HR Roll Call: Jack Lopez (3)

BPKC Hitter of the Day: Nick Dini 3-4, R, 2b, 2 RBI

BPKC Pitcher of the Day: Kevin Lenik 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, 42p/27k, 1-0 GO-FO

Player movement 
— Michael Gigliotti promoted to Lexington Legends from Burlington.
— Pitcher Andres Sotillet and catcher Michael Arroyo sent to Burlington from Arizona.
— Outfielder Yeison Melo sent to Wilmington from Lexington.
— 2017 seventh round pick Brewer Hicklen has been promoted from Arizona to Idaho Falls.

Memphis Redbirds 3, Omaha Storm Chasers 2 F/10

The Chasers tied last night’s game in the fifth inning on a groundout by Frank Schwindel but could do no more offensively in dropping an extra inning game. Both teams’ bullpens pitched well, with the Royals newly found reliever Kevin Lenik tossing three innings of shutout baseball. The reliever that the Royals snagged from Independent ball who throws in the mid-90s, struck out four hitters  to push his season total to 28 whiffs in 25.2 innings.

With the game tied into the tenth, recently promoted Jake Newberry struggled in his Triple-A debut. He walked the first two hitters he faced before a pair of one out singles walked things off for Memphis.

Boxscore Link

Raul Mondesi 2-4
Jorge Soler 0-2, 3 BB
Frank Schwindel 1-5, 2 RBI
Ryan O’Hearn 0-4, 3K

NW Arkansas Naturals 6, Midland RockHounds 4

The Naturals put together a late comeback against the Midland bullpen for the second straight night to defeat the Double-A Athletics affiliate. Trailing 4-3, the Naturals loaded the bases when Midland’s reliever plunked a pair of hitters and the manager chose to walk Humberto Arteaga.

In that situation, Anderson Miller drove in one run to tie the game by legging to first on a force out to keep his squad out of the double play. One hitter later Nick Dini doubled to the right field corner, driving in two runs that would eventually give NW Arkansas the win.

Boxscore Link

Nick Dini 3-4, R, 2b, RBI
Samir Duenez 1-4, K
Donnie Dewees 0-3, R
Paulo Orlando 1-4
Yunior Marte 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, 24p/17k

Down East Wood Ducks 7, Wilmington Blue Rocks 5

The Blue Rocks scored three runs in the eighth inning to tie a game at five, but the bullpen couldn’t keep the Rangers High-A squad off the board to drop another game to Down East. In that inning, Jecksson Flores plated two runs with a single, prior to Chris DeVito scoring him with a single of his own.

However in the eighth, recently promoted Jose Veras gave up three consecutive hits to start the inning to put Wilmington back behind and eventually drop the game.

Boxscore Link

Nick Heath 2-5, 2R
Brandon Downes 1-3, R, 2b, RBI

Asheville Tourists 3, Lexington Legends 2 F/10

Both teams were able to navigate around plenty of baserunners in scoring position until Lexington’s Matt Wynne gave up an extra inning hit that allowed Asheville to walk the game off. A combined 2 for 31 effort with runners in scoring position highlighted the game. Kansas native Riley Pint struck out five Legends hitters in 5.1 innings while hitting 100 mph on the gun.

Boxscore Link

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

Billings Mustangs 14, Idaho Falls Chukars 9

The Chukars lost a slugfest as the first two pitchers on the mound for Idaho Falls gave up 12 runs (6 ER) over five innings. Those runs couldn’t be overcome by Idaho Falls despite seven hits by the top three hitters in the order.

Boxscore Link

Amalani Fukofuka 2-5, 2R, 2b, 2 RBI
Matt Morales 3-5, 3R

Pulaski Yankees 2, Burlington Royals 1

The Royals outhit their opponent but couldn’t get the timely hits in their loss to the Yankees. Starter Dan Tillo struck out five in five innings and gave up just two hits, but walks gave the pitcher a loss. The former Iowa Western starter walked a pair of hitters to start the second inning prior to a bunt single loading the bases with no outs. A pair of ground outs would score two runs to put Burlington behind and their 1 for 11 performance with runners in scoring put another L in the loss column.

Boxscore Link

Dan Tillo 5 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 5 K, 62p/35k, 7-3 GO-FO
Seuly Matias 0-3, BB, 2K
Jeison Guzman 0-3, k
Sebastian Rivero 0-4, k

DSL Red Sox 1, DSL Royals 0

The Royals 17-year-old lefty Angel Zerpa continued his quality pitching on Wednesday, tossing six shutout innings. The pitcher the team paid $100k to last year earned eleven ground outs off the bats of Red Sox hitters while striking out three hitters and allowing just a pair of singles. The lefty retired the first eleven hitters he faced before giving up a groundball single in the fourth.

The Royals offense couldn’t get the big hit they needed, going 0 for 9 with runners in scoring position which gave them the loss when the Red Sox scored a run in the ninth on a two out triple.

Boxscore Link

Angel Zerpa 6 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, 11-2 GO-FO
Rubendy Jacquez 2-3, BB

That doesn’t mean there hasn’t been plenty of worthy talent along the way. Yet for the most part it’s limited to one or two guys each year who are worthy of a look. The rest go enroll at college, looking to fine tune their skills, develop and get drafted highly from there. For a team devoted to building from within, that lack of highly skilled prep talent from nearby could create a slight hiccup in their path.

