The KC Royals on Wednesday afternoon traded first baseman/DH Clint Robinson and pitcher Vin Mazzaro to the Pittsburgh Pirates for two minor leaguers. Both Robinson and Mazzaro were designated for assignment last week when the Royals restructured their 40-man roster.

Robinson never really got a chance with the Royals, despite the fact that he hit at every minor league level. He finally made his Major League debut in 2012 during Interleague Play, but only as a pinch-hitter. Robinson was blocked in the big leagues by both Eric Hosmer and Billy Butler. First base isn’t exactly a position the Pirates are in need of, but hopefully Robinson gets a shot of making the club out of spring training.

Mazzaro really never got a shot after manager Ned Yost left him in to die in 2011(which made headlines on ESPN). He pitched pretty well for Triple-A Omaha in 2012. The Pirates need pitching, so Mazzaro will most likely get a look during spring training.

So what did the Royals get? Two minor league pitchers who are a WAYS away from reaching the big leagues.

Luis Rico will be 19 years old and is a lefty. He has made just 20 appearances as a professional. In those outings, he has a 5.29 ERA. He pitched in the Dominican Summer League and has yet to make his US debut.

Luis Santos is a 21 year old right-hander. He has made just 24 minor league appearances, but has a 2.51 ERA. He was Rico’s teammate in the DSL and also gas yet to make his stateside debut.

The KC Royals were swept by the red-hot Pittsburgh Pirates, as they lost Sunday’s finale, 3-2. The Pirates are now just a 1/2 game back of the National League Central leading Cincinnati Reds (who face Detroit tonight).

The Royals had their chance in the top of the 9th inning to at least tie the game. They had a runner on second base with just one out. With two men on, Alex Gordon struck out. With runners at first and second base and two outs, Johnny Giavotella stood at the plate and took three straight strikes from Pirates reliever Jason Grilli to end the game.

Pirates starter AJ Burnett put together another solid outing, holding the Royals offense hitless until the 6th inning when Gordon singled with one out. The Royals didn’t get a baserunner until Eric Hosmer’s two out walk in the 4th inning.

In the 7th inning, the Royals finally got on the scoreboard. Brayan Pena doubled with one out and Alcides Escobar doubled him in with two outs.

They had their chance to take the lead in the 8th inning, as they finally chased Burnett from the game. With one out, they got back-to-back singles from Gordon and Gio. That brought the pitching change, with lefty Tony Watson entering to face Hosmer. He grounded into a force out to bring the deficit to one run (3-2).

Watson then walked pinch-hitter Billy Butler and Juan Cruz relieved him and walked Pena to load the bases. However Cruz got Mitch Maier to strike out looking.

» Continue reading “Royals Swept by Pirates”

The KC Royals knocked out Pittsburgh Pirates starter James McDonald (he of the second best ERA in baseball) after just four innings, but the problem was, Royals starter Vin Mazzaro did not make it out of the 4th inning. The Royals lost 5-3.

Yuniesky Betancourt hit a two-run homerun in the top of the 3rd inning that gave the Royals a 2-0 lead. They added another run in the top of the 4th inning on Mazzaro‘s RBI two out RBI single.

Then the wheels fell off for Mazzaro. It started off with a leadoff walk to Pedro Alvarez. He then hit Jose Tabata with a pitch. Rod Barajas followed with a single that loaded the bases. Next up was Clint Barmes, who drove in a run with an infield single. With the bases still loaded, Pittsburgh pinch-hit for McDonald with rookie Matt Hague. That brought out Royals manager Ned Yost, who pulled Mazzaro in favor of the hard-throwing Kelvin Herrera. He didn’t fare much better.

Hague drove in a run on a weird play (according to MLB’s gameday-I don’t live in the KC area and thus did not see it live). Alex Presley drove in another run with an infield single. Neil Walker drove in a run on a ground out before Herrera walked Andrew McCutchen. Garrett Jones drove in the Pirates final run on a force out.

So that’s five runs on three hits (two of which didn’t leave the infield).

» Continue reading “Five Run Inning Dooms Royals”

The KC Royals ran into a hot Pittsburgh Pirates team and lost 4-2. The Pirates have won 10 of their last 13 games.

There was no scoring after the third inning. The Royals did not have a base runner after the 6th inning.

Erik Bedard allowed two runs in five hits over seven strong innings. Jason Grilli followed with a perfect 8th inning and Joel Hanrahan finished off the Royals for his 16th save.

Luke Hochevar wasn’t bad. He allowed four runs on nine hits and just one walk over six innings. It was a lot better of a showing then how he had been pitching.

*Eric Hosmer played right field and committed an error.

