Now, we already know the first payment on the ’13 draft was a very large one as the Royals turned their second and third picks that season, Sean Manaea and Cody Reed, into a 2015 World Championship with the two as primary pieces in the Ben Zobrist and Johnny Cueto trades. Those flags shall fly forever and the money from that World Series merchandise overflowed for the Royals. While those two turned huge returns, what other players from that draft are of note?

1st Round picks or Eventual 1st round Picks
Hunter Dozier
Sean Manaea
T.J. Zeuch 31st round
Will Craig 37th round

That’s right, the Royals made four selections that turned into 1st round picks. Yes, it’s obvious that Dozier and Manaea were first round picks, but additionally their 31st round and 37th round picks turned into 1st round picks for the Pirates three years later.

Besides 1st round picks what players have made their debuts in the major leagues?
Cody Reed
Luke Farrell
Kevin McCarthy
Glenn Sparkman

So we see the Royals have drafted six players in that draft who have made it to the big leagues so far. The isn’t too bad, though it could be better. Only Manaea and McCarthy have given multiple appearances with contribution and McCarthy has limited upside as a reliever. The other four we’ll just give an incomplete as players who have struggled in limited appearances.

While ’18 will add to the story for Manaea, Farrell and Reed, elsewhere there are bigger impacts to come for a few Royals.

First, there is Dozier who, after a lost ’17 season due to injury, faces the possibility of competing with Cheslor Cuthbert for the third base job or working his way into the lineup as a first baseman. The upside of a big league average regular is still there for Dozier, and some might say that if the Royals dream to compete in ’18 that the upside that he presents might be one of the only ways along with a bounceback by starters in the pitching staff could be the only way they could get there. The 2016 minor league player of the year has 3-4 fWAR upside which is something a few other position players likely don’t have.

In addition to Dozier, this season is a big one for Glenn Sparkman and Jonathan Dziedzic. While Sparkman made a rough debut after a spring training injury for the Blue Jays, lefty Dziedzic looked to be on the cusp of shoving his way into a major league debut before an April injury sidelined this season. With the Royals likely needing innings from a rotation of oft-injured pitchers and additional bullpen pieces, these two could jump to the top of the list of players with a shot to make an impact. In particular, Sparkman and his four pitches with solid 93-95 mph velocity have a shot to be a contributor along the lines of what Jake Junis did last season. While I like Sparkman’s upside more, don’t overlook Dziedzic who, if healthy, has the possibility to grow into a Jason Vargas type crafty lefty if given a chance with his four-pitch mix and high pitching IQ.

This draft has already helped place a flag in the outfield for Dayton Moore and Lonnie Goldberg, but if they want to surprise in 2018 then additional players will have to ring the register once again.

HR Roll Call: Garin Cecchini (3), Donnie Dewees (5)

BPKC Hitter of the Day: Donnie Dewees 2-4, 2R, 2b, HR, 2 RBI, SB (8)

BPKC Pitcher of the Day: Corey Ray 9 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K, 13-6 GO-FO, 88p/60k

Omaha Storm Chasers 4, Nashville Sounds 2

Starter Luke Farrell tied a career high in strikeouts while the Chasers scored some late runs to take home a win over the Sounds.

After watching the Sounds knock six home runs off Omaha starters the last two nights, Farrell kept the ball in the park, allowing two runs on seven hits in his 6.2 innings. Those seven hits were limited to just two runs thanks to 10 strikeouts by the starter as he pounded the zone with 77 strikes on a career-high 116 pitches before leaving with his team trailing.

The Chasers would quickly get their starter off the hook, getting a two-out ground rule double from Raul Mondesi that was quickly cashed in on an error on a ball off the bat of Jorge Soler. Back to back singles by Ryan O’Hearn and Bubba Starling would score Soler to give Omaha 3-2 lead after seven innings.

The Chasers would tack on an insurance run in the eighth on a Garin Cecchini solo home run before reliever Malcom Culver closed things out in the ninth.

Boxscore Link

Luke Farrell 6.2 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 10 K, 3-4 GO-FO, 116p/77k
Raul Mondesi 2-5, R, 2b
Bubba Starling 1-4, RBI

NW Arkansas Naturals 5, Springfield Cardinals 0

The Naturals jumped on Springfield early and received a terrific effort on the mound to pull within one game of the first-place Cardinals.

