Last season, KC Royals rookie pitcher Nate Adcock took the inaugural award because he spent the entire season in the big leagues, but spent more time picking splinters than actually throwing baseballs. I thought about him again this season, but he spent more time on the shuttle back-and-forth to Triple-A Omaha than sitting on the bench.

There wasn’t a sure pick this season, so I decided to split it into halves.

Teaford waiting to catch a ball during BP

In the first half, former outfielder Mitch Maier recorded just 74 at-bats through the month of June. He was then designated for assignment and was never to be seen from again (despite winning Pacific Coast League Player of the Week honors in August).

In his final month in the big leagues, Maier had just nine at-bats, but got into 13 games. He went in as a defensive replacement in four straight games in the first week of June.

In the second half, the splinter picker was lefty Everett Teaford, which makes me wonder if he’ll ever get a chance with the Royals. This may have been due to the fact that the Royals always seemed to be saving him in case they needed a starter.

In the month of August, Teaford pitched in just four games. Overall, he pitched in 18 games, totaling 61.1 innings. Sure, he spent time in Triple-A, but that is why I am giving him the award for the second half. He pitched in 15 games since he was recalled from the minors for good at the end of June.

I think we all saw this coming. Outfielder Mitch Maier, who has spent many a year taking up a roster spot on the KC Royals yet not getting into many games, has elected to become a free agent.

Maier was designated for assignment in July and supposedly, the Royals were trying to find him a new deal. Nothing happened, though I find it hard to believe that NO team was in need of a backup outfielder with some speed.

He took the assignment to Triple-A Omaha and helped them reach the Pacific Coast League postseason. However, after losing to Reno in the PCL Finals, Maier was not promoted to the big leagues as a September callup.

He has now decided that it is time to part ways with the only team he has ever known since being taken in the first round of the 2003 draft.

Pitcher Roman Colon, in his second tour with the Royals, also elected free agency. He actually had a solid season with Triple-A Omaha in 2012 (4-2 with a 3.08 ERA in 39 games out of the bullpen).

Reliever Bryan Paukovits was released. This was interesting considering he was one of the Royals representatives last season in the Arizona Fall League. He struggled in 2012 at Double-A after a solid season with High-A Wilmington in 2011. He carried a 5.01 ERA over 29 games out of the Naturals bullpen.

*Other minor leaguers to be let go by the Royals are RHP Fernando Cruz, RHP Julio Morales, RHP Andrew Stueve, RHP Ryan Wood, LHP Dave Middendorf, C Travis Lane, C Tyler Smith, OF Lance Harper.

The KC Royals offense was shut down by the Toronto Blue Jays on July 4th up in Canada, as they lost 4-1.

What is it about Carlos Villanueva? I have seen him lit up many times in the past, but just four hits off a guy filling into the rotation? That is all the Royals could muster against Blue Jays starter Villanueva, who has moved from the bullpen to the rotation with all the starter injuries. He struck out seven and did not walk a batter.

The Royals lone run came via a two out RBI triple by Jeff Francoeur in the 7th inning against Jason Frasor.

Meanwhile, Luis Mendoza was solid, but took the loss. He allowed three runs on nine hits over six innings. He walked one while striking out nine. All three runs came via sac flies.

Mendoza only allowed two hits after the 3rd inning while striking out six.

Alcides Escobar, Mike Moustakas, and Francoeur each had two hits in the loss. Eric Hosmer saw his average drop to .230 with three strikeouts.

The Royals and Blue Jays finish their series on Thursday as Luke Hochevar takes the mound against Henderson Alvarez, who has been the Blue Jays best starter.

*Vin Mazzaro was sent back to the minors following yesterday’s miserable start and reliever Louis Coleman was recalled to take his place. Outfielder Mitch Maier was designated to make room for Nate Adcock, who frequently makes the drive back and forth from Omaha to Kansas City. Maier played in just 32 games this season for the Royals, including pitching a scoreless inning of relief.

Check out the article on royals.com to hear all the good things manager Ned Yost and his teammates had to say about him. Maier spent 10 years in the system/big leagues.

