Scott Blewett (Photo Credit Jen Nevius)

Best Rotation – NW Arkansas Naturals

The Naturals threesome of Foster Griffin (4), Scott Blewett (19), and Glenn Sparkman (14) stands out among all the organizational rotations. The bump to Double-A is a big jump for Blewett, who many believe is one of the Royals top pitching prospects. In addition, Griffin was the Royals minor league pitcher of the year last season and Sparkman had an outstanding spring season for the major league club in Arizona. Filling out the rotation will be Emilio Ogando (46) who went 10-10 with a 3.45 ERA in 23 starts for the Naturals last season and Corey Ray who struggled last season but still features a fastball he can run into the upper 90s.

Best Bullpen – Omaha Storm Chasers

This one is an easy call when you consider it might even be better than the current major league pen. One of the Royals top prospects, Richard Lovelady (9), will help front this pen that will also feature fireballing Josh Staumont (17), who finally makes the move that should help accelerate any chance he may have in making it to Kansas City. Coming back to Omaha will be Kevin Lenik (28), Kevin McCarthy, Eric Stout (21) and Seth Maness. Rounding out the bullpen is Mike Broadway, who is coming off an impressive spring with the major league club, and Wily Peralta after clearing waivers.

Best Infield – Wilmington Blue Rocks

The Rocks infield is talented at both corners with top third base prospect Emmanuel Rivera (10) at third and big power threat Chris DeVito (45) across the diamond at first. In the middle of the infield is Gabriel Cancel (16) and the 46 extra base hits he collected for Lexington last season in 103 games. Alongside him is shortstop Angelo Castellano. The Venezuelan shortstop stabilized the position for Lexington last year after Ricky Aracena’s early struggles. He’s mostly a defensive shortstop, but will show some pop from time to time. The Rocks infield will also include DJ Burt, a speedy option with good on-base skills.

Best Catcher Group – Lexington Legends

It’s a two-team race with Wilmington’s combo of Chase Vallot (13) and Meibrys Viloria (18), versus Lexington’s MJ Melendez (2) and Sebastian Rivero (25) tandem, but I’ve got to give the edge to Lexington and Melendez. For everything I’m hearing about Melendez, he is advanced defensively, brings some good potential power and has the advanced skill to know to cut down on his swing with two strikes to reach base. The ball explodes off his bat as evidenced by some of the best exit velocities among the draft class last year, and he is beyond his years in controlling the run game. Next to Melendez will be another young and advanced defensive catcher in Rivero who is still just 19 years of age and receives similar raves and reviews that fellow countryman Salvador Perez did at the same age.

Best Outfield – NW Arkansas Naturals

This is close and definitely the one I had to think about the most. The Lexington outfield featuring defensive dynamo Michael Gigliotti (6) running next to powerful Seuly Matias (8) in right should be a fun watch. They should get a nice contribution from Vance Vizcaino and the hitting skill he showed with a .325 batting average over his final 54 games last season. The top Royals prospect plays in Wilmington, as Khalil Lee (1) will be attempting to power up at Frawley Stadium and attempting show that he’s a Top 100 prospect. Running alongside Lee will be speedster Rudy Martin (40) who showed his ridiculous speed after stealing 26 bases in just 37 Lexington games. That’s not all that he brings to the table as the 5-7 outfielder also has a little thump in his game despite his size. While that tandem could be special, I think the best overall outfield at least to start the season will be in Arkansas with the Naturals foursome that all have tools in the shed. The top outfielder, Donnie Dewees (15), earned Texas League Player of the Month during June to carry the club to a first half playoff berth. Next to him will be Elier Hernandez (24) after his possible breakout season was cut short last year (19 XBH in 46 games) by injury, and Anderson Miller (38) who has adapted in his second go-around at every level. It’s the depth of the group that gives them the lead, as their bench outfielders Brandon Downes (53) has plenty of tools with a strong arm and some power to do some damage in the Texas League this season; Alfredo Escalera has shown good bat to ball skills in the past.

Overview

In looking at the complete rosters I would expect the two upper-level squads to have the best team records due to their stronger pitching staffs. A return to the playoffs could be in the cards for the Storm Chasers should Hunter Dozier, Ryan O’Hearn and Frank Schwindel hit enough to carry the offense. The Naturals have 20 players that have played at Double-A prior, which should help them make another appearance in the playoffs. The lower levels will be led by offenses and some pitching staffs. Wilmington last made the playoffs in 2015 as part of the Royals organization, while Lexington has never made the playoffs as an affiliate of the club.

The Prospects (7) – Kyle Zimmer, Miguel Almonte, Josh Staumont, Eric Skoglund (LHP), Foster Griffin (LHP), Trevor Oaks and Andres Machado

Generally, the big name prospects get priority and one would think if these pitchers show that they’re healthy and pitch well in spring training, they will be part of the Omaha pitching staff. On a loaded Triple-A squad, Skoglund and Oaks are nearly 100% to earn starting rotation spots with the latter perhaps having a neck up on a 25-man Royals spot should Nate Karns need to be held back early in the season.

