Back in November, MiLB.com named the KC Royals Organizational  All-Stars (one player at each position). As of now, only eight players are still in the organization.

First, lefty Brandon Sisk was traded to the LA Angels for Ervin Santana. Sisk was named the Royals top reliever. He pitched in 50 games with Triple-A Omaha and recorded a 2.54 ERA in 67.1 innings. He also struck out 73 batters. Over his final ten regular season appearances, Sisk allowed just one run in 17.1 innings. JJ Picollo, the Royals‘ assistant GM, said that opponents do not get good swings against him. Maybe he has a chance in LA?

Next was first baseman Clint Robinson, who was designated for assignment and then traded to Pittsburgh for two low minor leaguers. His 37 doubles and 79 walks were tops in the organization, despite having lesser offensive numbers than in 2011 (.292, 13 homeruns, and 67 RBIs). Picollo talked about how Robinson makes everyone around him in the lineup better. Who’s going to be THAT guy in 2013?

Jake Odorizzi with the Blue Rocks

Last week came the trade with Tampa Bay that sent Wil Myers, Jake Odorizzi, and Patrick Leonard to the Rays. Since Myers was the Royals Minor League Player of the Year, he was obviously named one of their top outfielders. He made mechanical adjustments to his swing, which increased his power (29 more homeruns than in 2011). And he did not sacrifice his average (he hit .314 in 2012). Myers is expected to be starting in the Rays outfield in 2013.

Odorizzi was the Royals top right-handed starter, as he won an organization-high of 15 games. In five Double-A starts, opponents hit just .191 against him. Overall, he had a 3.03 ERA and struck out 135 batters in 145.1 minor league innings. After the trade, Odorizzi stated that he plans on being ready to compete for one of the Rays rotation spots in 2013. He’ll just have to pitch down in the zone or he’ll continue to get beat by the long ball.

Leonard was the least touted of the Royals to be traded, but he was the best third baseman in the organization. In his first season of pro ball, he hit a homerun every 17 at-bats at rookie level Burlington (he led the Appalachian League with 14 homeruns). He is a big guy (6’4, 225) and the Royals were shocked with how good he is on defense. It’s too early to tell how Leonard will pan out, but maybe he will move Evan Longoria to first base sometime in the future.

So who is still left?

» Continue reading “Who’s Gone and Who’s Left in the Royals Organization?”

This was my toughest decision among all of the KC Royals end of season awards. It was so hard that I could not chose the Minor League Pitcher of the Year and am leaving the decision up to YOU.

Pitching carried High-A Wilmington into the postseason in 2012 and I had a chance to see all three of the following candidates pitch at least once.

Yordano Ventura is the rail-thin fireballer, who was not only a Carolina League All-Star but also a Futures Game starter. He started the game at Kauffman Stadium for the World. In Wilmington, opponents hit just .229 against him and he struck out 98 in 76.1 innings. He struggled with walks and high pitch counts upon his promotion to Double-A, as he lasted more than 5.2 innings once in six starts there.

Sugar Ray Marimon (screen capped from the WBC game on MLB Network)

Sugar Ray Marimon joined Ventura as a Carolina League All-Star and surprised many with his performance in 2012. He was part of a piggyback combination for much of his time in Wilmington, but still struck out 60 in 68 innings. He also carried a 2.12 ERA to Double-A, where he also struggled. He walked 29 in 66.2 innings and opponents hit .264 against him. Marimon did shine in his one start for Columbia in the World Baseball Classic Qualifier (one run in five innings of work to earn the victory).

Jason Adam spent the entire season in Wilmington and dominated at the beginning and at the end (though he struggled to record victories due to a lack of run support). He was a workhorse, as his 158 innings attest. In his final start (a postseason win), Adam pitched one batter into the 8th inning. In the end, he allowed two runs (one earned) on five hits and three walks while striking out four.

There are two surprises to this list. Let’s start with lefty Justin Marks, who finished a successful 2012 season with a solid run in the Arizona Fall League. He was the lone Royal to be named to the AFL All-Prospect Team. His performance this past season also earned him a spot on the Royals 40-man roster.