**Don’t forget you have until tomorrow to vote for closer Jonathan Broxton for the final spot on the American League’s All-Star roster.

Jonathan Sanchez hasn’t pitched the way the KC Royals hoped when they acquired him this offseason. He had yet to reach the 6th inning and Tuesday night was no different. The Royals losing streak reached 12 games, as they lost at Cleveland, 4-3.

Sanchez lasted just 4.2 innings, as he threw 115 pitches (just 56 for strikes). He walked seven and allowed four hits and two runs.

It actually looked promising, as the Royals and Indians were tied at 1-1 after Mitch Maier drove in a run with a single in the 4th inning.

Things fell apart for Sanchez in the 5th inning as Jack Hannahan drove in two runs with a double. It started with three walks and a sac fly.

The Royals bullpen was good, throwing 3.1 shutout innings.

However Indians starter Derek Lowe was better. He allowed one run on eight hits. He struck out five and induced nine ground outs.

The Royals had 12 hits, but were just 4-for-13 with runners in scoring position. Mitch Maier went 3-for-4 with two RBIs. Chris Getz went 2-for-5 in the leadoff spot.

The Royals had their chances late in the game against the Indians bullpen. They scored a run in the 8th inning against Vinnie Pestano and could have gotten more, but Alcides Escobar grounded out with a runner on third base. They scored a run in the 9th inning against closer Chris Perez but couldn’t get the big hit.

*Has Mike Moustakas hit a hot streak? He went 2-for-4 with a run scored to up his average to .300. If only the rest of the offense could get hot.

The Cleveland Indians came into their weekend series against the KC Royals with the worst batting average in baseball. The Indians came out of the three-game series scoring 32 runs on 39 hits. The Indians won the finale, 13-7 (and swept the series).

Today’s game got so bad that centerfielder Mitch Maier came in to pitch the top of the 9th inning. He actually was the Royals best pitcher today (1IP, H, 0R, 0BB, 0K). He only threw nine pitches, five for strikes.

The Indians scored six runs in the 3rd inning, four runs in the 5th inning, and three more in the 8th inning. They hit four homeruns. Seven of their 15 hits went for extra bases. Michael Brantley, Travis Hafner, and Casey Kotchman each collected three hits, with Hafner and Kotchman hitting homeruns (Hafner’s was a BOMB).

Louis Coleman, who was called up today to provide some relief help after the last two days of starters exiting early, gave up two homeruns in the 8th inning (all three runs).

The game wasn’t all that bad for the Royals, at least for the offense. They scored seven runs on 13 hits. They even chased Indians starter Ubaldo Jimenez from the game after five innings (5IP, 9H, 4R, 3BB, 5K). Unfortunately, they went just 6-for-19 with runners in scoring position.

Royals giveaway via royals.com

Chris Getz and Brayan Pena made good use of their playing time. Getz went 3-for-5 with two RBIs and Pena went 4-for-5 with a run scored and an RBI.

As good as the Royals starting pitching was in the first two series of the season, it was awful in this weekend’s home opening series against the Indians. Hopefully they can figure it out quickly, as the Detroit Tigers come to town beginning Monday night for a three-game series.

*Today was Jackie Robinson Day, as all players across the league wore the retired #42. Click HERE for an article on Jackie’s influence on Royals Hall of Famer John Mayberry.

**Coleman was recalled as outfielder Jarrod Dyson was sent back to Triple-A Omaha.

The start of the KC Royals game in Oakland was delayed about an hour due to rain (which continued throughout the game once it started). Being an East Coast girl, these late night games are killing me.

However, it was worth it to stay up (but staying up during the 8th inning rain delay wasn’t).

Danny Duffy

Danny Duffy was DOMINANT. He allowed just one hit over six innings. That hit came to Cliff Pennington in the 3rd inning. He was then picked off at second base by a mile.

Duffy did walk four while striking out eight. He threw mostly fastballs until the 3rd inning, when he started mixing in his offspeed pitches. He likes pitching in Oakland, with tons of family and friends in attendance.

