Another week has gone by, meaning it is time for another winter league update of KC Royals players.

Let’s start in the Dominican Winter League.

Infielder Tony Abreu played five games last week, three at second base. He went 3-for-18 (.167) for Aguilas Cibaenas. He walked twice, struck out three times, and scored two runs. He also made two errors at second base.

Antonio Cruz pitched in one game last week for Tigres del Licey. He did not record an out, but allowed a run on one hit.

Moving on to the Venezuelan Winter League, where there are five Royals playing.

Three of those players are playing for Bravos de Margarita. Manny Pina caught two games, but went just 0-for-3. He struck out once. Max Ramirez played in five games (one at first base) and went 8-for-22 (.364). He doubled, scored a run, and drove in a run. He struck out three times.

Lefty Blaine Hardy pitched in two games, although he pitched just 2/3 of an inning. He allowed a hit and a walk, while striking out once.

Mario Lisson played in five games (all in the outfield) with Navegantes del Magallanes. He went 5-for-21 (.238) with a double and a homerun. He scored two runs and drove in five. He did strike out seven times and committed an error.

Juan Gutierrez pitched in three games for Leones del Caracas. Over 2.2 innings, he allowed two runs on five hits and two walks while striking out three. He converted two of his three save opportunities.

» Continue reading “Royals Winter League Update”

Three more KC Royals players have begun playing winter league baseball in Latin America.

Tony Abreu with Omaha via Minda Haas (Royal Blues).

Infielder Tony Abreu has played all three games at second base for Aguilas Cibaenas in the Dominican Winter League. Last week, he went 5-for-12 (.417) with a walk, a run scored, and an RBI. He did strike out three times.

The other two players are both catchers. Julio Rodriguez is playing for Gigantes del Cibao in the DWL. In one game, he has gotten just one at-bat (he struck out). Manny Pina is playing in the Venezuelan Winter League for Bravos de Margarita. He also only played in one game and went 0-for-2.

Pina’s teammates with Margarita are fellow catcher Max Ramirez and pitcher Blaine Hardy. Ramirez played in ten games, two at first base and one behind the plate. He went 6-for-15 (.400) with a double. Ramirez scored two runs, walked twice, and struck out once. Hardy pitched in four games and had a rough week. He blew two saves and allowed seven runs (four earned) over just 2.1 innings. Hardy allowed six hits and five walks while striking out just two.

Mario Lisson is playing in the VWL for Navegantes del Magallanes. He played in three games last week, all in the outfield. He went 3-for-10 with a double, two runs scored, four RBIs, a walk, and a sac fly. He struck out twice.

Juan Gutierrez pitched in three games in his second week in the VWL with Leones del Caracas. In three innings, he allowed three hits and a run (unearned), along with three walks. He struck out two while picking up two saves.

In Mexico, Anthony Seratelli continues to hit for Venados de Mazatlan. In nine games, all in the outfield, he went 11-for-36 (.305) with three doubles, seven walks, and a homerun. He scored six runs and drove in six. He did strike out nine times and stole a base.

Federico Castaneda is pitching for Tomateros de Culiacan. In four games totaling 2.2 innings, he allowed a single run via the long ball. He allowed two hits while striking out three. He picked up two holds.

*Jorge Bonifacio (DWL), Anontio Cruz (DWL), and Brandon Sisk (VWL) did not appear in a game last week.

Two current KC Royals minor leaguers got into the winter league action last week. Both were pitchers.

Left-hander Antonio Cruz, who pitched with High-A Wilmington in 2012, has pitched in one game for Tigres del Licey in the Dominican Winter League. In that one game, he faced seven batters in one inning of work. Cruz allowed three runs on four hits while striking out one.

Jorge Bonifacio (right) with Cougars first base coach Julio Bruno via Craig Wieczorkiewicz/Midwest League Traveler

His teammate in the DWL with Licey is outfielder Jorge Bonifacio. He played in two games last week, but recorded just one at-bat. He went 1-for-1 and played the outfield.

The other pitcher to make his winter league debut last week was right-hander Juan Gutierrez. He pitched in two games for Leones del Caracas in the Venezuelan Winter League. Gutierrez pitched two innings and walked one while striking out three. He also picked up two holds.

Elsewhere in the VWL, Mario Lisson played two games in the outfield with Navegantes del Magallanes. He went just 1-for-7 and struck out twice. He also walked twice but committed an error. His teammate with Magallanes, lefty Brandon Sisk, pitched in two games last week. He picked up two holds in 1.2 innings. He did allow two runs on two hits while facing eight batters.

