BPKC Hitter of the Day Jeison Guzman 4-4 2R, 2b, HR, RBI, BB

BPKC Pitcher of the Day Jon Perrin 5.2 IP 3 H 0 R 0 ER 1 BB 7 K 2-5 GO-FO 91p/56k

Greenville Drive 9 Lexington Legends 7

The Legends were outslugged on Saturday as the Drive made more out of less in the loss. Despite that shortstop, Jeison Guzman had a big day at the plate reaching base five times with four hits including his fourth home run of the season. First baseman Nick Pratto connected on his 13th home run of the season while reliever Danny Hrbek gave up a pair of home runs in the loss.

Nick Pratto 2-5 2R, HR, 2 RBI
Sebastian Rivero 2-4 R, 2b, RBI, BB
Cal Jones 2-4 2b, RBI, BB

Game 1 Potomac Nationals 8 Wilmington Blue Rocks 1
Game 2 Wilmington Blue Rocks 8 Potomac Nationals 3

Starter Dan Tillo got roughed up in his final start of the season with the lefty giving up seven runs in a little more than an inning of work on Saturday. The game one loss helped end the Rocks slim window for the playoffs while capping a difficult introduction to High-A for Tillo as the offense provided little with just four hits and one run. Game two saw only Chase Vallot fail to make it on base as they thumped their way to a win. Infielder Emmanuel Rivera led the way with three hits and three driven in while Carter Hope earned the win with five innings and three runs given up.

Emmanuel Rivera 3-4 2b, 3RBI
Blake Perkins 1-3 2R, 2b, RBI, BB
Gabe Cancel 1-2 R, 2b, RBI, BB

NW Arkansas Naturals 8 Arkansas Travelers 1

Starter Jon Perrin had his best start since joining the Royals organization in a win for the Naturals. Working five and two-thirds innings he limited Arkansas to just three hits and a walk while striking out seven and failing to allow a run. The Naturals offense provided him with plenty of backing, connecting on 13 hits and eight runs with Kelvin Gonzalez and Anderson Miller each leaving the yard with home runs.

Anderson Miller 2-4 2R, HR
Samir Duenez 2-5 3 RBI
Xavier Fernandez 4-4 3R, 2-2b, RBI

Omaha Storm Chasers 3 New Orleans Baby Cakes 1

Royals rehabber Eric Skoglund tossed five scoreless innings working around three hits in his first game back after injuring his ankle. Tossing 37 strikes on 55 pitches the lefty earned six groundouts before leaving with the game tied. Trailing 1-0 after newcomer Jerry Vasto gave up a run in the sixth the Chasers paired walks by Elier Hernandez and Donnie Dewees in front of a double by Jack Lopez and a single by Ramon Torres to take the lead. Shortstop Nicky Lopez drove in another with a sacrifice bunt and the bullpen finished things off to earn Vasto his first win with the organization.

Eric Skoglund 5 IP 3 H 0 R 0 ER 0 BB 3 K 6-2 GO-FO 55p/37k
Nicky Lopez 1-3 RBI
Frank Schwindel 1-4

Idaho Falls Chukars 7 Orem Owlz 4

The Chukars picked up a game in the standings with a comeback victory. Trailing 4-1 the Chukars score three runs in the sixth inning on a Bubba Starling double and a pair of miscues by Orem. Two innings later with the game tied a pair of run-scoring singles by Jesus Atencio and Kyle Kasser sandwiched by a run scoring on a wild pitch. Relievers Jordan Floyd and Daniel James tossed the final two innings scoreless to secure the win that pulled Idaho Falls within one game of first place Grand Junction.

Bubba Starling 1-2 R, 2b, RBI, BB
Hunter Strong 2-3 2R, BB
Rito Lugo 4.1 IP 4 H 3 R 3 ER 2 BB 6 K 5-1 GO-FO 87p/55k

Saturday Boxscores

In no particular order, here are 10 good things that have happened to the Royals in 2018:

1. The one-year contracts worked just like they should (mostly). Jon Jay and Mike Moustakas were signed in the early spring for two reasons: provide some reasonably good baseball ability, then get traded for prospects. They held up their end of the bargain (Moose’s WARP as a Royal this year: 2.6, Jay’s: 1.0), and the Royals acquired Elvis Luciano and Gabe Speier for Jay and Jorge Lopez and Brett Phillips for Moustakas. The latter two are in the majors already (and Phillips, thanks to his defense, appears to be at least a useful piece—if he hits, he could be very good). The former two are lottery tickets, probably, but that’s OK since it was highly unlikely Kansas City would receive a top prospect for four months of Jon Jay. For purposes of this point, we’ll ignore that other one-year contracts for Alcides Escobar and Lucas Duda are still on the books. Hey, there’s still a few days to trade those guys!