The Lock – Skoglund and Oaks both are virtual locks to be in Omaha without a trade that would free up spots for them in Kansas City.

Wild Card – With his sutures out, is Zimmer finally ready to make that next step to being ready to contribute at the major league level?

The Vets (7) – Sam Gaviglio, Jon Dziedzic (LHP), Seth Maness, Pedro Fernandez, Sam Selman, Eric Stout (LHP), and Mike Broadway

This group has pitched significant time at Triple-A last season or the year before and seem destined to return to Omaha if the roster lays out as expected. As veterans of this level, one wouldn’t think they would start at any other level considering the majority of them are veterans and/or achieved success in Omaha or elsewhere.

The Lock – Like Skoglund, reliever Eric Stout is a virtual certainty to be on the Storm Chasers roster should he not catch a break and make the Royals roster.

Wild Card – Nine different pitchers on this list are on the Royals 40 man roster including Gaviglio and Stout in this grouping but no one

In the mix (7) – Kevin Lenik, Tim Hill (LHP), Jake Newberry, Emilio Ogando (LHP), Glenn Sparkman, Scott Barlow and Richard Lovelady (LHP)

The pitchers among this group are prospects that have either appeared in Omaha or done enough at Double-A to show that they are worthy of the bounce to Triple-A.

The Lock – Two relievers in this group posted a sub-1 WHIP last year while striking out more than a hitter per inning, but Lenik gets the slight edge here due to his age and the fact that most of his dominant performance came at Triple-A last season.

Wild Card – I have written about Sparkman in my Prospect Guide as a pitcher who could have a breakout year and shove his way to the major leagues. A four-pitch pitcher, Sparkman will be over two years removed from his surgery and while the feel for the changeup should be back the comfort of going back to a full starting repertoire should be there as opposed to the relief role that he worked last season. The reality is he made just 12 appearances last season, so getting the feel for all the pitches and being able to give a starter repertoire and rest wasn’t able to happen last season.

As you can see, the pitching staff in Omaha will be full of options which in turn will push some players onto the roster at NW Arkansas or into other organizations altogether. Below isn’t the most likely pitching staff for the Chasers, but what I believe would be the best staff for the squad and pitching development for the Royals.

SP
Eric Skoglund (LHP)
Trevor Oaks
Glenn Sparkman
Foster Griffin (LH)
Andres Machado
RP
Sam Gaviglio
Jon Dziedzic (LHP)
Kyle Zimmer
Josh Staumont
Miguel Almonte
Richard Lovelady (LHP)
Eric Stout (LHP)
Kevin Lenik (Closer)

Dominican Trip

The Royals sent some of their young prospects over to the Dominican Republic this offseason to see the sites, visit the Royals Academy and experience the culture where some of their teammates come from. In addition, the young players went to Yordano Ventura’s graveside memorial. It was just another outstanding team building activity that Dayton and staff have created for his young team to create commonality between Latin players and the ones from the states. This can be valuable as not every team coming up will have players like Sal Perez or Eric Hosmer who are so eager to foster a bridge between teammates and cultures.  No matter how the Royals are performing on the field, it should be remembered that GMDM and staff continually do the correct things off of it. Check out some of the videos here on the Royals Dominican Youtube channel.

Free Agents 

The winter is grinding for major league free agents as we’ve almost reached February with many of the major products still on the board. While some have blamed Scott Boras and his methodical approach, that shouldn’t affect all the players. For example, the best value on the board in my eyes is Lorenzo Cain, non-Boras client, and his outstanding defense combined with this hitting ability. It’s mind-boggling to me that Dexter Fowler just last year got 5-82.5m from the Cardinals and teams aren’t falling all over themselves for Cain at a similar or reduced figure. Yes, there are age and injury issues, but they are the same ones Fowler brought to the table and he couldn’t play centerfield at nearly the ability that LoCain can. As more and more teams look to pass on free agency in an attempt to cut payroll, then there is major value adds to be had. Two players come to mind in Logan Morrison and Jarrod Dyson, both familiar with Kansas City they should be able to be added on or two-year deals. Even on a team that doesn’t look to making the playoffs, those types of players can show value, add butts in the seats and be traded for prospects later.

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Featured Photo Josh Staumont Wilmington Blue Rocks – Photo Jake Rose

Frank Schwindel (Photo NWA Democrat-Gazette Jason Ivester)

First baseman/Designated Hitter Frank Schwindel came out of the gate with that hot start, collecting multiple hits in eight of his first 10 games of the season. That start for the Naturals earned Schwindel a .350/.374/.577 line with six home runs and a promotion to Omaha after just 34 games. In addition, Schwindel’s heavy lifting helped propel NW Arkansas to a 20-16 record, which they built on to take the first half Texas League division title to secure the organization’s only playoff berth.

