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

BPKC Hitter of the Day: Cal Jones 2-4 2R, HR, 2 RBI

BPKC Pitcher of the Day: Yefri Del Rosario 7 IP 4 H 0 R 0 ER 1 BB 9 K 4-6 GO-FO 86p/65k

Lexington Legends 7 August GreenJackets 0

The Legends, on the cusp of their first playoff appearance since 2006, used a full team effort got them one step closer on Thursday night. Starter Yefri Del Rosario continued his run of excellent pitching putting together perhaps his best start yet. Twirling seven scoreless innings, Del Rosario set a new career high with nine strikeouts while pounding the zone with 65 strikes on just 86 pitches while working around four hits and a walk. After a pair of scoreless innings, the Lexington offense broke the tie with a Cal Jones home run in the third inning before breaking it open with a six-run fourth frame. Outfielder Kyle Isbel’s two-run double in that fourth inning capped the scoring in the inning and the game. The win combined with a Greenville loss lowered the Legends magic number to just one game.

MJ Melendez: 1-3 R, BB
Nick Pratto: 1-4 R
Kyle Isbel: 1-4 2b, 2 RBI

Wilmington Blue Rocks 5 Lynchburg Hillcats 0

Wilmington’s best starting pitcher, Gerson Garabito, was just that in a must have spot for his club in the finale versus Lynchburg. Going six and one-third innings, the righty worked around four hits and a walk while striking out seven, lowering his ERA to 3.16 while adding on to his career high in innings (142.1). The offense got a pair of runs in the second inning with last night’s hero Vance Vizcaino driving in Emmanuel Rivera and Meibrys Viloria with a single. That score held up until the eighth inning when Rudy Martin plated three with a double to centerfield.

Gerson Garabito: 6.1 IP 4 H 0 R 0 ER 1 BB 7 K 5-4 GO-FO 91p/60k
Meibrys Viloria: 2-3 2R, BB
Rudy Martin: 1-5 2b, 3 RBI

NW Arkansas Naturals 8 Tulsa Drillers 4

The Naturals offense employed a patient approach to keep their season alive against first-place Tulsa, walking seven times as part of their good night on offense. After giving up three runs in the first three innings, starter Jace Vines settled in to give his club a quality start by working into the seventh inning. Three different Naturals walked twice in the game while they broke open the 3-3 game by scoring five runs between the fourth and fifth innings. Back to back singles by Alex Liddi and Anderson Miller plated three in the fourth before a Mejia groundout and a Duenez single in the fifth pushed the advantage to 8-3. Those eight runs were plenty as the Naturals bullpen of Gabe Speier and Walker Sheller tossed the final two and two-thirds with just a run allowed to secure the win.

Samir Duenez: 2-4 R, RBI, BB
Kelvin Gutierrez: 1-3 R, RBI, 2BB
Jecksson Flores: 0-2 2R, 2BB, SB

Omaha Storm Chasers 11 Colorado Sky Sox 5

After starting pitcher Aaron Brooks got the call to the big league’s prior to the game for Milwaukee, the Sky Sox turned to struggling reliever Tim Dillard to make the spot start. The Chasers took advantage, tagging the sidearm reliever for a run in the first inning and nine more in the second inning to blow open the game 10-0. Chasers starter Jon Dziedzic took advantage tossing four no-hit innings before surrendering his first hit and runs in the fifth. The game was pretty meaningless to the Sky Sox who lead the division going into the night and will decide their season’s fate with a five games series against Tulsa starting tomorrow night.

Jon Dziedzic: 5 IP 2 H 3 R 3 ER 4 BB 3 K 3-8 94p/53k
Frank Schwindel: 1-3 R, 2b, 2 RBI, BB
Nicky Lopez: 3-5 2R

Idaho Falls Chukars 8 Ogden Raptors 6

The Royals 6th round draft selection Zach Haake made his Idaho Falls debut on Thursday, tossing two and two-thirds innings with a hit, a walk and a run allowed while on the hill. Idaho Falls had already given their pitching staff a lead with three runs in the first inning as Nathan Eaton hit his second home run in as many days to plate two runs before a Jose Caraballo double scored Bubba Starling to make it 3-0. The Chukars tacked on single runs in the fourth, sixth and seventh innings after Ogden had pulled with a run to take a 6-3 lead. Reliever Jose Rodriguez struggled in the eighth inning though, giving up two hits, three walks, and two runs before Andrew Edwards, back on a rehab stint, tossed a wild pitch to even the game. The Chukars despite giving up the lead had the answer the very next inning as a pair of doubles from Nathan Eaton and Brady Cox broke the tie before Hunter Strong’s single tacked on an insurance run. Edwards would close out the game with a perfect ninth to keep the Chukars playoff hopes alive.