Marks made 17 starts in Double-A and carried a 3.08 ERA. Despite missing some time due to injury, he was promoted to Triple-A to make one start prior to the postseason (which was disastrous). In the AFL, he was 5-1 with a 2.59 ERA in seven starts. He struck out 22 in 24.1 innings and walked just five. Left-handed hitters hit just .160 against him.

» Continue reading “RBA Minor League Pitcher(s) of the Year”

The KC Royals broke their six-game losing streak, but it took 14 innings for them to defeat the Cleveland indians, 7-6.

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

Mike Moustakas walked to lead off the inning. However Indians reliever Scott Maine struck out back-to-back hitters. A wild pitch mixed in moved Moose to second base. Tony Abreu then singled to centerfield to drive in the go ahead run.

The win was nothing but interesting as Kelvin Herrera entered in the bottom of the 14th inning. Ezequiel Carrera reached on a bunt single, Shin-Soo Choo singled, and Jason Kipnis walked to load the bases with no outs. However, ten pitches later, the Royals were celebrating the victory as Herrera retired the next three batters to escape.

How did the game reach the 14th inning?

Clinging to a 6-4 lead in the bottom of the 9th inning, the Royals sent closer Greg Holland to the mound to close out the victory. Instead, he allowed the Indians to send the game into extra innings.

Holland led off by walking the first batter he faced. Lonnie Chisenhall followed with a single. After a sac bunt, Holland struck out pinch-hitter Cord Phelps. That brought up Asdrubal Cabrera, who doubled in two runs to tie the game at 6-6.

Two more walks loaded the bases and brought on a coaching visit. Holland rebounded to get Choo to fly out to send the game into extra innings.

Holland was hardly the only Royals reliever to struggle on Saturday night. Two of their back-end guys, Aaron Crow and Tim Collins, combined to allow two runs in the 8th inning. Crow walked two and allowed a hit before giving way to Collins, who allowed both runs to score on a two out single.

Royals starter Jake Odorizzi didn’t last long enough to even sniff a victory. He needed 65 pitches to get through just TWO innings. At that time, he was losing 1-0. After getting the first batter he faced out, he walked the next two hitters. One scored on Chisenhall‘s RBI double.

The Royals erupted for six runs in the top of the 3rd inning. They sent nine batters to the plate and all the runs scored with two outs. With two outs and no one on base, Irving Falu singled. Following an Alex Gordon walk, Billy Butler drove in one run with a single. Salvador Perez‘ infield single loaded the bases for Moose, who doubled in two. Jeff Francoeur followed with a three-run homerun.

From the 3rd inning on, the Royals picked up just two more hits prior to the extra frames.

Meanwhile, Nate Adcock pitched very well behind Odorizzi. He was a little shaky fielding his position though. Two of his errors cost the Royals one run, the only one he allowed over 3.2 innings. He allowed two hits and a walk while striking out six.

It was a pitcher’s duel early until the two teams’ bullpens got into the action. The KC Royals were then pummeled by the Cleveland Indians, 15-4.

Jake Odorizzi with the Blue Rocks

Jake Odorizzi was making his Major League debut for the Royals and looked good early on. I couldn’t watch the game (as many probably couldn’t because it wasn’t televised), but either he was aggressive in the strike zone or the Indians were aggressive at the plate. He hit the 50 pitch mark after four innings, but 34 of them were for strikes.

Then the 5th inning. He needed 22 pitches to get through the inning, but still did not allow a run.

In the sixth, it was the third time through the Indians order. Odorizzi finally retired Shin-Soo Choo (who had the only two hits off him to that point). Jason Kipnis then tripled on the very first pitch and the wheels seemed to fall off for Odorizzi.

He fell behind 2-0 to Asdrubal Cabrera before allowing an RBI single to give the Indians the lead. Carlos Santana took the first pitch from Odorizzi into the seats for a two-run homerun.

After a coaching visit, he allowed a single to Michael Brantley which ended his day. Francisley Bueno entered and escaped. He was the only Royals reliever to not allow a run.