Franky is a hard nosed player who loves to play the game and plays with passion. – Ronnie Richardson

It would be easy to think that Schwindel just used that hot start to head to Triple-A and continue his hot hitting but that wasn’t the case. He hit just .221 in his first 19 games with the Chasers while he was forced to adjust to the new level. It was at that point Schwindel got hot and went on a run that the Royals system hasn’t seen in quite some time. From June 29th through the end of the season, he hit in 57 of 63 games, batting .373/.393/.627 in that span. He had a 19-game hitting streak, followed by a 16-game streak, before ending the season with a 10-game streak, all while not going hitless in back to back games at any point over those final 63 games. That stretch helped Schwindel put up a .329 season average and rack up 174 hits, the second-highest total in the GMDM era

While Schwindel was collecting the hits, he was also doing major damage. He led the organization in doubles with 43 and ranked second with 23 home runs. That power is nothing new for Schwindel, who has now hit 20 or more home runs and had 30 or more doubles in three of the four full seasons he has been in the organization. Combining the power with average has resulted in one of the more impressive offensive seasons by a hitter in the Dayton Moore era of the Royals minor league system.

Season Rankings (GMDM era)
Total Bases – 286 (6th)
Hits – 174 (2nd behind Hosmer ’10)
Doubles – 43 (Tied 2nd)
Ranking in Org (’17)
Average – .329 (#1 in ’17)
RBI – 97 (#1)

The lack of a slump for Schwindel – a player who doesn’t walk much at all (2.9% walk rate in ’17) – is quite surprising, but what he has done quite well at Triple-A this season is cut his groundball rate considerably to play to the advantage that Werner Park offers right-handed hitters, as seen in his .352/.363/.556 home slash line. The right-handed hitter has a heavy pull approach as is evident in his better than 80% clip to the pull side or center at both Double-A and Triple-A this season. Combine that with his flyball rate, a little sprinkling of luck (.350+ BABIP) and you have the makings of a special season for the Royals first baseman.

Ronnie Richardson Royals Director of Minor League Operations on Frank Schwindel

Frank is a guy who is going to get you lots of doubles and home runs, that’s something he’s done since joining the organization. That’s what you see in him, he’s a guy that does damage, drives the ball and makes hard contact with an aggressive approach at the plate. We’ve been happy to see him perform well at both Double-A and Omaha. 

A hard worker he’s been able to step up to the challenge each time he’s been challenged. He’s been able to put together a quality at bat each time he steps into the box. Since we’ve drafted him he’s shown he can compete at a high level and step up to every challenge that he’s been met with. 

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Featured Photo by Minda Haas Kuhlmann

HR Roll Call: Frank Schwindel (22), Khalil Lee (17), Joe Dudek (9), Reed Rohlman (4), Cal Jones (3)

BPKC Hitter of the Day: Frank Schwindel 3-3 2R, HR, BB

BPKC Pitcher of the Day: Travis Eckert 7 IP 2 H 1 R 1 ER 3 BB 3 K 7-6 GO-FO 86p/50k

Round Rock Express 10 Omaha Storm Chasers 3

Chasers pitchers didn’t have much luck limiting Round Rock’s offense on Monday night, allowing 18 hits and a pair of walks in a 10-3 romp. Starter Onelki Garcia got touched up early and often, allowing eight runs in the first three innings of this one. It was a run of singles with just two extra base hits allowed, but it was death by many cuts of the two Chasers pitchers.

On offense Frank Schwindel led the way with another big night on offense, going 3 for 3 while hitting his 22nd home run of the season.

Boxscore Link

Frank Schwindel 3-3 2R, HR, BB
Raul Mondesi 0-3
Ramon Torres 0-4
Hunter Dozier 1-3 R, 2b, BB

Lexington Legends 3 Asheville Tourists 2

Starter Travis Eckert had a solid night, allowing just a second inning run while allowing only two singles over seven innings. With that quality pitching, the Legends offense rewarded him with three runs. After Vance Vizcaino scored on a two out error in the fourth inning Joe Dudek homered in the fifth and Khalil Lee went deep in the sixth to give Lexington a 3-1 lead.

Reliever Collin Snider gave up a solo home run in the eighth, but finished off the game to secure his first save for Lexington.

Boxscore Link

Emmanuel Rivera 1-3 BB
Khalil Lee 1-4 HR
Gabe Cancel 0-4 K

Grand Junction Rockies 17 Idaho Falls Chukars 6

A rough night of pitching for the Chukars with all three pitchers giving up four runs or more in a blowout at the hands of the Rockies rookie squad.

The Chukars squad couldn’t match the power the opposition put up connecting on four doubles compared to the nine extra base hits by Grand Junction including three home runs.

Boxscore Link

Amalani Fukofuka 0-4 R, BB
Travis Jones 3-5 2R, 2b, RBI

Bluefield Blue Jays 12 Burlington Royals 4

The Blue Jays kept the Royals offense at bay thanks to 15 strikeouts spread among their four pitchers.

The Royals hit a pair of home runs, but had limited opportunities to score beyond that, going 1 for 4 with runners in scoring position. This while Bluefield connected often with an 8 for 18 effort, scoring a run on all four Royals pitchers.