Zach Haake: 2.2 IP 1 H 1 R 1 ER 1 BB 1 K 3-1 GO-FO 46p/27k
Nathan Eaton: 2-5 2R, HR, 2b, 2 RBI
Hunter Strong: 2-4 2R, BB, RBI

Thursday Boxscores

BPKC Hitter of the Day Meibrys Viloria 2-4 HR, 2b, 4 RBI

BPKC Pitcher of the Day Arnaldo Hernandez 7 IP 2 H 0 R 0 ER 0 BB 4 K 6-7 GO-FO 79p/54k

Lexington Legends 4 Kannapolis Intimidators 2

Lefty J.C. Cloney continued his winnings ways with Lexington on Friday, falling behind early before righting the ship and earning a win. The lefty gave up a home run on his very first pitch at Low-A and struggled in the first frame, allowing three more hits and a walk to give up a second run. From there he worked into the seventh innings with just two more hits allowed before turning things over to Tad Ratliff. While Cloney was tossing up zeros the offense was backing him with a run in the first on Cristian Perez’s rbi single and a three more in the third inning when MJ Melendez doubled in a pair and scored on Marten Gasparini’s single. Cloney and Ratliff took it from there with the reliever backing the starter with two and one-third innings of perfect ball with four strikeouts to earn his fourth save of the season.

Tad Ratliff 2.1 IP 0 H 0 R 0 ER 0 BB 4 K 1-1 GO-FO 27p/22k
J.C. Cloney 6.2 IP 6 H 2 R 2 ER 3 BB 3 K 9-3 GO-FO 96p/61k
M.J. Melendez 1-2 R, 2b, 2 RBI, 2 BB

Myrtle Beach Pelicans 6 Wilmington Blue Rocks 5

The Rocks Nolan Watson ran into trouble in the 3rd inning, giving up three home runs in the frame turning a 2-0 lead into a 5-2 deficit. Catcher Meibrys Viloria provided the first two runs with a two-run home run in the second inning before a two-run double off his bat in the sixth cut the deficit to one. Reliever Justin Camp gave up a run in the sixth that increased the deficit back to two which ended up being just enough insurance for Myrtle Beach after the Rocks fell a run short after Brewer Hicklen’s solo home run in the ninth.

Brewer Hicklen 1-4 HR
Emmanuel Rivera 1-4 R
D.J. Burt 1-4 R, BB

NW Arkansas Naturals 12 Frisco RoughRiders 1

The Naturals offense drilled the Rangers Double-A squad Friday night with a full lineup effort and a complete game from starter Scott Blewett. A three-run first inning courtesy of a two-run double by Kelvin Gutierrez and a run-scoring single by Alex Liddi put the Naturals up early. A pair of run-scoring hits by Jecksson Flores and Samir Duenez added two more the next inning before Alfredo Escalera left the yard in the third to push the advantage to 6-0. While NW Arkansas was pounding out 18 hits starter Scott Blewett was working around eight hits, allowing just one run while earning 11 groundouts to earn his first complete game of the year and fourth of his career. The offense continued to tack on behind Blewett scoring a run in the sixth before putting five more across in the lopsided victory.

Jecksson Flores 2-4 2R, RBI, 2 BB, 2 SB
Samir Duenez 3-5 R, 2b, RBI
Scott Blewett 9 IP 8 H 1 R 1 ER 0 BB 3 K 11-7 GO-FO 96p/67k

Omaha Storm Chasers 2 Round Rock Express 0 

After a rough outing, last time out Arnaldo Hernandez came back with one of his best starts of the year. The right-hander put away the first 17 hitters he faced in this one before yielding a pair of hits in the sixth inning prior to retiring the final four hitters he faced. The seven shutout innings featured an efficient amount of work with 79 pitches, 54 for strikes while striking out four hitters to no walks allowed. The Chasers offense didn’t do much on their end but did just enough getting a pair of runs on three hits with a run in the second and another in the ninth prior to the bullpen Blaine Boyer and Richard Lovelady finishing off the shutout.

Nicky Lopez 1-3 R, BB
Frank Schwindel 1-4 – 17 game hitting streak
Donnie Dewees 0-2 R, BB, SB

Pulaski Yankees 9 Burlington Royals 5

The Royals offense couldn’t get much done against Yankees pitching despite some early help and the pitching staff didn’t do all that well themselves in a lopsided game. Starter Austin Cox gave up a pair of runs on two hits and four walks in four innings while his relief partner Marlin Willis got roughed up for nine hits, two walks, and six runs in just four frames to turn a 3-2 lead into a 9-3 deficit and an eventual loss. The Royals offense was provided by Jose Marquez as he sacrificed one run in during the second inning as part of a three-run frame. The infielder doubled later in the game before tripling in a run and scoring in the last inning.

Austin Cox 4 IP 2 H 2 R 2 ER 4 BB 6 K 4-1 GO-FO 75p/44k
Jose Marquez 2-4 2R, 2b, 3b, RBI
Juan Carlos Negret 0-4 R, K, SB (3)

Great Falls Voyagers 12 Idaho Falls Chukars 7

Much like Thursday’s game, the Chukars built a large lead only to watch the bullpen give it away. On this night it was 7-1 after five innings with Hunter Strong and Nathan Eaton each driving in a pair of runs. Starter Connor Mayes ran into trouble in the sixth, giving up a pair of runs to shrink the lead to 7-3. That lead was quickly given away in just one-third of an inning after reliever Jaret Hellinger got touched up for four runs to even the game up. The Voyagers continued to pile on with five runs in the eighth to with four hits and a hit by pitch and an Idaho Falls error to create too large of a gap for the Chukars to overcome.