The Naturals first two hitters in the lineup, Jack Lopez and Humberto Arteaga, both singled to start the game. After Lopez advanced to third on Arteaga’s single he was brought home via the groundout from Corey Toups to give NW Arkansas the 1-0 lead. A Mauricio Ramos single pushed Arteaga 90 feet away, from where he would score on a wild pitch. With the Cardinals starter wavering, Donnie Dewees would double up the score with his fifth home run of the year.

Those runs would be all that righty Corey Ray would need. Working his first complete game of his career, Ray kept the ball on the ground and navigated around just four hits. The Cardinals had just five at-bats with a runner in scoring position, going hitless while the former Aggie didn’t walk a hitter for the first time this season.

The Naturals tacked on a run in the eighth while their starter used just 88 pitches to complete the game and put his squad in position to even the standings tomorrow night.

Boxscore Link

Jack Lopez 2-3, R
Corey Toups 1-4, R, RBI
Mauricio Ramos 1-4, R

Wilmington Blue Rocks 4, Buies Creek Astros 3 F/15

The Blue Rocks needed extra innings to take game one with the High-A farm club of the Astros Thursday night.

Shortstop Nicky Lopez helped Wilmington to a 2-0 advantage early. The rising prospect walked, stole second, and advanced to third on a throwing error before scoring on a wild pitch in the first. One inning later, it was a Lopez triple that pushed the advantage to two runs.

Starter Colin Rodgers worked five scoreless, allowing just a pair of a singles and two walks. The lefty put away four Astros with strikeouts and six with groundouts in the process, placing himself in a position to earn the win. That wouldn’t happen unfortunately, as lefty reliever Jacob Bodner struggled in his two innings, giving up three runs on five hits to put the Rocks behind 3-2.

That score would remain until the bottom of the ninth when an error and a pair of back to back singles helped the Rocks tie the game.

The two offenses would be put on ice for the next five innings until the bottom of the 15th. Still tied at three, the Rocks would get a one out single by Jecksson Flores to kickstart their inning. The infielder was pushed into scoring position on a walk of Chase Vallot. From there, Flores would come racing home on a Roman Collins double to walk things off for Wilmington.

Boxscore Link

Richard Lovelady 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 5 K, 2-0 GO-FO, 47p/33k
Nicky Lopez 2-6, R, 3b, BB, RBI, 2SB(13)
Colin Rodgers 5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, 6-4 GO-FO, 86p/47k

Columbia Fireflies 8, Lexington Legends 0

The Legends didn’t have much going well in Columbia Thursday night in getting swept.

The offense put together just four singles while getting shut out, and the pitching staff was knocked around for 12 hits. Starter Travis Eckert took the loss, allowing four runs in four innings including a home run by Dash Willingham. The bullpen didn’t fare much better with Arnaldo Hernandez giving up a second home run to Willingham, and Geoffrey Bramblett allowing three runs to finish off the game.

Boxscore Link

Vance Tatum 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K, 14p/9k
Angelo Castellano 2-4
Rudy Martin 1-3

DSL Royals 3, DSL Rays1 2 f/10

The DSL Royals won a game in extra innings over the Rays squad to improve to 4-1.

The Royals took a 1-0 lead in the seventh inning after a Brayant Aponte double that scored Edickson Soto. The Rays quickly answered in the eighth, scoring a run on a Royals throwing error.

The game went to extras where the new rule of starting a runner on second base was employed. The Royals, in their half on defense, quickly cut down the runner from second on a fielder’s choice when the catcher, Felix Familia, tossed out a runner at third. Back to back errors followed though, and the Rays took a lead on a single.

Trailing by one, the Royals started their inning with a sac bunt that was good enough to allow the runner to reach first. A hit by pitch and a sac fly error allowed the Royals to even the score and load the bases once again. After a pop out, catcher Felix Familia walked things off for the Royals with another sacrifice fly.