Boxscore Link

Cal Jones 2-5 HR, 3 RBI
Seuly Matias 1-4 3K

AZL Royals 5 AZL Padres 1

A couple relievers followed up starter Charlie Neuweiler with scoreless work after the 2017 draftee tossed four and one-third innings of one run ball. The right-handed 5th round pick allowed five baserunners in his time, allowing the one run allowed on three mistakes that he made in the third inning. In that inning, Neuweiler hit the leadoff man, Denzell Gowdy, advanced him on a pickoff throwing error and then uncorked a wild pitch that allowed him to score once he had moved to third on a groundout.

The game was tied at 1-1 until the ninth when the Royals plated four runs, two of which came in on a Cristian Perez double.

Boxscore Link

Cristian Perez 2-4 2b, 3 RBI
MJ Melendez 1-4 3b, BB
Nick Pratto 0-3 BB

DSL Astros Blue 3 DSL Royals 2

The Royals fell behind when three straight singles in the third inning led to a pair of Astros Blue runs. After a fourth inning sac fly and a rbi single in the seventh by Paul Mondesi tied the game up the Astros reclaimed the lead in the bottom of the seventh on their own sacrifice fly. The Royals threatened in the eighth but failed to score before going down in order in the ninth to take the loss.

Boxscore Link

Angel Zerpa 3.2 Ip 2 H 1 R 1 ER 4 BB 2 K HBP 2-2 GO-FO
Kember Nacero 0-4

Player movement – Ryan O’Hearn and Logan Moon were moved to NW Arkansas to make room for Hunter Dozier.

Audio with Assistant GM of Player Personnel J.J. Picollo

HR Roll Call Frank Schwindel 2 (20), Darrell Miller Jr. (3)

BPKC Hitter of the Day: Frank Schwindel 2-5, 2 HR, 4 RBI 

BPKC Pitcher of the Day: Jacob Bodner 3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, 3-1 GO-FO, 36p/20k

Iowa Cubs 8, Omaha Storm Chasers 7 

A pair of former Storm Chaser playoff starters faced off in Papillion on Monday. The 2014 PCL championship game starter Aaron Brooks started for the I-Cubs, tossing three efficient innings before running into trouble in the fourth. On the other side, ’14 National Championship game starter Christian Binford was running into similar fourth inning problems.

With the game at 1-0 Iowa, the fourth inning got interesting when Billy Burns dove and came up empty on a sinking two-out line-drive with the bases loaded. The ball got past Burns and all three runners scrambled home to give the Cubs a 4-0 advantage. Omaha answered in their half of the inning with a Frank Schwindel home run (19) and a two-run single by Garin Cecchini to pull within a run. One inning later after the Cubs had pushed their lead back to two with a solo home run off Binford, the Chasers and Schwindel were back at it again off Brooks, this time with a mammoth 437-foot blast (20) to left-center and an RBI single by Brayan Pena that gave the Chasers a 7-5 lead.

Unfortunately, that lead was short lived for Omaha. Reliever Seth Maness gave up a three-run sixth inning that featured a two-run home run by Taylor Davis. The Cubs bullpen would take control of the game from there, retiring the final 11 Chasers hitters.

Boxscore Link

Frank Schwindel 2-5, 2 HR, 4 RBI
Bubba Starling 0-5
Eric Stout 1.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, 25p/16k

Frederick Keys 9, Wilmington Blue Rocks 3

The Rocks answered a four-run Keys second inning with a three-run frame of their own Monday, but their bats would go silent from there. While the Willmington offense went silent the Keys were playing music with their bats, scoring a pair in the fourth, another in the fifth and two more in the seventh for an easy win.

Most of the damage came on starter Colin Rodgers as the lefty gave up eight hits and walked four while allowing six runs in three innings.

Boxscore Link

Brandon Downes 2-4, 2b
John Brontsema 1-3, R, RBI, BB

Billings Mustangs 17, Idaho Falls Chukars 13 – F/12

The Chukars got involved in one of those classic high scoring Pioneer League affairs. The two teams exchanged leads five different times prior to extra innings with Billings jumping out to an 8-2 lead through six innings only to watch Idaho Falls comeback and take a 10-8 lead after eight innings. The Reds rookie affiliate wouldn’t mail it in though, scoring three runs to take the lead into the bottom of the ninth. Of course that lead didn’t last long with Darrell Miller Jr. hitting a solo home run to send the game to extra innings.

After the teams exchanged runs in the eleventh inning Billings blew the game open with five runs in the twelfth to finally build a lead that Idaho Falls couldn’t overcome.

Boxscore Link

Brewer Hicklen 3-6, 2b,, 3b, 2 RBI
Matt Morales 1-6, R, 2b, BB, RBI
Travis Jones 1-5, R, BB, SB

Burlington Royals 9, Danville Braves 8 – F/10

The Royals trailed 8-6 into the ninth inning of their third game of four versus the Danville Braves. That deficit was quickly sliced in half thanks to a leadoff single by Jose Sanchez that started the inning and a triple by Seuly Matias. A sacrifice fly by Benji Cash quickly tied the game to push the game to extras. In the tenth, Braves pitcher Cutter Dyals lost control of his pitches following an error that allowed Jose Marquez to reach. With Marquez on, Dyals pushed him to second with a wild pitch prior to Ryan Dale sacrificing him to third. With the winning run on 90 feet away and just one out Dyals did it again, uncorking a second wild pitch that allowed Marquez to race home for the winning run.

