The answer is yes. The pitchers I’ve seen this season and in the last couple seasons have everything a pitcher would need to develop into a competent pro. Whether it’s a two-seam fastball, slider instead of a curve or working with a Driveline-type organization or a long-toss routine the organization is open to development and evolving. There is no reason that a pitcher can’t find success while working in the Royals organization. With that knowledge, the Royals don’t quite have the depth in pitching that they had in the 2010-2011 years, but it’s not far off.

Star of the Show – Yohanse Morel – This is as easy as it gets for me. Tossing on Wednesday against a Mexican League squad, Morel was completely dominant for his two perfect innings of work. The fastball had life in the 92-94 mph range with the arm speed and power that the 18-year-old is likely to gain velocity in the coming years. Next to the four-seam fastball was a two-seam with good late diving movement at 87-88 mph that mirrored with a couple of changeups that he threw at a similar pace that a little arm-side fade. All four pitches Morel threw came with extension in the 6’4 range slightly above his listed height.

For any 18 year old, who doesn’t turn 19 until August those three pitches would be a great introduction and preview a positive future to build from, but I’ve still yet to mention the devastating slider that he was throwing. The slider was an 82-85 mph smoking hot pitch with late sink and sweeping movement. The spin ranged between 2650-2775 RPM which would be in the top 50 of a major league scale. Hitters had no chance and Morel knew it as they flailed prior to him walking off the mound upon release of his final slide piece prior to it landing in the catcher’s mitt as he froze the final hitter he faced. That pitch has the appearance of a 60 pitch to go with an above average future fastball. It was six up, six down versus older more seasoned hitters and the 18-year-old showed dominance, a swagger and an arsenal that surely would have placed him in some teams first round had he done it as an American at the same age prior to the upcoming draft.

Elvis Luciano - He has a strong body that should physically stand up to the longterm role as a starter. On this day, the fastball was 94-95 mph with the ability to drive and repeat it to the bottom of the zone. He flashed a tight, late moving slider in the mid-80s that flashed the better of the two breaking balls that he threw and could become an above average pitch over time. The curveball that he tossed was an upper-70s get over pitch that probably could use a little more shape and less pace to become more of a bat misser. The combination of fastball/slider mixed with a usable curve should present a backend starter should the changeup which wasn’t highlighted on this day present itself as an average offering.

Rylan Kaufman - Kaufman featured a 90-92 mph fastball with lots of arm side run. If he can learn to control it then it’s a plus pitch even at present velocity as it has the movement that allows it to miss bats and difficulty to barrel it. In addition to the fastball, Kaufman tosses a plus future curveball that had 2700-2823 revolutions which is an above average rate. The lefty presented an ability to backdoor the curve with 12-6 shape from his 3/4 arm position.

Anderson Paulino - His velocity sat in the mid to upper 90s and he was able to get to the bottom of the zone with regularity and life. I saw him both Tuesday and Friday and it was the same thing both days, 95-96 mph at the bottom of the zone. Showed a flash of an 85 mph cutter/slider that was a below average pitch. The late movement and plane on the fastball will make for a groundball machine.

Noah Bryant - Bryant showed an easy mid-90s fastball that hit 95-97 mph regularly in both outings. He flashed a usable slider in warmups on Tuesday but was unable to repeat it during live action. On Friday, the slider was showing similar plane to the fastball and short, late motion appearing similar to a cutter. That slider is workable at the lower levels but will need to increase the break at the higher levels.

Marlin Willis - It was a rough season for Willis in Burlington, but he looked interesting on Thursday. Throwing from a lower than 3/4 arm slot, Willis was 88-90 mph with his fastball to go with a sweeping slurvy offering in the mid-70s. Physically Willis should get stronger as he ages but the intriguing part of his game was his elite extension, releasing his pitches at 6’8 to as high as 7’2 in distance. The pitches don’t make for a starter but some refinement and ability to repeat the quality breaking pitch he tossed a couple of times on this day could lead him into a specialty relief role.

Zach Haake - The big rub on the former Wildcats pitcher was his health and he appears to be fully healthy showing a 92-94 mph fastball. It was a bit straight on this day, but he was able to generate some groundball contact with it.

Malcolm Van Buren - He showed lots of power with the fastball on Tuesday working low to mid-90s and little idea where it was going. Came back on Friday working with more a two-seam look that allowed him to stay in the zone at 89-90 mph next to his curveball. There’s a long way to go in terms of command/control.

Heribert Garcia - Garcia flashed an above-average changeup with his 90 mph fastball. That fastball will have to come forward as a 6’0 right-hander but physically he’s sturdy, gets above average extension (6’4) for his height and repeats well. Add some velocity and he has a chance to get deep into the minor leagues. Could be a repeat of Arnaldo Hernandez as a pitcher with good control and feel for three different pitches.

Juan Carlos Negret - The Cuban outfielder acquired in the Braves international mess looks physically like Jose Guillen. In the field, the physical appearance mirrors Guillen’s play as he’s a step slow and will have to remain in right field while the speed down the line matches with 4.5 times down the line. The arm is average and won’t be taking the spot from Matias or Lee should he move there. At the dish, Negret has some pull-side power that can turn a fastball which he did on Wednesday for an absolute bomb and another line drive out to third that was 104 mph off the bat. Hitting fastball velocity shouldn’t be a problem and he appeared to recognize spin. The swing path may need some altering to be able to drive the ball the opposite way as opposed to just his pull approach that he’s working with currently. His effort down the line and in the field seemed to be lacking.

Nick Heath - 80 speed and an improved hitting ability that presents line drive contact defines Heath. He has a feel for running the bases and attacking pitchers. Has a chance to become a similar story to Jarrod Dyson as a late developing speedster/4th outfielder. Much like a younger Dyson, this outfielders glove can wander with his concentration level making mistakes on balls that he gets to. The arm is average and shouldn’t be any problem in center field or left.

Dennicher Carrasco - Carrasco has a good feel for hit with average to a tick above average power. Will have to move to first base where the bat will come into question.

Travis Jones - Jones has long limbs and average bat speed that is long though it stays in the zone. He will continue to struggle to pull pitches that cause damage.

Most position players appear to be worn down after long seasons.

