• With this week’s deadline to add players to the 40-man roster around baseball, a new crop of potential free agents is now out there. Some haven’t reached the open market yet, but there are a couple new names out there. One of interest to me is Derek Dietrich. Now, he was just DFAed, so maybe the Marlins have a deal lined up, but if he reaches the open market, he might be a nice fit for the Royals to play third base for them. It’s not that there’s anything inherently wrong with giving Hunter Dozier and/or Cheslor Cuthbert a chance to earn their future spot on the roster, but I don’t think either one is so important that you don’t try to improve on them. Dietrich has been an above-average hitter for the last four years and recently completed a .265/.330/.421 season. Over the last four years, he’s hit .262/.344/.428 in about 1,700 plate appearances. No he isn’t a star and it’s not like the Royals are looking for someone to put them over the top, but Dietrich is a nice player who could be useful if the Royals end up moving Whit Merrifield at some point, even if that’s unlikely this offseason. And if you look around the diamond, there aren’t many spots where the Royals are likely to even look at outside possibilities. On a vaguely related note, it’s too bad the Royals aren’t looking to compete because now that CJ Cron is available, he’d be a hell of a nice fit with Ryan O’Hearn in a platoon situation, but I digress.
• As for the players the Royals did protect – Scott Blewett, Josh Staumont and Arnaldo Hernandez – I think those are interesting choices. Hernandez was one of the more interesting cases they had, and while I’m not surprised they did add him to the 40-man, I wasn’t sure they’d do it. I think Blewett was sort of on the bubble before his strong Arizona Fall League performance, but I am a little surprised Jecksson Flores didn’t get added. He maybe isn’t a true shortstop, but he can handle the position and broke through big time in 2018 offensively. I think the odds are that he doesn’t get picked, so it’s not that big of a deal, but I just thought he had a shot. In all three of the pitchers they did add, I think they all have an opportunity to impact the big league club. Staumont, in particular, seems like a decent bet to make the club out of spring training after he’s spent parts of the last two seasons in AAA. If the Royals are serious about using their bullpen differently next year, they’ll need a lot of pitchers who can ride the taxi, since they’ll need guys who can work multiple innings, which means they’ll need to find fresh arms wherever they can. After 2017 when they had so few pitchers with any options, it’ll be nice to be able to have some serious roster flexibility.
• I’m a little surprised that there wasn’t more hand wringing over some of the Royals decisions, but I think it’s worth noting that the Royals have a pretty darn good track record of picking the right people to add to the 40-man and protect them from the Rule 5. Even if players like Merrifield should have been picked, they had a great read over what other teams would do and haven’t really lost anyone of note. I’m talking more specifically about Frank Schwindel than anyone. I wrote during the season that Schwindel was probably the guy to earn the callup over O’Hearn, and that’s still true even after what O’Hearn did, but that doesn’t mean that he’s likely to be selected. Guys who are first base only and aren’t that great of a hitter aren’t going to be picked all that often. That’s not to say that a contending team wouldn’t see him as a bench bat who could do something for them, but I’d be surprised if he’s taken this year, just like I’d have been surprised if he was taken last year. As we saw in 2018, if he continues to hit, he’ll likely earn his shot at some point during the season, so I guess we’ll just see how that goes.
• I think it’s fair to be a little more optimistic about the offense heading into 2019 than we were prior to the 2018 season. Looking at the TAv metric on Baseball Prospectus, the Royals leaders (other than Ian Kennedy) were Ryan O’Hearn (.323), Jorge Soler (.291), Adalberto Mondesi (.284), Merrifield (.284), Mike Moustakas (.273), Jon Jay (.263) and Brian Goodwin (.263). Of those seven, you might notice that five of them will be back with the team next season and will likely all play big roles, if healthy. Maybe more important is that the vast majority of the bottom of the barrel won’t be back with the team next season. That’s a big reason why I think the Royals could easily jump 12-15 wins from last year. It’s no guarantee obviously, but they have a real strong opportunity to replace all the players from last season who were so far below replacement level with maybe guys who aren’t quite so bad. It’s at least a good thought that was a big reason why they showed improvement down the stretch. Eliminate the horrendous players and you can typically find yourself at least in the realm of respectable.

After starting his career in the rotation and pitching there primarily for the first three seasons of his career Staumont made the transition to the bullpen in 2018. In that role, Staumont can still employ his three pitch mix of a fastball that works 94-97 mph, his low-80s curveball and a mid-80s changeup. The control continues to waver for Staumont after walking nearly 16% of the hitters. For those who get to see him with regularity, it’s somewhat odd as the misses come in waves where he will pile up walks after flashing better control. The stuff is good enough to earn outs but he has yet to even flash usable control for an extended period of time.

While Staumont has been unable to harness his control, Hernandez has moved up the ladder with the aid of good control prior to 2018. Working mostly in the low-90s, Hernandez saw increased velocity in ’18 with a fastball that worked in the mid to upper-90s from spring training through the full season. The right-hander was bored in Wilmington according to people within the organization leading to a promotion to Double-A and eventually Triple-A Omaha when they needed starting help. There, Arnaldo flashed dominance with a pair of seven-inning two hit starts and a nine-inning complete game that featured 80 strikes on 97 pitches.

