BPKC Hitter of the Day: Nick Pratto 2-3, 2R, HR, 2b, 2 RBI, BB

BPKC Pitcher of the Day: Luis Lugo 6.2 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, 6-4 GO-FO, 96p/61k

Lexington Legends 4, Hagerstown Suns 1

The Legends received a pair of home runs from their prospect tandem of Seuly Matias and Nick Pratto while three different pitchers limited the opponent to just one run. In the first inning, Pratto drew a two out walk and scored on the very next pitch that Matias drove 359 feet out to left for his 31st home run of the season. Those two runs were enough for Daniel Lynch as the lefty worked around five hits and a walk, allowing just a run while on the hill. The game was 2-1 into the eighth inning when Nick Pratto connected on his first home run since May 24th, a two run blast that gave the Legends a 4-1 lead. Those two insurance runs would prove to be plenty for Danny Hrbek and Tad Ratliff as the two righties would follow Lynch with four innings of scoreless baseball.

MJ Melendez: 2-4, 3b, 2 K, 1-1 CS/Att
Seuly Matias: 1-3, HR, 2 RBI, BB, K
Daniel Lynch: 5 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, 3-5 GO-FO, 56p/35k

Buies Creek Astros 7, Wilmington Blue Rocks 2

Wilmington dropped the first game of their series with Buies Creek as the teams danced around a short rain delay on Tuesday. Prior to the rain delay in the third inning, the Astros got a pair of runs off starter Andres Sotillet with four hits in that inning. Reliever Carter Hope took over after the delay and didn’t do much better, giving up three runs on three hits in the fifth. A couple of more runs would come across against the Rocks bullpen all while the offense struggled to get much going, getting just a pair of RBI hits by Gabriel Cancel and Emmanuel Rivera in the 7-2 loss.

Gabriel Cancel: 1-5, RBI
Emmanuel Rivera: 2-5, RBI
Travis Jones: 2-4

NW Arkansas Naturals 8, Arkansas Travelers 4 – F/12

The Naturals scored a pair of runs in the first before going dormant until the 10th inning. In fact, from a third inning when Jecksson Flores connected on a leadoff single until the ninth when Samir Duenez drew a walk, the Naturals had 19 consecutive hitters retired. Starter Luis Lugo did his best to keep the Naturals ahead, tossing four consecutive scoreless before allowing a run in the fifth. The lead was held until the seventh when a leadoff single came in on Lugo’s line when reliever Gabe Speier gave up a two-out single, tying the game up 2-2. The game would stay tied until extra innings where the two teams would exchange runs in the tenth and eleventh innings. In the twelfth the Naturals would bust the game open, scoring four runs with three extra-base hits and a wild pitch. Outfielder Kort Peterson tripled to give NW Arkansas the first run before back-to-back doubles by Anderson Miller and Nick Heath tacked on two more to build a lead too large for the Travelers to overcome.

Khalil Lee: 1-5, 2 R, 2b, BB
Kort Peterson: 3-5, R, 3b, 2 RBI
Anderson Miller: 2-5, R, 2b, RBI

Burlington Royals 6, Pulaski Yankees 4 – F/10

Left-hander Josh Dye gave up a three-run home run to put Burlington behind before the rain delayed this one. After the rain disappeared reliever Bryar Johnson took over, preventing the Yankees from getting a hit in his four innings despite five walks allowed. The South Carolina born right-hander struck out five despite struggling with the zone. While the bullpen was keeping the Yankees off the board, a pair of hits in the seventh by Matt Morales and Eric Cole allowed Burlington to tie the game up. That score remained until the tenth when the Royals plated three runs on a Michael Emodi double and a pair of singles by Brhet Bewley and Jose Marquez. Reliever Kyle Hinton allowed only the free runner to score in the bottom half of the inning to secure the win for Burlington.