Boxscore Link

Seuly Matias 1-5, R, 3b, RBI, 2 K
Sebastian Rivero 1-5, R, 3 RBI, 1-2 CS/Att
Jordan Floyd 3 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, 36p/25k

#WalkoffFeeling pic.twitter.com/p1x1NRpDAI

— Burlington Royals (@BRoyalsKC) August 15, 2017

HR Roll Call: Alfredo Escalera (7), Joe Dudek (8)

BPKC Hitter of the Day: Travis Jones 5-5, 3R, 2-2b, 2 RBI, SB (11)

BPKC Pitcher of the Day: Charlie Neuweiler 5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, 6-6 GO-FO

Royals sign C.J. Eldred
The Royals signed C.J. Eldred, son of Cal Eldred, to a minor league contract this week. The former Iowa Hawkeye underwent Tommy John surgery during the season, after one quality start during his junior year. The pitcher started his career at Indiana before transferring to Iowa, his father’s alma mater, where he had a solid sophomore season putting up a 3.43 ERA in 16 games (14 starts) for a team that reached the Big 10 tournament championship game. The right-handed pitcher has started to throw some already and has an outside shot of being able to pitch some during instructs. Terms were undisclosed.

AZL Royals 5, AZL A’s 4

The Royals built a five-run lead thanks to 10 hits; then hung onto a win. Starter and 2017 draft pick Charlie Neuweiler tossed five scoreless innings, allowing two hits. This was a nice bounce-back start after allowing his most hits in his brief stint in Arizona.

The battery partner for Neuweiler, catcher MJ Melendez, had two of the squad’s 10 hits while scoring twice to help pace the team in the win.

Mervyl Melendez one of the better players at the complex level. Can hit, will receive. Athlete. Competitor. Potential first division type

— Chris Kusiolek (@CaliKusiolek) August 7, 2017

Boxscore Link

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

Game 1 – Greeneville Astros 6, Burlington Royals 5
Game 2 – Burlington Royals 3, Greeneville Astros 1

The Royals split a doubleheader with the Astros rookie squad on Tuesday. In game one, reliever Luis Alcantara couldn’t close the door, allowing a two-run home run in the sixth inning after Burlington had claimed the lead on a sac fly by Seuly Matias.

The Royals scored a pair of late inning runs with a bases-loaded walk and a groundout by Cal Jones to plate Michael Gigliotti. Reliever Tyler Zuber continued his stellar work with a strikeout in the final inning to save his fifth game. The former Arkansas State pitcher has now struck out 33 hitters in just 20.1 innings for Burlington.

Boxscore G1
Boxscore G2

Seuly Matias 0-6, R, RBI, BB
Michael Gigliotti 2-7, R, BB
Cal Jones 3-6, R, 2b, 2 RBI, 2 BB

Idaho Falls Chukars 10, Billings Mustangs 7

The Chukars plated quite a few runs early and hung on late for another win over Billings. Things got rolling in the second when outfielder Travis Jones got his big night started with a run-scoring double. That opened a five-run inning that gave Idaho Falls a lead they wouldn’t relinquish. The pitching staff did enough while the offense continued to pile on with 10 runs total. Jones scored three and drove in two more as part of his 5 for 5 night that also included a great catch in the outfield.

The best performance for a 2017 draftee definitely belongs to Jones thus far, with the outfielder hitting .426/.486/.591 in his three different stops and 32 games of rookie ball.

Boxscore Link

Travis Jones 5-5, 3R, 2-2b, 2 RBI, SB (11)
Amalani Fukofuka 1-5, SB (27), CS (5)

Asheville Tourists 10, Lexington Legends 7

The Legends jumped out to a 7-1 lead on Asheville with a string of five singles in the fourth inning that followed a two-run home run by Joe Dudek. Starter Ofreidy Gomez couldn’t get away from trouble in the fifth, after allowing a pair of runs in the fourth inning. The righty allowed five runs including a three-run home run that handed Asheville the lead they wouldn’t give up the rest the night.

Boxscore Link

Khalil Lee 3-4, R, RBI
Emmanuel Rivera 2-5, 2 RBI
Gabe Cancel 1-3, 2R, BB

Down East Wood Ducks 11, Wilmington Blue Rocks 3

The Blue Rocks had one more opportunity to score than Down East but couldn’t take advantage of the Rangers affiliate on this night. Wilmington went just 4 for 15 with runners in scoring position while Down East connected on 8 of 14 opportunities to keep the pressure on the Rocks pitching staff.

Starter Cristian Castillo’s struggles continued with five runs allowed in 4.1 innings. The lefty could be tiring down the stretch with an 8.65 ERA in his last five starts. Prior to that run, Castillo had put up a 2.61 ERA in his first 17 starts of the year.