Ten years into Moore’s tenure, with back to back American League pennants and a World Championship, things have changed in a big way. If you head to The K on Sunday, you will see children by the hundreds covered in Royal blue with the names Cain, Hosmer, Moustakas and Perez on their backs. It’s not just on the big league field. The city and its suburbs created another 1st round pick from the prep ranks when the Royals selected Bubba Starling with the 5th pick in 2011. Now, if you head out to the prep fields of Kansas City, you will see continued growth in the talent pool. It’s possible two or three guys this year will be selected in the 1st few rounds. One of those players will be a surefire Top 10 selection. Add that with another pair that could earn Top 5 round money with their selections, and it looks the Kansas City area is in the process of producing the best prep class in its history.

Greg Schaum, former Royals broadcaster and current Director of Scouting and Player Development at Arland Sports, says this talent in the local draft class this year is unprecedented. “The rise of quality travel ball program’s like Mac-N-Seitz, the Barnstormers and others have helped produce a group that is on par with any area of the country. This in my opinion is the best class that this city has ever produced, better than even the talented class of 1974 that included Rick Sutcliffe.”

Who are some of the names you should be watching this year?

Riley Pint RHP – The St. Thomas Aquinas product is the jewel of the Kansas City prep draft, ranking in the Top 4 of every major draft publication out there. A 6-4 190 lbs. right-handed pitcher with a fastball that sits 95 and touches 99 mph or greater, Pint is the blueprint of a stud righty high school pitching prospect. He’s more than just a fastball though as he’s an extremely hard worker, a talented athlete who has excelled in other sports prior, and proven he can rake with the bat as well as help pitch his team to a state title. The gift is in the arm though, and despite what some thought was a bit of the case of the “wilds” last summer he’s come back to refine his mechanics and prove he can grow in his craft. In his first outing this spring, Pint impressed Perfect Game so much that they compared it to a Josh Beckett performance that pushed him into the #2 overall draft slot at the time of his draft.

PG on the change up – The biggest revelation of the outing, however, was Pint’s changeup, which he threw 8-10 times almost all at 88 mph.  Throwing an 88 mph changeup to high school hitters seems at the surface to be doing them a big favor but the movement and location on the pitch made it no favor.

If Pint continues to refine and produce during the season the way he has thus far, then it is highly possible he surpasses Starling as the highest selected prep Kansas City player ever. An LSU commit, Pint will have plenty of leverage in his draft stock that can push a player’s pick up or down depending on how firm on their desire to attend or not attend college.

Following Pint there is plenty of debate among publications as to who the second best draft prospect in the city is with a few preferring Tyler Benninghoff who I rank fifth and some others preferring the rising Ryan Zeferjahn. For this article though let’s take a look at a different name.

Joey Wentz LHP – This prospect from Shawnee Mission East was known for his light tower power that earned him invites to home run derby competitions prior to gaining some heat on his fastball and suddenly becoming a two way threat. At 93 mph off the mound with a feel for spin and a change-up, or 543-feet off the bat (home run contest) this kid’s pitching development has impressed and allowed his stock to soar. Standing at 6’6, left-handed and a powerfully thick 210 lbs. teams could be tantalized by the power bat but will ultimately need to pay him to skip his Virginia commitment on the mound.

Ryan Zeferjahn RHP – Another rising pitching prospect, Zeferjahn is converting his basketball skills into performance on the mound at Seaman High School. The Kansas commit once threw in the mid-80’s with his fastball but has recently pushed that into the low to mid-90’s. The athleticism allows Ryan to repeat his delivery and command the fastball to both sides of the plate. He continues to show progress with a curveball that works mostly in the low 80’s and a change up that produces sinking movement in the high 70’s. There are right-handed prep arms by the dozens in the draft but as specialization has taken over amateur sports there are fewer multi-sport athletes. That athleticism is helping Zeferjahn’s stock.

Nolan “Nonie” Williams SS R/S – Perhaps the other gem of the KC prep draft is Williams, from Turner High School, who reclassified himself from the 2017 class into the ’16 class last year. Turning 18 in May is a good sign as younger position prospects typically develop at a slightly better rate than average or older drafted prospects. What sticks out for Williams is the speed – 6.5 in the 60-yard dash – the plus arm in the field, and good pop from the right side at the plate. Like most of these kids, Williams is a gym rat who has pushed himself into a terrific draft position that could earn him 4th round or greater money.

Tyler Benninghoff RHP – Last summer it was Benninghoff who was pushing his stock up at ridiculous speed at Rockhurst High School, using what could be the best prep curveball in the entire class to put away hitters. The lanky 6’4 righty combines that curve with a low 90’s fastball and change-up that shows promise. A team could easily see Benninghoff’s frame and believe the fastball could tick up. That puts the righty into a position to improve his stock once in the development system.

Other players represent upside in this class as well but these five gems could be turning heads in the minor leagues sooner rather than later.

These timing of the Royals combined by this talented class is a coincidence but their presence has the opportunity to create a pool of prep talent for teams and particularly the Royals to draw from for years to come.

Follow me on Twitter @ClintScoles

Feature Photo –  David Banks USA Today Sports