As I mentioned in last week’s KC Royals Winter League Update, no Royals are playing in the postseason in the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Puerto Rico, or Mexico.
However, three Royals were named award winners for some of the league’s regular season.
Salvador Perez
Starting catcher Salavdor Perez was named as Venezuelan’s Rookie of the Year (though he DHed 21 times). He hit .371 with eight homeruns and 39 RBIs in 32 games for La Guaira. He also had a slugging percentage of .412 and an OPS of .629, which would have led the VWL if he had enough at-bats.
Juan Gutierrez took home Reliever of the Year honors. He had a league-best 14 saves and a 0.81 ERA in 24 relief appearances. He also held opponents to a .158 batting average.
Two players from Zulia earned big honors in the VWL. Ernesto Mejia was named the MVP after hitting 16 homeruns and drove in 48 in 61 games. Dwayne Pollok was named the league’s Pitcher of the Year with a 7-2 record and a 2.36 ERA in a league-high 72.1 innings.
Former big league infielder Jose Castillo was named the Comeback Player of the Year. He hit .335 with 45 RBIs in 59 games for Caribes.
In the Puerto Rican League, infielder Christian Colon was named the Rookie of the Year. He hit .301 in 39 games for Ponce (his first time in winter ball). He also stole a league-best 13 bases.
His teammate with Ponce, Nick Ortiz, was named the PRL’s Comeback Player of the Year. He hit.278 with two homeruns and ten RBIs in 30 games. Andy Gonzalez was named the MVP. With Caguas, he hit .311 with a league-best 27 RBIs. Ricardo Gomez was named the Pitcher of the Year with a 1.02 ERA in 16 appearances. He converted all 14 save opportunities and struck out 22 in 7.2 innings.
In the Dominican Winter League, St. Louis Cardinals prospect Oscar Taveras earned the ROY after hitting .316 with five homeruns and 17 RBIs in 39 games for Aguilas. Hector Luna was named the DWL’s MVP after hitting .307 for Aguilas with a .408 on-base percentage and .514 slugging percentage. Former big leaguer Daniel Cabrera was named the Pitcher of the Year, as he went 5-0 with a 2.16 ERA in 11 starts for Leones. He struck out 32 and walked 16 over 58.1 innings.
I did not receive a weekly update from the Royals media department this week and their stats section does not cover Panama or Columbia, which is where there are a few players still playing. Plus, a Google search found me nothing on either league.
It was a lot easier to find out information on outfielder Carlo Testa in the Australian Baseball League. The Melbourne Aces lost all four of their games last week and Testa played in all four. He went 4-for-14 (.286) with five RBIs. He walked twice and struck out three times.
*The answer to Tuesday’s trivia question is: Billy Butler hit 21 homeruns in 2009 and had 95 RBIs in 2011.