Nathan Eaton 3-5 R, 2b, 2 RBI
Hunter Strong 3-3 HR, 2 RBI, BB
Tyler James 1-4 R, BB, SB (34)

Friday Boxscores

BPKC Hitter of the Day: Jecksson Flores 4-5 2R, 3b, 2 RBI, SB (21)

BPKC Pitcher of the Day: Jon Dziedzic 6 IP 5 H 0 R 0 ER 1 BB 2 K 6-9 GO-FO 94p/54k

Asheville Tourists 6 Lexington Legends 3

Starting pitcher Charlie Neuweiler had his first rough outing as a member of the Lexington pitching staff as the right-hander got knocked for a pair of home runs in the third inning. After two scoreless innings, Neuweiler ran into some trouble with a walk, a steal, and an RBI single to put Asheville up 1-0. A second walk came in front of a three-run home run that quickly put him down 4-0. A second blast that went over 420 feet came off the bat of the next hitter and Neuweiler’s night was over after finishing off the inning. The Legends countered with a two-run home run by Cristian Perez but missed other opportunities to be limited to three runs in the loss.

Charlie Neuweiler: 3 IP 4 H 5 R 5 ER 2 BB 4 K 3-2 GO-FO 73p/44k
Janser Lara: 3 IP 2 H 0 R 0 ER 2 BB 5 K 1-3 GO-FO 58p/34k
Kyle Isbel: 2-4 R SB (7)

Wilmington Blue Rocks 6 Salem Red Sox 5

The Rocks lineup went to work Thursday night, connecting on 12 hits while walking three times. The offense was needed after starter Dan Tillo struggled with walks again with five free passes and six hits allowed to give up five runs (4 ER) in five innings. Trailing 4-2 in the fifth, Meibrys Viloria doubled in a pair of runs to tie the game up. An inning later they trailed again but countered with an Angelo Castellano single to bring in Rudy Martin after his triple. A seventh-inning RBI single by Travis Jones to bring home Emmanuel Rivera gave the Rocks a lead and the bullpen did the rest, tossing the final three innings scoreless to secure the win.

Meibrys Viloria: 2-5 2b, 2 RBI
Rudy Martin: 2-4 2R, 3b, SB (21)
Travis Jones: 2-4 RBI, SB (13)

Midland RockHounds 9 NW Arkansas Naturals 5

Newly acquired Jon Perrin made his first start in the Royals organization Thursday night a couple days after the trade that brought him over. Making just his second start this season, Perrin worked five innings, giving up two runs on three hits and a pair of walks while striking out four while working 70 pitches. As usual, Jecksson Flores was pacing the Naturals offense scoring a pair and driving in two more to help keep the game even after Cristian Castillo gave up two runs. Tied 4-4, the game went into extra innings where the Naturals kept Yunior Marte on the mound his two scoreless innings but the right-hander walked a hitter prior to giving up a groundball single to load the bases. Manager Mike Rojas turned to Franco Terrero, a move that didn’t go well with the right-hander quickly giving up a double that unloaded the bases with a Terrero throwing error. One hitter later Terrero gave up his eleventh home run of the season to push the deficit to five runs at 9-4 which would be too large to overcome.

Erick Mejia: 2-4 2R, SB (31)
Samir Duenez: 1-4 2 RBI
Jon Perrin: 5 IP 3 H 2 R 2 ER 2 BB 4 K 6-4 GO-FO 70p/46k

Omaha Storm Chasers 9 Round Rock Express

The Chasers Jon Dziedzic spun six scoreless innings while getting plenty of offensive backing in the first game of their road series with Round Rock. Working around five singles and a walk, Dziedzic completed his fifth consecutive quality start. The Chasers offense took advantage of former Orioles pitcher Chris Tillman, scoring two runs on him in just two and one-third innings before scoring three more off Austin Bibens-Dirks who made his major league debut last season. The Chasers tacked on three more late to take a commanding 8-0 lead as all nine hitters in the lineup reached base at least once while pounding out 15 hits and earning seven walks

Donnie Dewees: 4-5 2R, RBI, SB
Frank Schwindel: 1-4 R, BB – 16 game hitting streak
Jack Lopez: 2-4 2b, 4 RBI

Pulaski Yankees 3 Burlington Royals 1

Burlington right-hander Malcolm Van Buren can reach the mid to upper 90s with his fastball but is still learning what he can do with it and this night proved that. The opening hitter of the night took a 2-0 pitch and deposited it over the wall, but from there Van Buren held his own, striking out five over four innings with just another hit allowed against three walks. Reliever Kelvin Gonzalez couldn’t match Van Buren’s effort, giving up two runs (1 ER) in his four innings while the Burlington offense scored just one run on three hits in the loss.