Catcher/first baseman Max Ramirez and pitcher Blaine Hardy are teammates with Bravos de Margarita. Ramirez played both positions in two games last week. He went 4-for-8 with a double and four runs scored. The left-handed Hardy pitched in just one game and pitched a perfect inning. He struck out one.

Moving on to the Mexican Pacific League, where the Royals have two farmhands participating in winter ball.

Utility guy Anthony Seratelli is currently playing for Venados de Mazatlan. He played three games in the outfield last week. He only went 1-for-8. However, Seratelli hit a double, walked twice, scored a run, drove in two runs, and sacrificed a runner over.

Right-handed pitcher Federico Castaneda is once again a member of Tomateros de Culiacan. He pitched in just one game last week. In his one inning of work, he walked one while striking out one and picked up a hold.

The Arizona Fall League isn’t the only winter league involving prospects and baseball players. The Caribbean Leagues and the Australian Baseball League have all either started or are about to start in the next month.

Outside of the eight KC Royals participating in the AFL, there are quite a few more scattered across the winter leagues.

The Venezuelan League opened on October 11th and the regular season ends on December 30th. The All-Star Game will be held on December 2nd. Mario Lisson has played in four games for Navegantes del Magallanes, both at first base and in the outfield. He is 3-for-12 with two walks, two strikeouts, and a run scored. His teammate, reliever Brandon Sisk, has made one appearance. He allowed a run on one hit over an inning of work. He walked one and picked up a hold.

Blaine Hardy has made two appearances for Bravos de Margarita. Over two innings, he has allowed one hit while striking out three. He even picked up a hold. His teammate in Margarita, Max Ramirez, has played in one game at first base. He went 1-for-3 with two walks and two runs scored.

The Mexican Pacific League opened on October 13th with the regular season ending on December 30th. Federico Castaneda is once again pitching for Tomateros de Culiacan. He has made one appearance totaling one perfect inning of relief. Anthony Seratelli is also playing in the MPL. The utility fielder has played in two games in the outfield and is 2-for-9 with a strikeout.

The Domincan Winter League began play on October 14th, with the All-Star Game taking place on December 11th. The regular season comes to an end on December 21st. Three Royals are playing in the DWL for Tigres del Licey, but only one has gotten into a game so far.

Outfielder Jorge Bonifacio pinch-hit and went 0-for-1. Pitchers Francisley Bueno and Michael Mariot have yet to appear in a game.

The ABL begins on November 1st and outfielder Carlo Testa will be a member of the Melbourne Aces. He was one of the first MLB-affiliated imports to join the ABL. For more on Testa joining the Aces, click HERE.

The Puerto Rican League begins on November 8th. Infielder Christian Colon will be making up at-bats (due to injury) with Leones de Ponce. Joining Colon in the PRL is reliever Ryan Dennick, though he will be pitching for Indios de Mayaguez.

The Caribbean Series begins on February 1, 2013 with the four Caribbean League champions facing off against each other. The championship will be held on February 7th.

Despite a vigorous comeback, Omaha lost to Memphis 7-5. They out-hit the Redbirds 16-10, but went just 5-for-16 with runners in scoring position.

Wil Myers hit his 6th homerun in Triple-A (one of his three hits), a two-run shot in the 9th inning. Irving Falu returned to Omaha and didn’t miss a beat. He led off and went 2-for-5.

After Jonathan Sanchez exited (2.2IP, 6H, 6R, 4BB, 3K, two HR allowed), the Storm Chasers bullpen held Memphis in check. Blaine Hardy allowed one run over 2.1 innings (he entered in the 3rd inning with the bases loaded but escaped). Jeremy Jeffress followed with three 1-hit innings. Brandon Sisk pitched a perfect inning of relief.

NW Arkansas scored most of their runs from the 5th to the 7th innings en route to  their 10-3 win. The Naturals hit three homeruns: Christian Colon‘s two-run shot in the 5th inning, Sharlon Schoop‘s solo homer in the 6th inning, and Carlo Testa‘s three-run shot in the 7th inning.

CC went 2-for-4 with two stolen bases and Testa went 2-for-3.

Ryan Dennick picked up the win with 4.1 innings of relief. He allowed one run on three hits and a walk.

Frisco scored all three of their runs via solo homeruns, two from Mike Olt.

Wilmington couldn’t complete the sweep over Frederick, as they lost 6-2. They were hampered by errors (five), walks (five), and missed opportunities by the offense (which isn’t anything new). You can check out my live blog HERE. I hope to have pictures and some video of starter Leondy Perez and reliever Edwin Carl up on the Facebook page on Monday.