His changeup is probably his second best pitch, showing good speed separation and arm speed, though it could use more sink and/or fade. The right-hander’s curveball can also show quality and he has the control to lean on any pitch in any scenario while sinking and moving his fastball around the zone. There is a chance he can start at the big league level as a backend arm, but there are some worries that the stuff could be a little too flat for that role.

After another disappointing season starter, Scott Blewett pitched his way on the roster with an impressive Fall League performance. The big-bodied right-hander tossed 25.1 innings with a 2.49 ERA there, getting off to a fast start. Reportedly, the fastball was touching 96 while sitting around 93 mph as it had during the season while the curveball was on point in it’s low-70s range. That pitch had been his best secondary pitch in previous seasons but he didn’t quite have the feel for it at times this past season. At it’s best, it’s a good 12-6 pitch that can earn swing and miss at the bottom of the zone while also getting groundball contact. The changeup continues to flash but it is inconsistent pitch to pitch. With his size and decent control, he should be an inning-eating option at the back of a rotation but his changeup has to come forward and prove to be a pitch he can lean on next to the fastballs and curveballs.

Notably, Frank Schwindel and others were left off but given this front offices track record they likely feel comfortable he and others won’t be chosen.

• As the Royals do embark on September callups, quite a few potential additions need to have 40-man roster spots before they can be called up. They did free one on Wednesday with the Duda deal, and it might go to someone like Frank Schwindel, but Jorge Soler coming off the 60-day DL mid-week will require another move, so let’s just say the Duda spot goes to Soler for the purposes of his discussion. Where are they going to find the spots for Schwindel, Josh Staumont (who has to be added anyway to avoid being exposed to the Rule 5), Nicky Lopez, Richard Lovely, Arnaldo Hernandez and anyone else who might be deserving? Well obviously some trades might happen, and maybe they’ve already happened between me writing this and you reading this. So that’ll help. One spot seems easy. According to his Instagram, Eric Stout is out for the season. Put him on the 60-day DL and there’s an easy spot for Schwindel. Bubba Starling is another guy who makes sense as either a DFA or a 60-day spot, but he did just come back for a rehab assignment in Idaho Falls, so maybe he won’t actually get transferred to the longer disabled list. Other than that, it comes down to letting a player go. I’d just cut bait on Jason Hammel, Alcides Escobar and Drew Butera, but I’m not sure the team would at this point. If they decide to add Jecksson Flores, maybe they’d cut bait on Ramon Torres? Andres Machado seems to have taken a step back this season, so he’s another possible guy. I think the real answer here is that there are players not on the 40-man roster who do not have to be added in the offseason to protect them from the Rule 5 who might not get a shot at the big league roster in September. But we’ll see what they decide.
• I think I went about two weeks without praising Adalberto Mondesi in this space, so I’m going to have to make up for some lost time now. I’m certainly not going to put him on the same level as Mike Trout or Robinson Cano as some member of the Kansas City media has done recently (do they drug test because they should), but I will say that he’s showing why everyone loved him before he struggled in the big leagues. For the season, he’s hitting .267/.289/.453. The OBP is very underwhelming, which is a problem to keep an eye out for, but the power is very real with 16 extra base hits and an ISO of .186. But I believe it’s better than that. I think something clicked with him early in his time up this year and since that trip to Milwaukee, he’s played 41 games and is hitting .286/.306/.493 with 15 extra base hits in 146 plate appearances. But it’s not just that. He’s 17 for 21 in steals this year. The metrics indicate he’s playing a fantastic shortstop as well. And something interesting is that he seems to be hunting more strikes and more fastballs. The walks aren’t there yet, but he’s doing damage to the ball a lot more this season. His average home run is traveling 412 feet. He’s going to need to walk more, but even if he doesn’t, if he continues to flash the power, the speed and the defense, he can certainly get by. He won’t be a tier one star or anything without walking more, but if you give me a shortstop who can play that kind of defense, steal 50 plus bases (which is certainly possible and plausible for him) and hit 20 homers with 30 doubles, I’m happy to work around the lack of walks. He needs to stay on the field, but the potential is really starting to shine.
• The Arizona Fall League rosters were announced yesterday, and it’s no surprise that Khalil Lee will be on it from the Royals. He’s definitely the headliner as the team’s best prospect (in my opinion) and because he hasn’t played in a few weeks. It’ll be an opportunity to see him in action and hope he can build on some solid things he had done in a short time at AA. I think he has a shot, if he’s truly healthy, to look really good and turn some heads down there. His power should play up in that atmosphere and maybe he can have an eye opening season like Nicky Lopez last year. Meibrys Viloria is another interesting name as he was added to the 40-man last year when they probably didn’t really need to, but has had a bit of an uneven season offensively this year. The OBP and contact skills are there, but if the power doesn’t develop, he’s likely nothing more than a backup. Lee is the only player on the Surprise Saguaros roster who is younger than Viloria, so it’ll be a nice test for him. And the third big-ish name is Scott Blewett who needs to be added to the 40-man this year to avoid being eligible for the Rule 5. It’s just never really come together for him, so this is his chance to prove his worth to an organization that just drafted a bunch of pitchers who will be competing with Blewett next season in the system. The rest of the roster includes a speedster in Nick Heath and a couple interesting enough relievers in Grant Gavin and Walker Sheller. And hey, with Bo Bichette and Vladito on the roster, I’m guessing they’ll be on MLB Network a fair amount to watch.
• Hunter Dozier has a funny way of seeming like he’s going better than he is. I legitimately thought he was hot the other day until I looked up his numbers over the last few games and saw that he’s hitting just .268/.316/.423 in August, which I guess is a big improvement over his season numbers, but it just seemed like better than that. And this was actually before he went four for seven with two doubles, so his numbers were even lower then. The thing is that his Statcast numbers do make it seem like he should be better. There are obvious perils with looking at average exit velocities, launch angles, etc., but I’m going to do it anyway. He, on average, hits the ball harder than the average big leaguer. He makes hard contact more often than the average big leaguer. He has a really good average launch angle of 13 degrees. And he barrels the ball 10 percent of the time, which is why above league average. He swings and misses at breaking balls way too often (46.4 percent) so that’s causing him issues, but I’m more than okay with him getting two or three months at least next year to hold down third base and let Kelvin Gutierrez continue his development in AAA. If he can figure out a way to be passable against breaking balls, his ability to hit fastballs and off speed stuff (and recognize them) gives me hope. It’s not hope I’d carry if the Royals were expected to be good, but they have time to see if he can figure it out and they absolutely should.