Malcolm Van Buren: 4 IP 2 H 1 R 1 ER 3 BB 5 K 4-0 GO-FO 75p/41k
Juan Carlos Negret: 1-3 BB
Jose Marquez: 1-4 R, 2 SB, K

Great Falls Voyagers 11 Idaho Falls Chukars 7

The Chukars took a big early lead only to see the pitching staff give it up in the middle innings. The Chukars took advantage of former Royals lefty Matt Portland, scoring six runs off him in the first four innings to take a 6-1 lead. Things looked great until the fifth when starter Kris Bubic couldn’t escape the inning, loading the bases with a pair of singles and a defensive error. After the manager turned to Tyler Gray to try to escape the damage things went awry after the ’18 draft pick got a couple of outs when a second defensive error kept the inning alive. From that point, the next three hitters would reach base to lead to a seven-run lead and an Idaho Falls deficit. The White Sox affiliate would continue to pad their lead with three runs over the next two innings while Idaho Falls could only answer with a Chase Vallot home run in the loss.

Kris Bubic: 4 IP 3 H 5 R 2 ER 3 BB 6 K 4-2 GO-FO 85p/50k
Angel Medina: 2-3 2R, HR, 2 RBI, BB
Tyler James: 3-5 R, 2 SB (33)

Thursday Boxscores

BPKC Hitter of the Day: Meibrys Viloria 4-5, 2R, HR, 3 RBI, 3 BB

BPKC Pitcher of the Day: Nolan Watson 7 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, 3-7 GO-FO, 77p/48k

Lexington Legends 7, Asheville Tourists 5

The Legends put six runs up in the first frame and then held on for the win. The first four hitters all reached with Kyle Isbel’s leadoff double starting the game off, scoring on a Nick Pratto single before an Asheville error scored a pair and helped the Legends toward the big inning. A pair of errors dented Charlie Neuweiler’s line, with the right-hander yielding two unearned runs on his four-run line after giving up three hits and three walks while striking out four. With a 7-4 lead, Asheville loaded the bases with no outs in the seventh, but Danny Hrbek finagled a way out of the jam with a pop out and a double play. Again in the eighth, the Tourists put a couple in scoring position with no outs before reliever Tad Ratliff struck out two before ending the inning by inducing a groundout before giving up a run in the ninth and securing the win.

Kyle Isbel: 1-5, R, 2b
Seuly Matias: 0-3, R, HBP
Charlie Neuweiler: 5.1 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 4 K, 5-6 GO-FO, 94p/55k

Gm 1 – Wilmington Blue Rocks 8, Frederick Keys 0 – F/7
Gm 2 – Wilmington Blue Rocks 7, Frederick Keys 6 – F/7

Wilmington finished off a 6-1 roadtrip with a doubleheader sweep of the Orioles High-A squad Monday afternoon. The first game featured big days at the plate by Gabriel Cancel and catcher Meibrys Viloria with the duo each hitting a home run and driving in three runs apiece. That was more than enough for Nolan Watson who carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning before finishing off the shortened game with his third consecutive seven-inning start. In game two, Dan Tillo lost his way in the third inning, giving up four runs on four singles and three walks, forcing the bullpen to take over. The four runs allowed evened the game after Wilmington had built a 4-0 lead after four singles scored runs in the second. Three more singles in the sixth inning scored a pair before D.J. Burt scored on an errant throw after he stole second base. Reliever Julio Pinto gave up a run in the final inning before securing the win.

Gabriel Cancel: 2-7, HR, 3 RBI, 2K
Brewer Hicklen: 3-8, 3R, K
Emmanuel Rivera: 1-3, 2R, RBI, BB

NW Arkansas Naturals 4, Arkansas Travelers 2

Royals lefty Eric Skoglund made his Double-A rehab appearance with NW Arkansas, going four innings with just an unearned run allowed. Working on a limited pitch count, Skoglund tossed 29 strikes on 42 pitches while giving up three hits and striking out two. The offense got on the board in the third inning with a Jecksson Flores RBI double and an RBI groundout by Erick Mejia that scored Khalil Lee. In relief, Scott Blewett gave up a run over three innings to even the game up at 2-2. In the late innings, a pair of doubles helped towards two more runs for NW Arkansas,: Nick Dini’s leadoff double put him in position to score on a Lee single in the seventh, and Kelvin Gutierrez’s double in the eighth brought home Samir Duenez to push the advantage to two runs. Reliever Franco Terrero earned his fourth save of the year with a scoreless ninth inning.

Khalil Lee: 3-4, R, RBI
Kelvin Gutierrez: 2-4, 2-2b, RBI
Eric Skoglund: 4 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, 4-6 GO-FO, 42p/29k

Greeneville Reds 5, Burlington Royals 3

The Royals right-hander Elvis Luciano yielded two runs in five innings during the team’s loss. The young starter acquired in the Jon Jay trade gave up five hits including three for extra bases while striking out six against one walk. Strikes weren’t a problem on this night as Luciano tossed 51 strikes on 73 pitches. With the game tied 2-2 after five, the Royals scored just one run in the seventh while the Reds squad scored single runs in the sixth, seventh and eighth off relievers Ismael Maldonado and Kyle Hinton.