2. Speaking of trades, the Royals seemed to deal Kelvin Herrera at just the right time. And they got Kelvin Gutierrez, Blake Perkins, and Yohanse Morel for him. Herrera went on the disabled list after posting a 4.50 ERA for the Nationals, just returned to the active roster, and got hurt again Sunday. Meanwhile, Gutierrez has hit .281/.338/.419 for Northwest Arkansas and could be manning third base in Kansas City in the near future. Perkins has a .243/.369/.311 line in Wilmington, but more exciting is that he is, by accounts I’ve seen, playing good defense in center field and is also walking a lot: 46 BBs in 250 plate appearances. And Morel? Well…he’s got an interesting name. He’s also pitched 11 games at the Rookie ball level, so who knows?

3. The Royals didn’t just make trades to supplement the future. They also traded with Cincinnati to get Rule 5 selection Brad Keller and went to the waiver wire to add Rosell Herrera. Keller is just 22 and has shown some promise as a starter (3.69 ERA in 15 starts, covering 83 innings). I don’t think he’s a future ace, but he seems to have a role somewhere on a big league staff. Herrera had a decent start to his Royals career but has slumped recently. Still, he has speed and could be a useful utility player/depth piece. That’s OK, because this year should be all about finding talent in unexpected places and then seeing if it can play in the majors.

4. Whit Merrifield has proven his 2017 season was no fluke, hitting .307/.374/.441 so far this season. That’s nice because it’s always good to have at least one player worth watching in the present, and because he could be a very nice trade chip this winter, should the Royals choose to go that direction. I would hate to see him go, but he turns 30 next January, meaning he is unlikely to be this good when the Royals are ready to contend (even the best-case scenario probably puts this in 2021). And he’s still not arbitration-eligible, meaning he is a good, cheap player. His age means he won’t fetch a top-notch prospect probably, but he could still bring back some valuable younger talent.

5. Adalberto Mondesi looks like a pretty good player. Yes, the four(!) walks in 160 plate appearances is a concern, but the four home runs and 17 stolen bases (with three caught stealing), along with the flashy defense, look promising. The Royals could and should be playing him more often, but the early returns are good.

6. The Royals had lots of draft picks this year: four in the first round, six in the top 100, nine in the top 200. That’s a good way to revitalize a farm system in a hurry. And they are almost certainly going to have the first or second overall pick next year. A couple of this year’s early picks, pitcher Daniel Lynch and center fielder Kyle Isbel, are off to good starts, too—Lynch is 5-0 with a 1.46 ERA at Class A Lexington, and Isbel has a 1.063 OPS for Idaho Falls at the Rookie level. The emphasis the Royals placed on college players in this draft means we should be seeing some of these guys in the majors in two or three years.

Um, let’s see…wow, I just had to decide to find 10 good things, not six, didn’t I? Hmm…ok, here’s one.

7. Players already in the system have had some breakout years. Seuly Matias belted 31 homers for Lexington before suffering a season-ending finger injury over the weekend; he’s still only 19 (he turns 20 on September 4). Khalil Lee got everyone’s attention with an .808 OPS at pitcher-friendly Wilmington in High-A ball. He struggled a bit after a promotion to Northwest Arkansas but had an .842 OPS in the last couple of weeks before he went on the disabled list on August 3. MJ Melendez (.807 OPS at Lexington, and he’s also 19) and Nicky Lopez (.819 OPS at Omaha) have also had nice years. One season after being demoted from Omaha to Northwest Arkansas, Ryan O’Hearn made it to the majors and has already launched six home runs in 69 plate appearances. And his co-first baseman at Omaha, Frank Schwndel, has hit .285/.337/.507 this year. He should be in the big leagues soon.

Uhhh…

8. No one died in the Great Kauffman Stadium Flood of 2018.

9. The Royals got one year closer to having massive contracts for Alex Gordon and Ian Kennedy off the books. Gordon only has one more year on his deal, which is worth $20 million annually (plus a mutual option, which at this point I would hope would not even be a consideration for the front office). Kennedy now has two years left at $16.5 million per year. And hey, Gordon has actually been not terrible this year. Not good, mind you (.239/.320/.349), but not as bad as he was in 2017.

And finally…

10. They probably won’t have a worse record than the 1962 Mets, the standard for futility in the modern era with a 40-120 record. Just three more wins to insure they don’t reach 120 losses. I feel fairly confident they can do it.

Phew! Made it!

Please understand, none of this excuses the results this season. I do believe this team has underachieved. Not that they should have been contenders, but they shouldn’t be losing 115 games, either. I think most people and projection systems had them between 90-100 losses, meaning this is on pace to be a 15-20 game underachievement. On the whole, this year is unacceptable. But just because it’s unacceptable doesn’t mean everything is awful.