Saturday BPKC Hitter of the Day: Nathan Eaton 4-5 R, 2b, 3b
Sunday BPKC Hitter of the Day Rudy Martin 3-5 2R, 2b, HR, 3 RBI

Saturday BPKC Pitcher of the Day: Josh Dye 5 IP 4 H 1 R 0 ER 1 BB 6 K 5-3 GO-OF 71p/51k
Sunday BPKC Pitcher of the Day Josh Staumont 2.2 IP 0 H 0 R 0 ER 0 BB 5 K 1-1 GO-FO 35p/27k

Saturday Lexington Legends 2 Hagerstown Suns 1
Sunday Hagerstown Suns 10 Lexington Legends 5

Despite a split over the weekend, the Legends find themselves three games up in the loss column with eight to play to win the second half division title. Saturday’s game featured a pair of good starting outputs as Yefri Del Rosario kept his run of good starts (1.98 ERA last 9 starts) with six innings of one-run pitching. For six innings Del Rosario was outdone though as Hagerstown starter Andrew Lee no-hit the Legends until the seventh. In that seventh inning, a leadoff walk by MJ Melendez started the inning before Nick Pratto’s blast to the left of centerfield gave Lexington a 2-1 lead with their first hit of the game. The bullpen shut things down and Lexington earned the win despite just three hits in the game. Sunday’s affair didn’t feature as much pitching with Lexington starter Charlie Neuweiler giving up seven runs in just three and one-third innings including a pair of home runs. The Legend scored five runs off the Sun’s starter in just three-plus innings but it wasn’t enough as the bullpen kept them off the board the rest of the way.

Nick Pratto: 2-6 HR, 3b, BB, 3K
MJ Melendez: 2-7 2R, HR, 2b, 2BB, 2 RBI
Janser Lara: 2 Ip 0 H 0 R 1 BB 2 K 3-0 25p/16k

Saturday Wilmington Blue Rocks 8 Salem Red Sox 2
Sunday Wilmington Blue Rocks 8 Salem Red Sox 3

A sweep of Salem over the weekend ended Wilmington’s abysmal 12 game losing streak that likely cost them a shot at the division title. The offense scored eight runs in all three games with an 11 hit output on Saturday making a winner of Gerson Garabito despite five innings in which he walked three and struckout just one. The righty did limit the damage to just one run while Gabe Cancel and Travis Jones paced the offense with two hits and two runs scored each. Sunday’s game saw Dan Tillo get his first victory since June 17th as the lefty worked into the seventh inning with five strikeouts while navigating seven hits with two runs allowed. Outfielder Rudy Martin did much of the offensive damage, finishing a triple short of the cycle while accounting for four of the Wilmington’s eight runs. Leadoff man Blake Perkins pitched in a four-hit effort as well. The Rocks trail Lynchburg by five games with nine left to play although their next four comes against the first place squad.

Rudy Martin: 5-10 3R, 2b, 3b, HR, 5 RBI, 3K
Emmanuel Rivera: 4-9 R, 2-2b, SB
Dan Tillo: 6.2 IP 7 H 2 R 2 ER 0 BB 5 K 9-2 GO-FO 89p/59k

Saturday NW Arkansas Naturals 3 Arkansas Travelers 1
Sunday NW Arkansas Naturals 4 Arkansas Travelers 3 F/10

A weekend sweep kept the Naturals season alive for now. Both games featured quality starting pitching as Jace Vines gave the Naturals five innings with just a run allowed on Saturday before Emilio Ogando toss his fifth consecutive quality start on Sunday. A throwing error in the third inning on Saturday put a pair of runners in scoring position and first baseman Samir Duenez made the Arkansas pay with a two-run single. A wild pitch gave them insurance in the sixth and the bullpen did some lifting with four scoreless innings. Sunday’s game saw Ogando’s streak of 31 innings scoreless pitching end in the first inning when a passed ball allowed an unearned run. Two innings later the lefty gave up an earned run as he completed six innings of two-run ball with just three hits allowed. Trailing 2-0 into the seventh the Naturals got a run with an Anderson Miller rbi double before scoring two more in the eighth on Jecksson Flores RBI single and Samir Duenez’s sacrifice fly. The Travelers answered that with a run in the ninth off Franco Terrero to send the game into extra innings. In extras, Erick Mejia doubled in the free runner for the Naturals and Grant Gavin secured the win with a pair of strikeouts sandwiched around a groundout. The win pulled the Naturals even with Arkansas for second place with an opportunity to overtake them on Monday before a five-game series with first place Tulsa.