Meanwhile, the offense came to life in the 4th inning. Billy Butler led off the inning with a double. Jeff Francoeur followed with a single. Mike Moustakas drove in the game’s first run with a double. Humberto Quintero had a sac fly to give the Royals a 2-0 lead.

Mitch Maier took advantage of getting into the game tonight for the injured Lorenzo Cain. He hit his first homerun since August 29, 2010 in the 7th inning against A’s reliever Jerry Blevins.

The rains came pouring again in the 8th inning, which led to the tarp coming out. I could actually hear the rain pounding on the ground during the telecast. The field looked terrible at that point.

The umps finally called the game after about another hour long delay (it was 2am ET). So the Royals won 3-0.

*Cain was injured when he made a great running catch in the 2nd inning. He crashed hard into the fence and then threw Collin Cowgill at first base. Word is, Cain has a strained left groin.

**The Royals had some more bad base-running. they decided to have Butler on the move with Francoeur at the plate and two strikes. Francoeur struck out and Butler was thrown out by a mile. That was in the 6th inning. Getz was picked off trying to steal second base. He sort of face-planted on the slide and came up covered in mud. That was in the 7th inning.

***For more on the A’s, check out the Oaktown Breakdown.

With a lefty on the mound in the first game in Oakland, KC Royals manager Ned Yost decided to rest the struggling Alex Gordon (who has yet to collect a hit) and Mike Moustakas (who has just one hit on the season).

Tom Milone starting the Eastern League All-Star Game back in 2010 in Harrisburg

It didn’t matter who the Royals had in the lineup: Tom Milone kept the hitters off balance. The base-running mistakes didn’t help either.

The young lefty with the pin-point control actually walked three batters. However the Royals collected just three hits off Milone over eight shutout innings. The Royals were just 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position.

Grant Balfour came on in the 9th inning to preserve the 1-0 win. It got a little interesting, as pinch-hitter Mitch Maier walked with one out. He fell behind Eric Hosmer, who eventually grounded out (moving Maier to second base). However, Billy Butler swung at the first pitch and weakly flied out to end the game.

Luis Mendoza started for the Royals looking to capitalize on his great spring. He struggled all night with his command, as he walked four over 5.2 innings (he threw 97 pitches). He gave up just one run (in the 2nd inning).

To the base-running blunders:

In the first inning, Jason Bourgeois (who was making his Royals debut) was on second base with a leadoff double. Lorenzo Cain hit a line drive into right field that was caught by Josh Reddick. Bourgeois tug up and sprinted towards third base. Thing is, Reddick has a canon and Bourgeois was thrown out by quite a few steps.

In the 4th inning, Hosmer was thrown out trying to steal third base (by a mile) by Kurt Suzuki with Jeff Francoeur at the plate. Hosmer had walked to lead off the inning. Francoeur then walked, but was picked off trying to steal second base to end the inning.

*Gordon did pinch-hit to lead off the 9th inning against Balfour. He was blown away and struck out. He still has yet to collect a hit this season.

**Maier finally made his 2012 debut with a pinch-hit appearance in the 9th inning against Balfour. He did make Balfour work with an eight-pitch walk.

***For more on the A’s, check out The Oaktown Breakdown.

With the KC Royals enjoying a rare  day off between spring training games and exhibition games (they play the San Diego Padres tomorrow at Petco Park), today is a great day to look at the roster manager Ned Yost will be bringing to play the LA Angels for Friday’s Opening Day (well, night).

ROTATION: Yost set the rotation about a week ago (while some teams still have yet to name their Opening Day starters *cough* Angels *cough*). Left-hander Bruce Chen will start Opening Night against the Angels, followed by right-hander Luke Hochevar and lefty Jonathan Sanchez. Hochevar is then in line to start the Royals home opener against the Cleveland Indians on Friday, April 13th.

Right-hander Luis Mendoza will slot in behind Sanchez and will start the first game in Oakland. Lefty Danny Duffy rounds out the rotation. So that’s L-R-L-R-L.