BPKC Hitter of the Day: Ismaldo Rodriguez 2-4 2 HR

BPKC Pitcher of the Day: Jackson Kowar 3 IP 0 H 0 R 0 ER 0 BB 6 K 0-3 GO-FO 41p/26k 

Hagerstown Suns 3 Lexington Legends 2

Royals 1st round pick Jackson Kowar had his most impressive outing yet even in an abbreviated appearance. The former Florida Gator pitcher worked three perfect innings on 41 pitches, striking out six of the nine hitters he faced. Five of the six strikeouts were swinging as Kowar earned eight swinging strikes among his 26 strikes thrown before handing things off to Garrett Davila. The two teams exchanged one run with the Legends scoring in the fourth inning on a Manny Olloque double before Hagerstown answered with a two-out rbi single in the fifth inning. The Suns broke that tie in the eighth inning with three consecutive hits off Davila which led to a pair of runs. The Legends threatened in the bottom of the ninth pulling within one but Cristian Perez would get put out at the plate for the second out before Kyle Isbel stranded the tying run in scoring position with a groundout to end the game.

MJ Melendez: 2-4 2b
Nick Pratto: 1-3 BB
Brewer Hicklen: 1-4 R, 2 SB

Springfield Cardinals 4 NW Arkansas Naturals 3 F/11

The Naturals entered Thursday with a small opening to make the playoffs, trailing first-place Tulsa by 4.5 games with 13 left to play including a five-game series with the Drillers. With little margin for error, each game would prove to be extremely important. With that small margin, the Naturals send Scott Blewett to the mound a start after being named Texas League Pitcher of the Week. The big right-hander wasn’t as efficient as last time out, but none the less managed to work around a bases-loaded threat in the third inning to give the Naturals five scoreless innings before yielding to the bullpen. Scoreless until the seventh inning when Grant Gavin gave up a solo home run to Chris Chinea. The Naturals answered that 1-0 deficit with two runs in the eighth with Alex Liddi’s RBI double and Alfredo Escalera’s sac fly that brought Liddi home. That lead held up until the ninth when a one out walk issued by Franco Terrero came around in the ninth to even the score. In extras the two teams exchanged free runners scoring in the tenth and again in the eleventh the Cardinals scored. In the Naturals half though the Naturals were unable to push their free runner along, letting a winnable game get away. The Naturals missed an opportunity to get a game closer in the standings after Tulsa lost again.

Alex Liddi: 2-5 R, 2b, RBI
Scott Blewett: 5 IP 3 H 0 R 0 ER 2 BB 3 K 6-4 GO-FO 83p/56k
Kelvin Gutierrez: 0-4 R, BB

Oklahoma City Dodgers 3 Omaha Storm Chasers 2 

The Chasers couldn’t muster enough offense to help out Trevor Oaks despite another quality start from the right-hander. The Dodgers plated a run in each of the first three innings against Oaks as they piled up eight hits in six innings against him. The Dodgers scored via a wild pitch in the first, a gift of outfielder Brian Goodwin’s error in the second and three singles in the third to take a 3-1 lead after three innings. Shortstop Nicky Lopez countered with a solo home run in the fourth inning to pull within a run. From there the two teams were held scoreless and the Chasers only true threat in the seventh with Donnie Dewees on second fizzled out with with a pair of outs to put away the threat and ultimately the game for Omaha.

Nicky Lopez: 1-4 HR
Josh Staumont: 1 IP 1 H 0 R 0 BB 1 K 1-1 GO-FO 15p/8k
Richard Lovelady: 1 IP 0 H 0 R 0 BB 0 BB 2 K 15p/11k

Johnson City Cardinals 10 Burlington Royals 8

After piling up 39 hits in the last two games, but the Royals added on 15 more on Thursday night against the Cardinals. It wasn’t enough. Three first two pitchers the Royals sent to the mound gave up 10 runs through the first seven innings, putting the Cardinals up 10-5. The Royals didn’t threaten in the ninth, plating three runs before dropping the game.

Juan Carlos Negret: 3-5 2R, 2b
Rafael Romero: 3-5 3 RBI
Jose Marquez: 2-5

Idaho Falls 2 Billings Mustangs 1

The Chukars and Mustangs were limited to just three runs in this one as the two starters held up their end of the bargain. Billings starter Ricky Salinas limited Idaho Falls to just two hits in six and one-third innings. One of those hits accounted for a run for Idaho Falls as Reed Rohlman connected on his sixth home run in the second inning to give the home squad a 1-0 lead. After Connor Mayes gave the Chukars six scoreless innings, reliever Jaret Hellinger gave up a run to even the score in the eighth inning. Fortunately, the Chukars quickly answered with a double by Hunter Strong that scored Nick Hutchins in the bottom half of the inning to take the lead back. With the slim lead closer, Daniel James answered the bell in the ninth with a scoreless inning to secure the save.

Connor Mayes: 6 IP 7 H 0 R 0 ER 0 BB 5 K 3-6 GO-FO 85p/60k
Reed Rohlman: 1-3 HR, BB
Hunter Strong: 1-3 2b, RBI

Thursday Boxscores

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BPKC Hitter of the Day: Jose Marquez 4-5 5R, 2b, RBI

BPKC Pitcher of the Day: Yunior Marte 2.2 IP 1 H 0 R 0 ER 0 BB 2 K 4-2 GO-FO 32-21

Gm1 Down East Wood Ducks 5 Wilmington Blue Rocks 0
Gm 2 Down East Wood Ducks 3 Wilmington Blue Rocks 2

Wilmington’s losing ways continued in the first game on Wednesday as they got shut out in resuming the suspended game from Tuesday. They trailed 4-0 after four innings and couldn’t muster much on offense with just four hits in the shutout loss. The second game was more of the same with the offense scoring just two runs on eight hits while their starter couldn’t keep a slim lead. Starter Andres Sotillet has struggled to miss bats since the promotion (3.35 per 9) and this game was no different, striking out just one hitter in his five innings. After three shutout innings, Down East got to him in the fourth inning with a leadoff triple, sac fly and a single before Alex Kowalczyk homered to take a 3-1 lead and hung on for the win.

Meibrys Viloria: 2-4
Emmanuel Rivera: 2-6
Travis Jones: 1-5 RBI

NW Arkansas Naturals 3 Springfield Cardinals 2

The Naturals got a late win to pull within a half of a game of .500. New starter Jon Perrin gave up a couple runs in five innings. Those second of two runs evened up the game after the Naturals plated a pair in the fourth with a pair of doubles from Alex Liddi and Alfredo Escalera. Reliever Yunior Marte kept it even with two and two-third innings of shutout work with just a hit allowed. Those three innings kept it scoreless while Samir Duenez led off the eighth with a double before Kelvin Gutierrez’s single moved him to third. A double play off Alex Liddi’s bat gave the Naturals a 3-2 lead before Andres Machado tossed a scoreless ninth inning despite a couple of singles allowed.