Samir Duenez: 2-7 R, 3 RBI, BB
Jecksson Flores: 3-9 R, 2b, RBI
Emilio Ogando: 6 IP 3 H 1 R 1 ER 1 BB 5 K 4-4 GO-FO 74p/45k

Saturday Omaha Storm Chasers 3 Iowa Cubs 2
Sunday Omaha Storm Chasers 7 Iowa Cubs 2

The Chasers used home runs to take the weekend games over Iowa. Shortstop Nicky Lopez hit his third home run in six games as part of a three-run sixth inning. That made a winner out of Jon Dziedzic as the lefty didn’t give up a hit until one out in the sixth inning. Reliever Richard Lovelady finished things up with two and one-third innings with just one hit allowed to secure the save. With Glenn Sparkman back from Kansas City on Sunday, the Chasers bats showed they could hit like major leaguers as Paulo Orlando connected on a three-run home run to go with Frank Schwindel’s 23rd home run of the season. Six of the seven runs came late which made a winner out of Josh Staumont who tossed two and two-thirds innings of perfect ball with five strikeouts.

Richard Lovelady: 2.1 IP 1 H 0 R 0 ER 0 BB 2 K
Frank Schwindel: 2-7 HR, 2b, 2 RBI
Glenn Sparkman: 5.1 IP 3 H 2 R 2 ER 1 BB 5 K 9-1 GO-FO 78p/57k

Saturday Burlington Royals 11 Kingsport Mets 2
Sunday Burlington Royals 9 Kingsport Mets 5

A very offensive weekend for the Royals as they piled up 20 runs on 26 hits against the Mets rookie squad. Starter Josh Dye earned the win for his one run (0 ER) five-inning effort that featured five strikeouts while lefty Marcelo Martinez earned Sunday’s win with a quality start over six frames. Saturday’s game featured a seven run sixth frame that included a Michael Emodi three-run home run to blow things open. Looking for the weekend sweep the top five hitters in the lineup each had multi-hit games on Sunday to pace the way for a win.

Jose Marquez: 3-9 3R, 3b, 3 RBI
Eric Cole: 4-10 R, 3 RBI
Isaiah Henry: 3-4 2R, 2 RBI

Saturday Grand Junction Rockies 9 Idaho Falls Chukars 5
Sunday Idaho Falls Chukars 3 Grand Junction Rockies 1

The Chukars defense let down start Jon Heasley Saturday as four defensive miscues led to five unearned runs in just four and two-thirds innings despite just four hits allowed. The offense missed plenty of opportunities, going just 1 for 10 with runners in scoring position in the loss. Sunday’s starter Rito Lugo gave the Chukars his third consecutive outstanding start with six innings with just a run allowed while striking out eight. The lefty has now put away 24 hitters via strikeout in his 18 innings of work in the Pioneer League. The Chukars scored a pair in the fifth on a balk and a Julio Gonzalez double before adding an insurance run in the eighth via a groundout by Kyle Kasser that scored Jesus Atencio after his leadoff double.

Nathan Eaton: 6-9 R, 2-2b, 3b, K
Rito Lugo: 6 IP 6 H 1 R 1 ER 0 BB 8 K HR 4-3 GO-FO 86p/60k
Jon Heasley: 4.2 IP 4 H 7 R 2 ER 2 BB 4 K 8-5 GO-FO 84p/55k

Friday Boxscores
Saturday Boxscores

Players who were signed when they were 19 or older and have played in professional baseball for four years are eligible, as are players who were signed at 18 and have played for five years. – Via MLB.com

One of the reasons teams don’t play willy-nilly with the roster is that some players who may not be ready for a call-up need to be protected or a team can risk losing them. As we know (Whit Merrifield, Mike Aviles) certain players develop with different timetables, meaning if a player is added to the 40 prior to their eligibility then there is a possibility of losing another player via the Rule 5 draft.

Players on a 40-man roster are given three Minor League “options.” An option allows that player to be sent to the Minor Leagues (“optioned”) without first being subjected to waivers. When a player is optioned to the Minors for a span of more than 20 days, he loses an option. – Via MLB.com 

The problem with starting a players clock early is obvious, if they struggle in the major leagues (Adalberto Mondesi) then there is no stopping the clock or their options when you send them down.

