Two of the KC Royals minor league full season affiliates are in the midst of their All-Star breaks and on Tuesday night, three of their minor league players participated in their respective league’s All-Star Games.

The South Atlantic League All-Star Game was held in Lakewood, NJ, but rain dampened the event, as they only played seven innings and had close to a three hour rain delay. Still, the two Lexington Legends honorees saw action.

Pitcher Christian Binford pitched the 2nd inning for the South (who lost to the North, 2-1). The first batter he faced flied out, but the second reached on a fielding error. Binford battled back to get his third hitter to line into an inning ending double play.

Shortstop Raul Mondesi, who was a late addition to the squad, entered the game for the South in the bottom of the fourth on defense. In two plate appearances, he went 2-for-2. He singled with two outs in the fifth and singled again with two outs in the seventh. Mondesi did not have any balls hit at him during the game.

For us East Coasters, the California-Carolina League All-Star Game was a late one (it didn’t start until 10:35pm ET), as it did not end until around 1:30am ET. If you did not stay up that late, then you missed Wilmington Blue Rocks pitcher Kyle Smith get into the game.

The lone Blue Rocks representative entered in the 9th inning with a runner on third base. He needed just three pitches to induce the game ending ground out.

The Carolina League thumped the California League 12-2 with two five runs innings (the fourth and fifth).

This time, the host Cleveland Indians had a late rally to beat the KC Royals, 4-3. The Indians retook control of second place in the American League Central with the win.

The Royals led 3-1 heading into the bottom of the eighth with Kelvin Herrera on in relief of starter Ervin Santana (who pitched great once again). Herrera walked the leadoff hitter and he came around to score on Michael Bourn‘s one out single. Former Royal Mike Aviles followed with a single and Herrera was in a jam (much like the beginning of the season).

Lefty Tim Collins relieved him, but allowed an RBI double to the left-handed hitting Jason Kipnis to tie the game. After intentionally walking switch-hitter Carlos Santana to load the bases, lefty Michael Brantley lifted a fly ball to right field that was deep enough to score Aviles to give the Indians the lead.

Indians closer Vinnie Pestano got into all kinds of trouble in the ninth, but the Royals bailed him out with some poor base running. After back-to-back singles from Mike Moustakas and David Lough to lead off the inning, Chris Getz struck out. Alcides Escobar then ripped a single to right field. Drew Stubbs came up throwing and got Moose caught between third and home. He stayed in the rundown long enough to move Lough to third base.

Pestano then walked Alex Gordon to load the bases. That brought up Eric Hosmer, who grounded out to first to end the game.

Back to the start by Santana. He allowed one run on three hits and two walks over seven innings. He struck out six.

Luis Mendoza gets the ball for the Royals in the final on Wednesday against the Indians Justin Masterson.

You read that right. The KC Royals are currently percentage points ahead of the Cleveland Indians for second place in the American League Central. That is all because of their 2-1 win in Cleveland tonight.

Despite being in trouble all night (like bases loaded jams twice before the 5th inning), James Shields was only losing 1-0 when he left after six innings. He allowed four hits and four walks while striking five. He needed 111 pitches to get through six innings. The Indians lone run came via Carlos Santana‘s homerun in the sixth.

Meanwhile, Indians starter Carlos Carrasco (who hasn’t pitched well in limited starts this season) kept the Royals offense silent for most of the game. Lorenzo Cain‘s one out single in the fifth was the Royals first hit (and baserunner) off Carrasco. He was pulled with one runner on second base and one out in the 8th inning.

Bryan Shaw entered and recorded the second out before Eric Hosmer blooped a double to no man’s land over the shortstop’s head to tie the game at 1-1.

After Bruce Chen recorded the first out in the bottom of the eighth, Aaron Crow entered and allowed a single to Mark Reynolds. He stole second base and went to third on Salvador Perez‘ throwing error (though Crow recorded the strikeout). With the go ahead run on third base, Crow rebounded to strike out Ryan Rabun to end the inning.

The 9th inning was a wild one.

Billy Butler led off the inning with a double and Elliot Johnson pinch ran. After Cain walked, Shaw was relieved by lefty Rich Hill. Manager Ned Yost stuck with David Lough (instead of pinch-hitting the right-handed Jeff Francoeur) and it paid off. Lough laid down a bunt and Hill slipped trying to field it. Everyone was safe to load the bases with no outs.