Boxscore Link

Brayant Aponte 2-3, 2b, BB, RBI
Wilmer Jimenez 3.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 K, 1-2 GO-FO
Kelvin Gonzalez 3 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, 4-0 GO-FO

HR Roll Call Frank Schwindel (7), Chris DeVito (14), Brandon Downes (2)

BPKC Hitter of the Day Chris DeVito 4-6 2R, 2b, 3b, HR, RBI 

BPKC Pitcher of the Day Emilio Ogando 6 IP 5 H 2 R 2 ER 1 BB 5 K 7-4 GO-FO 91p/58k

Memphis Redbirds 12 Omaha Storm Chasers 2

The Chasers received another quality start but a bullpen blowup gave them a loss in Memphis.

Omaha’s starter Luke Farrell worked around four walks and four hits to leave with a 2-1 lead after his first baseman, Frank Schwindel, had given him the lead with a fifth inning home run.

Rehabbing Brian Flynn struggled in the seventh when he entered, getting touched up for six hits and five runs as he was able to get just one out in the inning. Things didn’t get better for Omaha in the eighth when Onelki Garcia was worked over for an additional six runs on four hits.

That deficit was too large to overcome and Omaha shortstop Raul Mondesi had his hitting streak snapped at a career high 18 games with an 0 for 4 night at the plate.

Boxscore Link

Ramon Torres 1-4 R, 2b
Frank Schwindel 1-3 HR
Hunter Dozier 1-3 RBI, BB

Midland RockHounds 10 NW Arkansas Naturals 9

The Naturals normally reliable bullpen let them down in their game at Midland on Friday night.

The offense lead by the top two hitters in the order, Jack Lopez and Elier Hernandez helped the Naturals to a pair of big innings in the fifth and sixth to take a 9-2 lead.

Starter Emilio Ogando after giving up a pair or runs in the first inning settled in and tossed another quality start with two run ball over six frames. The lefty since arriving at Double-A now has given the Naturals four quality starts in five tries.

That 9-2 lead was shrunk to just two after lefty Luis Rico was touched up for five runs in the seventh with just one hitter retired in the frame. Reliever Jake Newberry got them out of the seventh and through the eighth but he struggled in the ninth after getting the first two outs in the inning. A single and a double sliced the lead in half before another double tied it up. Now tied the A’s Double-A franchise walked things off with a single by Brett Vertigan.

Boxscore Link

Elier Hernandez 3-6 2R, RBI, CS (3)
Jack Lopez 4-6 2R, RBI
Samir Duenez 1-4 R, 2b, 2 RBI, BB

Wilmington Blue Rocks 12 Winston-Salem Dash 6

The Blue Rocks have enjoyed their series in Winston-Salem the last two nights, scoring 21 runs in a pair of wins.

The Rocks went wild in the first inning of this one with nine consecutive hitters reaching base after a leadoff out. The nine hitters helped Wilmington plate seven runs with Brandon Downes plating a pair and Chris DeVito connecting on a single in the inning.

For the big first baseman that single was part of a big night at the plate. In the second he would lumber around for a triple after hitting a ground ball into the right field corner. Two innings later that same corner would be used for a double and just two inning later Downes and DeVito would hit back to back home runs with DeVito completing the cycle. It was just the second cycle in franchise history for Wilmington with the last one coming in 1999 by former Royal Dee Brown.

Those two home runs pushed the lead to 9-3 and three more in the ninth gave Wilmington enough insurance to wind things down 12-6 after the two teams combined for 31 hits.

Boxscore Link

Yunior Marte 2.1 2 H 0 R 0 ER 0 BB 4 K ERA now 1.42
Nicky Lopez 3-5 2b, 3 RBI, BB   .405 OBP
Brandon Downes 2-5 2R, HR, 4 RBI, BB

Lexington Legends 2 Augusta GreenJackets 1

Giants lefty Domenic Mazza pitch a second complete game against Lexington this season.

After tossing a perfect game in April against the Legends, he beat them in the middle of May with a one run start and was tossing zeroes against them with a 1-0 lead through seven.

In the eighth things started to change when Rudy Martin got a big two-out hit to score John Brontsema to tie the game up at 1-1. After a scoreless ninth for Augusta the Lexington shortstop, Angelo Castellano tripled to lead off the bottom half of the inning. The lefty, Mazza intentionally walked a pair of hitters to try to wiggle out of the threat but Emmanuel Rivera lined a single to right to walk things off for the Legends.