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

CATCHERS

Salvador Perez ($13 million) – He’s still going to start, and maybe he won’t play every single day, but he’ll get the bulk of the playing time behind the plate.
Predicted Line: .231/.277/.382

Meibrys Viloria ($575,000) – He’s keeping this seat warm for M.J. Melendez in 2022, but he does a nice job as a backup catcher. He’s not much of a hitter, but he’s fantastic behind the plate and has a really good arm.
Predicted Line: .229/.286/.341

INFIELD

Kelvin Gutierrez ($575,000) – I’m not sure why, but I believe in Gutierrez and think he actually becomes a really solid third baseman for this club for a few years, a la Joe Randa. He’s sure-handed and has some quality bat control. The power seems to be coming a bit.
Predicted Line: .291/.343/.446

Nicky Lopez ($800,000) – Probably the best batsman in the organization, Lopez has a chance to be the team’s second baseman for a long time. He can handle shortstop, but a double play combo with Lopez’s steady hand at second is a nice thing to think about.
Predicted Line: .312/.366/.427

Adalberto Mondesi ($1,400,000) – I don’t think he’ll be a star, but he’ll be a step or two below. He makes all the spectacular plays, boots some of the easy ones and steals a ton of bases. The power potential is always intriguing. The low OBP is always infuriating.
Predicted Line: .277/.304/.465

Frank Schwindel ($575,000) – Frank the Tank has taken awhile to get his shot, but continuously hitting in Omaha will get him the opportunity to crush lefties at the big league level and platoon with a free agent bat for a bit. I think it’ll work out pretty well for him too.
Predicted Line: .273/.316/.497

Eric Thames ($7,000,000) – The Royals will believe Nick Pratto needs one more year before he’s ready to be a big-time contributor. Of course things can change, but in the interim, they need a bat to play first and Thames represents a bit of a shift in philosophy for the big club.
Predicted Line: .233/.321/.512

OUTFIELD

Aaron Hicks ($14,000,000) – Coming off some solid seasons in New York, the Royals want to find a veteran to patrol center field who won’t require a huge, long commitment, so prior to the 2020 season, they’re going out and picking up Hicks on a three-year deal. Yes, they probably overspent, but it gives them a switch hitter who can handle center or right quite well, depending on the needs of that night. It might seem odd now given all the outfielders in the big leagues or on the way, but on a deal that expires after 2022, it made some sense as a bridge.
Predicted Line: .256/.354/.439

Khalil Lee ($575,000) – Lee will get a shot at a September callup in 2019 and will spend about half the year in the big leagues in 2020. I’m looking toward a strong finish in 2020 to make him ready to play mostly left field in the outfield with the best throwing arms in baseball. As one of five center fielders on the roster, the outfield defense will be stacked and the potential for greatness is way up there.
Predicted Line: .267/.371/.442

Blake Perkins ($575,000) – Another switch hitter who can really go get it, Perkins will get to play sort of the role of Jarrod Dyson in that he’ll probably get into about 110-120 games with a lot as a pinch runner. There won’t be much need for a defensive replacement, but Hicks tends to need some time off here and there, so Perkins can slide in easily in center and can draw a ton of walks when he plays.
Predicted Line: .223/.314/.351

Brett Phillips ($1,300,000) – Still straddling between a piece of the future and a bridge to that future, Phillips will likely get most of 2021 to show that he’s an important cog in the Royals machine. He strikes out too much and the power just isn’t quite where you want it for a guy who is now spending most of his time in a corner, but he’s a solid player who provides a ton of value as a defender at the very least.
Predicted Line: .253/.321/.417

UTILITY

Kyle Isbel ($575,000) – A scorching hot start after he was drafted made it seem like Isbel was on the fast track to the big leagues, but he’s slowed down slightly in Lexington, though not that much. Isbel profiles right now as a fringe-ish starter, but given his ability to handle some infield work, he has a spot on teams with dwindling position player rosters. He can work a walk and has a little pop and good bat to ball skills. If someone goes down, you can do far worse than Isbel filling in.
Predicted Line: .271/.329/.417

STARTING PITCHERS

Danny Duffy ($15,500,000) – This is the last year of Duffy’s deal, and I believe he’ll play the whole thing out with the Royals before moving on. Still effective, but injuries don’t figure to get fewer and farther between as he gets older.
Predicted Line: 7-6, 4.12 ERA, 123.2 IP, 111 H, 102 K, 51 BB, 19 HR

Daniel Lynch ($575,000) – Lynch was not one of my favorite draft picks, but he hit the ground running and has no intentions of looking back. He’ll get a September callup in 2020, a bit like Yordano Ventura in 2013 and then basically force his way into the 2021 rotation with a strong spring. He’s young, so there’ll be hiccups along the way, but he’s a nice addition.
Predicted Line: 12-5, 3.69 ERA, 145.2 IP, 131 H, 139 K, 45 BB, 20 HR

Brady Singer ($575,000) – Singer will get his first shot in 2020 and will show inconsistent results but flashes of potential during his debut and will earn a spot in the big league rotation out of spring training. It’s not all daisies and rainbows though as he will struggle through a bit of an uneven year with way too many home runs allowed.
Predicted Line: 8-13, 5.11 ERA, 171.1 IP, 168 H, 153 K, 49 BB, 30 HR

Jameson Taillon ($7,300,000) – The Royals will see Taillon as their James Shields for the next wave and will do what they can to go get him, giving up quite a few prospects in a trade a lot of people who are a bit more analytically inclined hate because the Royals aren’t ready to win yet, but that a lot of people who are less analytically inclined love because they love getting a top notch big league pitcher.
Predicted Line: 16-6, 2.93 ERA, 212 IP, 181 H, 209 K, 43 BB, 17 HR