Kelvin Gutierrez: 1-2 R, BB, HBP
Alfredo Escalera: 1-4 2b, RBI
Jon Perrin: 5 IP 6 H 2 R 2 ER 2 BB 5 K 80p/49k 4-2 GO-FO

Oklahoma City Dodgers 5 Omaha Storm Chasers 2

Starter Jake Kalish gave the Chasers a quality start but it wasn’t enough in this one as the offense was limited to just two runs. The lefty gave up a two-run home run in the second before getting to the seventh inning. In the seventh inning, Kalish opened the frame with a hit by pitch before Jason Adam gave up a double to Travis Taijeron. A fielding error by Nicky Lopez plated a pair. The offense didn’t threaten much over the final two innings in taking the loss.

Cam Gallagher: 2-4 R
Humberto Arteaga: 2-3 HR, 2 RBI
Jake Kalish: 6 IP 3 H 3 R 3 ER 0 BB 5 K 4-7 GO-FO 97p/68k

Burlington Royals 18 Johnson City Cardinals 8

All nine Burlington hitters had at least one hit as the offense dominated for a second straight night. One night after connecting on 17 hits and 13 runs the Royals upped their game with 22 hits and 18 runs. Infielder Jose Marquez one night after scoring four runs, tallied five times in this one with his four hits while driving in a run. Outfield thumper Juan Carlos Negret doubled and hit his ninth home run while driving in six runs. Reliever Ismael Maldonado tossed three scoreless innings to earn the win.

Juan Carlos Negret: 2-6 2b, HR, 6 RBI
Isaiah Henry: 2-6 3R, 2K
Matt Morales: 3-6 2R, 2b, 3 RBI, K

Idaho Falls Chukars 5 Billings Mustangs 3

The Chukars plated three runs in the fifth inning to tie the game 3-3 after the fifth inning. An inning later Kyle Kasser and Jose Caraballo each singled in a pair to give C.J. Eldred a lead after his six innings of three-run ball (2 ER). Reliever Ted Cillis tossed the final three innings scoreless to secure his first save in his first appearance with the club, striking out three with a pair of walks.

Ted Cillis: 3 IP 0 H 0 R 0 ER 2 BB 3 K 6-0 GO-FO 45p/25k
Kyle Kasser: 2-3 R, 2 RBI, BB
Jose Caraballo: 2-4 R, RBI

Wednesday Boxscores

BPKC Hitter of the Day: Blake Perkins 2-3 2R, HR, BB, SB

BPKC Pitcher of the Day: Jose DeLeon 6.1 IP 0 H 0 R 0 ER 1 BB 6 K 9-2 GO-FO 80p/49k

Hagerstown Suns 2 Lexington Legends 0
Lexington 1st Place Tie

The Legends offense was missing on Thursday night as the club connected on just five hits while going 1 for 10 with runners in scoring position in Hagerstown. The Nationals pitchers held the Legends batters at bay with 11 strikeouts. The lack of offense made a loser of J.C. Cloney for the first time this season (10-1) despite the lefty dancing around nine hits and a walk to limit Hagerstown to two runs.

Nick Pratto: 0-4 2K
Brewer Hicklen: 2-4 2b
MJ Melendez: 0-3 BB

Lynchburg Hillcats 6 Wilmington Blue Rocks 4
Wilmington 2nd Place 2.5 GB

After dropping into second place following two defeats against Lynchburg, the Rocks were attempting to salvage the final game of the series and put an end to their three-game losing streak. Starter Nolan Watson was surviving through four innings despite runners on in the first three innings. In the fifth, the survival would end as the Indians farm club jumped all over him with five hits, four of which that went extra bases with three doubles and a home run leading to a five-run frame that put Wilmington behind 5-0. The Rocks offense attempted to answer with a solo home run by Blake Perkins and a pair of RBI singles as they brought up the tying run to the plate multiple times in the final three innings. Each time the Rocks would threaten the Hillcats pitchers would have the answer and Wilmington would fall in the series sweep while falling 2.5 games behind in the division.

Emmanuel Rivera: 1-3 R, BB
Meibrys Viloria: 2-4 R, 2b, RBI
Travis Jones: 1-3 RBI

Midland RockHounds 5 NW Arkansas Naturals 2
NW Arkansas 3rd Place 4 GB

Two pitchers the Royals acquired this year in trades this year struggled with the strike zone a tad for the Naturals. Newly acquired starter Jon Perrin gave up just one run in four innings despite three walks and four hits allowed. His replacement, Gabe Speier, also struggled as the defense failed behind him and he walked a pair with three hits during a four-run appearance that spanned over an inning-plus of work. Trailing 5-0 into the ninth the Naturals loaded the bases and plated a pair on a throwing error by the Midland first baseman. That brought up hot-hitting Kelvin Gutierrez as the tying run with two on but it would not be on this night as he was frozen on a fastball for strike three to end the game.

Kelvin Gutierrez: 1-4 BB, SB
Erick Mejia: 2-5
Xavier Fernandez: 3-3 R, BB

Omaha Storm Chasers 4 Oklahoma City Dodgers 3
Omaha 3rd Place 6 GB

Starter Jake Kalish gave the Chasers another quality start as the lefty was in command during his seven innings on Thursday night. The lefty using his typical upper 80s fastball and quality curveball/changeup repertoire moved the ball around the zone to keep the Dodgers bats guessing. The Chasers offense got after Oklahoma starter Logan Bawcom for three runs in the third inning thanks to some poor defense behind him. Four singles and a pair of walks forced him out of the game after just two and two-thirds innings with those three runs against. A Paulo Orlando double provided an insurance run in the sixth inning that came in handy after Oklahoma City drew the game to 4-3 after a pair of runs off Kalish in the seventh. Relievers Sam Selman and Pedro Fernandez handed the ball to Eric Stout with the lead and two outs in the ninth and the lefty got the job done to secure the win. The Chasers now trailer first place Oklahoma City by six games with nine of their next twelve against the two teams ahead of them in the division.

Jake Kalish: 7 IP 5 H 3 R 3 ER 1 BB 6 K 7-8 GO-FO 95p/65k 2 HBP
Brian Goodwin: 0-3 R, 2BB
Frank Schwindel: 1-2 RBI, 2BB

Burlington Royals 10 Bristol Pirates 9 F/10 – Suspended Game July 20
Bristol Pirates 8 Burlington Royals 5
Burlingon Last Place 18.5 GB

Burlington completed a suspended game from July 20th, getting the win as Austin Lambright allowed just one run to score in the tenth inning after Burlington started with a 10-8 advantage. In the nightcap, starting pitcher Malcolm Van Buren wasn’t finding the zone (six walks) or fooling any Pirates hitters as he was tattooed for four home runs in just two and two-thirds innings to allow eight runs while on the hill. Reliever Jose De Leon was quite good in place of Van Buren, working six and one-third no-hit innings with six strikeouts and just a walk allowed. The Royals managed just an unearned run off the Bristol starter and then connected on a pair of home runs in the ninth to cut the deficit to three before falling in defeat.