Miguel Tejada was called on to pinch-hit for the ever-struggling Mike Moustakas and Indians manager Terry Francona countered with righty Matt Albers. Albers‘ third pitch was a wild one and Johnson scampered home to break the tie. Albers rebounded to get Tejada to line out, but the Indians elected to intentionally walk Chris Getz (yup, you read that right). Alcides Escobar tried to lay down a squeeze, but failed and Cain was thrown out at the plate. Alex Gordon flied out to end the inning.

Closer Greg Holland allowed a one out double to Michael Bourn and then wild pitched him to third base. He rebounded to strike out former Royal Mike Aviles and then got Jason Kipnis to ground out to end the game.

The series continues on Tuesday night as Ervin Santana goes up against the suddenly stellar Ubaldo Jimenez.

*Felipe Paulino‘s rehab has hit a snag with some back issues. He has made just one start so far.

June has been much kinder to the KC Royals than May was. Last week, they went 5-2 and overall they are 11-4 in June. The Royals have won four straight series and look to continue that tonight when they start a three game series at second place Cleveland. Another series win would put them in second place in the American League Central.

Omaha went 4-3 last week on the road and finish up their trip today in Iowa. The Storm Chasers are 30-37 overall and now are in third place in the Pacific Coast League’s American Northern Division (three games back).

NW Arkansas went 5-4 last week as they played two doubleheaders (which killed their bullpen) and used two position players to pitch in last night’s 13 innings victory. The Naturals are 24-45 and are still the worst team in the Texas League with the first half ending tonight.

The first half did not end well for Wilmington, as they were eliminated from the title by going 2-5 to finish the half (overall they are 33-37). They also saw a ton of player movement over the final week, losing third baseman Cheslor Cuthbert and reliever Scott Alexander to Double-A promotions, gaining shortstop Alex McClure (and then losing him to family issues), outfielder Ethan Chapman, first baseman Dennis Raben, and relievers Daniel Hernandez and Ben Tomchick. They also demoted outfielder Alex Hudak and “sent” lefty reliever Antonio Cruz to rookie ball. The Blue Rocks will enjoy the four-day All-Star break (as only pitcher Kyle Smith will be making the trip to California for the event) before opening the second half at home on Friday night against Salem.

Lexington also had a ton of player movement at the end of their first half, as they went just 1-6 (overall they are 33-35). Catcher Cam Gallagher, first baseman Mark Threlkeld, and pitcher Crawford Simmons were reinstated from the DL. They also gained reliever Kevin Allen from extended spring, released first baseman Adrian Morales, and demoted catcher Alex Marquez. The Legends will enjoy the three-day All-Star break (with pitchers Christian Binford and Alec Mills, along with shortstop Raul Mondesi taking part in the festivities) before opening the second half at home for four games against Savannah (the first half Southern Division champs).

Now to the awards…

Hitter of the Week

Majors: Elliot Johnson. He hit .389 (7-for-18) with a double, a triple, and a homerun in six games last week. He scored five runs and drove in four. He also stole two bases.

Minors: Matt Fields, NW Arkansas. The first baseman went 9-for-29 (.310) last week for the Naturals. He hit two doubles and two homeruns, while driving in seven. He scored seven runs and walked three times.

» Continue reading “Royals Weekly Awards”

The KC Royals are back to their winning ways, as they took three of four over the TB Rays with a 5-3 Sunday finale win.

Via Cheryl Norman

Both teams got on the scoreboard in the first, with the Rays leading 2-1. Shockingly, Jeff Francoeur homered in the fifth to tie the game at 2-2. It was just his third homerun of the season and first since May 30th.

The Royals took the lead for good in the sixth with two runs. With two outs and nobody on base, Elliot Johnson doubled. The Rays and Roberto Hernandez elected to walk Francoeur to bring up Alcides Escobar, who singled on the first pitch to drive in a run. After a pitching change, Alex Gordon singled off the lefty to drive in another.

The bullpen was solid in relief of Wade Davis (6IP, 5H, 2R, 2BB, 4K). Greg Holland allowed a solo homerun in the ninth and a walk, but struck out the side for his 14th save of the season.

Escobar collected three hits, while Eric Hosmer and Billy Butler each picked up two hits.

The Royals now move on to second place Cleveland, where James Shields will go up against Carlos Carrasco on Monday night. The Royals are just a 1/2 game back of the Indians and five games back of Detroit for first place in the American League Central.

