over 1 WHIP. A move to Double-A should challenge Newberry this next season.

Yunior Marte – I’ve been higher on Marte than most in the past with his loose arm, athleticism and change up combined with a solid two-seam fastball. Extending him out as a starter and long man went better in Lexington this past season, but still wasn’t the desired results. Should the Royals move him into a full time one-inning bullpen role he could explode with a fastball that can hit 97 mph and a solid change to go with the two-seam that works in the low 90’s. In that role I believe he could be a dynamic weapon with two good fastballs and an average change up.

Foster Griffin – Taken in the first round of the ’14 draft, Griffin’s fastball hasn’t ticked up as hoped, leaving it in the 88-90 mph range as opposed to the mid 90’s as hoped when they drafted him. The control is lacking with his fastball despite the velocity and it doesn’t move much, his arm lacks speed likely leaving the pitch in this below average rate. The change up can be Griffin’s best pitch with some arm-side fade, but he needs another tick on his fastball to allow it to play up. The lefty tosses a pair of breaking balls with his curve and slider with the curveball being a loopy big pitch that isn’t likely to earn many outs. The slider is a low 80’s breaker with that can come in with late break and earn a bit more weak contact. That pitch combined with the fastball and his plane on some days can earn plenty of groundballs.

The lefty needs more fastball and command to become someone worth watching for the future.

Glenn Sparkman – He would be in this grouping, had he not been picked in the Rule 5 draft. I expect he will be returned to the Royals unless the Blue Jays want to pay the $100k bounty for him.

Feature Photo – Pedro Fernandez via Ken Inness milb.com

HR Roll Call: Brett Eibner (9), Brandon Downes (2)

BP KC Hitter of the Day – Brandon Downes 4-5, HR, 2R, 4 RBI

BP KC Pitcher of the Day – Jake Newberry 3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K, 4-1 GO-FO, 34p/23k

The Royals signed lefty Kyle Bartsch after the San Diego Padres released him this week, assigning him to NW Arkansas. Originally drafted by the Royals in 2013, Bartsch was traded to the Padres for outfielder Reymond Fuentes.

Omaha Storm Chaser 5 Reno Aces 4

The Chasers couldn’t get much offense going early but hung around long enough to chip away late and earn a comeback win. Lefty Mike Minor was made his third rehab start, stretching out to the 82 pitch mark while giving up five hits, including a pair of doubles, while giving up four runs. They say after Tommy John that control is the last thing to come and that certainly seems to be the case for Minor after walking three more on the evening, upping his total to eight walks in 17.2 rehab innings so far. (Editor’s Note: Thanks to Sean for catching that Minor is indeed not coming off Tommy John. It’s just so common these days that it’s almost reflex to say a guy had it.) After a Brett Eibner home run in the 8th cut the lead in half the Chasers used some small ball to load the bases. A pair of bunt singles by Carlos Diaz and Reymond Fuentes preceded a swinging bunt hit by Jorge Bonifacio to load the bases with no outs in the 9th. Run-scoring singles by Eibner and Hunter Dozier quickly tied it up before a one out sacrifice by Travis Snider gave Omaha their first lead of the game. The Aces would threaten in the bottom half of the inning with a pair of singles versus Malcom Culver, but strikeouts of Ed Lucas and Peter O’Brien by the hard throwing righty would shut the door.

Boxscore Link

Reymond Fuentes 3-5, R, SB (5)
Mike Minor 5 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 3 BB, 5 K, 5-0 GO-FO, 82p/50k
Hunter Dozier 1-5, RBI

NW Arkansas Naturals 2 Tulsa Drillers 0

With a normal starting pitcher unavailable on Friday, the Naturals turned to the bullpen to take on the Drillers in the first game of the series. Four different pitchers combined to work nine shutout innings while navigating around seven hits and four walks. The Naturals offense did just enough to earn the win, getting a pair of sac flies from Ramon Torres and Zane Evans in the 3rd and 8th innings to score two runs. A 1-10 effort with runners in scoring position prevented the Naturals from expanding on their lead, but the two runs were enough as the foursome finished off the shutout.

Boxscore Link

Kevin McCarthy 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 K
Ryan O’Hearn 1-3, BB
Terrance Gore 2-3, R, 2SB (3)

Wilmington Blue Rocks 8 Carolina Mudcats 2

A big night by Brandon Downes carried the Rocks to a convincing 8-2 victory over the Mudcats. It was Downes’ grand slam in the third that staked the Rocks to a 4-0 lead. Two innings later Downes was scoring after a Wander Franco triple as part of a three run inning that expanded Wilmington’s lead on the night to 8-2. Those runs were plenty for relievers Jake Newberry and Mark McCoy as the pair finished the final five innings of the game scoreless. Starter Josh Staumont struggled with the zone as usual, walking six in four innings and allowing a pair of runs to score on back-to-back bases loaded walks.

Boxscore Link

Alfredo Escalera 3-4, R, RBI, CS (2)
Josh Staumont 4 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 6 BB, 5 K, 2-4 GO-FO, 88p/41k
Roman Collins 2-4, R, RBI