Kane County got a walk-off victory in the 10th inning over Peoria, 6-5. Lane Adams delivered the game-winning hit with an RBI single.

Kellen Moen pitched well (he left with the win), as he allowed just three runs on seven hits over seven innings. He struck out eight.

The Omaha Storm Chasers topped Memphis, 12-4. They pounded out 18 hits in the victory. Derrick Robinson started the scoring by leading the game off with a homerun. He added a solo homerun in the 2nd inning as he went 3-for-6.

Every Omaha player had at least one hit. Johnny Giavotella went 5-for-6 with two runs scored.

Ethan Hollingsworth, getting the start for the promoted Nate Adcock, allowed one run on five hits and a walk over five innings to earn the win. He struck out five.

The NW Arkansas Naturals extended their winning streak to six games with a 4-3 victory over Arkansas. Chris Dwyer earned the victory, though he allowed three runs on nine hits over 6.2 innings. He did not walk a batter while striking out five. Blaine Hardy picked up his second save of the season after throwing 2.1 shutout innings.

Wil Myers went 2-for-2 but was taken out of the game after being hit on the wrist by a pitch in the 5th inning. He stayed in the game and scored on John Whittleman‘s double, but did not take the field on defense. Yem Prades went 3-for-4 with two runs scored.

The Wilmington Blue Rocks have now lost four games in a row, as they lost to Winston-Salem, 11-5. The Dash out-hit the Blue Rocks 18-9. Every Dash starter had a multi-hit game except Brady Shoemaker and Jake Oester (but both went 1-for-4 with a run scored).

The Blue Rocks had taken a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the 4th inning capped by Whit Merrifield‘s two-run homerun, but a four-run 5th inning chased Blue Rocks starter Jason Adam and the Dash never looked back.

Adam saw his ERA jump from 0.40 to 2.36, as he allowed six runs on ten hits and a walk over four-plus innings. The bullpen wasn’t a whole lot better.

Remember when Brian Fletcher was struggling? He went 3-for-4 tonight to up his average to .311. Angel Franco extended his hitting streak to 11 games, as he went 2-for-3 with two runs scored.

There was a lineup change for the Blue Rocks on Saturday night (no Cheslor Cuthbert, Kevin David, or Geulin Beltre). Not sure if that had to do with Friday night’s lack of effort from those now OUT of the lineup or if manager Vance Wilson just wanted to get some of the bench players some action.

The Kane County Cougars made three runs in the top of the first inning hold up, as they beat Great Lakes, 3-2. Three of the Cougars’ four hits came in the first inning.

Kellen Moen earned the win, as he pitched five shutout innings. He allowed five hits and walked just one, while striking out six.

The Loons scattered 14 hits in the loss. They had the tying run on third base with one out against Cougars reliever Jonathan Dooley, but could not tie the game.

The Omaha Storm Chasers jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the top of the first inning over the Round Rock Express in Game 1 of their playoff series. Lorenzo Cain delivered an RBI triple and Clint Robinson followed with a two-run homerun against Express starter Eric Hurley.

That was more than enough support for Omaha starter Luis Mendoza, as he allowed five hits over seven scoreless innings to earn the win. He walked two while striking out four and admitted after the game that he was more nervous for his playoff start than during any of his no-hit bids this season. Kelvin Herrera followed with two perfect innings of relief to close out Omaha’s 4-0 win. Herrera struck out four.

The Storm Chasers hold a 1-0 series lead with Game 2 set for Thursday night in Round Rock.

Game 1 between the NW Arkansas Naturals and Arkansas Travelers was a pitcher’s duel between Chris Dwyer and Matt Shoemaker. Both teams scored single runs in the first inning, but the game would not be decided until the 11th inning. Naturals reliever Blaine Hardy struck out the first two batters in the bottom of the 11th before giving up a Blake Gailen single and a walk. Travelers shortstop Darwin Perez ripped a base hit to right field, scoring Gailen just before the tag from Naturals catcher Ben Theriot for the walk-off win.

Dwyer allowed an unearned run on just two hits over six innings. He walked three while striking out seven. Shoemaker allowed one run on two hits over seven innings. He walked two while striking out seven. Loek Van Mil (the tallest player in professional baseball) tossed 3.1 shutout innings of relief for the Travelers. Gailen and Perez had two hits a piece (four of the Travelers six hits).

The two teams continue the best-of-five series in Arkansas on Thursday night with the Travelers leading 1-0.

*Prior to the game, Naturals lefty Will Smith, the team’s pitcher of the year, was shut down for the season (he pitched a league high 161.1 innings).