Juan Carlos Negret: 1-4 2R, HR
Jose Marquez: 1-4
Chris Hudgins: 2-4 2b, HR

Thursday Boxscores

BPKC Hitter of the Day: Seuly Matias 3-5, 2b, 2 HR, 4 RBI, K

BPKC Pitcher of the Day: Yerelmy Garcia 7 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, 11-6 GO-FO, 65p/41k

Lexington Legends 11, Asheville Tourists 0

The Legends offense exploded on the Rockies Low-A squad in the finale of their four-game series. Things got going in the first when slugger Seuly Matias doubled in a pair of runs to put the Legends up 2-0. A couple innings later, the power kicked in when MJ Melendez connected on a three-run home run before Manny Olloque knocked out a solo homer to increase the lead to 6-0. The scoring barrage kept coming. Ricky Aracena homered with a man on before driving in another with an RBI single in the fifth inning. That fifth inning also featured the 28th home run of the season by Seuly Matias prior to him connecting on his 29th just an inning later to give Lexington an 11-0 advantage. While Lexington’s offense was shoving their weight around, Daniel Lynch was tossing up zeroes with five innings of scoreless ball with three strikeouts and seven groundouts to start what would end up being a shutout win.

The 29 home runs for Matias broke the Lexington organization record set by Brian Pellegrini during 2007 when the former Astros farmhand connected on 27 in 103 games. It took 81 games for the Royals slugger to break the mark and leaves him 11 short of the South Atlantic League record that Russell Branyan set during the 1996 season, his second season in the league at the time.

MJ Melendez: 2-5, 2R, HR, 3 RBI
Ricky Aracena: 3-4, HR, 3 RBI
Nick Pratto: 0-2, 2R, 3 BB

Wilmington Blue Rocks 5, Salem Red Sox 4

The Rocks pushed their win streak to seven despite seeing their streak of seven runs or more ending at six games. Run-scoring singles by Travis Jones and Blake Perkins in the first two innings gave Wilmington a quick 2-0 lead. The Rocks early lead helped starter Ofreidy Gomez who gave the club a quality start despite getting just one strikeout in his 6.1 innings with the righty allowing three runs (2 ER) in that time. With that lead, the Rocks answered each score that Salem put on the board following Salem runs in the third, fifth and seventh with runs of their own in each inning to take a 5-3 lead into the ninth. The Red Sox would plate a run in the ninth against reliever Anthony Bender, but Tyler Zuber came in with two down to secure the winning streak and the series sweep with a pop out in foul territory.

Gabriel Cancel: 2-5, 2R, 2-2b
D.J. Burt: 1-4, 2R, 2b, BB, SB (26)
Travis Jones: 2-2, RBI, BB

NW Arkansas Naturals 7, Springfield Cardinals 3

The Naturals took their offense on the road to Springfield for the first game of their series as the club collected 12 hits and earned six walks. Rightfielder Kort Peterson connected on a pair of doubles during his three-hit game, driving in a pair and scoring another to lead the offense. Third baseman Kelvin Gutierrez who struggled when he initially came over has been hot over his last 14 games, hitting .340 over that stretch including the 2 for 5, two RBI night that he added in this one. After Jesse Hahn made another quick rehab appearance, tossing two-thirds of an inning with a hit and walk allowed, Jace Vines found his groove to earn the win. The struggling right-hander worked 7.1 innings with just a solo home run while working around three other hits and walk with seven strikeouts before turning over to Franco Terrero who finished off the final inning.

Jace Vines: 7.1 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 K, 5-8 GO-FO, 91p/61k
Kort Peterson: 3-5, R, 2-2b, 2 RBI, SB
Kelvin Gutierrez: 2-5, 2 RBI, SB (3)

Omaha Storm Chasers 10, Sacramento River Cats 7

The Chasers took advantage of an early gift before getting the bats going late to take another road win. Following a rbi double by Ramon Torres the Giants two fielding errors in the first inning turned what should’ve been a one run inning into a 3-0 advantage. Those runs were quickly countered with a pair of home runs in the first and second inning off Jonathan Dziedzic, tying the game up 3-3. The offenses awoke again in the fifth with an RBI double by Ryan O’Hearn, scoring one and moving Frank Schwindel to third where he would score a couple hitters later on a groundout. That started a run of three consecutive innings with runs on the board including the next frame in which Schwindel tagged a three run home run as part of a four run frame. The advantage stood at 10-3 when Dziedzic left after six innings. The bullpen of Josh Staumont and Sam Selman would struggle in their two innings, giving up four runs but Michael Mariot would close out the ninth to earn the save and the series sweep.

Nicky Lopez: 2-5, 2R, RBI, BB
Frank Schwindel: 3-4, 2R, HR, 3 RBI, BB
Ryan O’Hearn: 2-5, R, 2b, RBI

Burlington Royals 5, Elizabethton Twins 0

The Royals were the beneficiary of a good start by Yerelmy Garcia against the Twins on Thursday night. The Dominican born 22-year-old spun seven shutout innings, allowing just a seventh innings groundball single with a pair of walks while striking out three along the way. Outfielder Eric Cole drove in a run on a groundout in the first inning before Juan Carlos Negret connected on his sixth home run in the second inning to push the advantage to 2-0. That score held up until the eighth when Cole doubled in a pair and scored on a sac fly to give Burlington their eventual winning margin.

Juan Carlos Negret: 1-4, HR
Eric Cole: 1-4, R, 2b, 3 RBI
Jose Marquez: 1-4, 2R

Thursday Boxscores

BPKC Hitter of the Day: Kelvin Gutierrez 2-5, 3b, HR, 5 RBI

BPKC Pitcher of the Day: Janser Lara 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, 2-3 GO-FO, 35p/22k

Gm 1 – Lexington Legends 5, Asheville Tourists 1
Gm 2 – Lexington Legends 2, Asheville Tourists 1

Pitching was the order of the day for the Legends in their doubleheader sweep of the Rockies Low-A squad to help push their winning streak to eight games. In the first game, starter Jackson Kowar tossed three innings with a solo home run given up in the second inning as he worked mostly in the zone with 26 strikes on 39 pitches. He was piggybacked by Janser Lara who tossed three shutout innings of relief before Garrett Suchey closed it out. Batterymate M.J. Melendez provided an RBI single and a solo home run blast, while Nick Pratto doubled in one and Seuly Matias singled in a pair. Game two saw lefty Garrett Davila toss six innings with one run allowed as he gave up a solo home run and worked around two other hits and a pair of walks. An error scored a run for Lexington in the third inning to tie the game and Cal Jones triple in the sixth scored Nick Pratto to break the tie before Colin Snider tossed a perfect inning to earn his first save of the season.