Julio Teheran ($17,000,000) – The Royals will count on a bigger park doing wonders for Teheran when he becomes a free agent after the 2019 season as a pitcher who can help headline a rotation with the young guns. For five years and $70 million, the contract will give some memories of the Ian Kennedy deal, but at least Teheran has better stuff.
Predicted Line: 12-12, 4.04 ERA, 201.1 IP, 199 H, 186 K, 63 BB, 28 HR

BULLPEN

Jason Adam ($1,200,000) – Things haven’t gone well for Adam in his big league debut. The home run ball has not been his friend, but it’s not all bad. He’s gotten a lot of strikeouts and done well enough in limiting hits. It’ll take some time, but he’s going to be a solid middle relief type and will be a key part of a very good bullpen in 2021.
Predicted Line: 66 G, 3.78 ERA, 73.1 IP, 58 H, 89 K, 31 BB, 11 HR

Cody Allen ($11,000,000) – The Royals will look to improve their bullpen immediately and they’ll likely be making a similar mistake to the Soria deal in giving Allen three years and $24 million with the 2021 season being the crescendo at $11 million. Still, he’s a Proven Closer™ and the Royals really want that to help fix this bullpen disaster even though he won’t be closing at the end of the deal.
Predicted Line: 53 G, 4.24 ERA, 53 IP, 45 IP, 57 K, 29 BB, 6 HR

Sean Doolittle ($15,500,000) – The Royals have liked Doolittle for awhile, so I imagine they’ll overlook his injuries this year and some in previous years to give him a big time overpay on a four-year deal worth $49 million. Great control, swings and misses and nearly unhittable relievers aren’t out there all that often, so they had to make a push for him, but knowing the payroll would be manageable at the end, they can backload it.
Predicted Line: 41 G, 3.19 ERA, 43.2 IP, 35 H, 49 K, 9 BB, 5 HR

Carlos Hernandez ($575,000) – Hernandez will get the opportunity in 2021 to make some spot starts and work as a long man out of the bullpen to get his feet wet. He’ll also spend some time in Omaha, but that’s okay.
Predicted Line: 39 G (12 GS), 4.53 ERA, 96.1 IP, 94 H, 87 K, 39 BB, 12 HR

Brad Keller ($1,900,000) – I know people will wonder why Keller is in the bullpen when he’s been so good as a rookie in the rotation, and that’s fair. I just think some of his issues as a starter will make it tough for him to stay there when there are better options, and he can be a really valuable member of a staff who can go multiple innings and can coax a double play grounder when needed. It’s not that he necessarily couldn’t fit as a starter, but on this team, the bullpen is his spot.
Predicted Line: 47 G, 3.11 ERA, 83.1 IP, 77 H, 58 K, 29 BB, 2 HR

Jackson Kowar ($575,000) – There’s a potential future in the rotation for Kowar, but I think the 2021 Royals will really enjoy his stuff coming out of the bullpen to get his feet wet and ending up pitching late in games quite a bit in 2021.
Predicted Line: 51 G, 2.37 ERA, 64 IP, 39 H, 78 K, 22 BB, 4 HR

Richard Lovelady ($750,000) – A duo of Doolittle and Lovelady from the left side is going to be pretty tough to beat in 2021. Lovelady will be in his third year and will be at his very best, taking the majority of save opportunities for this particular Royals club.
Predicted Line: 65 G, 1.29 ERA, 71.1 IP, 33 H, 91 K, 15 BB, 1 HR

Glenn Sparkman ($600,000) – I will always like Sparkman as a bullpen option and I think he and Adam can be a really solid middle relief duo. Plus, he can give you two or three innings when needed, so he’ll be a big part of a modern bullpen.
Predicted Line: 43 G, 3.21 ERA, 68.2 IP, 71 H, 65 K, 28 BB, 5 HR

The total payroll for this squad that looks much improved from what we’ve been watching this year checks in at $114 million, which isn’t all that bloated at all. They’ll be worth 34.8 WARP in general, which puts them as an 83 win team or so. If the bullpen overperforms, they might get an extra three or four wins out of it. All in all, not too shabby I guess. If this is the first step, it’s a good one. If this is a peak, it’s a problem.

BPKC Hitter of the Day: Kelvin Gutierrez 3-3, 2R, HR, 3 RBI, BB

BPKC Pitcher of the Day: Arnaldo Hernandez 9 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 6 K, 6-8 GO-FO, 97p/80k

Hagerstown Suns 8, Lexington Legends 3

Starter Charlie Neuweiler was roughed up for the second start in a row as the right-hander couldn’t make it out of the second inning. Neuweiler gave up a run just two batters in when he gave up a single to the leadoff hitter and quickly moved him to third with a balk and a wild pitch. The very next hitter drove him in with a single to tie up the game 1-1. Three singles, a walk and a hit by pitch forced Neuweiler out of the game with just one out in the second inning as the club gave up five runs to dig a hole the offense couldn’t escape. The lineup couldn’t get much going outside of Nick Pratto’s big night at the plate, going 3 for 4 with hit 10th home run of the season while driving in the three Legends runs.