Jackson Lueck: 2-4, 2b
Eric Cole: 1-4, RBI
Elvis Luciano: 5 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 6 K, 5-1 GO-FO, 73p/51k

Idaho Falls Chukars 8, Missoula Osprey 3

Another quality start for J.C. Cloney as the lefty worked 6.2 frames with three runs allowed. In typical fashion for the Chukars top starter, he pounded the zone with 67 strikes on 96 pitches while allowing three runs on nine hits. The offense scored eight runs on 14 hits and five walks, with Jose Caraballo hitting a two-run home run and driving in a third run to lead the way for the Idaho Falls offense. Reliever Robert Garcia tossed the final 2.1 innings scoreless to secure the save.

J.C. Cloney: 6.2 IP, 9 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 4-3 GO-FO, 96p/67k
Jose Caraballo: 3-4, HR, 3 RBI
Nate Eaton: 2-4, R, 2b, BB

Monday Boxscores

Tuesday Probables

BPKC Hitter of the Day: Meibrys Viloria 2-4, HR, 4 RBI

BPKC Pitcher of the Day: Tyler Zuber 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, 23p/14k

Lexington Legends 6, Augusta GreenJackets 5

The Lexington bats struggled early against Giants starter Jose Marte, striking out 10 times in his 6.1 innings, but made a late comeback to take down the first place squad for the third time in the four-game series. Lexington’s starter Nolan Watson allowed five runs (3 ER) despite nine strikeouts in his 5.2 innings. Trailing 5-2, Lexington got their offense moving in the bottom of the seventh inning with the help of Augusta’s defense when leadoff man Brewer Hicklen reached on a strikeout-wild pitch in front of Dennicher Carrasco reaching base on a throwing error by the third baseman. A Cristian Perez single to left scored Hicklen before another wild pitch scored Carrasco and a sacrifice fly by Ricky Aracena knotted the game up at five. An inning later, Nick Pratto singled to open the inning, moved to second on another wild pitch before advancing to third on a fly ball to right. Finally, the fourth wild pitch in two innings brought home Pratto for the lead and eventual winning run.

Nick Pratto: 3-4, R, 2b, K
Cristian Perez: 2-3, R, RBI
Tyler Zuber: 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 3 K, 23p/14k

Wilmington Blue Rocks 5, Salem Red Sox 4

Rocks catcher Meibrys Viloria led the way to a win over Salem on Sunday to finish off a road series win. In the fourth inning of a 1-1 game with two on, the young catcher tagged his second home run of the season to quickly put his squad up 4-1. After starter Gerson Garabito gave back two runs the next inning, Viloria added an insurance run in the eighth with a two out single to center to score Kort Peterson. In the bottom of that inning, reliever Josh Mitchell ran into some trouble, allowing an unearned run, but teammate Bryan Brickhouse came in and shut the door getting a groundout in the eighth before scoreless ninth with two strikeouts.

Bryan Brickhouse: 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, 1-0 GO-FO, 18p/13k
Kort Peterson: 2-4, 2R, 2-2b, RBI
Khalil Lee: 1-4, R, 3 K

Midland RockHounds 5, NW Arkansas Naturals 2

The Naturals struggled to cash in opportunities, going 2 for 8 with runners in scoring position and dropping the game despite outhitting Midland. On the other end, the Naturals pitchers struggled with free passes, walking six, including four from starter Emilio Ogando. The lefty gave up three runs on four hits in just four innings while both relievers Yunior Marte and Pedro Fernandez gave up runs in the loss.

Elier Hernandez: 1-4, CS (4)
Nicky Lopez: 2-4, 2b, 2 RBI
Donnie Dewees: 2-4, R, K

Omaha Storm Chasers 8, Oklahoma City Dodgers 5 – F/12

The Chasers, lacking starters with the promotion of Trevor Oaks, turned to the bullpen on Sunday, using six different pitchers. Omaha struck out 16 hitters during the 12 inning affair. The two teams exchanged single tallies until the ninth inning, sending the game into extras tied at three. After the two teams navigated the free baserunner in the tenth, Omaha got on the board in the eleventh with a two-out single by Parker Morin. A wild pitch/third strike thrown by Luis Vazquez on a potentially game-ending strikeout scored a run for the Dodgers in the bottom half of the inning to even the game. The Chasers put the game away in the twelfth inning, starting the frame with a run-scoring triple by Adalberto Mondesi. That was followed by a single by Frank Schwindel to score Mondesi, and another triple by speedster Terrance Gore tacked on two runs to push the cushion to four, which turned out to be more than enough to earn the win.