BULLPEN: The bullpen took a major hit when Joakim Soria hurt his elbow (and will succumb to Tommy John surgery tomorrow). That makes the signing of Jonathan Broxton that much more meaningful. Yost right now will go with a closing three-headed monster of Broxton, Greg Holland, and Aaron Crow. Don’t be surprised if rookie Kelvin Herrera takes over that job by the end of the season.

Even with all the lefties in the rotation, Yost decided to carry three left-handers in the bullpen. Jose Mijares is the veteran, as he signed this offseason after spending his entire career with American League Central foe Minnesota. Everett Teaford and Tim Collins are in the bullpen for their sophomore seasons. Teaford most likely will fill long-man duties.

» Continue reading “Take a Look at the Royals Opening Day Roster”

Doug Kerr/Flickr

The KC Royals welcomed the SF Giants to Surprise on Monday and the Giants brought ace Tim Lincecum with them.

Lincecum stifled the Royals offense for four innings. He allowed just one hit, two walks, and an unearned run. Once he left the game, it didn’t get any easier for the Royals hitters. They collected four more hits against four Giants relievers as they lost 2-1.

Luke Hochevar started for the Royals and didn’t pitch bad. He gave up four hits and two runs over three innings of work. He did not walk a batter, which is good. Jake Odorizzi followed and did not allow a hit over two shutout innings. However, he did walk two batters and threw just 18 of his 34 pitches for strikes.

The most impressive performance from a Royals pitching perspective was Greg Holland. He pitched the final 1.1 innings and struck out three, while not allowing a hit. He threw 15 of his 20 pitches for strikes.

No Royal had a multi-hit game, though the leadoff spot combination of Jarrod Dyson and Mitch Maier went 2-for-4.

*Two former Royals started for the Giants: Gregor Blanco and Joaquin Arias. Blanco led off and went 3-for-3 with an RBI while playing centerfield. He also stole a base. Arias went 0-for-3 while playing second base.

**The base-running issues are still there, as Eric Hosmer was picked off first base by Lincecum in the 4th inning.

***Chris Getz grounded into an inning-ending double play in the 3rd inning. That’s the tenth time for the team this spring.

****For more information on the Giants, check out Third Street Kings.

That’s right. Eight runs and 11 hits were not enough for the KC Royals to defeat the Oakland A’s today. They lost 10-8.

The Royals actually had a chance to at least tie the game in the 9th inning, as they had runners at second and third base with two outs. But Kevin Kouzmanoff couldn’t be a hero for the second time this spring, as he grounded out to end the game.

The A’s scored five runs in the 4th inning. In that inning, former Royal Kila Ka’aihue hit a two-run homerun with two outs off Mike Montgomery. Prior to Kila, he had given up an RBI triple. Montgomery lasted just 0.2 innings and allowed five runs on three hits and two walks (though one run scored after he was gone). However he didn’t even record the loss.

That went to reliever Blake Wood. The Royals actually claimed the lead with two runs in the 5th inning, three more in the 6th inning, and one run in the 8th inning. Wood gave up three runs in the bottom of the 8th inning. Granted, all those runs were unearned thanks to a Kouzmanoff fielding error with one out and a runner on base (via a walk). Wood would get the next hitter to pop out, but walked the next guy and gave up a bases-clearing double to the next hitter.

Who else pitched for the Royals?

Bruce Chen started and allowed one run on two hits over three innings before Montgomery imploded. Nate Adcock followed Montgomery and allowed one of his runs to score. Tommy Hottovy followed Adcock and allowed one of his runs to score. Non-roster invitee Francisley Bueno pitched a perfect inning of relief. Kelvin Herrera allowed two hits in his one inning of work, but escaped unscathed before Wood’s appearance.

With all of those hits, the Royals must have had some players with good games, right?

Eric Hosmer hit his first homerun of the spring, a two-run shot in the 3rd inning. He also collected a double. Yuniesky Betancourt started again at second base and went 2-for-4. Mitch Maier came off the bench to go 2-for-2, including a two-run triple.

*For the second straight game, the Royals did not ground into a double play.