Boxscore Link

Emmanuel Rivera 2-4 RBI
Angelo Castellano 1-4 R, 3b
Travis Eckert 6 IP 5 H 1 R 1 ER 3 BB 5 K 6-2 GO-FO 89p/56k

HR Roll Call Samir Duenez (6), Chris DeVito (11) 

BPKC Hitter of the Day: Chris DeVito 4-5 HR, 2b, 2 RBI 

BPKC Pitcher of the Day: Pedro Fernandez 2.2 Ip 1 H 0 R 0 ER 1 BB 4 K 0-3 GO-FO 41p/24k

Lexington Legends 6 West Virginia Power 3 

The Legends earned a split in their series with West Virginia while finishing off a 4-3 road trip Monday evening.

As usual, for Lexington, it was first baseman Chris “GirthQuake” DeVito in the middle of things to lead the Legends offense. The South Atlantic League’s leading home run and RBI man drove in a Legends run in the third inning with a single and homered in fifth as part of his four hit night.

The Legends used a six-run spurt from the 3rd through the 7th inning to build a lead while piggybacking pitcher Jace Vines pitched his way in and out of a bases loaded one out jam in the 8th to preserve the lead and the win.

Catcher Meibrys Viloria was named South Atlantic Player of the Week for last week and started building on this week’s honor with a 2-3 game that featured a pair of doubles and his first stolen base of the year.

Boxscore Link

Meibrys Viloria 2-3 R, 2-2b, BB, SB
Kort Peterson 2-4 R, 2b
Khalil Lee 1-4 R, 2 RBI, SB (9)

NW Arkansas Naturals 3 Arkansas Travelers 2

The Naturals walked things off to earn another win over the Angels Double-A affiliate on Monday night.

First baseman Samir Duenez homered in the first to put NW Arkansas out in front but starter Corey Ray gave up a pair in the second inning to put his squad down 2-1. That lead would hold up until the bottom of the ninth when Allen de San Miguel put a ground ball up the middle to score Mauricio Ramos from second to start up the celebration.

A one out single by Frank Schwindel started the rally. From there, Ramos pushed pinch runner Logan Moon to third before Ruben Sosa’s sac bunt fielder’s choice scored Moon as he slid under the tag.

Despite the pair of runs allowed, Ray put up a quality start with six and one-third innings of two run ball while earning 12 groundouts on the night.

Boxscore Link

Samir Duenez 2-4 HR
Corey Ray 6.1 IP 8 H 2 R 2 ER 2 BB 4 K 12-2 GO-FO 101p/60k
Terrance Gore 2-3 2 SB

Salt Lake Bees 5 Omaha Storm Chasers 3

The Chasers bullpen let one slip away in Salt Lake as the offense continued to struggle to score runs.

Omaha had built a 3-0 lead into the sixth and starter Luke Farrell hadn’t allowed a hit up until that point when Salt Lake finally got to him. The Angels Triple-A affiliate came through with a two-out single, the second hit of the inning, to score two runs and draw the game to within one. After a scoreless seventh the Bees were back after Farrell with a Dustin Ackley single, pushing him to second on a Rey Navarro bunt and then another single, this time by Shane Robinson, to even things up.

Omaha would turn to its bullpen to finish off the seventh, but Bobby Parnell couldn’t get through the eighth inning unscathed, allowing three more singles off Bees hitters to give them a 5-3 lead and an eventual win.

The Omaha offense outhit the Bees and managed the only two extra base hits in the game, but a 2 for 7 performance with runners in scoring position, ultimately dooming them. The loss was the sixth in their last seven games and has pushed them 6.5 games back of Colorado Springs in the division.

Boxscore 

Raul Mondesi 2-5  R
Dean Anna 3-4 3b, RBI
Luke Farrell 6.1 IP 4 H 3 R 3 ER 3 BB 3 K 4-4 GO-FO 96p/56k

HR Roll Call: Jorge Soler (3), Garin Cecchini (1), Samir Duenez (4), Meibrys Viloria (1)

BPKC Hitter of the Day: Meibrys Viloria 2-3, HR, 2 RBI, BB

BPKC Pitcher of the Day: Jace Vines 6 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 3 K, 10-2 GO-FO, 94p/56k

Memphis Redbirds 6, Omaha Storm Chasers 4 F/10

The largest Werner Park crowd of the season witnessed the second game of series between Memphis and Omaha on Wednesday afternoon. They were treated to bonus baseball for the fifth time already in just their 25th game played.