All-in-all, it was a good first start for Odorizzi. His fastball stayed in the 88-92 mph range. He hit 93 mph once when trying to put away Jack Hannahan (he ended up walking him). He allowed three runs on six hits and a walk over 5.1 innings. He struck out three.

Indians starter David Huff was just as good as Odorizzi, though he was losing 1-0 before the 6th inning. The only run he allowed came via Adam Moore‘s first homerun in the big leagues this season.

Huff retired eight in a row after the homerun before walking Moore to lead off the bottom of the sixth. After Alex Gordon‘s two out single put runners at the corners, Huff was lifted for Esmil Rogers, who threw one pitch to get Billy Butler to fly out to end the inning.

The Royals usually reliable bullpen was BAD on Sunday. It all started in the top of the 7th inning. The Indians sent 11 men to the plate and scored five runs off three Royals relievers.

» Continue reading “Tribe Ruins Odorizzi’s Debut”

Jake Odorizzi pitching at Kauffman Stadium in the Futures Game (screen capped)

The KC Royals top pitching prospect, right-hander Jake Odorizzi, will be making his Major League debut today in his start against the Cleveland Indians.

Many Royals fans were hoping for this debut to have happened already, but the team values minor league championships over big league experience. After that minor league championship didn’t happen for Triple-A Omaha, Odorizzi (along with four others) were brought up to help the big league club stay in third place in the American League Central.

With the Royals trying to play the role of spoiler for both the Chicago White Sox and Detroit Tigers, the team decided they did not want Odorizzi to pitch against a contender. Thus the wait until today, as he last pitched on September 11th (which was an awful performance in the PCL championship).

What should you expect from Odorizzi?

» Continue reading “The Odorizzi Era Begins Today”

LA Angels slugger Mark Trumbo hit a three-run homerun in the 2nd inning off KC Royals starter Will Smith to give them a 4-0 lead. The Royals went on to lose 4-3.

Smith allowed six hits over the first two innings. He allowed just one more over the next three.

The Royals chipped away, with single runs in the second, third, and fourth innings. In the third, Tony Abreu hit his first homerun as a Royal. In the other two innings, Jeff Francoeur drove in the runs (with a ground out and a single).

After that though, the Royals didn’t really do much on offense. Mike Moustakas singled in the bottom of the 9th inning with one out and Jarrod Dyson pinch-ran for him. He was caught trying to steal second base and Frenchy flied out to end the game.

Check out what manager Ned Yost had to say about the injury-riddled seasons of Dyson, Chris Getz, and Lorenzo Cain. Is he hinting about them not really being in the Royals’ plans for the future?

Yost used the same relievers: Louis Coleman, Aaron Crow, Kelvin Herrera, and Greg Holland. Those four combined to give up three hits over four scoreless innings. They also struck out six.

Jake Odorizzi with the Blue Rocks

*With Triple-A Omaha being eliminated Saturday night, the Royals called up a few reinforcements (and no Wil Myers was not one of them). Unfortunately, none of them got into the game. Those called up were: pitchers Nate Adcock, Tommy Hottovy, and Jake Odorizzi, catcher Adam Moore, and infielder Irving Falu.

Odorizzi is expected to begin his Major League career in the bullpen, as Yost mentioned they do NOT want him to make a start against a contending club. The Royals do play two series against Cleveland and they are looking to get him a start then. For more on Odorizzi‘s promotion, click HERE.

The All-Star Game festivities officially kicked off on Sunday (okay, I know the Fan Fest is already underway) with the Futures Game, as the game’s top minor league players from the US faced the top the World has to offer.

The game started with a distinct KC Royals flare, and not just because the Royals and Kauffman Stadium play host.

Right-hander Jake Odorizzi started for the US team (his locker is Billy Butler’s at Kauffman Stadium). He threw just two pitches to get Jean Segura of the LA Angels to fly out, but Texas’ Jurickso Profar tagged him for a homerun to give the World a 1-0 lead. Odorizzi recovered to retire the next two, including a strikeout of Alfredo Marte (Arizona) to end the inning.

