The Arizona Fall League came to an end on Saturday afternoon, as Peoria beat Salt River, 4-3 in a protested game.

The Surprise Saguaros, and the KC Royals contingent, came in second place in the West Division at 17-14.

Let’s recap the four games in the AFL’s final week.

The Saguaros won their first two games of the week, starting with Monday. Malcom Culver picked up his first hold of the AFL season with two scoreless innings of relief. He allowed one hit and induced five ground outs. He threw 11 of his 17 pitches for strikes.

In that game, Brian Fletcher played left field and batted fifth. He went 1-for-3 with a triple and an RBI. He also walked, but was picked off first base.

On Tuesday, Surprise picked up their second win in a row. Whit Merrifield played second base and batted second. He went 2-for-4 with two runs scored and two RBIs. He also walked and stole a base.

Justin Marks picked up his first and only loss of the AFL season on Wednesday. He pitched well, but the Surprise offense collected just two hits. Marks allowed two runs on five hits over four innings. He struck out six while throwing 53 of his 78 pitches for strikes. Nick Ahmed of Atlanta picked up two triples off him.

Edwin Carl was roughed up in his final AFL outing. He allowed three runs on four hits over just 1.2 innings. He struck out one and threw 19 of his 26 pitches for strikes. Jon Keck entered in relief of Carl and needed just three pitches to escape the jam.

On offense, Fletcher was back in left field but moved down to the sixth spot in the order. He went 0-for-2 with two walks and a strikeout. Orlando Calixte played shortstop and batted ninth. He went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts.

The Saguaros lost their final game of their AFL season on Thursday. Merrifield played left field and surprisingly batted third. He went 3-for-5 with a two-run homerun. He also walked twice. His two-run homer cut the deficit to 5-3 in the 7th inning. Calixte pinch-ran in the 8th inning for the DH.

Here are the Royals final AFL stats:

Calixte: .275 (11-for-40), HR, five runs scored, 2RBIs, 2BB, 14K, SB

Carl: 0-1, 2.77 ERA, 13IP, 9H, 6R, 4ER, 2HR, 3BB, 8K

Culver: 0-1, 6.35 ERA, 5.2IP, 6H, 4R, 2HR, 0BB, 3K

Fletcher: .203 (14-for-69), four doubles, one triple, HR, nine runs scored, 9 RBIs, 17BB, 24K

Keck: 0-0, 5.59 ERA, 9.2IP, 15H, 9R, 6ER, 5BB, 7K

Marks: 5-1, 2.59 ERA, 24.1IP, 24H, 10R, 7ER, OHR, 5BB, 22K

McClure (did not play this past week): .216 (8-for-37), two doubles, 7 runs scored, 4RBIs, 2BB, 11K, 2SB, CS

Merrifield: .250 (17-for-68), one double, HR, 15 runs scored, 8RBIs, 10BB, 8K, 9SB, CS

The Surprise Saguaros went 3-3 last week, but fell to 1.5 games back of first place in the West Division of the Arizona Fall League. Unfortunately, they do not play first place Peoria in their final four games. The AFL Championship Game is Saturday afternoon (live on MLB Network).

The KC Royals contingent of players had a fairly good week.

In Monday’s loss, Brian Fletcher played left field and batted sixth. He went 1-for-2 with two walks (and no strikeouts). Whit Merrifield was the DH and batted 7th. He went 0-for-4 and grounded into a double play.

In Tuesday’s win, the Saguaros received solid pitching from a Royals duo. Jon Keck pitched two scoreless innings of relief. He did allow two hits but did not walk a batter. Edwin Carl followed and pitched a perfect inning of relief.

On offense, Fletcher was the DH and batted fifth. He went 1-for-5. Alex McClure played shortstop and batted ninth. He went 2-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI.

In Wednesday’s loss, Merrifield played left field and batted second. He went 0-for-3 with two walks and a strikeout. He was caught stealing for the first time in the AFL. Calixte played shortstop and batted ninth. He went 1-for-3 with a walk, an RBI, and a stolen base. He struck out once.

Malcom Culver had a tough outing. He allowed two runs on two hits and two walks in one inning of work. He had a strikeout. He threw just 19 of his 31 pitches for strikes.

On Thursday, Justin Marks improved to 5-0 (tops in the AFL). He allowed one run on four hits over four innings of work. He struck out three. Marks threw 35 of his 55 pitches for strikes.

On offense, Fletcher played left field and batted fourth. He went 2-for-5 with two RBIs. Both RBIs came with two outs. Merrifield entered late in the game as an injury replacement for St.Louis’ Kolten Wong. He went 0-for-1 with a strikeout.

In Surprise’s win on Friday night, Fletcher went 1-for-5 with a double and an RBI as the DH. McClure went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts in the nine hole.

» Continue reading “Royals in the AFL Week 5 Update”

It was a shorter week in the Arizona Fall League, with the Rising Stars Game taking place on Saturday night. Surprise went 3-2 during the week and are a 1/2 game back of first place in the West Division.