Eric Cole: 2-5, 2b, RBI
Michael Emodi: 2-4, R, 2b, RBI
Bryar Johnson: 4 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 5 BB, 5 K, 2-4 GO-FO, 76p/41k

Idaho Falls Chukars 15, Orem Owlz 11

The Chukars and Owlz game was your typical Pioneer League shootout with Idaho Falls jumping out to a huge 14-1 lead. Normally a 14-1 lead would lead to a snoozefest, but this is the Pioneer League and the Chukars have the league’s second-worst pitching staff. After three no-hit innings to start his outing C.J. Eldred struggled, giving up eight runs over the next 2.1 innings to see his lead shrink. The bullpen would give up three more runs to cut the lead to four after a couple errors allowed Idaho Falls to score. Reliever Jordan Floyd was able to toss a scoreless ninth to secure the win. Only Angel Medina failed to get a hit in the Idaho Falls lineup while Chase Vallot contributed three doubles and four runs driven in.

Tyler James: 2-5, 2 R, RBI, BB, 3 SB
Reed Rohlman: 2-3, 3 R, 3b, 4 RBI, BB
Hunter Strong: 2-5, 3 R, 2b, BB

Tuesday Boxscores

In this article, we’ll review rounds 11-20 and will look at rounds 21-40 a little later today.

Quick Analysis
Best Pick: Nick Pratto
Favorite Pick: Michael Gigliotti
Most Physical Position Pick: Brewer Hicklen
Biggest Upside: M.J. Melendez
Might Surprise Top 10 Rd: Tyler Zuber
Might Surprise Rd 11-40: Bryar Johnson

Check out previous Royals draft pieces:

Rounds 1-4
Rounds 5-10
Interview with Lonnie Goldberg

11. Sal Biasi RHP 6′ 190 lbs Penn St. 9/30/95 Signed $125k 

In Biasi, the Royals are getting a stocky right-handed college starter who works his fastball in the low 90s while topping out at 95 mph. A durable and dependent starter at pitcher at Penn State, Biasi took the hill for 27 starts the last two years with consistency and an ability to keep the ball low in the zone. This attribute helped him limit the home runs he allowed while striking out more than a hitter per inning the last two seasons.

Biasi has a body similar to that of Jake Junis, so perhaps the Royals believe they can refine his three-pitch mix to help him become a back end starting pitcher. If  he’s unable to make that step, then Biasi’s fastball and curveball combination could play up in the pen.

Analysis – An innings eater body who you hope can refine the changeup to become an impact pitcher.

12. Collin Snider RHP 6’4 200lbs Vanderbilt University 10/10/95 Signed $125k

Inconsistency has been the name of Snider’s game in college during the Vanderbilt season and in summer league seasons. After two solid seasons from the Vanderbilt bullpen, Snider struggled this past season after an up and down summer in the Cape Cod League. Hopes of refining and tightening the slider along with the changeup could help him in the bullpen or even as a starter in the minor leagues.

d1baseball.com – Snider is high-waisted with a very strong lower half and long limbs, and his arm action looked very free and easy on Saturday. He generated good plane on his consistent 91-93 mph fastball and he showed easy life through the zone. He varies his breaking ball from a truer 82-84 mph short, above average two plane slider to a shorter 10-4 curveball at 80-81 mph. Snider also sprinkled in a big league average 85-86 mph changeup, a pitch he retained his arm speed and slot with consistently. He pounded away at the lower part of the zone in this one for most of the summer, throwing all three pitches for strikes.

Analysis – He looks like organizational depth with a lottery ticket as a bullpen piece.

13. Cason Sherrod RHP 6’4 215 lbs Texas A&M 6/25/96

Sherrod is a hard thrower who can run his fastball as high as 98 mph while working mostly in the mid 90s from his physical 6’4 215 lbs frame. The right-handed reliever is hearing impaired which lagged his on field development when he was younger, but it has shown no signs of holding him back in college. The control has wavered this season, walking 24 hitters in just 43 innings this season for the College World Series participant Aggies.

The arm action is long which likely leads to the difficulty in repeating the delivery. To go with his fastball that features armside run, Sherrod tosses a hard breaking curveball in the high 70s to low 80s that can be above average at times.

Analysis - You can’t go wrong adding a hard thrower. Clean up the delivery and the Royals could have a nice bullpen piece here.