Adalberto Mondesi: 2-6, R, 3b, RBI, SB (6)
Richard Lovelady: 2.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 2-2 GO-FO, 39p/27k
Frank Schwindel: 1-5, R, 2 RBI

Sunday Boxscores

Monday – No Minor League Games

Hitter of the Day Leaderboard: Elier Hernandez (5), Seuly Matias (4), Travis Jones (4)
Pitcher of the Day Leaderboard: Dan Tillo (3), Trevor Oaks (3)

BPKC Hitter of the Day: Anderson Miller 1-3, 3b, RBI

BPKC Pitcher of the Day: Zach Lovvorn 5.2 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 5 K, 7-4 GO-FO, 76p/44k

Transactions: Walker Sheller promoted to NW Arkansas, Vance Tatum promoted to Wilmington and Josh Mitchell activated from the DL for Lexington.

Potomac Nationals 5, Wilmington Blue Rocks 1

The Rocks offense couldn’t muster much, getting a leadoff triple by Rudy Martin that resulted in their only run on the night. The Nationals quickly countered with a run in the second frame before adding a second run in the seventh to take the lead. A 1 for 8 effort with runners in scoring position kept Wilmington off the board after the first inning, and three runs off Bryan Brickhouse in the ninth when he struggled to hit the zone, gave Potomac their margin of defeat.

Khalil Lee: 0-3, BB, K, PO
Rudy Martin: 1-3, R, 3b, Sac
Meibrys Viloria: 2-4, 0-1 CS-Att

Springfield Cardinal 3, NW Arkansas Naturals 1

It wasn’t a great welcome home campaign for Zach Lovvorn who took a tough luck loss on Tuesday. A defensive error by Samir Duenez allowed the Cardinals to get a runner to third with no outs in the fourth inning, resulting in a run on a sacrifice. Two innings later, a hit by pitch came in on a single allowed by Lovvorn which got him lifted with two outs. Reliever Yunior Marte allowed that runner to come around when he gave up a triple to Victor Roache, pushing the Naturals into a 3-1 deficit. The score would remain right there with NW Arkansas dropping their thirteenth consecutive game at Hammons Field.

Samir Duenez: 1-4, 2K
Anderson Miller: 1-3, 3b, RBI
Nicky Lopez: 0-4

Boxscores from Tuesday

Omaha – TBD
NW Arkansas – Scott Blewett 0-2 6.92 ERA 2.00 WHIP
Wilmington – Gerson Garabito 1-1 2.12 ERA 1.00 WHIP
Lexington Gm1 – Garrett Davila 0-1 3.55 ERA 1.82 WHIP
Lexington Gm2 – Collin Snider 1-1 4.91 ERA 1.70 WHIP

BPKC Hitter of the Day Samir Duenez 3-4 3R, 3b, BB

BPKC Pitcher of the Day Carter Hope 2.2 IP 0 H 0 R 0 ER 0 BB 3 K 2-2 GO-FO 26p/21k

Lexington Legends 2 Augusta GreenJackets 1

The Legends received great work from their bullpen and some timely hits to earn their second win against Augusta. Starter Dan Tillo navigated around five hits and three walks, giving up his only run on a third-inning bases-loaded walk before leaving in the sixth with a pair of singles allowed. Reliever Carter Hope got Tillo out of that jam while tossing two other perfect innings with three strikeouts, earning the win in the process. Hope was positioned for that win when Jeison Guzman started the eighth with a bunt single before advancing to third on a wild pitch and a sacrifice bunt before coming home on Oliver Nunez’s one-out single through the middle to give the Legends the lead and the eventual win.

Nick Pratto 0-4 K
Seuly Matias 0-4 4K
MJ Melendez 2-4 SB

Wilmington Blue Rocks 5 Lynchburg Hillcats 2

The Rocks bats were kept at bay for six innings Saturday night but awoke just in time to claim victory over the Indians High-A squad. Just an Emmanuel Rivera single and a Meibrys Viloria double were the only hits Wilmington could put together in those six innings against starter Justin Garza. When he exited the bats came alive with Viloria quickly tying the game with a two-run home run. A single by D.J. Burt scored Nick Heath following his single and steal, leading to Burt stealing a pair of bases in front of Rudy Martin reaching base via hit by pitch. Up a run, Khalil Lee tagged a ball to left field, doubling in both Burt and Martin to push the lead to 5-2. Those runs ended up being plenty as Grant Gavin and Bryan Brickhouse tossed the final two innings to preserve the win.

Khalil Lee 1-3 2b, 2 RBI, BB, SB (3)
Bryan Brickhouse 1 IP 0 H 0 R 2 BB 2 K 27p/12k
Meibrys Viloria 2-4 HR, 2b, 2 RBI

NW Arkansas Naturals 11 Corpus Christi Hooks 6

The Naturals piled up many of their 13 hits and 7 walks in the middle inning on their way to a convincing win. The 3-4 hitters in the lineup, Samir Duenez and Elier Hernandez, did much of the damage with the pair each reaching base four times while scoring five runs. Infielder Jecksson Flores drove in four runs while starter limited the Hooks to a pair of runs in five innings to earn the win. Reliever Yunior Marte earned the save while working the final two and one-third innings of perfect ball.