Boxscore Link

Cristian Castillo 4.1 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, 76p/44k, 3-2 GO-FO
Nick Heath 4-5, R, SB (16)
Chris DeVito 2-3, 2 BB

NW Arkansas Naturals 11, Midland RockHounds 5

Outfielder Alfredo Escalera’s three-run home run in the seventh paved the way to a win for the Naturals over Midland. The Naturals plated three more runs in the eighth to tack on, and the bullpen shut things over the last three innings to claim the win.

Boxscore Link

Richard Lovelady 2.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, 38p/27k
Paulo Orlando 2-3, 2R, BB
Samir Duenez 0-4, R, BB
Donnie Dewees 1-3, R, 2b, CS (7)
Nicky Lopez 1-4, R, BB

Game 1 – Memphis Redbirds 3, Omaha Storm Chasers 1
Game 2 – Memphis Redbirds 4, Omaha Storm Chasers 2

Two games were played with each having a similar blueprint for Omaha on Tuesday. In both games of the doubleheader, the Chasers took leads to the latter innings only to give up the advantage and fall. In the first game, the Chasers grabbed a 1-0 lead in the fourth on a Logan Moon double, but four straight Memphis hits in the fifth scored three runs.

The second game had a similar feel for the Chasers. After an error gave Omaha two runs on a sacrifice fly by Frank Schwindel, the Chasers bullpen let the game get away. Usually reliable reliever Eric Stout gave up three runs as his control wavered. He walked the bases loaded before a bases clearing double by Gabriel Lino gave Memphis a 4-2 lead and the eventual win.

Boxscore Link G1
Boxscore Link G2

Eric Stout 1 IP, 1 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 2 K, 38p/16k
Emilio Ogando 5 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 2 K, 87p/50k
Frank Schwindel 2-4, RBI, BB
Jorge Soler 1-4, R, 2BB
Raul Mondesi 0-3, 2k

Wednesday Probables
Omaha – Christian Binford 5-8 7.93 ERA
NW Arkansas – Jake Kalish 0-7 3.41 ERA
Wilmington – Colin Rodgers 2-3 3.66 ERA
Lexington – Garrett Davila 7-6 5.59 ERA vs local product Riley Pint
Idaho Falls – Dillon Drabble 0-1 0.93 ERA
Burlington – Dan Tillo 1-0 2.45 ERA

HR Roll Call: Travis Jones (1), Randor Vargas (2)

BPKC Hitter of the Day: Travis Jones 2-3, HR, 3 RBI, BB

BPKC Pitcher of the Day: Robert Garcia 5 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 6 K, 77p/46k, 2-4 GO/FO

Omaha Storm Chasers 8, Memphis Redbirds 4

The Chasers got after Baseball Prospectus’ 7th Ranked Cardinals prospect on Monday night, blistering Luke Weaver for 12 hits and seven runs in just 5.2 innings. After a mini-PCL slump by his standards, Jorge Soler is back to causing havoc in the league, connecting on a pair of hits to drive in four runs against the right-hander. The first was a two-run single in the first to plate Billy Burns and Dean Anna, while the second was a double off the left-field wall that capped a five-run sixth inning for Omaha.

Three Chasers pitchers combined to work the nine innings, with Kyle Zimmer working the final two. Zimmer allowed a solo home run while collecting four strikeouts. The righty is regularly hitting mid to upper 90’s of late, and is starting to look more dominant in his bullpen role.

Boxscore Link

Jorge Soler 2-5, 2b, 4 RBI
Frank Schwindel 2-5, R, 2-2b —-The 1b/DH is hitting .379/.396/.676 since June 29
Kyle Zimmer 2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 4 K, 37p/23k

Asheville Tourists 7, Lexington Legends 0

The Rockies Low-A affiliate and Columbian pitcher Erick Julio kept the Legends bats at bay in game one of their series in Asheville. Centerfielder Khalil Lee continued his struggles with a 0-4 night that featured three strikeouts versus Julio as the righty got him swinging ahead of his changeup multiple times.

In addition to Lee’s struggles, pitcher Nolan Watson continued his dismal performance at the Low-A level. He allowed 11 hits and six runs (5 ER) in just 4.2 innings. The Indianapolis native saw his record drop to 1-8 with the loss.

Boxscore Link

Emmanuel Rivera 3-4, 2-2b
Khalil Lee 0-4, 3K
Gabe Cancel 1-3, BB

Idaho Falls Chukars 6, Billings Mustangs 2

The Royals 15th round draft pick, Robert Garcia, had the best outing of his brief pro career, spinning five innings of no-hit ball with just two walks allowed. The lefty hit the zone with 46 of 77 pitches and struck out six hitters to collect his first win.

The Chukars bullpen backed him with four innings by two pitchers, allowing two runs. The offense plated six runs with the aid of seven walks next to their eight hits.

Boxscore Link

Travis Jones 2-3, HR, 3 RBI, BB
Robert Garcia 5 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 6 K, 77p/46k, 2-4 GO/FO

AZL Mariners 3, AZL Royals 1

The Surprise squad committed three errors which led to a pair of unearned runs against starter Ismael Maldonado. Among those miscues was first baseman Nick Pratto’s ninth error in his 30th game.