Here’s Odorizzi‘s line: 1IP, H, R, 0BB, K. He threw 14 pitches, ten for strikes.

Right-hander Yordano Ventura then strolled to the mound for the World team in the bottom of the first inning. He had a quick and uneventful inning. Ventura induced three ground outs and threw just 11 pitches, eight for strikes.

Here’s Ventura‘s line: 1IP, 0H, 0R, 0BB, 0K. He is headed to Double-A after the game. It was weird seeing him with his pant legs down to his shoe tops (all Royals minor leaguers must have their socks showing to about their knees). Ventura had the only 1-2-3 inning for the World until the 8th inning.

The cool thing about that bottom of the first inning? Ventura facing the third-place hitter, right fielder Wil Myers. Myers saw just three pitches from his organizational counterpart and almost beat out the ground ball to short.

Every Royals player received a nice ovation. Myers‘ may have been the loudest, as many fans were on their feet for his first at-bat. Kauffman Stadium was PACKED for the game (which was nice to see).

Myers came up again in the bottom of the 3rd inning with one out and the tying run on third base. He took a big hack on 3-0 and on 3-1 he grounded out to second base to tie the game. He took Odorizzi off the hook for the loss (it also took away the win for Ventura).

Myers then moved to centerfield in the top of the 5th inning. In the bottom of that inning, he singled to right field with one out off Enny Romero (TB). He was left stranded.

In the 6th inning, Myers flied out to centerfield, driving in his second run of the game. In that at-bat, he fouled a ball straight back that shattered the ESPN camera.

In the 7th inning, Myers singled to left field, driving in another run. He finally scored a run with two outs.

Game Recap:

Jae-Hoon Ha (Chicago Cubs) hit a two-run homerun off Gerrit Cole (Pittsburgh) in the 2nd inning to give the World a 3-0 lead. Billy Hamilton (Cincinnati) showed off his speed with a two-run triple in the bottom of the 3rd inning off Chris Reed (LA Dodgers) to cut the World lead to 4-2. He has 100 steals so far this season in the minors. Hamilton then scored on Reed’s errant throw to first base on Kolten Wong‘s (St. Louis) comebacker.

The US took their first lead of the game on a Tommy Joseph (SF) RBI double in the 4th inning. Another run scored on the poor throw in from the outfield (missed the cutoff).

The US really took it to the World in the 6th inning, as they scored NINE runs to blow the game wide open (against two pitchers). Detroit prospect Nick Castellanos hit a three-run homerun to dead-center.

Everybody played and everybody pitched who made the trip to KC. Matt Barnes (Boston) closed out the 17-5 victory for the US with former UConn teammate Mike Olt (Texas) at first base.

The 2012 MLB All-Star Game events officially begin on Sunday at Kauffman Stadium with the Futures Game. Make sure to tune in at 5pm ET on ESPN2 when the game gets underway or you may miss the three KC Royals representatives.

Jake Odorizzi will be getting the start for the US team under manager George Brett. Wil Myers will be starting behind Odorizzi in right field (while batting third in the order).

Yordano Ventura will be starting for the World team under manager Bernie Williams. So there is the potential that a Royals minor leaguer could both win and lose the game.

Both pitchers are deserving of the starts and it will be kind of neat to watch two pitchers I have seen start over the last two years start in a game like the Futures Game.

Odorizzi is the closest Royals pitching prospect to the big leagues. He started the season with Double-A NW Arkansas, but only lasted through seven starts. He is 5-0 in nine games (eight starts) in Triple-A. Overall, Odorizzi is 9-2 with a 3.05 ERA. In 85.2 innings, he has struck out 92.

Myers is the closest Royals prospect to the Majors. How close? He may not return to Triple-A following his All-Star week (he is also expected to start in the Triple-A ASG in Buffalo on Wednesday night).

Like Odorizzi, Myers began the season with the Naturals. Overall, he is hitting .327 with 20 doubles, five triples, 27 homeruns, 72 runs scored, and 72 RBIs.