*Oh and the Rays announced that prospect Wil Myers (remember him) will be called up for Tuesday’s doubleheader. It would have been nice to see him debut against the team that developed him and then traded him away.

The KC Royals lost to the host TB Rays on Saturday afternoon, 5-3, but there was a scary moment in the fifth.

Eric Hosmer led off the inning with a line shot off Alex Cobb‘s head. It was a scary sight, but the Rays are saying that Cobb only has a mild concussion. Say a little prayer for him tonight.

Four of the Rays five runs came via the longball.

The Royals actually had a 2-1 lead, but Luke Scott hit a two-out, two-run homerun. Matt Joyce and Evan Longoria hit solo homeruns later to increase their lead.

Jeremy Guthrie allowed all three homeruns (and all five runs, though only four were earned) on eight hits and three walks over seven innings.

Salvador Perez hit a solo homerun in the top of the eighth (one of his two hits). David Lough also collected two hits.

The two teams finish their series on Sunday afternoon as Wade Davis makes his first start against his former teammates. Roberto Hernandez will oppose him.

One night after blowing out the TB Rays, the visiting KC Royals once again put up a big inning to win 7-2.

Down 2-1 heading into the top of the fifth, the Royals scored four runs to take the lead they would not relinquish. They also scored two more runs in the ninth against Rays closer Fernando Rodney.

Rays lefty Matt Moore started the season at 8-0, but has since fallen flat. Tonight was no different. He was cruising after allowing a single Royals run in the first on Billy Butler‘s RBI single. Then the 5th inning happened.

Jeff Francoeur singled to lead off the inning and scored on Elliot Johnson‘s triple. Johnson scored on Alcides Escobar‘s single. With one out, Eric Hosmer doubled before Salvador Perez singled home one run. Butler‘s sac fly ended the scoring.

The Royals chased Moore from the game with one out and two on in the sixth.

Meanwhile, Royals starter Luis Mendoza settled down after the first inning, when he allowed a leadoff homerun and an Evan Longoria RBI double. He allowed a one out double to Matt Joyce in the bottom of the fifth, but picked him off. Mendoza was chased from the game in the seventh after allowing a leadoff double and a fielding error by Escobar.

Aaron Crow struck out both batters he faced before lefty Tim Collins entered and got Joyce to fly out to end the inning. He then struck out two of the three batters he faced in the 8th inning. In the ninth, Kelvin Herrera worked around two walks with two strikeouts and a fly out.

The two teams continue their series on Saturday, as Jeremy Guthrie faces Alex Cobb.

*Every hitter, except the third baseman (Miguel Tejada and Mike Moustakas) picked up at least one hit. Perez and Butler (the new 3-4 hitters) went a combined 4-for-9 with five RBIs.

**In the month of June, the Royals have won 10 of their 13 games and have moved to just five games back in the American League Central.

One week ago, MLB held their 2013 amateur draft, beginning on Thursday night in the MLB Network studios on live national television. As of today, the KC Royals have signed 22 of their 41 picks and have saved the most money of any team so far.

That money is being saved for their second pick in the draft, lefty Sean Manaea out of Indiana State. He dropped due to an injury that could cause problems if he signs, but the Royals liked him enough to take him anyway (he has a torn labrum in his hip). Will he sign? Who knows, but many think they will get a deal done (they have until July 12th). He is a Boras client and the agent has said he will not sign for a discount.

But plenty of their other picks have signed.

The first to sign was their number one pick, shortstop Hunter Dozier out of Stephen F. Austin. He was the eighth pick overall and signed for $2.2 million, a little less than a million under the slot. He will head to training camp in Arizona before beginning his professional career at rookie level Idaho Falls. He was at Kauffman Stadium on Monday and was on the field for batting practice.

Check out a nice article about Dozier by the Kansas City Star’s Bob Dutton and pictures from his time at Kauffman Stadium. Check out this article on the Royals website.

Then the Royals sent out a press release stating that they signed 16 more draft picks on Tuesday. The highest pick then to sign was fifth rounder Amalani FukoFuka, a high school centerfielder. They also signed a few of their college senior picks, including right-hander Luke Farrell out of Northwestern (sixth round), outfielder Daniel Rockett out of UT-San Antonio (ninth round), lefty Jonathan Dziedzic out of Lamar (13th round), right-hander Alex Black out of Columbia (29th round), and second baseman Andrew Ayers out of Cal State Sacremento (30th round). Ayers is their lowest pick to sign so far.