Players up for Rule 5 Protection (14)
Donnie Dewees, Nick Dini, Josh Staumont, Anderson Miller, Foster Griffin, Scott Blewett, Jake Kalish, Franco Terrero, D.J. Burt, Oliver Nunez, Rudy Martin, Cristian Castillo, Freddy Fermin and Chase Vallot

Others (9)
Ryan O’Hearn, Frank Schwindel, Arnaldo Hernandez, Elier Hernandez, Gerson Garabito, Jecksson Flores, Jake Newberry, Yunior Marte, and Erick Mejia

Possible 40 man Roster Openings (8)
Blaine Boyer, Andres Machado, Brandon Maurer, Drew Butera, Alcides Escobar, Lucas Duda, Bubba Starling, and Paulo Orlando

Josh Staumont Wilmington Blue Rocks – Photo Jake Rose

Best Bet(s) – Josh Staumont – Even with his control issues the fireballing right-hander is a good bet to get his first challenge at the major league level in September. Most any team would like a chance to see if they can fix Staumont’s control problems, considering he shows an above-average fastball and curveball. In addition to Staumont, the Royals will likely leave an Open spot on the 40-man roster. With the worst record in baseball comes the reward of a top selection in the June draft as we all know but it also comes with a top selection in the Rule 5 draft. The Royals have enjoyed decent success from the Rule 5 draft, adding Joakim Soria, Brad Keller this last season and even getting a few serviceable innings from Nate Adcock in the past. For a team lacking in talent that isn’t going to compete, this is generally a good use of a roster spot.

Minda Haas Kuhlmann Photo

Early Birds – Nicky Lopez – The most intriguing case for call-up that isn’t ready to be protected yet is that of the current Omaha Storm Chasers shortstop and former Creighton Blue Jay. Drafted in 2016 with a fifth round pick, Lopez doesn’t need to be protected on the 40-man roster until after the 2019 season. Still, the shortstop is playing excellent defense, getting on base at a near .400 clip while hitting well over .300 at Triple-A. The likely departure of Alcides Escobar from next year’s roster, the possible Whit Merrifield trade and Lopez’s ability to play both second and short at an above-average defensive clip means this is a real discussion the front office brass needs to have. The additions of Brian Goodwin and Brett Phillips in centerfield have lessened the need for Lopez since Whit can be allowed to stick at second instead of playing in the outfield on a regular basis. Should Dayton like what he heard in July from teams in terms of a return for Whit then they could feel confident enough to move Nicky up in September to get his feet wet and see how he adjust to the major league game, leaving the option open to make a deal during the winter.

Richard Lovelady – Most know of Lovelady already for the name and the quick rise through the system last year. Like Lopez, he is a selection from the 2016 draft (10th Round) who doesn’t need to be protected until next year but is forcing the issue. GMDM has been outstanding at finding bullpen pieces since his arrival but this year’s team has struggled out there. During spring and the early part of the year, Lovelady didn’t look like a pitcher that was going to force his way onto the major league club but he’s found his footing since the start of June and has been dominant and aggressive in the zone with his mid-90’s fastball and tighter slider. In that stretch, the lefty has given up runs in just two of his fifteen appearances (1.19 ERA) while operating with a 0.82 WHIP and just under a K per inning.

It’s been standard practice for GMDM not to make players wait if they have earned their call-up with good Triple-A performance. While Lopez has performed, his is a small sample without a real spot open as opposed to Lovelady who has been in Omaha the entire season without a real player blocking him.

The Risers – Arnaldo Hernandez – In Hernandez, the Royals have a right-hander who has exhibited good control throughout his career (2.1 BB/9) and a pair of average secondary offerings, but prior to 2018 just an average fastball that worked in the low 90’s. That changed this season as the right-hander has started to work regularly in the mid 90’s during spring training and has been seen as high as 98 mph. Standing 6-0, the stuff can flatten out on plane and lessen the deeper he gets in games due to fatigue, which may force him into a bullpen role but even with that his increase in velocity, secondary offerings and control have deemed him worthy of a 40-man roster spot. Reliever Jake Newberry has been consistent the past two seasons and can be very difficult on right-handers with his fastball/slider combination. With the lack of bullpen options he’s a definite one to give a look to protect.

The Surprise – Gerson Garabito – A talented right-hander who has found his form as of late for Wilmington, I wouldn’t be shocked if he was added to protect him from being selected in the minor league Rule 5 segment. It will come down to whether or not they would want to protect him over Scott Blewett if they are debating protecting one of the two pitchers.

Minda Haas Photo

Time to Find Out – Frank Schwindel – No two players hit as well in Arizona as Ryan O’Hearn and Frank Schwindel did as both first basemen made a push to earn a spot on the roster. Of course, the Royals signed Lucas Duda and there wasn’t a spot left for Schwindel or O’Hearn while Hunter Dozier has found himself playing more first than third at the major league level. Though Dozier is in Kansas City, the Royals should give Schwindel a look after Duda is traded just to make sure they don’t have another Jose Martinez on their hands. Most fans and prospect hounds have long liked O’Hearn more, but Schwindel has outperformed him in almost every significant stat for the last two seasons and the 2017 Royals Minor League Hitter of the year is just a home run shy of finishing the fourth season of his career with 20 or more home runs. The contact ability is there, the power is there and he has walked slightly more this season even if it’s not quite where one would like it. He’s done enough to at least earn a look when comparing him with the other current Royals first baseman in-house options.