It was a fairly good week for the KC Royals players with the Saguaros.

Jon Keck with the Wilmington Blue Rocks during the 2012 season.

The Saguaros won their third game in a row on Monday, as Jon Keck picked up a hold. He struck out one over one inning of work and threw eight of his 12 pitches for strikes. Brian Fletcher played left field and batted fifth, but went 0-for-3. He did walk and drive in a run, but also struck out.

On Tuesday, the Saguaros winning streak came to an end, as Malcom Culver took the loss (he also got the blown save). In 2/3 of an inning, he allowed two runs on three hits. The runs scored on Kent Matthes two-run homerun in the 8th inning. In terms of pitches, he threw nine of his 13 pitches for strikes. Prior to that inning, Edwin Carl allowed one hit in an inning of work while striking out one. He threw ten of his 15 pitches for strikes.

Whit Merrifield batted seventh and played left field, but went 0-for-4. Alex McClure batted ninth and played shortstop. He went 1-for-3 with a run scored.

On Wednesday, Surprise got back into the win column. Orlando Calixte batted ninth and played shortstop. He went 1-for-3 with a walk and two runs scored. Unfortunately, he committed two errors. Fletcher was back in left field and batted fourth, but he went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts.

On Thursday, the Saguaros won their second game in a row behind the now 4-0 Justin Marks. He allowed one run on four hits over four innings. He struck out three and threw 29 of his 45 pitches for strikes. Keck picked up his second hold of the week with two scoreless innings of relief. He allowed two hits and a walk while striking out two. He threw 26 of his 36 pitches for strikes.

» Continue reading “Royals in the AFL Week 4 Update”

The KC Royals contingent in the Arizona Fall League helped the Surprise Saguaros go 3-3 last week. Overall, the Saguaros are 9-7, 1.5 games back of first place in the West Division.

In Monday’s loss, Jon Keck pitched an inning of relief. Surprisingly, it was a good inning. He allowed one hit while striking out one during the scoreless inning. Keck threw 15 pitches, nine for strikes.

On offense, Brian Fletcher batted seventh and went 1-for-3 with a strikeout. He played left field. Whit Merrifield was a late inning replacement in centerfield and went 0-for-1.

In Tuesday’s ten-inning victory, Fletcher went 1-for-3 with a two walks, a run scored, and an RBI. He did strike out again. Alex McClure was back at shortstop and went 2-for-4 with two runs scored, an RBI, and two stolen bases. Unfortunately, he also struck out twice.

Edwin Carl was the reason the game went into extra innings, as he picked up the blown save. He allowed a homerun to Washington Nationals prospect Matt Skole in the 7th inning. In one inning, he allowed two runs (none earned) on one hit while striking out one.

» Continue reading “Royals in the AFL Week 3 Update”

JC Sulbaran, who the KC Royals received from the Cincinnati Reds as part of the Jonathan Broxton deal, made just one start in the Arizona Fall League and has been shut down.

After three innings of work for the Surprise Saguaros on October 19th, the right-hander was sent home for precautionary reasons due to a sore right arm.

Replacing Sulbaran on the Saguaros roster is fellow right-hander Malcom Culver, who spent the entire 2012 season with Low-A Kane County. There, he was 2-1 with a 3.69 ERA in 37 relief appearances. He allowed just one homerun all season (63.1 innings).

Culver was drafted in the 8th round in 2008 out of high school. He played in the infield until the 2011 season.

The Omaha Storm Chasers had off on Wednessday, as they traveled back to Omaha to begin an eight-game homestand, beginning with four games against Tacoma.

NW Arkansas collected ten hits en route to their 6-2 win over Tulsa. Eric Duncan had the big day, as he went 2-for-4 with four RBIs, including a two-run homerun.

Ryan Dennick got the start and won his first Double-A game. He pitched five shutout innings and allowed just three hits. He struck out four. He also picked a guy off first base.

The Naturals have now won four in a row.

Jake Odorizzi will join Wil Myers in the promotion to Omaha.

Wilmington starter Greg Billo was cruising along until the 7th inning when he allowed four runs that gave Lynchburg the lead. However the Blue Rocks offense came back and they won 7-5.

In the 8th inning, the Blue Rocks tied the game on a ground out. In the top of the 9th inning, they scored two runs on a Brett Eibner triple.

The Blue Rocks bullpen (Jon Keck and Nick Rogers) only allowed two baserunners (via two walks) over 2.1 innings.

Both manager Vance Wilson and pitching coach Steve Luebber were ejected in the 8th inning (on separate calls).

A four-run 6th inning gave Kane County the 5-3 victory over Cedar Rapids. In that inning, Jorge Bonifacio hit a two-run homerun (3-for-4 with two runs scored).

Aaron Brooks picked up the win, as he allowed three runs on five hits and a walk over seven innings. He allowed two solo homeruns. Malcom Culver picked up his first save with two scoreless innings of relief. He allowed one hit while striking out three.

The Cougars have now won four in a row.