The Chasers picked up quality starting pitching again in this one, with Luke Farrell allowing just one run in his five innings of work. The lone run off Farrell came in the fifth via a sacrifice fly after maneuvering around baserunners in three of his first four innings. It was his ability to earn a K on this day that helped him navigate around four walks and four hits as Farrell put away a season high nine in this one.

Following Farrell in the sixth, reliever Eric Stout’s pitching didn’t match his surname, as he allowed three runs in just two-thirds of an inning to put behind Omaha 4-1. The Chasers would come back immediately in their half of the inning with three runs of their own, the last two of which scored on a Garin Cecchini two-run home run that the lefty hitter banged off the third base foul pole, slightly more than 310 feet away.

The game remained tied until the tenth when the Redbirds would untie it off reliever Bobby Parnell with a pair of doubles sandwiched around a walk that plated two runs. The walk was a common theme for Omaha pitching as four separate pitchers teamed to walk 10 Memphis hitters during the game that the Chasers let slip through their grasp.

Boxscore Link

Jorge Soler 2-5, HR
Luke Farrell 5 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 4 BB, 9 K, 1-3 GO-FO, 98p/57k
Bubba Starling 1-3, RBI, HBP

NW Arkansas Naturals 4, Springfield Cardinals 1

A rain delay couldn’t deter the Naturals from building on their first place lead during against the second place Cardinals Wednesday afternoon.

The Cardinals jumped on starter Corey Ray for a run in the first with three consecutive singles before he could right the ship in the inning and the rest of his start. From there he worked four consecutive scoreless innings. In three of those innings, Springfield put a runner into scoring position including two innings with leadoff doubles, but Ray wiggled around those threats.

The pitcher was rewarded with his third win of the season after the Naturals ran off four consecutive single-run innings from the fourth through the seventh. Four separate Naturals hitters scored, including Samir Duenez who blasted his fourth home run of the season to finish off the scoring before Jake Newberry closed things out for his fourth save.

Boxscore Link

Corey Ray 5 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, 4-4 GO-FO, 76p/47k
Donald Dewees 2-5, R, 2-2b
Samir Duenez 1-4, HR

Salem Red Sox 4, Wilmington Blue Rocks 3

The Blue Rocks rallied multiple times on Wednesday evening before dropping the rubber game of their series with Salem.

Things got off to a less than ideal start for Foster Griffin in the first inning, when the lefty would allow a three-run home run Josh Ockimey. Despite that blow, Griffin rallied himself to set a new personal best with nine strikeouts, giving up just four hits total to finish off his fourth quality start in five tries this season.

The Blue Rock offense, with aid from the Red Sox defense, would get Griffin off the hook for the loss with unearned runs in the sixth and seventh inning, tying the game. That wouldn’t last though, as the Rocks manager Jamie Quirk would choose to let Yunior Marte pitch versus Michael Chavis in the eighth. That proved to be a poor strategy, with the former first rounder lacing a double to push the Red Sox back ahead 4-3.

The home squad would threaten in the eighth and ninth innings, putting the tying run into scoring position in both but failing to push the run home. The ninth inning rally was particularly troubling when Elier Hernandez advanced to third base with just one out on Anderson Miller’s third hit of the game, only to watch Chase Vallot and Wander Franco strikeout to end the game.

Boxscore Link

Anderson Miller 3-5, R, 2SB (8), extended on-base streak to 18 games
Roman Collins 3-3, RBI, BB
Foster Griffin 6 IP, 4 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 9 K, 3-4 GO-FO, 92p/58k

Lexington Legends 5, Greensboro Grasshoppers 2 

The Legends used quality pitching and some early runs to secure a series win in Greensboro on Wednesday morning.

The Royals 2016 4th round pick Jace Vines matched his career high with six innings of work, shutting out the Grasshoppers during that time thanks to 10 groundouts. The Marlins affiliate was able to get just two singles off Vines as he worked around three walks. Piggybacker Garrett Davila allowed the only runs in the game on a two-run home run in the eighth inning, his fourth allowed this year.

