With last week’s Opening Day rainout in Myrtle Beach and a six-man rotation had me excited about the Wilmington Blue Rocks home opener. The main attraction was who was starting the game for the Blue Rocks. That would be the KC Royals first pick in last June’s draft, Kyle Zimmer.

What I liked best about Zimmer (besides his stuff) was that he works quickly. That is great on a blustery night like Friday. He survived a couple of defensive miscues in the first inning to leave the game with the lead after six innings (6IP, 2H, 1R, 0ER, 2BB, 8K). Zimmer did not allow his first hit until Nick Delmonico doubled in the 4th inning.

Here’s some video of Zimmer facing Delmonico in his first at-bat (which was a four-pitch walk):

Meanwhile, Frederick Keys starter Tim Berry was just as filthy. The Blue Rocks did not have a base runner until Lane Adams walked in the bottom of the fifth. Justin Trapp picked up the Blue Rocks first hit with one out in the sixth. His infield single scored a run to tie the game at 1-1. They would score another run to take the lead on Jack Lopez‘ single (and an outfield error).

However, the Keys came back against Cody Fassold to take the lead heading into the bottom of the 8th inning when the rains came. When the umps finally called for the tarp, it had been pouring for at least one hitter. It didn’t stop pouring until after I exited Frawley Stadium following postgame interviews. The fairly large crowd left a little disappointed as the fireworks show was cancelled.

This came will be completed on Saturday with the Keys leading 4-3 in the bottom of the 8th inning with the Blue Rocks having two men on base and two outs.

Lopez had a few Web Gem plays at shortstop, which Zimmer talked about in his postgame interview. He is going to be exciting to watch this season.

You can check out the postgame interviews with Zimmer and manager Vance Wilson on my Facebook page.

Meet your 2013 Blue Rocks:

On Tuesday night, MLB Network aired the 2013 Top 100 Prospects list. I unfortunately missed it, but did get a chance to check out the list yesterday.

There are just three KC Royals on that list, two of which have not played a full professional season yet.

Yordano Ventura making a start in Wilmington on June 7, 2012.

Outfielder Bubba Starling is the first Royal on the list, at number 26. He made his much-anticipated professional debut last June with rookie level Burlington. He hit .275 with ten homeruns and 33 RBIs (while also stealing ten bases). MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo (who comes up with the list) thinks that Starling is the one player in the Royals system who could become that elite prospect who could turn into an impact big leaguer.

Right-hander Kyle Zimmer came in at number 34. He was the Royals top pick in last June’s draft. He pitched in just nine games combined for rookie level Surprise and Low-A Kane County before having bone chips removed from his elbow.

The final Royal on the list is right-hander Yordano Ventura. He came in at number 59. Ventura split last season between High-A Wilmington (where he dominated for the most part) and Double-A NW Arkansas (where he struggled). He also started the Futures Game at Kauffman Stadium in July for the World Team.

*Former Royals Wil Myers (number four) and Jake Odorizzi (number 45) were also on the list representing their new team, the Tampa Bay Rays.

**For the entire Top 100 list, click HERE.

The KC Royals bullpen has been the consistent strong point for them all season long, but it couldn’t dominate Friday night, as they lost the first game of their series in Boston, 4-3.

The Red Sox had the right guy on the mound to start their four-game series against the Royals: Jon Lester. In his career, Lester was 5-2 with a 1.35 ERA over 53.1 innings in his career against the Royals. He had struck out 43.

Lester wasn’t quite as dominant on Friday night.

After the Red Sox took a 2-0 lead after the first inning against Bruce Chen, Lester gave up the lead in the 3rd inning. Eric Hosmer led off the inning with a homerun. After a two out walk, Alex Gordon tied the game with an RBI double.

In the 4th inning, the Royals took the lead on a bases loaded infield single from Johnny Giavotella. They could have scored more, but Lester rebounded and escaped without allowing another run.

Chen rebounded from his rough start (two runs on a David Ortiz two-run single in the first inning). He retired 10 of 11 before walking Mauro Gomez to lead off the 7th inning. That ended Chen‘s night and that is where things fell apart for the Royals.

Kelvin Herrera entered the game and gave up a single to Mike Aviles. After a sac bunt, Pedro Ciriaco gave the Red Sox the lead with a two-run double, on a changeup. Why was a guy who can touch 100 throwing a changeup to a guy who is only playing because of all the Red Sox injuries?