Those two runs were enough to hold off the Royals as their lineup struck out 13 times on the evening.

Boxscore Link

Nick Pratto 1-4
Tyler James 2-3 Bb, SB (20)

DSL Royals 3, DSL Dodgers 2 F/11
DSL Dodgers 13, DSL Royals 2

The Dominican squad split a doubleheader with the Dodgers Monday, getting an extra-inning win and getting blown out in the other game. Just three hits but three runs were plated in the victorious first game, including a home run by Randor Vargas.

Boxscore G1
Boxscore G2

Tuesday Probables
G1 Omaha – LHP Brian Flynn 4-2 6.00 ERA
G2 Omaha – TBD
NW Arkansas – Josh Staumont 1-2 6.04 ERA
Wilmington – TBD
Lexington – Ofreidy Gomez 5-9 5.11 ERA
Idaho Falls –  TBD
G1 Burlington – Nathan Webb 3-3 4.35 ERA
G2 Burlington – Connor Mayes 3-0 3.20 ERA
Surprise – Charlie Neuweiler 1-2 2.33 ERA

Cam Gallagher Profile

Cam Gallagher (Minda Haas Kuhlmann)

What should you expect to see from the former 2nd round pick should he get the opportunity to help out with the Sal Perez injury. Defensively is where Gallagher shines as the big bodies catcher shows good receiving skills with accepting hands at the dish that are strong enough to exhibit quality framing skills. Despite the big body and lack of quick twitch athleticism Gallagher shows no wasted movement in his footwork and can put together decent pop times in the 1.85 range which are adequate for a backup catcher.

Offensively Gallagher doesn’t stand out other than the fact that he doesn’t strikeout much and can control his bat working the ball to all fields in the correct situations. The power is pull side and is less than average while the speed is well below average.

The total package is that of a quality backup catcher who provides quality defense, good came calling skills and a quality person in the clubhouse who you hope can run into a pitch here and there.

HR Roll Call Samir Duenez 2 (15), Gabe Cancel (13), Angelo Castellano (7), Amalani Fukofuka (5), Benji Cash (2)

BPKC Hitter of the Day Samir Duenez 3-6 2 HR, 3 RBI

BPKC Pitcher of the Day Andres Sotillet 6 IP 3 H 0 R 0 ER 1 BB 4 K 8-4 GO-FO

Sacramento River Cats 5 Omaha Storm Chasers 4

The River Cats scored three unearned runs in the second inning off starter Eric Skoglund to open the scoring Saturday after a throwing error by Brayan Pena opened the inning. The Chasers answered with three runs of their own in the third after a pair of walks to Billy Burns and Raul Mondesi opened the frame. A pair of singles by Cheslor Cuthbert and Jorge Soler scored them before Cuthbert scored on Ryan O’Hearn’s groundout. The two teams exchanged runs with Sacramento hitting a solo home run in the fourth off Skoglund and Omaha answering with a rbi single by Brayan Pena in the sixth.

The game remained tied until the eighth when Giants top prospect Chris Shaw hit a home run off reliever Kevin Lenik to give the River Cats a lead and the eventual win.

Boxscore Link

Eric Skoglund 6 Ip 6 H 4 R 1 ER 1 BB 7 K 7-1 GO-FO 101p/68k
Raul Mondesi 0-1 R, BB, HBP
Cheslor Cuthbert 2-5 R, RBI
Jorge Soler 1-4 RBI
Ryan O’Hearn 1-4 RBI, BB, SB

Springfield Cardinals 8 NW Arkansas Naturals 7 F/12

The Naturals were outslugged in another loss to Springfield in the third of four games versus the Cardinals affiliate. First baseman Samir Duenez did all he could early to help the club, connecting on a pair of home runs in his first two at bats. The first homer was a pull shot that scored Duenez and Paulo Orlando to put the Naturals in front 2-0. Two innings later after starter Corey Ray had given up the lead it was Duenez tying the game back up with a home run to left. Outfielder Donnie Dewees doubled and scored on Mauricio Ramos single quickly in the same inning to reclaim the lead that was pushed to 5-3 at the end of the frame.

From there the two teams would exchange runs with the game ending up tied at 7-7 at the end of nine innings into extras. The Naturals would put the lead run on in the all three extra innings but fail to push them around and would drop the game when Springfield’s Randy Arozarena walked it off with a home run to lead off the bottom of the twelfth inning.

Boxscore Link

Samir Duenez 3-6 2 HR 3 RBI
Nicky Lopez 2-6, CS
Donnie Dewees 3-5 R, 2b, BB
Paulo Orlando 0-3 R, RBI, BB
Anderson Miller 2-6 RBI

Wilmington Blue Rocks 3 Frederick Keys 1

Recently promoted starter Jace Vines put together his best start for Wilmington as yet, working five scoreless innings while working around three hits and three walks. The former Texas A&M pitcher was given the lead in the second inning with a two run double by Colton Frabasilio and added on with a rbi triple by Wander Franco in the fourth.