Those runs weren’t enough after Lexington had dented the scoreboard four times in the first two innings. In the first, Gabe Cancel hit his team leading 11th double of the season to drive in Angelo Castellano who had reached on a walk. The big inning came in the second frame with a two-run home run by Meibrys Viloria, his first, and a RBI single off the bat of Ricky Aracena to drive in Amalani Fukofuka.

The lead was extended to 5-0 in the fourth when Fukofuka scored on Marten Gasparini’s single, securing the team’s second winning road series in a row.

Boxscore Link

Khalil Lee 2-4, 2b, R
Amalani Fukofuka 2-3, 2R, 2SB (2), BB
Garrett Davila 3 IP, 4 H, 2R, 2ER, 0 BB, 3 K, 2-3 GO-FO, 43p/27k

HR Roll Call: Whit Merrifield (2), Jorge Bonifacio (1), Brandon Downes (1), Manny Olloque (1)

BPKC Hitter of the Day: Manny Olloque 3-4, 3R, HR, 2-2b, RBI

BPKC Pitcher of the Day: Luke Farrell 5.1 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, 87p/54k, 3-5 go-fo

Game of the Day
Omaha Storm Chasers 8 Colorado Springs Sky Sox 3

The Chasers powered up in the final game of the series on Sunday, using seven extra base hits among their 14 total to cruise to an easy win. Being the last man cut for the third consecutive season hasn’t deterred Whit Merrifield at all. Sunday he clubbed his second home run of year in the first to start the scoring for Omaha. A double by second baseman Corey Toups pushed that lead to 3-0 in the second inning. Starter Luke Farrell was the beneficiary of the offense, but that was after he allowed three runs in the third inning on three hits and a walk including a two run double off the bat of Garrett Cooper. From there, Farrell and the bullpen would silent the Brewers farm club’s bats while Omaha kept plugging away. It was Toups doubling and scoring in the fourth and Merrifield scoring on a Ryan O’Hearn double in the fifth to push the lead to 5-3 before Jorge Bonifacio’s three-run blast in the sixth pushed the game well into the comfort zone for the win. The Chasers will head to back to Papillion to start their first homestand of the season.

Boxscore Link

Corey Toups 2-3, R, RBI 2-2b, 2BB
Jorge Bonifacio 2-4, HR, 3 RBI
Eric Stout 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 K, 2-0 GO-FO, 20/12 p/k

Corpus Christi Hooks 7 NW Arkansas Naturals 3

Sunday’s game was a mirror image of Saturday’s for the Naturals as they fell behind, then tied the game late, only to watch the bullpen give up a crooked number for the loss. Starter Christian Binford gave up a two-run home run in the fourth for his only runs allowed in six innings, while relievers Pedro Fernandez and Tim Hill gave up five combined to blow the lead for NW Arkansas. The Naturals scored their runs on a wild pitch in the fifth, an RBI double from Samir Duenez in the sixth, and an eighth inning Alfredo Escalera run scoring single. The same two teams will face off on Monday with Corey Ray taking the bump for the good guys.

Boxscore Link

Samir Duenez 1-3, 2b, HBP, RBI
Mauricio Ramos 3-4
Christian Binford 6 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 3 K

Potomac Nationals 8 Wilmington Blue Rocks 7

The Nationals top prospect, Victor Robles, helped pace their club to a series deciding-win with a 3 for 4 day at the plate that included his first home run of the year. The centerfielder scored four times, most of which off starter Emilio Ogando who yielded six runs on nine hits in just four innings of work. The Blue Rocks trailed most of the day but kept fighting, tying the game at six in the fifth only to watch the bullpen quickly put them behind again. A home run by Brandon Downes in the ninth trimmed the deficit to one, but a late rally opportunity was extinguished with the tying run at second.

Boxscore Link

Anderson Miller 2-3, 3b, 2R, 3SB, 2 RBI
Brandon Downes 2-5, HR
Franco Terrero 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 3 K, 1-1 go-fo, 25p/16k

Charleston RiverDogs 12 Lexington Legends 4

The Legends bullpen continued to struggle in their series finale loss in Charleston on Sunday. Non-starters gave up 18 runs in the four game series including six in this one against the Yankees affiliates. The defense didn’t help in this one as five Legends errors led to the 12 runs allowed. Yankees stud prospect Blake Rutherford continued his hot hitting by going 3 for 5 with three doubles and a pair of RBI. Next, the Legends will head to Greenville for a series with the Boston affiliate.