Nick Pratto: 3-4, HR, 2b, 3 RBI
Kyle Isbel: 2-4, 2R
MJ Melendez: 0-4, 2K

Lynchburg Hillcats 4, Wilmington Blue Rocks 0

Wilmington lost their second in a row to the Indians High-A club, with the offense going on hiatus. Lynchburg starter Sam Hentges limited the Rocks to just two hits and two walks over 6.1 innings as he struck out seven hitters. Just one more hit off the bullpen came for Wilmington as they were shut out. The lack of run support made starter Dan Tillo a loser despite a quality start of two runs over six innings for the lefty. A pair of two-out RBI hits in the third inning gave Lynchburg the two runs off Tillo and two more came later off the bullpen.

Dan Tillo: 6 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, 6-6 GO-FO, 91p/58k
D.J. Burt: 1-3, BB, SB
Julio Pinto: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, 1-1 GO-FO, 10p/8k

NW Arkansas Naturals 8, Midland RockHounds 0

Lefty Emilio Ogando kept his great run of pitching going on Wednesday during a blowout Naturals game. The Naturals piled up four singles with an error in the third to jump out to a 3-0 lead before a pair of home runs blew the doors wide open. In the third inning Alex Liddi homered behind a Kelvin Gutierrez single; an inning later it was Gutierrez tagging his fifth home run with two on base to push the score to 8-0. Those runs were plenty for Ogando who increased his scoreless streak to 24 innings with six shutout frames, allowing just two hits and two walks while striking out six. Reliever Yunior Marte tossed the final three innings perfectly to secure the save.

Yunior Marte: 3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, 5-3 GO-FO, 27p/20k
Emilio Ogando: 6 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 6 K, 8-3 GO-FO, 95p/63k
Nick Heath: 2-3, R, 2b, 2 BB

Omaha Storm Chasers 3, Oklahoma City Dodgers 1

One start after taking a perfect game into the sixth, Arnaldo Hernandez was about as efficient as one could be during a complete game victory. The right-hander pounded the strikezone with a ridiculous 80 strikes on 97 pitches over nine innings while working around five hits with six strikeouts. The Chasers offense backed him with 10 hits and three runs to earn the win including the eighth home run of the season by Jack Lopez to push the lead to 3-1 in the sixth inning.

Jack Lopez: 1-3, HR, BB
Frank Schwindel: 2-3, 2b, RBI, BB
Billy Burns: 3-4, R, RBI

Idaho Falls Chukars 6, Billings Mustangs 0

Another double-digit strikeout performance for Kris Bubic as the former Stanford lefty put away 10 hitters for the second time in three starts for Idaho Falls. Working five scoreless innings, Bubic allowed just two singles and a walk while tossing 50 strikes on 80 pitches. The Chukars broke a scoreless tie in the sixth with a pair of doubles by Reed Rohlman and Jose Caraballo to lead to two runs. An RBI single by Nathan Eaton an inning later would tack on another to make it 3-0 Idaho Falls. The Chukars added three more runs in the ninth with a hit by pitch and four singles. Those runs were plenty for Tyler Gray as the fellow 2018 draftee tossed the final four innings with just one hit allowed, striking out six to earn the save.

Kris Bubic: 5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 10 K, 2-2 GO-FO, 80p/50k
Tyler Gray: 4 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 6 K, 1-3 GO-FO, 57p/33k
Jose Caraballo: 2-5, R, 2b, 2 RBI