Ventura has been toiling in High-A Wilmington all season and has hit a few bumps of late (well two starts in his last five). Overall, he is 3-5 with a 3.30 ERA. In 76.1 innings, he has allowed 66 hits while striking out 98.

*The Legends & Celebrity Softball Game will follow the Futures Game on Sunday night. Here are just a few legends who are slated to play: George Brett, Bo Jackson, Mike Sweeney, Andre Dawson, Joe Carter, Rickey Henderson, and Ozzie Smith.

Some of the celebrities slated to play are Jennie Finch, Carlos Boncanegra, Bill Self (Kansas men’s basketball coach), Matt Cassell (KC Chiefs quarterback), Eric Stonestreet (Modern Family), Jon Hamm, and James Denton (Desperate Housewives).

from milb.com

At least the KC Royals will be well represented at the Futures Game as part of the All-Star festivities at Kauffman Stadium this July. The Royals are the only team with three representatives. The Futures Game will be held on Sunday July 8th at 5pm ET on ESPN2.

Right-handed pitcher Jake Odorizzi, a key piece in the Zack Greinke deal, will be a member of the US roster. He began the season with Double-A NW Arkansas, but has been with Triple-A Omaha for his last five starts (six appearances). Overall, Odorizzi is 8-2 with a 2.89 ERA. He has allowed 59 hits over 71.2 innings and has struck out 81. Opponents are hitting just .219 against him.

Outfielder Wil Myers will be joining him on the US roster, with this being his second time. He will surely receive a LARGE ovation when his name is announced (if he is still in the minors at that point). He began the season with NW Arkansas, hit .343 over 35 games, and was promoted to Omaha. In 33 games, he has hit .328 with 11 homeruns and 32 RBIS. Overall, Myers has 24 homeruns, 62 RBIs, and 60 runs scored.

Nearly half of the Top 100 prospects (23) will be in Kansas City. The top four picks in the 2011 draft are on the US roster (Gerrit Cole of Pittsburgh, Danny Hultzen of Seattle, Trevor Bauer of Arizona, and Dylan Bundy of Baltimore). Former Royals great George Brett will be managing the US Team.

» Continue reading “Three Royals Prospects on Futures Game Rosters”

Jake Odorizzi won his first Triple-A game, as Omaha beat Salt Lake, 5-2. He allowed just one run on six hits over six innings. He struck out seven.

The Storm Chasers hit three homeruns: Clint Robinson, Tony Abreu, and Wil Myers. Myers went 2-for-4 and Derrick Robsinon went 2-for-3 in the win.

Down 8-0 after the top of the second inning was a deficit NW Arkansas could never completely dig out of, as the Naturals lost to Midland, 9-8. Noel Arguelles lasted just 1.1 innings in the loss.

The Naturals out-hit the RockHounds, 12-8. Christian Colon, Sharlon Schoop, Eric Duncan, and Nick Van Stratten each had two hits. CC scored three runs and Schoop hit a three-run homerun.

The Wilmington Blue Rocks complete their first series sweep of the season, with a 3-0 victory over visiting Potomac with a day game. They held just a 1-0 lead until the 8th inning when Brett Eibner and Cheslor Cuthbert drove in runs (Cuthbert had two hits).

Tyler Sample and the Blue Rocks bullpen outdueled the P-Nats. Sample allowed just two hits (though he walked four) over five innings. He struck out six. Jon Keck followed Sample with three scoreless innings of relief. Sam Runion picked up his first save of the season with a perfect 9th inning.

Jose Bonilla, who was just added to the roster from extended spring training on Tuesday, went 3-for-4 in his first start of the season behind the plate.

Kane County scored two runs in the bottom of the 8th inning en route to their 4-3 victory at home over Burlington. Michael Antonio hit a two-run double in the 8th inning for the win.

Lane Adams and Antonio went 6-for-8, as Adams scored two runs in the win.

Jason Mitchell earned the win in relief of Edwin Carl (5IP, 6H, 3R, BB, 4K), as he pitched two shutout innings and allowed just one hit.