Relievers Justin Camp and Franco Terrero would make sure that lead would hold up as the two allowed just one run over the last four innings to secure the Blue Rocks win.

Boxscore Link

Brandon Downes 1-4 2b
Jace Vines 5 IP 3H 0 R 0 ER 3 Bb 4 K 5-3 GO-FO 91p/48k
Franco Terrero 1.2 IP 0 H 0 R 0 ER 1 BB 2 K 0-3 GO-FO 23p/12k

Game 1
Hickory Crawdads 3 Lexington Legends 1

Royals prospect Gerson Garabito continued to work his way back to full strength Saturday afternoon in game one of the doubleheader for Lexington. The Dominican right-handed pitcher tossed four innings of scoreless baseball on 45 pitches while allowing just a second innings single and striking out three hitters.

Second baseman Gabe Cancel gave the Legends the lead in the fourth inning with his thirteenth home run of the season. That lead was short-lived once Garabito left the game when reliever Vance Tatum gave up a pair of singles around a walk to tie the game. One inning later hit their own home run, a two run shot to give them a 3-1 lead which would be enough after Lexington stranded two runners to end the game.

Boxscore Link

Khalil Lee 0-3 2K, BB
Gabe Cancel 1-3 HR
Emmanuel Rivera 0-3 3K
Gerson Garabito 4 IP 1 H 0 R 0 ER 0 BB 3 K 45p/30k 4-3 GO-FO

Game 2
Lexington Legends 9 Hickory Crawdads 3

The Legends broke open a 3-3 game in the ninth inning of game 2. In the ninth Gabe Cancel started the inning off with a single and quickly scored following a walk and another single by Manny Olloque. A fielding error on Margen Gasparini’s groundball to first pushed their lead to two runs. With runners on second and third Vance Vizcaino would walk to load the bases for shortstop Angelo Castellano. The shortstop has struggled since the start of July hitting just .123 in that time but it didn’t stop him from unloading the bases with a grand slam to left to put the game out of reach.

Boxscore Link

Emmanuel Rivera 1-5 R, 2K
Gabe Cancel 1-3 R, K
Marten Gasparini 2-4 R, RBI

Great Falls Voyagers 8 Idaho Falls Chukars 4

The Chukars starter David McKay was roughed up in his six innings allowing 11 hits and eight runs including a pair of home runs. One night after showing off his speed with four stolen bases Amalani Fukofuka flashed his power with a home run and a double in his four plate appearances.

Boxscore Link

Amalani Fukofuka 2-4 2R, HR, 2b, 2 RBI

Burlington Royals 4 Elizabethton Twins 3

Centerfielder Michael Gigliotti accounted for the first three runs of the game for Burlington before Benji Cash gave them the deciding run. Trailing 1-0 Gigliotti connected on a triple to center that scored Oliver Nunez from first to tie the game. After the Twins took the lead back in the sixth Gigliotti was at it again in the seventh this time with a two run double to claim the lead.

The Twins would knot it back up in the bottom of the seventh but the Royals would claim the last lead of the night with a Cash home run to center. Closer Tyler Zuber would give up a pair of singles in the ninth before striking out the side to end the game.

Boxscore Link

Michael Gigliotti 2-5 2b, 3b, 3 RBI, K, SB (15)
Seuly Matias 1-3 2b
Tyler Zuber 1 IP 2 H 0 R 0 ER 0 BB 3 K 21p/13k

AZL Royals 5 AZL D-Backs 1

The Royals received another good start from Andres Sotillet as the Venezuelan tossed six shutout innings around three hits and a walk. After struggles in the Pioneer League Sotillet as calmed things down in Arizona with three quality starts in five tries. Errors or wild pitches helped the Royals to all five runs on offense to cruise to the win with the solid pitching.

A familiar face returned after nearly two years away from the game as former 2013 3rd round pick Carter Hope worked two perfect innings with two strikeouts for the Royals.

Boxscore Link

Nick Pratto 2-5
Brewer Hicklen 1-4 R, BB, SB (13), CS (3)
MJ Melendez 0-3 BB, 0-1 CS/Att

DSL Royals 4 DSL Astros Blue 2

The Royals two pitchers struck out 11 Astros on Saturday to salvage a win in the series with them. Outfielder Reynin Reynoso doubled in a pair of runs in the second inning and Felix Familia doubled in another in the fourth. Those runs would be plenty for Adriam Castillo and Adrian Alcantara as the two worked the nine innings with Alcantara dominating over the final three and one-third innings with seven strikeouts.

Boxscore Link

Adriam Castillo 5.2 IP 3 H 2 R 2 ER 0 BB 4 K 8-1 GO-FO
Adrian Alcantara 3.1 IP 1 H 0 R 0 ER 1 BB 7 K 0-1 GO-FO
Reynin Reynoso 1-4 2b, 2 RBI

BPKC Hitter of the Day Cheslor Cuthbert 2-4 HR, 2b

BPKC Pitcher of the Day Christian Binford 6 IP 7 H 1 R 1 ER 2 BB 6 K 88p/59k 5-5 GO-FO

Mondesi makes a slick backhand play