Anyway, that was the end of Herrera‘s night and lefty Tim Collins entered. Collins struck out two around an intentional walk to escape the jam. That was Herrera‘s first blown save of the season.

» Continue reading “Royals Bullpen Falls Short in Boston”

The KC Royals announced “major baseball related news” this afternoon, as their first round pick (fifth overall), Kyle Zimmer, signed. He signed for a $3 million bonus (slot was $3.5 million).

Zimmer, a right-hander, bloomed late at USF and really burst onto the scene in the Cape Cod League last summer. He didn’t pitch a whole lot this spring, as a hamstring injury hampered him.

Here is what Zimmer had to say on Monday night via the Kansas City Star:

“I feel like I command all of my pitches pretty well. I feel like my curveball is an out pitch, and I feel like I do a really good job of staying on top of my fastball and moving it to both sides of the plate.”

He will be evaluated for a few weeks in Surprise, Arizona at the spring training complex (recovering from the injury) before the Royals decide on where to send him to start his professional career.

*In other Royals news, first baseman/DH Clint Robinson was called up and will be traveling with the team to Pittsburgh, as the Royals start Interleague Play (again) on Friday night. Whenever he gets into a game, it will be his big league debut. Lefty Ryan Verdugo was optioned to Triple-A (he did not pitch when he was up with the Royals).

Last night in the first round of the 2012 MLB Draft, the KC Royals selected Kyle Zimmer out of USF with the fifth overall pick. It was awesome to see him live on MLB Network from his home getting the news. You can follow him on Twitter, @kylez9113.

Today began Day 2 of the draft, with the Royals selecting Sam Selman out of Vanderbilt. The left-handed pitcher saw his season come to an end on Monday night, as NC State pulled off the comeback in the NCAA Regionals.

He pitched Saturday’s regional game against the Wolfpack against Golden Spikes Award finalist, freshman Carlos Rodon. Selman allowed four runs on six hits and five walks over 5.1 innings. He struck out four while throwing 99 pitches (54 for strikes).

Selman was also needed to get out of the bases loaded two out jam on Monday night against NC State (he threw six pitches in getting a strikeout).

You can also follow Selman on Twitter (@crazylegsselman).

In the third round, they selected another left-handed pitcher, Colin Rodgers out of Parkview Baptist School in Louisiana. You can also follow him on Twitter (@crodg27). He is an Auburn signee.

Rodgers was a Rawlings third-team All-America and a Southeast Region first teamer. His fastball reaches 91 mph and he throws a sweeping slider.

With their fourth round pick, the Royals selected shortstop Kenny Diekroeger out of Stanford. He apparently turned down $2 million out of high school. Many expect him to move to second base. He was also thought of as a potential top 10 pick this year.

In hosting the NCAA Regional in Palo Alto, Diekroeger went 4-for-12 in Stanford’s victory and advancement to face Florida State this coming weekend in the Super Regionals.

In the 5th round, the Royals selected high school catcher Chad Johnson of Galesburg High School in Illinois. He helped guide his high school team to the 3A regional title. He was even a featured speaker at his high school graduation at the end of May.

» Continue reading “2012 Royals Draft Update”

With the fifth pick in the 2012 MLB Draft, the KC Royals selected Kyle Zimmer, a right-handed pitcher out of the University of San Francisco (USF).

Many believe that Zimmer has a four-pitch mix that are at least Major League average (especially for a guy that has only been pitching for two years). He consistently hits 97mph and is compared to St. Louis Cardinals ace Adam Wainwright.

Last year during the NCAA Tournament, he out-pitched last year’s number 1 pick Gerritt Cole. This year, he did have a hamstring injury so didn’t pitch as much as most of the college pitchers. He made 13 starts (88.1 innings) and went 5-3 with a 2.85 ERA. He struck out 104 compared to just 17 walks.

Zimmer did look good on MLB Network with a Royals hat.

Art Stewart, the senior advisor to the GM (a position he has held since 1997), and Willie Mays Aikens, a former first baseman for the Royals, were the team’s representatives at Studio 42 in MLB Network studios.

*The big shock of the night came at the very beginning, as the Houston Astros selected Carlos Correa, a shortstop from the Puerto Rican Baseball Academy. Many expected either Stanford ace Mark Appel or toolsy outfielder Byron Buxton to go number 1. (As I am typing this, Appel is still on the board).

**Check out Aerys’ live draft thread from the first pick tonight to the final pick on Wednesday.