Seuly Matias: 1-7, 2 RBI, 2K
Nick Pratto: 3-5, R, 2-2b, RBI, 2BB, K
M.J. Melendez: 2-4, HR, 2 RBI, 2K

Wilmington Blue Rocks 8, Salem Red Sox 4

The Rocks offense is extremely patient, and lately, they have been connecting plenty of hits with the team scoring seven or more runs in six consecutive games with Wednesday’s win. All nine hitters in the lineup reached base with eight of the hitters collecting at least one hit as the 10 hits and six walks continuously put on pressure against the Red Spx. Trailing 2-0 into the fourth, the Rocks loaded the bases quickly scoring four runs with a Brewer Hicklen bases-loaded walk and Rudy Martin’s bases-clearing double. A Travis Jones home run in the sixth added to the lead before a three-run frame put the game away. Relievers Carter Hope and Josh Mitchell gave up two runs each before Corey Ray and Julio Pinto tossed the final three innings without a run allowed. The win was Wilmington’s sixth in a row while pushing their division lead to three and a half games over Lynchburg.

Blake Perkins: 2-4, 2R, BB, 2 SB
Travis Jones: 1-3, 2R, HR, BB
Brewer Hicklen: 1-3, 2R, RBI, BB, 2K

NW Arkansas Naturals 13, Arkansas Travelers 3

The Naturals powered up to an easy win over Arkansas in the finale of their four game series with the M’s Double-A squad. After the Naturals fell behind on a pair of doubles in the first inning off Pedro Fernandez, the offense powered up with two runs in the second with Alex Liddi connecting on a solo home run before a double steal scored Nick Dini from third. An inning later, third baseman Kelvin Gutierrez tagged a three-run home run as part of a four run frame to give NW Arkansas a 6-1 lead. That lead quickly ballooned to 10-1 in the fourth with Kort Peterson’s two-run home run before Gutierrez tripled in two more later. Those runs were plenty for Fernandez and a pair of relievers as the threesome gave up just three runs while the offense tacked on three more with Xavier Fernandez hitting the team’s fourth home run of the game in the convincing win to give them a series win.

Omaha Storm Chasers 5, Sacramento River Cats 3

The Chasers received yet another quality start from Trevor Oaks as the right-hander acquired this offseason in the Dodgers deal spun 7.2 innings while allowing just one run. In typical fashion for Oaks, he was able to navigate around runners on the bases having given up eight hits and three walks with the use of 11 groundouts including three double plays. The Chasers had a 2-1 lead after a fourth-inning throwing error by Evan Longoria allowed Jack Lopez to reach and Humberto Arteaga to score. With Oaks tossing up a bunch of zeroes, the Chasers tacked on three insurance runs in the ninth to take a 5-1 lead. That came in handy after Eric Stout ran into trouble with a pair of runs allowed before Jake Newberry bailed Omaha out with a double play ball off the bat of Evan Longoria to end it.

Nicky Lopez: 2-4, RBI, BB
Donnie Dewees: 3-4, R, 2b
Trevor Oaks: 7.2 IP, 8 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 1 K, 11-6 GO-FO, 96p/62k

Elizabethton Twins 6, Burlington Royals 5

The Royals built a slim lead that the bullpen gave away in this one.  Starter Marcelo Martinez had given up four runs in five innings, allowing seven hits and two walks, while the lefty struckout five hitters. Trailing 4-1 into the fifth, the Royals scored a run on a two-out fielding error before Juan Carlos Negret blasted his fifth home run to give Burlington a 5-4 lead. That lead wouldn’t last long with reliever Austin Lambright giving up single runs in the sixth and seventh innings. The Royals would threaten in the seventh with a pair of one-out singles but failed to cash in before going down in the final two innings to drop the game.

Juan Carlos Negret: 1-3, HR, 3 RBI, BB
Jackson Lueck: 1-4, R, BB, K
Marcelo Martinez: 5 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, 7-2 GO-FO, 86p/61k

Idaho Falls Chukars 12 Orem Owlz 3

Royals first round pick Kris Bubic bounced back somewhat from a rough start last time. Working just 3.2 innings, the lefty gave up just an unearned run, striking out five while earning four groundouts. It would’ve been four scoreless innings had Offerman Collado fielded a routine ground ball with two down, opening the inning up to a one-run frame after a pair of singles, but that’s how it goes from time to time at the rookie level. The offense pounded out nine runs on eleven hits in the first four innings to build a nearly insurmountable lead with Bubic and ’18 draftee Tyler Gray doing much of the heavy lifting on the mound while the offense continued adding on.

Offerman Collado: 2-4, R, 3b, 2 RBI, BB
Hunter Strong: 2-5, R, 2b, 2 RBI
Kris Bubic: 3.2 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, 4-1 GO-FO, 73p/50k

Wednesday Boxscores

BPKC Hitter of the Day: Blake Perkins 4-5 2R, 2b, SB (19)

BPKC Pitcher of the Day: Jake Kalish 7 IP 2 H 0 R 0 ER 2 BB 9 K 3-4 GO-FO 101p/64k

Wilmington Blue Rocks 5 Lynchburg Hillcats 4

Reliever Corey Ray gave up a slim lead but the Wilmington offense countered to take a one-run victory over the Indians High-A squad. The top of the order led to an early lead with leadoff hitter Blake Perkins and D.J. Burt scoring the clubs first four runs. It was Burt’s second home run of the season in the first frame that quickly put Wilmington up 2-0. Two innings later, Perkins and Burt started the inning with a single before both scoring late on a Gabe Cancel groundout and an Emmanuel Rivera sac fly. Starting pitcher Dan Tillo gave the Rocks a quality start, working six innings with just two runs allowed when he walked in a run with the bases loaded before tossing a wild pitch to score another. The lefty struckout seven hitters on the evening while earning eight groundouts. Reliever Corey Ray gave up a pair of runs in the seventh inning that took the decision from Tillo but an Emmanuel Rivera leadoff triple in the eighth and a wild pitch by the Hillcats reliever allowed the Rocks to retake the lead and later the win.

