Carlo Testa

The Australian Baseball League held their All-Star Game this past Sunday and pitted the Australian team expected to head to the World Baseball Classic against the World (the players representing the rest of the world in the ABL). KC Royals minor league outfielder Carlo Testa was a member of the World All-Stars and started in right field. He batted second and went 0-for-4 as the Australians won 6-4. Testa did drive in a run on a sac fly. Overall last week, he went just 1-for-14 in four games for Melbourne. He walked three times, struck out six times, and stole two bases.

Moving on to the Venezuelan Winter League.

Caracas sits in a second-place tie at 30-25. Juan Gutierrez continues to lead the league in saves, as he picked up his 13th last week. In 1/3 of an inning, he did not allow a base runner. His teammate, Guillermo Moscoso, made another start. In four innings, he allowed a run on three hits and a walk.

Lara is in fourth place at 28-26. Alcides Escobar went 6-for-21 (.286) in four games last week. He also drove in two runs. Outfielder Paulo Orlando went 4-for-16 (.250) in four games. He had two doubles and a walk, but struck out three times. Jose Jimenez pitched in just one game, but walked the only batter he faced. That hitter came around to score.

La Guaira is in sixth place at 27-28. In the three games Salvador Perez played last week, all came as the DH. He went 4-for-13 (.308) with a double, a homerun, and five RBIs. He walked once and struck out once. Anthony Ortega pitched in one game and allowed two hits and struck out two in 1.1 innings.

Margarita is just 22-30 and in seventh place. Manny Pina played in one game last week and went 1-for-3. Max Ramirez caught one game last week and went 0-for-2 with two walks and a strikeout.

On to the Dominican Winter League, where only pitcher Atahualpa Severino is active right now. For last place Licey, he pitched in two games last week. Over three innings, he allowed a run on two hits and two walks while striking out three.

Now to the Puerto Rican League.

Mayaguez is in second place at 16-12. Irving Falu played six games at second base last week. He went 9-for-24 (.375) with two doubles, a triple, and four RBIs. He struck out twice.

Manati is in fourth place at 13-14. Outfielder Alex Llanos played in three games last week. He went 1-for-5 with an RBI, but struck out three times.

Ponce is in last place at 10-20. Christian Colon played in seven games last week (five at second base and three at shortstop while committing an error). He went 8-for-27 (.296) with a double and four RBIs. He walked twice, but struck out six times and was caught stealing.

Mauricio Ramos continues to hit in the Columbian League. In five games last week at third base (he made one error), he went 9-for-23 (.391). He had three doubles, a homerun, and six RBIs. Luis Piterson played four games at shortstop and went 4-for-15 (.267). He had a double and three RBIs. He walked twice and struck out once.

The newest Royal is playing in the Mexican Pacific League. That would be outfielder Willy Taveras. With Obregon (who is 12-9 and tied for third place), he has played in 44 games. He is hitting .274 with 14 doubles and two homeruns. Taveras has driven in 19, scored 30 runs, and has stolen eight bases (but has been caught three times). He has walked 12 times compared to 24 strikeouts.