If the Royals had the candidates then they could move plenty of parts on the current roster to make room for players on the 40-man roster but I don’t see them making a bunch of additions. Clearly, Josh Staumont will be protected and I wouldn’t be shocked to see Scott Blewett (offseason) added as a big body who can hit higher velo and may be hidden in a bad teams bullpen. Alongside those two pitchers, Arnaldo Hernandez should be added by September to be given a look, as should Schwindel with his bat the past two seasons. With those moves, I wouldn’t be shocked to see the Royals lose two to three players in the Triple-A segment of the Rule 5 draft. It’s not cut and dry and decisions aren’t made in a vacuum, as you can see. When a player is added then you’re risking losing another, the Royals have historically been very good at knowing who they can afford not to protect and who they should but it takes just one mistake to miss out on a player of value that can make some question the process.

BPKC Hitter of the Day: Cristian Perez 3-5 2R, 2b, RBI

BPKC Pitcher of the Day: Garrett Davila 4 IP 2 H 1 R 0 ER 1 BB 3K 7-1 GO-FO 71p/46k

Transactions – OF Brewer Hicklen promoted to Wilmington from Lexington and OF Kyle Isbel promoted from Idaho Falls to Lexington.

Lexington Legends 10 Greenville Drive 3

Former Florida Gator and 1st round pick Jackson Kowar made his second start for Lexington, struggling with the strikezone again somewhat in his abbreviated outing. The right-hander walked a pair in the first before tossing a wild pitch to move two into scoring position. With the two on, he gave up an RBI double to drive in two runs before getting a strikeout to finish off the inning. In his second inning of work he got a strikeout before giving up a pair of singles, the second of which was a bunt single that was perfectly placed down the line prior to stranding the runners with a pop out and a groundout. The Legends offense quickly countered the two-run innings with a four-run frame of their own with three rbi hits and an RBI groundout to take a 4-2 lead through two. Lefty Garrett Davila would replace Kowar in the third inning, yielding just an unearned run over the next four innings. After an insurance run in the eighth, the Legends broke the game open with a five-run ninth inning with a pair of rbi singles by Matt Morales and Cristian Perez before Manny Olloqued doubled in a pair to give Lexington their eventual winning margin.

MJ Melendez: 0-5 RBI, K

Jackson Kowar: 2 IP 3 H 2 R 2 ER 2 BB 2 K 3-0 GO-FO 40p/24k

Springfield Cardinals 3 NW Arkansas Naturals 2

Defensive errors helped the Cardinals towardsthree runs in a one-run defeat of NW Arkansas. Struggling starter Emilio Ogando gave his teammates a quality start, working six innings of one-run baseball with the only run allowed coming on a sacrifice fly after Ogando had moved them forward with an errant pickoff attempt at first. That unearned run tied the game after Erick Mejia had given NW Arkansas a 1-0 lead with a two-out double that scored Khalil Lee from first base. After the teams exchanged another run each, third baseman Kelvin Gutierrez made a two-out fielding error that allowed the Cardinals to take the lead and the eventual win after the Naturals failed to counter in the ninth.

Khalil Lee: 0-1 R, BB, K 2 Sac
Jecksson Flores: 2-3 R
Erick Mejia: 1-3 2b, RBI, BB

Nashville Sounds 11 Omaha Storm Chasers 1

Not much to see in this one with starter Zach Lovvorn giving up eight runs in the first two innings while the offense put together just five hits in the blowout loss.

Josh Staumont: 3 IP 0 H 0 R 0 ER 3 BB 5 K 2-1 GO-FO 65p/35k
Nicky Lopez: 0-4
Ramon Torres: 3-4 2b

Sure, we survived this kind of nonsense before—looking at you, 2004-2006 Royals—but coming off a five-year period that featured a World Series title, an American League pennant, and three years of contention, this is tough to take.

It would be a little easier to take if we could see steps being taken for the future. By that, I mean seeing the building blocks for the next good Royals team. For the most part, those guys are in distant locales like Lexington and Wilmington. I get that, and there is no good reason to rush any of those players. However, the Royals have committed two major sins so far this year at the big-league level: they are bad at baseball, and as an entertainment concern, well…they’re kind of boring.

Yes, boring: the offense is 14th in the league in home runs, eighth in stolen bases (but with only 38, they average one every other game), and 13th in on-base percentage. They do put the ball in play (fewest strikeouts!) but seldom successfully, as evidenced by their .239 team batting average, good for 11th in the AL. And let’s not forget the second-most double plays in the league—at 75, they are averaging nearly one per game.

On the pitching side, despite working in spacious Kauffman Stadium, the Royals have allowed the most home runs in the league (well, at least that’s exciting for other teams). They have picked up the fewest strikeouts. And they have issued the fourth-most walks in the league, a deadly combination when you give up all those home runs. You might think, “Well, at least the ball is in play a lot,” but when you look up the Royals’ defensive efficiency on the Baseball Prospectus site and realize it is the second-worst in the league (thanks, Baltimore!), you realize that’s not good news. In recent years, you got excited when a Royals opponent put the ball in play, because there was an excellent chance one of the defenders would make a highlight-reel catch. By and large, that’s not happening this year. In fact, by that standard, they’re not even making catches an average team would make.

So yeah, boring. None of this is news if you’ve spent much time watching the Royals this year. But I had to make my case.