D.J. Burt: 2-4 2R, HR, 2 RBI, BB
Emmanuel Rivera: 2-3 R, 2b, 3b, RBI
Dan Tillo: 6 IP 6 H 2 R 2 ER 2 BB 7 K 8-1 GO-FO 104p/65k

Springfield Cardinals 10 NW Arkansas Naturals 6

Starting pitcher Scott Blewett gave up more home runs than hitters he struck out on the night with the struggling right-hander giving up six runs a five-inning outing. Things started almost immediately when Blewett walked the leadoff hitter and gave up back to back extra base hits to fall behind 2-0. An RBI single to the fourth batter he faced pushed the deficit to 3-0 before he wiggled his way out of the inning. After a scoreless second inning, a pair of singles started the third frame and led to a sacrifice fly to make it 4-0. A pair of solo home runs in the fourth and fifth ended Blewett’s night with six runs attached to his line. Things didn’t get better with reliever Dallas Beeder on the hill after he gave up four runs in the seventh. The Naturals tried to counter in the final two innings with a solo home run by Khalil Lee and a three-run home run by Kort Peterson but fell four runs short.

Khalil Lee: 2-4 HR, 2 RBI, SB, BB
Anderson Miller: 2-4 R
Kort Peterson: 2-2 HR, 3 RBI

Omaha Storm Chasers 2 Nashville Sounds 0

Lefty Jake Kalish put up possibly the best start of his career on Wednesday, setting a new career high with nine strikeouts while tossing seven scoreless innings. The former 32nd round pick allowed just two singles while walking two over the seven frames never allowing a baserunner to reach second while he was on the mound. The Chasers offense also struggled on this night but did manage to piece together a pair of singles and an error by Nashville’s third baseman to plate a pair of runs in the fifth inning to take a 2-0 lead. Following Kalish relievers, Michael Mariot and Jake Newberry tossed a pair of scoreless innings to secure the win for Kalish.

Cam Gallagher: 2-4
Billy Burns: 1-4 R, RBI
Jack Lopez: 1-4 R, SB (10)

Burlington Royals 11 Bristol Pirates 0

Three pitchers combined for a shutout while the offense had a big day at the plate. Left-hander Josh Dye tossed four shutout innings while working around four hits before giving way to Bryar Johnson who repeated the effort with another four scoreless. The offense backed the pitchers quite capably with all nine hitters collecting at least one hit and three connecting on home runs. The squad put 11 runs on the board with runs in seven of the nine innings while walking 10 times and piling up 15 hits in the blowout win.

Eric Cole: 1-4 HR, 2BB
Juan Carlos Negret: 2-6 2b, HR, 3 RBI
Josh Dye: 4 IP 4 H 0 R 0 ER 0 BB 3K 5-0 GO-FO 60p/39k

Helena Brewers 9 Idaho Falls Chukars 2

Starter C.J. Eldred tossed three scoreless innings to start the game for Idaho Falls before running into problems during the next two innings. The former Iowa Hawkeye pitcher gave up nine runs in the next two innings, giving up nine hits including four doubles and a home run. With a 9-2 deficit, the Chukars offense couldn’t counter, going scoreless the rest of the way.

Nathan Eaton: 2-4 R, 2b, 3b, RBI
Chase Vallot: 2-4 2b, K
Reed Rohlman: 1-2 RBI, BB

Wednesday Boxscores

Thursday Probables
Omaha – Trevor Oaks 6-3 1.84 ERA 1.13 WHIP
NW Arkansas – Foster Griffin 3-12 6.16 ERA 1.60 WHIP
Wilmington Gm 1 – Andres Sotillet 6-6 4.01 ERA 1.34 WHIP
Wilmington Gm 2 – Carter Hope 8-2 3.05 ERA 1.16 WHIP
Lexington – Daniel Lynch 1-0 2.20 ERA 1.10 WHIP
Burlington – Marcelo Martinez 0-3 2.25 ERA 0.96 WHIP
Idaho Falls – Kris Bubic 0-1 4.05 ERA 1.20 WHIP

BPKC Friday Hitter of the Day Nick Dini 2-4 HR, 2b, 2 RBI
BPKC Saturday Hitter of the Day Jackson Lueck 3-4 2R, 2b, HR, 2 RBI

BPKC Friday Pitcher of the Day Tad Ratliff 2.2 IP 0 H 0 R 0 ER 0 BB 6 K 34p/23k
BPKC Saturday Pitcher of the Day Trevor Oaks 6.2 IP 3 H 0 R 0 ER 3 BB 3 K 10-3 GO-FO 90p/57k

Friday Lexington Legends 3 Augusta GreenJackets 2
Saturday Greenville Drive 3 Lexington Legends 0

First-round pick Daniel Lynch earned his first Low-A victory in his first start with Lexington, tossing five innings with six hits allowed and two runs allowed. The lefty put away five hitters with strikeouts in earning the win. Outfielder Brewer Hicklen connected on his 13th home run and scored a second run after a walk and stolen base to help pace the offense to a win. During Saturday’s game right-hander Yefri Del Rosario tossed five innings of one-run baseball with just an unearned run allowed as Greenville scored their first run on an errant throw to third by catcher Sebastian Rivero. That Driver would tack on a pair of insurance runs while the Legends would be shutout on just four hits.

Yefri Del Rosario 5 IP 5 H 1 R 0 ER 1 BB 5 K 4-2 GO-FO 86p/54k
Daniel Lynch 5 IP 6 H 2 R 2 ER 1 BB 5 K 4-4 GO-FO 72p/44k
Nick Pratto 3-9 SB, K, CS

Friday Salem Red Sox 10 Wilmington Blue Rocks 1
Saturday Wilmington Blue Rocks 16 Salem Red Sox 1

Not a whole lot was positive for Wilmington on Friday night as the offense went 0-11 with runners in scoring position during a 10-1 loss. Starter Andres Sotillet made his first High-A start for Wilmington, giving up three of the ten runs in his five-inning start while allowing five hits and one walk. The right-hander struckout five hitters, connecting in the zone with 62 strikes on his 86 pitches. The game got away from the pen with seven runs allowed from Corey Ray and Justin Camp. The second game in the series was all Wilmington on Saturday with all nine Blue Rock hitters collecting a rbi in the lopsided victory. With seven different Rocks collecting multiple hit games it was Meibrys Viloria who cracked the only home run for the good guys as part of a three run night for the catcher. Starter Ofreidy Gomez earned his third win of the season with five innings of one run ball giving up a solo home run to Carolina League leading home run hitter Bobby Dalbec for the only run allowed by Wilmington pitching on the night.