Flores 3-run double

Jecksson Flores 2-4 2b, 4 RBI
Elier Hernandez 4-5 2R, 2b, RBI
Donnie Dewees 1-3 2R, RBI, 2BB, SB (2)

Boxscore of all games

Probables for Sunday
Omaha – Heath Fillmyer
NW Arkansas – Glenn Sparkman
Wilmington – Cristian Castillo
Lexington – Andres Sotillet

God help us all.

As Major League Baseball is trying to get their house in order with regards to the Shohei Ohtani posting/free agency situation, it’s created something of a mid-November malaise. Nothing is happening, other than the self-imposed negotiating deadline between the leagues getting extended 24 hours. So where does that leave us in the days before Thanksgiving?

Nowhere.

Let’s start with the prospect news from Monday. The Royals added Eric Stout and Tim Hill to the 40-man roster, along with Meibrys Viloria. Stout and Hill are left-handed pitchers. The moves were made to protect the players from exposing them in the Rule 5 draft, to be held at the end of the Winter Meetings next month.

Stout is a 24-year old who pitched all of last summer in Omaha. He appeared in 45 games, threw 69.1 innings and posted a 7.3 SO/9 with a 3.8 BB/9 and 2.99 ERA. Hill will turn 28 just ahead of spring training and toiled most of last year with Double-A Northwest Arkansas. He appeared in 36 games and threw 69 innings. He finished with a 4.70 ERA and a 9.8 SO/9 to go along with a 2.5 BB/9.

On the surface, it seems a bit odd to place those two on the 40-man roster. But there are a couple of things to remember going forward. First, pitching remains the currency of baseball. I’m only writing that half in jest. The way teams are constructed these days with just three or four bench players, teams don’t seem so anxious to add a bat in the Rule 5, taking a valuable place on the roster. A left-handed reliever? Well, there’s always plenty of room for one (or two) of those. Especially when they are used as lefty specialists.

Hill held lefties to .175/.211/.214 last year. Stout limited same-siders to .193/264/.301.

Let’s be perfectly clear. This doesn’t mean one or both will appear in Kansas City at any point this summer. Nor am I advocating for either to make any kind of 25-man roster. I’m merely trying to understand the Royals angle in protecting both. It seems the club feels both would fall into a “high risk” bucket of players who could be selected. The Royals see something in them where they could perhaps contribute at some point to the big league club. Hence, the move to place them on the 40-man roster.

So what about Viloria? Our Clint Scoles had him was the 12th best prospect in the Royals system at the start of 2017, and dropped him to 16th in his midseason rankings. He’s a catcher, who turns 21 at the start of spring training, and just finished his first full season of A-ball at Lexington. Not many teams would take a flier on a player with that position and those credentials, but the Royals clearly see a ton of value in their young backstop and believe there’s at least one team out there that would take a chance and stash him on their major league roster for a year.

Left unprotected are names you are probably familiar with like Frank Schwindel, Ryan O’Hearn, Elier Hernandez, Sam Selman and Yunior Marte. I’m trying to figure out why the Royals would protect the pair of left-handed relievers they did and not have Selman as one of their choices. Maybe it’s his walk rate. He posted a 4.3 BB/9 at Northwest Arkansas and a whopping 6.0 BB/9 after he was promoted to Omaha. Or maybe it was the reverse platoon split where left-handed batters had a .323 OBP against him. That’s actually a good number for him given his prior track record. It seems he finds it a little more difficult to throw strikes to same-side hitters.

The 40-man roster stands at 38, which gives the Royals a little flexibility over the next month.

There was also the aforementioned spring training news. Pitchers and catchers report on February 13 with the full squad scheduled to arrive on February 18.

After about a week of stretching and light calisthenics, the games start on February 24 against the Dodgers in Surprise. They play 33 games total (counting a handful of split squad games) and close out the exhibition schedule against the Storm Chasers in Omaha.

This gives me plenty of time to prepare my “spring training is too damn long” rant.

Finally, in a crime against good design, the Major League Baseball unveiled their spring training caps for all teams. They have apparently run out of ideas on how to handle the Royals.

I’m struck by the design for both the Royals and the Dodgers. It’s no secret that when the Royals came into existence 50 years ago, the Dodgers were their design inspiration. From their uniforms to the stadium, it’s easy to see the LA influence in KC. Both teams feature interlocking letters on their normal caps. So for spring training in 2018, it looks like MLB just decided to keep everything pretty much the same. They’re barely even trying.

Obviously, the big difference is the crown on the Royals cap. That’s probably in some kind of focus group or something.

When I’m writing about baseball caps, you know it was a slow news day. It’s in everyone’s best interest to get this Ohtani situation resolved. Before we all sink into a winter of insanity.