Now, how do the Royals solve this? Like I said, they don’t have a raft of top prospects to call up from Omaha. That’s not going to change even when they trade off assets before July 31; if Kelvin Herrera didn’t bring back major-league ready talent, Lucas Duda is unlikely to do so (no offense to Duda). Maybe Mike Moustakas will, but I wouldn’t count on it. Still, there are a few personnel moves the Royals could make that would at least make following the team a little more interesting, even if they do nothing to stop the losing. Thinking about the future and trying to figure out which players might stick in the majors is about the only way Royals fans are going to be entertained the rest of this season.

The Royals actually did a couple of these things over the last week, bringing Adalberto Mondesi and Rosell Herrera to the majors. They also made the right call by keeping Hunter Dozier in the majors when Duda came off the disabled list, dispatching Paulo Orlando to Omaha. Applause for both of those moves. On the other hand, they sent Scott Barlow and Ramon Torres down, and those are probably mistakes.

See, there is a lot of veteran dead weight on this team. Some of it, due to massive contracts, is probably unmovable. Of course, here I refer to Ian Kennedy and the $16 million he is owed this year. Oh, and the $16.5 million he’ll get next year. And the year after that. Sigh.

Anyway, there are lots of other options to clear off the roster. Players like Abraham Almonte, Drew Butera, Ryan Goins, Justin Grimm, Jason Hammel, and Brandon Maurer (along with the aforementioned Orlando) offer little upside. Alcides Escobar really doesn’t, either, but I can’t imagine the Royals cutting him loose, so let’s not worry about that for now. The good news is the Royals have very little money or development time invested in these players. Trade ‘em for lottery tickets, or just release ‘em.

Because there are actually some options at Omaha to replace these players. Relievers Josh Staumont and Richard Lovelady have had success there, and Barlow pitched decently in limited time in Kansas City. We’ve seen a little of Cam Gallagher at the major-league level and he seems like a passable backup catcher. Frank Schwindel and Ryan O’Hearn might deserve a look in the majors. Torres probably won’t ever hit in the majors…but I’d rather find out about him than watch Goins not hit in the majors.

Then there’s the Mondesi/Escobar situation. Most of the players I just mentioned probably aren’t part of the next good Royals team, but this is the time to find out. But with all the hype he’s had, it would be nice if Mondesi turned out to be part of that team. Let the kid play shortstop as often as possible. I actually approve of the Royals trying Escobar at some other positions if it means Mondesi plays more frequently. Escobar chasing down fly balls has the potential to be entertaining. At least it’s different. And that’s what the Royals and their fans need now. Because if you can’t be good (and none of these moves will make this team good in the short-term), you can at least be entertaining.

BPKC Hitter of the Day Frank Schwindel 3-4 R, 2b

BPKC Pitcher of Day Nolan Watson 9 IP 6 H 0 R 0 ER 0 BB 7 K 13-2 GO-FO 89p/65k

Lexington Legends 4 Rome Braves 0

It’s been a struggle for three seasons for former 1st round pick Nolan Watson but on this day had it working as well as he ever has to defeat the Braves Low-A squad. Working efficiently thanks in part to some over aggressive hitters Watson set a new career high in innings pitched in a game by completing his effort, his previous best was six innings which he had done on five different occasions. Along with the complete game, Watson put away seven hitters via strikeout while also inducing thirteen groundouts. The offense backed him with a pair of runs in the third inning when shortstop Cristian Perez singled in a run before Nick Pratto drove in another with a sacrifice fly. For Perez that hit was part of a two-hit night that saw him raise his batting average to .393 while extending his hit streak to sixteen games. The game remained 2-0 until the ninth inning with Watson tossing zeroes when Seuly Matias got ahold of his twenty-first home run of the season to expand the lead and the eventual margin of victory with his two-run blast.

Seuly Matias 1-4 HR, 2 RBI, 2K
Nick Pratto 0-2 RBI, BB
Sebastian Rivera 1-3 BB

Winston-Salem Dash 4 Wilmington Blue Rocks 2

The Rocks scored a pair of the runs in the first before going silent in another loss in Winston-Salem. Three hits in that first inning helped score the two runs with Xavier Fernandez doubling in D.J. Burt to push the lead to 2-0. Starter Gerson Garabito gave up a run in the fourth and another in the fifth as he struggled to get through the lineup a second time. With the game tied reliever Julio Pinto couldn’t hit the zone, walking one in front of a Blake Rutherford double before giving up a sac fly in falling behind 4-2. The final twelve Rocks hitters went in order as the White Sox farm club defeated them for the second night in a row.

Khalil Lee 0-4 2K
Kort Peterson 2-3 2b, BB
Gerson Garabito 5 IP 4 H 2 R 2 ER 3 BB 7 K 5-2 GO-FO 87p/53k

Tulsa Drillers 3 NW Arkansas Naturals 1

The Naturals hitters were limited to just five hits in a defeat that pushed them back into second place. Starter Jake Kalish spun four scoreless innings before giving it up in the fifth, allowing three runs on back to back doubles before Will Smith hit his seventh home run of the season. For Smith, it was his third home run of the season against the Naturals and his second in this series. Those runs were plenty as the Naturals went 0 for 6 with runners in scoring position and scored their only run on a sac fly by Elier Hernandez.