Boxscore Link

Khalil Lee 2-5, 2-2b
David McKay 3 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 6 K, 1-2 go-fo, 44p/28k
Ofreidy Gomez 4 IP, 7 H, 6 R, 5 ER, 4 BB, 3 K, 4-3 go-fo, 72p/44k

HR Roll Call: Hunter Dozier (10)

BP KC Hitter of the Day – Hunter Dozier 2-4, HR, 2b, 2 R, 3 RBI

BP KC Pitcher of the Day – Daniel Concepcion 3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K

Tacoma Rainiers 7 Omaha Storm Chasers 5

The Chasers lost another game late in Tacoma on Tuesday. In the series finale, third baseman Hunter Dozier helped his team overcome deficits early and late before the bullpen would give up a lead once again. Dozier’s solo home run in the fourth, his 10th of the season, cut a two run deficit in half. It was Dozier again in the eighth with a two run double to knot the game at 4-4 before scoring to give Omaha their first lead in the game. However, the bullpen wasn’t able to hang on, as Clayton Mortensen loaded the bases prior to giving way to Andrew Edwards. Edwards gave up a couple of bases loaded singles which provided the final margin in a tough 7-5 loss.

Boxscore Link

Dusty Coleman 1-2, 3b, R
Luke Farrell 6 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 6 K
Brett Eibner 1-4, R, BB

Arkansas Travelers 6 NW Arkansas Naturals 0

The Naturals ran into a pitcher on his game Tuesday night as Jordan Kipper dominated over nine innings to throw a no-hitter. The righthander used 108 pitches, with only a walk to leadoff batter Ramon Torres to blemish his record. With 27 hitters going down in a row there wasn’t much the pitchers could do to avoid the loss, but a big negative on the evening was the of starter Kyle Zimmer. Working on his third rehab start, Zimmer threw just 22 pitches before getting pulled after one inning. At the time of writing, the reason for the quick hook was unknown. Following Zimmer, relief pitcher Yender Caramo gave the Naturals a quality five innings to save the bullpen from getting overworked, allowing just one unearned run while on the hill.

Boxscore Link

Kyle Zimmer 1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 2 K
Ramon Torres 0-2, BB
Yender Caramo 5 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 0 K

Frederick Keys 3 Wilmington Blue Rocks 1

After a season-plus at Lexington, 2014 first round pick Foster Griffin made his Advanced-A debut in the Rocks opener with the Frederick Keys last night. The lefty showed off an improved curveball and fastball to get through 6.1 innings while working around eight hits and three walks. All three Keys runs came with two outs hits off Griffin, with a single and double in the first inning for a run, and a double and single in the sixth. The typical number of worm burners (nine on the night) were earned by Griffin while striking out five. The Rocks offense was unable to get much going on their own after scoring a run in the first, going just 1 for 6 with runners in scoring position to drop their seventh consecutive game to Frederick.

Boxscore Link

Corey Toups 2-4
Humberto Arteaga 2-4 – fifth consecutive multi-hit game
Brandon Downes 1-3, BB – hits in nine of last 10 games played

Hickory Crawdads 4 Lexington Legends 3

After the two sides played scoreless ball for six innings in game two of their series, both offenses got rolling with Hickory plating the final run to break the home squad’s heart. Two runs for the Legends in the seventh came via three walks, a wild pitch, and a pair of sacrifices. Hickory quickly rebounded with a pair of runs in the 8th also using a wild pitch and a sacrifice fly to tie the game. In the bottom half of the inning the Legends would load the bases, get a run on a Travis Maezes single, but leave an opportunity to score more on the table thanks to an errant bunt by Amalani Fukofuka and a pair of strikeouts by Cody Jones and Tanner Stanley. Newcomer Matt Ditman entered with an opportunity to save the game and would quickly earn a pair of strikeouts to get just one out away from closing the door. The Crawdads wouldn’t just put their foot in front of that door however, they would kick it open. A home run by Josh Altmann before a single and RBI double from LeDarious Clark that would give them the lead and the eventual win.

Boxscore Link

Samir Duenez 1-4 R, BB
Amalani Fukofuka 1-3, SB (9)
Franco Terrero 2 IP, 1 K