Wednesday Boxscores

• The Royals have the potential for a very awkward outfield logjam if their injured players actually return. Brian Goodwin could be back any time, including today, so there’ll be a decision to be made soon. Jorge Soler’s slow recovery makes this a little easier because he seems destined to be out until September, but the Royals could potentially have Goodwin, Soler, Alex Gordon, Rosell Herrera, Brett Phillips and Jorge Bonifacio. The concern I have is that Bonifacio is going to end up as the odd man out because of the way he’s played. He’s hit just .209/.293/.336 and that’s after starting by hitting .306/.358/.510 in his first 13 games. He did go two for three with a walk and a double on Wednesday night, so maybe he’s starting to come around again, but he’s looked absolutely lost. The last month and a half or so of the season is really important to basically all the Royals outfielders other than Gordon because they’re fighting for playing time in 2019. We’ve talked about Herrera’s versatility being a big key for them, but even so, that’s six outfielder with Elier Hernandez knocking on the door in Omaha and potentially needing to be added to the 40-man roster this offseason as well as Khalil Lee and Kort Peterson just a couple steps away. This is a pretty good problem to have, but it’ll be interesting to see how this all gets sorted out.
• I touched on this a few weeks ago when I talked about Blake Perkins and his ridiculous walk rate and .400-plus OBP since coming to the Royals, but with Kelvin Herrera hitting the disabled list this week, I’m completely ready to walk back my criticism of the deal. Another factor in that is that Kelvin Gutierrez has been really good for Northwest Arkansas over the last month or so. I haven’t been able to confirm this yet, but it’s worth mentioning in this spot that I had heard he was working with a swing coach to try to generate more loft and add the power that he had been lacking in his game. Before last night, he had hit .340/.359/.530 over his last 26 games. The walk rate is obviously pretty atrocious, but a .190 ISO will play and he’d even hit two home runs in August already heading into last night’s action. I thought at the time there was at least a chance they thought Herrera was a ticking time bomb and wanted to move him as quickly as possible, and now that he’s on the disabled list and has been somewhere between average and bad with the Nationals, I’m believing that a lot more. There’s plenty to criticize Dayton Moore and the front office about over the last couple years and especially the last few months, but I believe this trade is not one of those things.
• I’m not sure what the point is where results weigh heavily enough to change opinions and I know we’re not there yet on Heath Fillmyer, but the results we’ve seen from him have been pretty darn good. I know that 21 strikeouts and 17 walks in 37.1 innings is a recipe for future disaster, but you have to at least be impressed with the way he’s handled himself. He’s sort of like Jakob Junis in that he really relies on a slider to be successful, but it’s been excellent for him with a 33.3 percent whiff rate. His changeup has been very good too with a 7 percent whiff rate and .190 average against it. I don’t think I’d be going out on a limb to say that Fillmyer won’t really be a factor with any team at any point in his career, but given the success he’s had with the slider and changeup, he’s definitely a pitcher who could benefit from using his fastball less, a tactic the Astros (and others) use to their advantage. In his Wednesday start against the Cubs, his curve was also very good, even though he didn’t get a single swing and miss on it. Like I said, I still don’t believe in Filly long term, but he has some things to build on and if he does, maybe he could be a viable option on a pitching staff in some capacity. It’s at least a lot more likely today than it was two months ago.
• The Royals don’t have many August trade candidates, but they do have a few guys on the 40-man roster who I suppose could possibly get moved over the next couple weeks. The most likely is Lucas Duda who could provide actual value for a contender as a lefty bat off the bench, but in the likely scenario that none of them are actually dealt, I think the Royals should really just release all of Duda, Alcides Escobar, Drew Butera and Jason Hammel toward the end of the month. Before you scoff and/or say that’s super-obvious, if the Royals can’t get anything in a trade for any of them releasing them is actually sort of a very Dayton Moore thing to do because it would give them the opportunity to latch on with a team and maybe even be on their playoff roster. I’m not sure why a team would want any of them, but hey, you never know. And obviously the important part from the Royals perspective is it opens up some 40-man roster spots to be able to give them to guys like Josh Staumont, Richard Lovelady and Nicky Lopez for September call-ups (if they’re to get one). I’m not saying it’s going to happen, but it definitely should, and I do think it actually might.

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

BPKC Pitcher of the Day: Daniel Lynch 5 IP 3 H 1 R 0 ER 2 BB 7 K 2-3 GO-FO 80p/54k

Lexington Legends 5 Lakewood BlueClaws 1

First-round pick Daniel Lynch kept the good vibes going on Sunday as the lefty twirled five innings with just an unearned run against him. Working five innings on 80 pitches, Lynch put away seven hitters via strikeout while spreading around the three hits and a pair of walks. The unearned run in the bottom of the fifth put Lexington down 1-0 but they quickly countered with a pair of singles in the sixth and an MJ Melendez sacrifice fly to tie it up. A second sac fly off the bat of Cal Jones broke the tie in the seventh before a three-run ninth broke the game open and salvaged a split in the series for Lexington.

Jeison Guzman: 1-3 2R, 2b, BB, SB (11)
Janser Lara: 2 IP 1 H 0 R 0 ER 1 BB 2 K 2-3 GO-FO 45p/28k
Ricky Aracena: 2-4 R, RBI

Frederick Keys 6 Wilmington Blue Rocks 0

The Rocks were shut down on offense during Sunday’s game while starter Andres Sotillet struggled in defeat. The right-handed pitcher failed to strike out a hitter over five innings while giving up nine hits and five runs. The offense managed just four hits while going 0 for 6 with runners in scoring position in the loss. Reliever Justin Mitchell encountered a brutal injury to his plant leg while making a pitch needing to be carted off and put his leg in an air cast on removal.

Blake Perkins: 1-3 BB, K, SB (24)
Meibrys Viloria: 1-4 2b
Carter Hope: 2 IP 0 H 0 R 0 BB 2 K 4-0 GO-FO 17p/12k

NW Arkansas Naturals 5 Springfield Cardinals 4

The Naturals fell behind 4-1 after a three-run fifth inning off starter Luis Lugo. From there, reliever Yunior Marte shut the door and the offense started a comeback with a Kelvin Gutierrez solo home run in the sixth. An inning later Erick Mejia and Samir Duenez drove in runs with a pair of singles to tie it up. After Marte’s two and one-third scoreless innings he handed the game off to Walker Sheller who continued on the effort with two more scoreless. Into the bottom of the ninth with the game tied 4-4, a balk moved Erick Mejia into scoring position which allowed Gutierrez to drive home the walk-off run with an opposite-field single that secured the sweep for NW Arkansas.