Meibrys Viloria 3-8 3R, HR, 2 RBI, BB
Blake Perkins 2-9 2R, RBI, BB, 5K
Gabe Cancel 3-9 R, 2-2b, 3 RBI, 2 BB

Friday Tulsa Drillers 5 NW Arkansas Naturals 4
Saturday Tulsa Drillers 12 NW Arkansas Naturals 8

The Naturals built a 4-1 lead only to watch it disappear in the later innings. Catcher Nick Dini connected on his sixth Double-A home run. Starter Scott Blewett gave up a leadoff home run in the fourth and sixth innings during his three-run five-plus inning start. Relievers Gabe Speier and Yunior Marte each gave up a run with Marte’s coming in the eighth to hand NW Arkansas the loss. Two years removed from a 14 loss season starter Foster Griffin is on his way to besting that mark, recording his 12th loss on Saturday night after giving up six runs in six innings to Tulsa. The Naturals bullpen once again struggled with three different relievers allowing runs including two more by Bryan Brickhouse to balloon his ERA to over 9 in Double-A action. Newly acquired Kelvin Gutierrez collected a pair of extra base hits in the loss.

Kelvin Gutierrez 2-8 2b, 3b, 3 RBI
Elier Hernandez 5-9 2R, RBI
Khalil Lee 1-10 R, 2b, 3K

Friday Memphis Redbirds 6 Omaha Storm Chasers 3
Saturday Omaha Storm Chasers 1 Memphis Redbirds 0

Lefty Jake Kalish gave up six runs in the first three innings before settling down some but it was too much for the offense to overcome in the loss. Memphis centerfielder Oscar Mercado may have stolen two to three runs in the outfield with three outstanding defensive plays, shagging a deep fly from Nicky Lopez while also making two diving catches to save the game. Starter Trevor Oaks bested his Triple-A 2.00 ERA with six and two-thirds scoreless ball during Saturday night’s game, navigating around three hits and three walks with the aid of 10 groundouts. First baseman Frank Schwindel drove in the game’s only run with a groundball single up the middle.

Frank Schwindel 2-8 RBI BB
Nicky Lopez 1-7 RBI, 2BB, 2K
Ryan O’Hearn 1-7 2b, 3K

Friday Danville Braves 5 Burlington Royals 4
Saturday Burlington Royals 6 Johnson City Cardinals 5

A pair of unearned runs during a one-run loss cost the Royals in their game with the Braves on Friday. The defense committed four errors during the game, costing Yarelmy Garcia a run in his five innings as the right-hander gave up three in five innings despite recording just one strikeout in that time. Pitching in relieve Malcolm Van Buren gave up two runs to take the loss during his three innings as the hard-throwing righty struggled with the zone, walking three hitters while on the hill. Royals 5th round draft pick Austin Cox got knocked around for the first time in his young career as the lefty gave up six hits and five runs (4 ER) in five innings while striking out seven. The offense bailed him out with a pair of home runs that tied the game up, the second coming via Jackson Leuck who also scored the game-winning run when Jose Marquez was plunked with the bases loaded.

Marlin Willis 4 IP 1 H 0 R 0 ER 2 BB 6 K 5-1 GO-FO 66p/38k
Austin Cox 5 IP 6 H 5 R 4 ER 2 BB 7 K 3-4 GO-FO 77p/50k
Jackson Lueck 4-7 3R, HR, 2-2b 2 RBI

Friday Helena Brewers 8 Idaho Falls Chukars 7
Saturday Missoula Osprey 12 Idaho Falls Chukars 0

The Chukars didn’t do as much as they could have with 17 hits in the final game of their series with Helena, going 3 for 14 with runners in scoring position to fall one run short. The Chukars’ Connor Mayes gave up seven runs in just five innings on 12 hits in the loss. The Royals 2nd round pick Jonathan Bowlan got tagged for 10 hits and seven runs in just five innings during Saturday’s game. The offense struggled to mount an attack against Missoula starter Marcos Tineo as the Arizona Diamondbacks prospect limited them to just two hits over six shutout innings. The Osprey continued to pile on against the bullpen while the offense was shutout on just two hits.

Jonathan Bowlan 5 IP 10 H 7 R 7 ER 0 Bb 2 K 9-2 GO-FO 67p/45k
Kyle Isbel 3-4 3R, 3b, K, BB
Chase Vallot 0-6 K

Friday Boxscores
Saturday Boxscores

Sunday Probables
Omaha – Jon Dziedzic 3-7 3.83 ERA 1.30 WHIP
NW Arkansas – Dallas Beeler 0-1 17.18 ERA 3.55 WHIP
Wilmington – Gerson Garabito 3-6 4.02 ERA 1.45 WHIP
Lexington – Carlos Hernandez 6-3 3.34 ERA 1.16 WHIP
Burlington – Elvis Luciano 0-3 6.48 ERA 1.86 WHIP
Idaho Falls – TBD

BPKC Hitter of the Day: Nicky Lopez 5-6 4R, 2b, 3b, HR, 2 RBI – hit for 2nd NWA cycle ever

BPKC Pitcher of the Day: J.C. Cloney 6 IP 6 H 1 R 1 ER 0 BB 5 K 6-2 GO-FO 83p/57k 

Charleston River Dogs 9 Lexington Legends 8

The Legends had a comeback bid washed out by the rain on Thursday night in a loss to the Yankees Low-A squad. Starter Andres Sotilet, fresh off a good first half, was knocked around, giving up 11 hits and nine runs (8ER) in just four and two-thirds innings. That effort left Lexington trailing 9-3 after five innings, but in the sixth, the bats muscled up with an RBI single by Cristian Perez that came in front of home run number 23 by Seuly Matias, a three-run shot that pushed the score to 9-7. One hitter later it was Dennicher Carrasco taking a ball just to the left of center to make it 9-8. Unfortunately for Lexington the rains came just an inning later washing out their comeback bid and giving them a loss to start their second half.

Seuly Matias: 1-2 HR, 2 RBI, BB, HBP
Brewer Hicklen: 2-4 2R, HR, 3 RBI, SB (10)
Cristian Perez: 1-4 2R, RBI

Wilmington Blue Rocks 2 Potomac Nationals 1

The Rocks got a good pitching effort from right-hander Anthony Bender to squeak out a victory to start their second half. Despite just two strikeouts, Bender was able to maneuver around six hits and a pair of walks, allowing just one run while on the hill. Wilmington took advantage of that pitching effort manufacturing a run in the first with a Khalil Lee RBI single of Blake Perkins who had led the game off with a single. The only run came off Bender in the second inning for Potomac when they got a walk, a wild pitch, and a groundout to maneuver a runner to third prior to a sac fly by Aldrem Corredor. The game stood at 1-1 into the seventh when Perkins manufactured his own offense, singling with one out, stealing second, advancing to third on a throwing error and ultimately coming home on a wild pitch to give Wilmington a 2-1 lead. Following Bender’s six innings his piggyback partner Ofreidy Gomez tossed three scoreless frames to secure the win and his first save.

