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.

» Continue reading “Royals Winter League Update”

Another week has gone by, SO…

It’s time for a KC Royals winter league update.

There was one new edition to the winter league family last week. Well, he’s new to the Royals organization.

Lefty Jose Jimenez is 1-1 with a 3.68 ERA in 25 games with Lara (25-24 and two games back of first place) in the Venezuelan Winter League. In 14.2 innings, he has allowed nine hits and six runs. He has walked 12 while striking out 13.

Jimenez is playing with two new Royals teammates with Lara. Alcides Escobar played in six games last week. He went 6-for-24 (.250) with a walk and four strikeouts. He drove in a run and stole two bases. Outfielder Paulo Orlando played in six games and went 8-for-26 (.308) with a double. He walked twice, struck out four times, and drove in two runs.

Caracas is 28-24 and a 1/2 game back of first place. Juan Gutierrez pitched in one game last week and picked up a save. His 12 saves lead the league. In one inning, he allowed a hit while striking out one. Guillermo Moscoso pitched in two games, one of which was a start.  Over four innings, he allowed two runs on four hits (two homeruns) while striking out five.

Salvador Perez

Salvador Perez continues to rake for La Guaira, who is 24-25 and three games back of first place. He isn’t catching everyday, but is getting a ton of at-bats. In six games last week, he went 8-for-26 (.308) with a double and two RBIs. He walked twice and struck out four times. Anthony Ortega pitched in two games. In one inning, he allowed one hit while striking out three.

Margarita is just 19-25, but they have two Royals on their team. Manny Pina played in one game and FINALLY picked up a hit in winter ball. He went 1-for-1 with two RBIs. Max Ramirez played in two games. He went 1-for-1 with a walk and an RBI.

Moving on to the Puerto Rican League.

Caguas is in first place at 15-7 with a three game lead. Rey Navarro has played all over the field for them, but last week played all four games at third base. He went 6-for-13 (.462) with three RBIs. He walked twice and struck out once, while stealing two bases.

Ariel Estades played in two games last week for second place Santurce (12-10). He went 0-for-1 with a walk.

Alex Llanos played in two games last week for third place Manati (10-9). He went 0-for-1.

Irving Falu played in three games at second base last week for Mayaguez (11-10), who is tied for third place. He went 4-for-13 (.308) with two doubles. He walked once, struck out once, and stole a base.

Despite the fact that Christian Colon is having a nice winter ball season, Ponce is in last place at 6-17. He played in four games last week, all at second base. He went 5-for-15 (.333) with a double and two RBIs. He walked once and struck out once.

Now to the Dominican Winter League.

Licey is in last place at 16-26. Atahualpa Severino pitched in three games last week. Over 2.1 innings, he allowed three hits and a walk while striking out one.

» Continue reading “Royals Winter League Update”