Samir Duenez: 1-4 RBI, BB
Yunior Marte: 2.1 IP 0 H 0 R 0 ER 0 BB 3 K 2-2 GO-FO 26p/16k
Anderson Miller: 2-4 R, 2b

Salt Lake City Bees 6 Omaha Storm Chasers 0 

The Chasers offense went missing with just three hits in their shutout loss to Salt Lake. It was the fourth straight home loss for Omaha as starter Jake Kalish gave up three runs in five innings on six hits and a pair of walks. The lefty managed four strikeouts in five innings but a two run double by Matt Thaiss broke the tie before Taylor Ward’s brought Thaiss in. Relievers Josh Staumont and Richard Lovelady were tagged for three more runs late while the offense couldn’t get anything going. For Lovelady, the two ninth-inning runs on four hits were the first run he has allowed since July 1st. Chasers first baseman Frank Schwindel increased his hit streak to 13 games with a double and a single, he’s hit .397/.417/.845 during that stretch.

Frank Schwindel: 2-3 2b
Donnie Dewees: 1-3
Nicky Lopez: 0-4

Gm1 Burlington Royals 4 Princeton Rays 3
Gm2 Princeton Rays 2 Burlington Royals 1

Lefty Marlin Willis kept the Rays off the board for three innings following starter Austin Cox’s four innings which allowed the Royals offense to come back for a win. Trailing 3-2 after three innings, Jose Marquez connected on his second double of the game in the fourth inning to drive in catcher Michael Emodi to tie things up. An inning later it was Emodi’s double that placed him in position to score for the third time in the game to take a 4-3 lead and earn the win. The offense couldn’t get much going in the second game which ruined a solid outing by starter Elvis Luciano who worked six innings with just two runs allowed on a solo home run and a Wander Franco rbi triple in the sixth. The only run that scored for the Royals came via a sac fly by Jackson Lueck to drive in Marquez during a three-hit offensive effort.

Jose Marquez: 3-6 R, 2-2b, 2 RBI, K
Marlin Willis: 3 IP 3H 0 R 0 ER 0 BB 3K 2-2 GO-FO 69p/47k
Elvis Luciano: 6 IP 4H 2 R 2 ER 1 BB 3 K 11-3 GO-FO 66p/46k

Grand Junction Rockies 5 Idaho Falls Chukars 1 

The bullpen and a lack of offense made a mess of C.J. Eldred’s quality start. The former Hawkeye right-hander worked seven innings around six hits, allowing just one run in the fifth inning on a leadoff triple and a rbi single. That tied the game after Nathan Eaton’s first-inning home run but that would be the last run Idaho Falls would score. The Rockies piled on late to hand Idaho Falls the loss with a run off Jackson Klein in the eighth and three more off Jordan Floyd in the ninth.

Nathan Eaton: 3-4 HR
C.J. Eldred: 7 IP 6 H 1 R 1 ER 1 BB 4 K 8-4 GO-FO 87p/62k
Andres Martin: 1-4 SB

Sunday Boxscores

BPKC Hitter of the Day Donnie Dewees 4-5 HR, 2b, 4 RBI

BPKC Pitcher of the Day Jon Heasley 5 IP 3 H 2 R 1 ER 1 BB 4 K 6-2 GO-FO 55p/42k

Las Vegas 51s 12 Omaha Storm Chasers 11

A home run derby broke out at Werner Park Friday night as the two teams combine for nine home runs in the game. Chasers starter Arnaldo Hernandez entered the game with seven home runs given up on the year and left with eleven as the right-hander got dinged for four blasts in four innings including three for two-run shots. In addition to the home runs the 51s hit seven doubles in the game including five off Hernandez during a 16 hit barrage that led to 12 runs. The Chasers countered with nine runs from the second through the fifth inning to draw close as they knocked out 16 hits of their own in the game but a scoreless streak left them down three runs into the ninth. After back to back home runs by Nicky Lopez and Billy Burns in the ninth pulled them with one Vegas got the final out to end the game.

Nicky Lopez 2-4 2R, HR, RBI, BB
Frank Schwindel 3-6 2R, 2-2b, HR, 2 RBI
Donnie Dewees 4-5 2b, HR, 4 RBI

NW Arkansas Naturals 6 Springfield Cardinals 3

The Naturals Scott Blewett gave his club a quality start with six innings of three-run pitching (2 ER). For much of the season, it has been a struggle for Blewett as he’s had trouble getting out hitters from either side with both hitting above .300 against him prior to this game. During this one, though the right-hander was missing some bats, striking out a season hit eight while retiring the first eight hitters he faced on the night. Attacking the zone with first pitch strikes Blewett gave up a solo home run in the third inning before running into some trouble in the sixth. The Naturals offense quickly countered the home run in the third with a triple by Anderson Miller and a sacrifice fly before connecting on their own home run an inning later via Kelvin Gutierrez’s opposite field home run. Three singles and Kort Peterson’s throwing error helped plate two runs but a double play got Blewett out of the sixth prior to Gutierrez answering again with a rbi single. The bullpen made that lead hold up over the final three innings while the Naturals tacked on with another Gutierrez rbi single and Samir Duenez’s rbi double for the final winning margin.