Anthony Bender: 6 IP 6 H 1 R 1 ER 2 BB 2 K 10-3 GO-FO 82p/53k
Khalil Lee: 2-4 RBI, SB (13), CS (2)
Blake Perkins: 2-3 2 BB, SB (13)

NW Arkansas Naturals 17 Tulsa Drillers 3

The Naturals bats exploded against the Tulsa Drillers on Thursday night on the way to an easy win. It was a full team effort as only two players in the starting lineup didn’t get a hit on the night, punching out 16 hits as a team including five home runs. No Naturals hitter had a bigger night the All-Star middle infielder Nicky Lopez who hit for the cycle during a 5 for 6 night. The cycle for Lopez went in perfect order starting with a leadoff single in the first, a double in the third inning before tripling in the fourth and finishing it off with a sixth-inning home run. His teammates would help get Lopez up to the plate two more times as the Naturals crossed the plate 17 times in the blowout win. Lefty Jake Kalish was the beneficiary of the offensive output with the lefty working seven innings of three-run ball.

Jake Kalish: 7 IP 6 H 3 R 3 ER 0 BB 7 K 8-3 GO-FO 83p/56k
Kort Peterson: 2-4 2R, HR, 2 RBI, BB, SB
Erick Mejia: 3-5 2R, 2b, 2 RBI

Oklahoma City Dodgers 7 Omaha Storm Chasers 1

The Chasers bats were held at bay by a former top prospect while one of their pitching prospects couldn’t finish off hitters during a lopsided loss. In his second consecutive difficult start, Josh Staumont wavered in and out of the zone, walking four hitters while hitting the zone with 52 of 86 pitches. Normally the walks come absent of hits for Staumont but in this one, the Dodgers hitters were connecting with six hits including a solo home run off him. Just like his last start in Reno, Staumont had a 40 pitch inning, tossing 40 pitches during his four-run second inning before his night ended after a two-run third frame. While the Chasers pitcher was struggling Oklahoma City’s Manny Banuelos, a former Top 50 prospect, was getting the big pitches whenever he needed, striking out nine hitters during his six shutout innings. The lone Omaha run came in the ninth courtesy of a Ramon Torres double that scored Donnie Dewees from first after he reached via an infield single during his 3-5 introduction to Triple-A.

Donnie Dewees: 3-5 R
Frank Schwindel: 2-4
Jorge Bonifacio: 0-4 BB, 4 K

Elizabethton Twins 9 Burlington Royals 5

Burlington lost their third game in a row to start the season despite Juan Carlos Negret slugging his first home run with the Royals organization. Starter Randy Acevedo, who the Royals are high on, gave up eight hits, two walks and four runs (3 ER) while striking out three over five innings in the loss.

Juan Carlos Negret: 1-2 2R, HR, BB, SB, OF Assist
Randy Acevedo: 5 IP 8 H 4 R 3 ER 2 BB 3 K 6-1 GO-FO 88p/55k
Angel Medina 0-4 2K, E

Idaho Falls Chukars 6 Grand Junction Rockies 1

The Chukars received another good start from lefty J.C. Cloney as the former Arizona Wildcat worked six innings, allowing just one run on six hits while striking out five before turning it over the bullpen. While the lefty was working smoothly his offense was powering up, getting a pair of two-run home runs by Jesus Atencio and Kyle Isbel on their way to five runs in the first three innings to secure a lead that would be more than enough for Cloney and the bullpen.

Kyle Isbel: 1-4 HR, 2 RBI, BB
Marcelo Martinez: 2 IP 1 H 0 R 0 ER 0 BB 3 K 2-0 GO-FO 20p/16k
Tyler James: 1-4 R, 3b, BB

Thursday Boxscores

Friday Probables
Omaha – Glenn Sparkman 7-2 3.39 ERA 1.23 WHIP
NW Arkansas – Foster Griffin 3-7 5.71 ERA 1.59 WHIP
Wilmington – Gerson Garabito 2-5 4.30 ERA 1.51 WHIP
Lexington – Yefri Del Rosario 0-2 5.63 ERA 1.75 WHIP
Burlington – Daniel Lynch 1st Rd
Idaho Falls – TBD
Florida Gators – Brady Singer

BPKC Hitter of the Day: Kyle Isbel 3-5 3-2b, 2 RBI

BPKC Pitcher of the Day: Adrian Alcantara 5 IP 3 H 1 R 1 ER 1 BB 7 K 4-1 GO-FO

Idaho Falls Chukars 7 Grand Junction Rockies 4

The Chukars offense pounded out 14 hits on the way to a road win that evened their series with Grand Junction. Third-round draft pick Kyle Isbel connected on three doubles in five at-bats, driving in a pair of runs. In addition to Isbel’s offensive exploits, he also made an impressive diving catch in the field to record an out in the eighth inning. Starting pitcher Jon Heasley worked three scoreless innings while working around three hits and a walk during his first start in the Royals organization. Dominican right-hander Domingo Pena worked five innings with just one run allowed in earning the winning decision.

Jon Heasley: 3 IP 3 H 0 R 0 ER 1 BB 1 K 5-2 GO-FO 42p/23k
Rudy Martin: 1-4 R, RBI
Tyler James: 2-5 2R, SB

Elizabethton Twins 15 Burlington Royals 3

The Royals didn’t have much luck getting Twins hitters out in a lopsided loss. Newly acquired right-hander Elvis Luciano made his first start as a member of the Royals organization, giving up six hits in three and two-thirds innings which allowed the Twins to score three runs. The right-hander struck out two hitters, hit the zone with 43 of his 59 pitches, and induced four groundouts before leaving with one run allowed against. Unfortunately for Luciano, he left with two runners on base and those two quickly came across when reliever Luis Alcantara struggled, allowing three hits in that frame, which allowed four runs to cross total. His struggles continued over the next two innings as well with the right-handed reliever giving up eight hits and eight runs in total during a game that got away from the Royals.

Elvis Luciano: 3.2 IP 6 H 3 R 3 ER 0 BB 2 K 4-0 GO-FO 59p/43k
Angel Medina: 2-4 R, RBI
Juan Carlos Negret: 2-4 2b, 2 RBI

Wednesday Boxscores

Thursday Probables
Omaha – TBD
NW Arkansas – Jake Kalish 3-3 4.63 ERA 1.43 WHIP
Wilmington – TBD
Lexington – TBD
Idaho Falls – TBD
Burlington – Randy Acevedo