The college seniors and a few more like centerfielder Dominique Taylor of UC-Irvine (15th round), catcher Frank Schwindel out of St. John’s (18th round), right-hander Andrew Brockett out of Richmond (22nd round), and shortstop Kevin Kuntz out of Kansas (28th round), could move to full season ball by season’s end due to their experience and if they perform well (if they even start in rookie ball).

» Continue reading “Royals Sign Tons of Draft Picks”

It looked as though James Shields would suffer through yet another loss. Instead, the KC Royals offense finally came through in the bottom of the ninth and went on to win 3-2 in ten innings over the visiting Detroit Tigers. The Royals won the three-game series and are 5.5 games back in the American League Central.

For eight innings, the Royals were shut out by Tigers ace Justin Verlander (and then Drew Smyly for an inning). Verlander continued his dominance over the Royals by allowing just three hits over seven innings. He walked two, but struck out eight.

Billy Butler led off the 2nd inning with a single off Verlander. Their next hit didn’t come until the fifth.

Via Cheryl Norman

Then the 9th inning happened.

Eric Hosmer led off the inning with a single to chase Smyly from the game. In came Jose Valverde for his second straight save. He quickly recorded two outs, though Hosmer stole second base after Butler struck out (he didn’t get ejected this time).

Valverde had Lorenzo Cain down 0-2 and he looked silly all day (three prior strikeouts). However, Cain got extended on a pitch a bit high and down the middle and deposited it into the left field seats to tie the game at 2-2. Cain was pumped, almost jumping around as he hit the bases.

After Miguel Cabrera booted David Lough‘s grounder, Tigers manager Jim Leyland came out and removed Valverde from the game. In came lefty Phil Coke to face the left-handed hitting Mike Moustakas. Lough stole second base, but Moose hit a lazy fly ball to left to end the inning and send it into extra innings.

Greg Holland blew through the middle of the Tigers order on just 11 pitches (including two strikeouts).

Miguel Tejada, who came on in the ninth as a pinch-hitter, led off the tenth with a single. An Alcides Escobar bunt moved him to second base and an Alex Gordon ground out moved him to third base. That brought up Hosmer against the lefty Coke, and Hosmer drove the second fastball back up the middle for the game winner.

His teammates chased him around second base and began pounding on him. Someone (I couldn’t tell who), got him in the face with a towel full of Butler‘s rally sauce. Oh and Elliot Johnson tried to pull down Hosmer‘s pants.

Now to Shields.

He wasn’t great, as the Tigers had base runners in every inning but the second and fourth innings. Shields allowed seven hits and walked two over seven innings. He did strike out six.

The Royals now travel to Tampa to play the Rays over the next four days. It begins on Thursday night with Ervin Santana going up against Jeremy Hellickson.

The KC Royals could not continue their winning ways at home, as they lost to Detroit, 3-2.

The Royals did not collect their first hit off Tigers starter Max Scherzer until the 5th inning when David Lough led off with a homerun. Later that inning, they tied the game at 2-2 on Alcides Escobar‘s RBI single. Prior to the fifth, Scherzer had already struck out five.

Meanwhile, Wade Davis was just as solid, as he allowed two runs on eight hits and just one walk over 6.1 innings. He struck out five.

With the game tied at 2-2 and Aaron Crow on the mound for his second inning of relief, he hit Miguel Cabrera to lead off the inning. With Prince Fielder at the plate, no outs, and a 3-2 count, Cabrera kept taking off on the pitch as Fielder fouled off two straight before lining a single to right field. Cabrera easily moved to third base. Not once did Crow throw over to first or even look at Cabrera.

On the very next pitch, Victor Martinez lined out to left field to drive in Cabrera to give the Tigers the lead. The throw home from Alex Gordon was terrible (way up the first base line).

The Royals had the tying run on second base with no outs in the bottom of the 9th inning against Tigers closer Jose Valverde, but Billy Butler struck out (and was ejected), Lorenzo Cain popped up, and Lough grounded out to end the game.

The series will conclude on Wednesday afternoon, as the aces do battle. James Shields will matchup against Justin Verlander. How many runs of support do you think Shields will receive?