It was also a pitcher’s duel in Game 1 between the Kane County Cougars and the Burlington Bees. Cougars starter Greg Billo faced the minimum through three innings and did not allow a ball out of the infield until Josh Whitaker’s two out double in the 4th inning. Bees starter Blake Hassebrock retired the first 11 batters before allowing a hit in the 5th inning.

In the 6th, the Cougars finally got on the board against Hassebrock. A walk, a passed ball, a sacrifice, and a sac fly from Geulin Beltre led to the Cougars lead. That was all Hassebrock would allow. The Bees bullpen allowed three runs (one earned) over the the next two innings.

Billo meanwhile, allowed just three hits over seven shutout innings. He walked one while striking out seven in the Cougars 4-0 win. Nick Rogers pitched two scoreless innings of relief to earn the save.

The best-of-three series now moves to Burlington, with the Cougars up 1-0.

*Unfortunately, just 880 fans attended the well pitched game (but then again, that’s playoff baseball across the minor leagues). The Cougars during the regular season averaged over 6,000 fans.

The Omaha Storm Chasers at the Memphis Redbirds was rained out on Thursday and will not be made up (it is the last time the two teams meet). Omaha claimed the season series with the Redbirds, 9-6, holds the tiebreaker advantage should the teams finish in a first place tie at the end of the regular season.

The NW Arkansas Naturals swept their in-state and division rival, the Arkansas Travelers, on Thursday night with a 4-3 win. The Naturals Chris Dwyer was solid, outside of his one mistake, a three-run homer to Luis Jimenez in the 6th inning. He allowed just five hits (and three runs) over six innings. The Naturals pounded out 12 hits, but were just 3-for-14 with runners in scoring position. Rey Navarro and Paulo Orlando each collected three hits in the win. Blaine Hardy pitched three scoreless innings of relief to earn the save.

The Wilmington Blue Rocks wasted a solid starting effort by Noel Arguelles, as they lost the series finale at Myrtle Beach, 7-5. Arguelles allowed one run on three hits over five innings. The Blue Rocks held a 5-1 lead after their half of the 6th inning before the Pelicans scored six runs over the next two innings to win. Yem Prades collected two hits in the loss.

It took another extra inning affair for the Kane County Cougars to pull off a win over the West Michigan Whitecaps. They scored all of their runs in the final five innings of the game. Down 6-5 in the top of the 9th inning, Angel Franco drove in the tying run. In the top of the 10th inning, Orlando Calixte drove in the go ahead run for the Cougars with a single. Chas Byrne worked around a two-out walk to close out the win (he struck out two in the bottom of the 10th inning). The two teams combined for 13 runs, 24 hits, and six errors. The blemish for the Cougars was that they struck out 14 times (but did collect 15 hits).

I hope everyone reading this had a safe and happy Fourth of July.

After being lit up on Sunday in a start for Double-A NW Arkansas(and apparently leaving that outing after two innings due to shoulder discomfort), Edgar Osuna was placed on the DL. Blaine Hardy, who had been struggling mightily at Triple-A Omaha, was optioned to replace him.  Sean O’Sullivan, who had been rehabbing with Omaha, was activated by the Royals and optioned to Omaha to take Hardy’s place. Wilmington Blue Rocks reliever Glenn Gibson, who spent the first month of the season on the “DL” retired. He was lit up on Saturday night and saw his ERA rise above 13.00. His decision leaves the Blue Rocks with just 11 pitchers.

It was a busy day for the Royals minor league affiliates:

Most of the scoring between the Storm Chasers and the host New Orleans Zephyrs was done late in the game. Omaha held a 2-0 lead heading into the bottom of the 7th inning. The Zephyrs scored three runs in that inning, however Omaha came right back to score three runs of their own in the top of the 8th. The Zephyrs scored two more in the 8th to tie the game at 5-5, only to see Omaha retake the lead at 6-5 in the top of the 9th. It all lead to the 9th inning heroics of “Super” Joe Thurston. The Zephyrs tied the game at 6-6 on an error by Omaha (the next batter also reached on an error). With two outs, Thurston ripped an RBI double for the walk-off win.

The Storm Chasers wasted a solid start from Luis Mendoza. Mendoza allowed three runs (two earned) over 6.2 innings. He didn’t walk a batter while striking out three. Omaha made four errors (as did New Orleans). David Lough went 3-for-5, while Kila Ka’aihue and Lorenzo Cain each had two hits in the loss.