HR Roll Call Paulo Orlando (2), Mauricio Ramos (10), Khalil Lee (15), Manny Olloque (6), Seuly Matias (6), Parker Morin (2)

BPKC Hitter of the Day Khalil Lee 4-5 3R, HR, 2-2b, 5 RBI

BPKC Pitcher of the Day Sal Biasi 5 IP 0 H 0 R 0 Bb 7 K 7-1 Go-FO

Omaha Storm Chasers 10 Oklahoma City Dodgers 1

The Chasers offense assured the team of a fourth win in five games versus the Dodgers Triple-A squad. All nine members of the lineup had at least one hit as the Chasers pounded out 17 on the night including six members with multiple hits. The hits combined with three walks led to 10 runs while the offense three pitchers limited the Dodgers to just one run on seven hits.

Outfielder Paulo Orlando got the scoring started in the first with a three run home run to bring in Ramon Torres and Raul Mondesi. The Chasers would add three more multiple run innings with Mondesi and Orlando capping the scoring on a Frank Schwindel single in the eighth.

Boxscore Link

Raul Mondesi 3-5 2R, 2b, 3b
Paulo Orlando 2-4 3R, 2b, HR, 3 RBI
Ramon Torres 2-5 R
Jorge Soler 1-5 R, 2b, RBI
Hunter Dozier 2-3 R, 2b, 2BB
Kevin Lenik 3 IP 0 H 0 R 0 BB 2 K

NW Arkansas Naturals 4 Frisco RoughRiders 0

The Naturals got a first inning grand slam from Mauricio Ramos and some assistance Frisco and their inability to cash in on opportunities. First inning singles from Humberto Arteaga, Samir Duenez, and Ryan O’Hearn came in front of the Ramos blast. From there starter Foster Griffin struggled with his control with five walks in five and two-third innings but kept Frisco off the board with just four hits allowed.

Reliever Tim Hill worked the final three and one-third innings scoreless with just a hit and walk allowed while striking out three. Combined the two pitchers limited Frisco to 0 for 8 with runners in scoring position while the Naturals added just three hits after the first inning.

Boxscore Link

Samir Duenez 1-4 R
Ryan O’Hearn 1-4 R
Nicky Lopez 1-4
Foster Griffin 5.2 IP 4 H 0 R 0 ER 5 BB 3 K 7-2 GO-FO 90p/49k

Lexington Legends 14 Asheville Tourists 3

After back to back nine run games the Legends offense took up another notch, scoring fourteen runs on 22 hits. Outfielder Khalil Lee and Meibrys Viloria paced the offense with Lee driving in five and Viloria knocking in four while both collecting four hits along the way.

The Legends pitching staff kept the Rockies Low-A squad off the board until the eighth inning as starter Ofreidy Gomez worked seven shutout innings before turning the game over to the bullpen.

Boxscore Link

Khalil Lee 4-5 3R, HR, 2-2b, 5 RBI
Meibrys Viloria 4-5 2R, 2b, 4 RBI
Michael Gigliotti 3-6 R, 2b, RBI
Vance Vizcaino 3-3 4R, 3BB
Ofreidy Gomez 7 IP 7 H 0 R 0 ER 0 BB 3 K 75p/52k 11-3 GO-FO

Burlington Royals 3 Princeton Rays 1

The Royals kept the Rays off the bases which led to a quick victory on Friday. Starter JC Cloney gave up a run on three hits in his three innings before turning things over to a shutdown bullpen. The run Cloney gave up was countered by a two-run single from Oliver Nunez in the second and a solo home run by Seuly Matias in the third inning.

After Cloney left Sal Biasi came in and was perfect four five innings, striking out seven while the only base runner that Burlington gave up while Biasi was in was via a Jeison Guzman error. Closer Tyler Zuber gave up a single in the ninth but struck out the final two hitters he faced to close the game in just 2 hours and 3 minutes.

Boxscore Link

Seuly Matias 1-5 HR
Jeison Guzman 1-3 BB
Sal Biasi 5 IP 0 H 0 R 0 Bb 7 K 7-1 Go-FO

AZL Padres2 6 AZL Royals 4

The Royals defense let a 4-3 lead slip away and lead to a defeat. A three-run home run by Parker Morin in the sixth inning gave the Royals that one run lead but a throwing error by Cristian Perez in the seventh gave the Padres2 the lead back. Then in the ninth, another throwing error, this one by Tyler James, plated another Padres2 run to give them a two run lead and eventual win.

Boxscore Link

MJ Melendez 0-1 R, 3 BB
Nick Pratto 2-4 R
Marlin Willis 4 IP 6 H 3 R 3 ER 0 BB 3 K 5-3 GO-FO

DSL Royals 2 DSL A’s 1

Starter Adriam Castillo continued his solid run of pitching, limiting the A’s to five hits in five shutout innings. The right-handed starter lowered his ERA to 0.85 ERA on the season while keeping his WHIP at just 0.71 for the season.

A bases loaded walk to Kember Nacero in the fifth and a rbi double by Brayant Aponte in the sixth provided the Royals all the offense that they would need.

Boxscore Link

Adriam Castillo 5 IP 5 H 0 R 0 ER 1 BB 4 K 6-2 GO-FO
Kember Nacero 0-3 RBI, BB