14. Isaiah Henry CF 6’3 185 lbs North Shore H.S. Houston, TX 3/22/99

Henry has extreme athleticism with a short stroke but impactful bat speed that could present a solid gap to gap power if he can develop more strength and bat control down the road. Considering the bat speed, the arm strength at 95 mph off the mound, and the running speed, Henry has more than a few tools from which to build on in a development program.

Perfect Game – He is also a 70-grade runner with a long and angular build and plenty of bat speed and leverage in his right-handed swing to drive the ball into the gaps. Henry has also been a football standout at a football oriented high school, so his relative lack of repetitions and experience both as a hitter and on the mound is understandable. 

Analysis - Getting Henry away from Alvin Community College shouldn’t be that difficult, and this type of athlete isn’t falling off trees. Big time upside here in the 14th Round by the Royals.

15. Robert Garcia LHP 6’3 220 lbs UC Davis 6/14/96

Garica is a lefty who throws his fastball in the 88-92 mph range and as high as 94 mph from the left side. In addition to the fastball, he mixes in a low-80s slider and a changeup that also registers in the low 80s.

After a strong season in ’16, Garcia’s numbers backed up despite a decent Cape Cod season the summer prior.

Analysis – A good frame that needs a secondary pitch to come forward.

16. Chris Hudgins C 6’1 190 lbs Cal State Fullerton 3/2/96

Teams always need quality catching depth, and that’s what Hudgins offers as a decent catch and throw backstop. The catcher features some decent power but hasn’t been able to get to it much in his career at Cal State.

Analysis – He’s an organizational catcher.

17. Julio Gonzalez SS 5’10 185 lbs Florida Gulf Coast 6/14/95 Signed $125k

After a couple seasons at Seminole State JUCO, Gonzalez got the bump to FGCU. Coach Tollet knew he was getting a solid defender at shortstop from the alma mater of Manny Machado’s high school, but likely got more than he bargained for at the plate.

A patient hitter with as many walks as strikeouts, Gonzalez shows off a gap to gap approach at the top of the order that allowed him to put up a nearly identical line in his first year of Division I ball despite the jump in competition.

Analysis – Adding a solid middle of the infield defender with a patient plate approach is a smart move for any organization.

18. Marlin Willis LHP 6’4 195 lbs McEachern HS Powder Springs, GA 6/5/98

A high school left-hander with a commitment to Georgia State, Willis features a tantalizing frame for a future starter and relatively clean mechanics. He features a fastball that currently works in the high 80s while topping out at 91 mph, and the lefty also works a curveball that needs refinement. The length of delivery, ability to repeat his mechanics and athleticism gives a team something to dream on here.

Analysis – If they’re able to sign him, then this is a nice developmental piece to add.

19. Korry Howell SS 6’2 175 lbs Kirkwood Community College 9/1/98

A 6.5 runner in the 60, Howell showed off his great speed at the JUCO ranks this season, setting a Kirkwood record with 43 stolen bases. Not just a speedster, Howell paced his team with a .394 average while also ranking second in home runs on the club with six this season out of the leadoff spot.

Perfect Game – Howell is a very athletic shortstop at present; though some feel that his likely future home is center field. He’s a plus runner with the instincts to be a base-stealing threat at the next level; along with some raw bat speed and projectable power potential. 

Analysis – Strong all-around tools to provide an impact in the middle of the diamond. Solid get with projection in this round.

20. Bryar Johnson RHP 6’3 200 lbs Carolina Forest HS Myrtle Beach, SC 8/17/99 Signed $125

This right-handed pitcher with a physical body features a fastball that he currently pumps into the high 80s to just into the low 90s while topping out at 91 mph at present from a high 3/4 delivery. Alongside the fastball, Johnson features a tight breaking curveball that he tosses in the high 70s. The righty is able to manipulate the breaking ball and turn it into a slurve offering featuring tight movement or making it a larger curve version with 12-6 movement.

It sounds like adding him to the organization is a real possibility, which could be a plus considering the age as he’s not yet 18. His ability to manipulate spin and short quick movement with arm speed makes him intriguing.

Analysis – Despite the round, I believe this is an upside play with a real chance to develop considering the acumen for spin next to the quick arm. If he gets a tick up in velocity the Royals could really have something here.