The Naturals and Corpus Christi Hooks went back-and-forth, but the Naturals scored the game’s final two runs to win 5-3. In the bottom of the 7th inning, the Naturals scored two runs to take the lead for good (after the Hooks had tied the game in the top of the inning). With two outs, Jeff Bianchi singled in two runs (he had two hits). Henry Barrera earned his first save as he pitched 1.1 scoreless innings of relief.

Remember how the Blue Rocks were leading 4-2 when Sunday’s game was suspended in the 5th inning? Well when the game was restarted on Monday, they fell apart in the bottom of the 8th inning and lost 7-4. The host Potomac Nationals scored five runs in that inning, capped by two 2-run homeruns. The Blue Rocks are now tied for most losses in the league when leading entering the 8th inning. The Blue Rocks had just three hits over the final four innings.

In the second game (a seven inning affair), the Blue Rocks received excellent pitching from starter Noel Arguelles and reliever Bryan Paukovits. Arguelles allowed one run on six hits over five innings. Arguelles won for the first time on the road. Paukovits pitched two perfect innings of relief to earn the save. The Blue Rocks scored three runs in the 5th inning as they won 4-1. Gerard Hall drove in two runs with a double.

Whit Merrifield may be coming out of his slump, as he went 4-for-7 in the two games (after being in a 1-for-28 slump). John Whittleman homered in both games.

After being stifled for seven innings by Quad Cities starter Boone Whiting (he allowed an unearned run on five hits while striking out seven), the Kane County Cougars scored a run in the bottom of the 9th inning on Alex Llanos’ two-out RBI double to tie the game up at 2-2. The game would stay tied until the bottom of the 11th when Llanos would strike again. After two walks to lead off the inning, Orlando Calixte went to sacrifice the runners to second and third, but the pitcher threw it away, loading the bases with nobody out. Llanos followed with an RBI single for the walk-off win. Nick Rogers earned the win for the Cougars with three shutout innings of relief. Kolten Wong hit his first professional homerun for the River Bandits, a solo shot in the 5th inning off Cougars starter Yordano Ventura.

It’s time for another installment of the Blue-Aid Weekly Awards!

Best streaks: (and no I don’t mean streaking through the streets) It’s a tie. Alex Gordon and Jeff Francoeur.

Gordon has an 18-game hitting streak while Francoeur has a 14-game hitting streak. Gordon and Francoeur have a hit in every game but two. During the streak, Gordon has eight multi-hit games. He also has 14 RBIs. Gordon is batting .398 during his streak.

During the streak, Francoeur has three homeruns and 14 RBIs. He also has four multi-hit games. Francoeur is batting .365 during the streak.

Best debut: Louis Coleman of the KC Royals. Coleman has been a strikeout machine throughout his minor league career after being drafted out of LSU. This season in Triple-A Omaha, he had 16 K’s in just seven innings. In 120 career minor league innings, he has struck out 141 batters. Coleman was called on to replace the struggling Kanekoa Texeira in the Royals bullpen. In his first big league appearance on April 21st, he struck out the first batter he ever faced in the big leagues (Adam Everett of the Cleveland Indians). Overall, he has pitched in two games (totaling three innings) and allowed two hits while striking out three.

Best pitching performance: The entire Omaha Storm Chasers staff. The Storm Chasers own the best team ERA in the PCL (3.14) while pitching two shutouts this week. Omaha has won seven in a row and are 9-1 over their last 10. They have won close games (2-0, 1-0, 3-2) and have also won the blow outs (8-3, 10-4, 9-0, 7-3).

Veteran Jeff Suppan has made two starts this week, allowing five runs (three earned) on eight hits to earn two victories. Kevin Pucetas has made two appearances (one start) and allowed three runs on four hits over seven innings. Everett Teaford pitched six one-hit innings on Tuesday. Vin Mazzaro pitched seven shutout innings while striking out five on Saturday.

The bullpen has been the best part. They have combined to allow just two runs on 16 hits over 22.2 innings this week (accumulating seven games). Jesse Chavez has pitched five four-hit innings while Luis Mendoza has provided 4.2 two-hit innings of relief. Blaine Hardy has pitched five innings this week, while giving up just two hits.

Nick Francis working on his bunting during FanFest

Best comeback: Nick Francis of the Wilmington Blue Rocks. Francis had just a .120 batting average after the first week of the season and the led the team with 13 strikeouts. This past week has been a good one. He has cut down on the K’s (just five) while consistently raising his batting average. Francis currently has a 9-game hitting streak with two multi-hit games. This week, Francis is 9-for-25 (.360) with four doubles, three homeruns, and seven runs scored. He has also walked six times. He has raised his overall batting average to a very respectable .262 for the first-place Blue Rocks.