Donnie Dewees 2-4
Erick Mejia 1-3 R, BB
Nicky Lopez 0-3

Tacoma Rainiers 5 Omaha Storm Chasers 2

Starter Josh Staumont couldn’t match his effort the last three times on the bump as Tacoma hitters waited and fought him off early to run his pitch count up. The right-hander tossed 42 pitches in the first inning, walked four in just three innings and gave up a pair of runs in that first during his short outing. A Jorge Bonifacio infield single in the third inning scored a run and an Humberto Arteaga sac fly in the fourth tied it up. Unfortunately reliever Luis Vazquez gave up a three-run home run in the fifth inning to put his squad behind. From there the Chasers had just two hits and couldn’t muster a run in defeat.

Josh Staumont 3 IP 2 H 2 R 2 ER 4 BB 4 K 2-3 GO-FO 73p/38k
Adalberto Mondesi 2-4 2b, 2K
Sam Selman 1.2 IP 0 H 0 R 0 ER 0 BB 1 K 2-1 GO-FO

Idaho Falls Chukars 4 Ogden Raptors 2

Starter J.C. Cloney gave up three first-inning singles and two runs before finding a groove. From the final out in the first inning until the second out in the fifth Cloney put the Raptors in a cage, striking out eleven on the night while yielding just four singles. The Chukars answered the two first inning runs with two of their own in the third inning on a pair of rbi singles by Nick Hutchins and Reed Rohlman. The game stayed tied until the seventh when Manny Olloque singled in Freddy Fermin following his double. An insurance run would cross in the eighth inning while Robert Garcia was finishing the last two innings off.

Billy Butler had his number retired prior to the game. The former 1st round pick played there in 2004, hitting .373 as an 18 year old in the league.

J.C. Cloney 7 IP 4 H 2 R 2 ER 0 BB 11 K 6-2 GO-FO 82p/61k
Rudy Martin 1-4
Freddy Fermin 2-4 2R, 2b

Friday Boxscores

Saturday Probables
Omaha – Glenn Sparkman 6-2 3.24 ERA 1.14 WHIP
NW Arkansas – Foster Griffin 3-6 5.63 ERA 1.58 WHIP
Wilmington – Arnaldo Hernandez 6-4 3.92 ERA 1.48 WHIP
Lexington – Carlos Hernandez 3-2 4.94 ERA 1.26 WHIP
Idaho Falls – C.J. Eldred

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

BPKC Hitter of the Day: Paulo Orlando 4-4 2R, 3-2b

BPKC Pitcher of the Day; Josh Staumont 4 Ip 1 H 1 R 1 ER 1 BB 3K 1-7 GO-FO 56p/38k

Wilmington Blue Rocks 3 Salem Red Sox 2 F/10

The Blue Rocks scored early and then got a break late to finish off a series win against Salem in the fourth game of their series. Hard-throwing Anthony Bender gave Wilmington his second longest outing of the year, tossing six innings while scattering six hits despite getting just one strikeout on the day. The offense had staked Bender to a 2-0 lead with an RBI single by Khalil Lee in the third and an RBI base hit by Nick Heath in the fourth. Unfortunately, Bender couldn’t keep that lead, letting in a run in fifth on an RBI triple by Chris Marrero and another run in the sixth with a two-out RBI single by Bobby Dalbec to tie it up 2-2. The game would stay static there until extra innings when Ofreidy Gomez was able to work around the free baserunner and the Rocks took advantage of a wayward bases-loaded pitch that caught the jersey of Chris DeVito before heading towards the backstop to easily score Khalil Lee for the walk-off win.

Khalil Lee: 2-5 R, RBI
Meibrys Viloria: 3-4 R, BB
Ofreidy Gomez: 4 IP 0 H 0 R 0 ER 4 BB 4 K 3-3 GO-FO 62p/34k

Omaha Storm Chasers 3 Round Rock Express 2

In a spot start, Josh Staumont gave Omaha four innings of one-run ball, allowing just a first inning solo home run as he stepped in for recently called up Scott Barlow. Trailing 1-0, the Chasers scored a run in the third following a Manny Olloque leadoff double after Billy Burns sacrificed him to third base and Frank Schwindel scored him on a groundout. An inning later it was a Paulo Orlando double that added a tally after he scored on Humberto Arteaga’s single. In the sixth, three consecutive Round Rock singles plated a run off lefty callup Jake Kalish but Omaha quickly countered with the same formula that they used in the fourth getting a run off an Orlando double and Arteaga single. From that point, Kalish would buzz through to the ninth where Kevin Lenik would take over with a quick 1-2-3 inning to earn the save.

Humberto Arteaga: 2-3 2 RBI
Frank Schwindel: 1-4 RBI
Manny Olloque: 1-3 R, 2b

Tuesday Probables
Omaha – Glenn Sparkman 5-2 2.96 ERA 1.06 WHIP
NW Arkansas – Emilio Ogando (lhp) 3-2 5.63 2.01 WHIP
Wilmington – Gerson Garabito 1-4 4.17 ERA 1.46 WHIP
Lexington – Carlos Hernandez 2-2 2.33 ERA 0.83 WHIP

Monday Boxscores