Grand Junction Rockies 3 Idaho Falls Chukars 1

A rare lack of offense for Idaho Falls led to a defeat Friday night. The two starting pitchers started the game with four scoreless innings before Chukars starter gave up two runs on a pair of doubles and a couple Idaho Falls defensive errors. An inning later Grand Junction expanded their lead with a run with another double, this time off reliever Domingo Pena. That 3-0 lead would prove too much for the Chukars offense that was limited to just a run on four hits in the loss.

Jose Caraballo 1-4 RBI
Tyler James 1-2 R, 2BB, K
Nick Hutchins 1-3 Bb, 2k

Friday 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

• There’s been quite a bit of discussion about what the Royals should do with Salvador Perez. The general consensus is that they should trade him because they can get a return back for him that will expedite this rebuild and he likely won’t be a part of the next great Royals team anyway. The idea is that he’d bring back just about the biggest return of any player on the team. I don’t know if that’s true. While Salvy has certainly earned his place in Royals lore and maybe has even earned the right to have his number on the team Hall of Fame in a few years, I’m not sure how much value he has. Consider this. He’s now had two injuries, caught about a million innings and is now hitting .223/.269/.417 in what is the worst offensive showing of his career to this point. He still has the cannon for an arm, throwing out 57 percent of attempted base stealers, so it’s not like he lacks value, but he continues to rank poorly in framing metrics, which is an issue and I believe he doesn’t call an especially great game, though that’s personal opinion. On the topic of his framing, he ranks as the second worst in baseball in framing runs at -6.7. But maybe most importantly in the discussion, he’s no longer cheap. Under his previous deal that ran through next season, he would be set to earn about $10 million more. Instead, he’s now owed about $40 million through the end of the 2021 season, when he’ll be 31 years old with even more mileage on him. I look at the Jonathan Lucroy deal from 2016 and he netted the Brewers a top-75 prospect and a top-20 prospect. I think the return is probably a fair amount lower than that for Perez given his age, production dip and contract. Is the PR hit worth it for a top-100 prospect and maybe two guys are in the 10-15 range in an organization? Maybe. But I don’t think it’s that simple.
• On the Kelvin Herrera deal, I remain underwhelmed at the return, but I’m also not immediately dismissing it as a bad deal for the Royals. The rental market is typically not exactly on fire and the return the Royals got for Herrera was likely better than what the Tigers received for J.D. Martinez, who was the best hitter on the market last year. I also think there was significant injury fear, no matter what anyone tells you, and I think it came from both sides making the trade. Herrera’s last outing with the Royals featured a home run allowed, two walks and a dreaded visit from the trainer. Then he randomly warmed up on Sunday, but I’m not sure he was ever going to get in. Maybe it was a bit of a ploy to show health. Even so, I’m disappointed because I expected more than prospects with more uncertainty than even other prospects. I did talk to some people in the know who believe that Kelvin Gutierrez has a chance to be an impact performer because they believe there’s more power in his bat than he’s shown so far. If he can even become a .280/.350/.450 hitter with the defense he seems to provide, that’s well worth the deal. Blake Perkins doesn’t make much sense to me because I don’t think he’ll ever hit and I think the Royals have enough players with similar defense and speed. But hey, I’ve been wrong before. And that doesn’t even get into Yohanse Morel, who is the piece that could make this deal a huge win for the Royals if it’s going to be one. He’s just 17 and has a long way to go, but what little I know about him is exactly the type of lottery ticket arm I’d love to see included in every deal.
• Maybe I’m sentimental or sappy, but I actually have no problem with the Royals stated desire to start playing Alcides Escobar at some other positions around the field. I don’t think it has anything to do with them having to keep his bat in the lineup or his streak (though until he sits, that’ll be at least part of it, I guess). I believe this is an organization trying to do a favor for a guy who was part of a championship core. Escobar is clearly no longer a starting shortstop in the big leagues. His offense has always been horrible, but his defense somewhat made up for it for awhile. It really doesn’t anymore. By playing him at second, third and center field, the Royals are likely hoping it’ll show other teams that he could be a utility option for them next season and might help him to actually get a job next year. I don’t think it’s going to change anything, honestly, but I respect the Royals desire to at least try to help the guy out.
• I suppose I could talk about who should close for the Royals now, but until they have a lead to protect, it doesn’t really matter. My answer is Jason Adam, though. What I will talk about is Brad Keller as a starter. We’re starting to get some data to be able to make some observations now that he’s gotten into a third time through the order. The good is that in each of his two longer starts, he’s shown a fair amount of velocity, averaging a bit more than 95 MPH in both outings and touching as high as 97 or so. He held his own against a fantastic Houston offense last time out too, so that’s a high point regardless of pretty much anything else. I’m concerned with the control as he now has seven walks over his last two starts, spanning just 11.1 innings. He also has struck out just five in those two starts, which I think is something that will plague him if he sticks in the rotation. He, without a doubt, needs to get more starts, and I reserve the right to change my opinion when we have more information about him, but I’m still thinking he’s better served as a reliever. Now we need to see Scott Barlow and Trevor Oaks get some starts down the stretch to see what they have. I think I’m one of the few who still likes Oaks, but Barlow’s strong pitching his last time in the big leagues has probably earned him some potential fans, so they’re very important to see as well.