**Clint Robinson made his Major League debut in the 9th inning as a pinch-hitter. He struck out against Hanrahan.

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The KC Royals begin their long stretch of Interleague games tonight in Pittsburgh against the surprising Pirates. The Pirates are 29-27 and just two games out of first place in the National League Central. They rely solely on their pitching staff, which has the fourth-best ERA in the Majors (3.33). Three of those starting pitchers will be on display this weekend. Closer Joel Hanrahan is 15-for-17 in save opportunities with a 2.86 ERA. Problem is, they have the second-worst offense in baseball (.224 batting average with just 173 RBIs).

The Royals will have a new look defense with Billy Butler expected to play first base, Eric Hosmer moving to right field, and Jeff Francoeur moving to center field. First baseman/DH Clint Robinson was promoted to provide some extra depth to the bench (he will be making his big league debut).

Friday: Luke Hochevar (3-6, 6.63 ERA) @ Erik Bedard (3-6, 3.72 ERA)

The Royals need Hochevar to get his act together or else the bullpen will yet again make an early appearance.

Bedard’s career has been rejuvenated this season as he has stayed healthy. He has lost two of his last three decisions.

Saturday: Vin Mazzaro (2-0, 2.25 ERA) @ James McDonald (5-2, 2.14 ERA)

Mazzaro continues to get a shot in the rotation as he keeps pitching well. He has done a good job of getting out of jams.

McDonald has the second best ERA in baseball and has been a pleasant surprise. He is averaging about one strikeout per inning (71 K’s in 71.1 innings to just 20 walks). Opponents are hitting just .194 against him.

Sunday: Bruce Chen (5-5, 4.37 ERA) @ AJ Burnett (5-2, 3.76 ERA)

Chen is coming off shutting down the suddenly hot Minnesota Twins offense (1-0 victory) and has been the Royals most consistent starter.

Burnett is another pitcher who has seen his career rejuvenated in Pittsburgh. He still struggles with high pitch counts (though he has walked just 18 this season).

Not many teams were picking today as the Rule V Draft was underway. The first six teams selected and then there was a lot of passing on a pick. Mostly because teams have full 40-man rosters. All in all, only 12 teams made selections in the Major League phase.

Here is a quick jist of the Rule V Draft:

• The players that can be selected were 18 or older on June 5th preceding their signing after four years or 19 or older after three years.
• The players also cannot be on a team’s 40-man roster, which was filed by November 20th.
• Teams select in reverse order of this past season’s finish, thus the Houston Astros picking first. The American League and National League alternate the number one pick each year.
• A team pays $50,000 to select a player and that player must stay on the big league roster for the entire season (or the DL) or the new team can offer the player back to his old team for $25,000.
• In the Triple-A phase, it costs $12,000 per player while the Double-A phase costs just $4,000 per player (those players do not need to stay on a big league roster).

The KC Royals opened up a spot early in the morning by trading infielder Yamaico Navarro (who the Royals acquired for Mike Aviles over the summer) to the Pittsburgh Pirates for two minor leaguers. A curious move considering the Royals are looking for a utility man and Navarro fits that profile. It is also a curious move for the Pirates, given that they have already signed veteran Clint Barmes and have some young guys set to fill in the infield (ie Chase D’Arnaud and Josh Harrison) or utility spot.

They received right-hander Brooks Pounders (I can see him getting made fun of by opposing fans, just check out his profile/pictures) and infielder Diego Goris. Pounders spent the 2011 season in Low-A West Virginia, where he went 5-5 with a 3.68 ERA in 36 games. He struck out 72 to just 14 walks in 66 innings (all but one appearance came out of the bullpen). Pounds was a second-round selection by the Pirates in 2009. Goris has not left the Dominican Republic over four seasons on the Pirates DR summer team. He is a .302 career hitter there while playing all four infield positions.

» Continue reading “The Royals’ Thursday Morning”

The Royals have finalized their Opening Day roster and there were a few surprises.

Tim Collins, a trade acquisition from the Atlanta Braves last summer, made the team as the only left-handed reliever. Collins was originally a member of the Toronto Blue Jays until being traded to the Braves last summer (and two weeks later he was traded to the Royals). Collins was a non-roster invitee so he will have to be added to the 40-man roster before Thursday’s game.

For those who don’t know Collins’ story, here is a tidbit. He stands just 5-7, yet features a fastball in the 92-94 mph range (plus a nasty curveball). He went undrafted out of high school and was noticed by then Blue Jays GM JP Ricciardi when he was warming up for an America Legion game in 2007. Now he will make his Major League debut less than four years after graduating from high school. Collins has defied all odds, despite his small stature and lack of a high draft pick pedigree.

I had a chance to watch Collins pitch last season for the Double-A New Hampshire Fishercats. Last season, he struck out 108 batters in just 71.1 innings pitched. He reminds me a lot of Billy Wagner, though Wagner is a bit bigger in the lower half.

The other surprise was Nate Adcock, who was a Rule 5 pick from the Pittsburgh Pirates. He had never pitched above Single-A, until now. He is expected to pitch in middle relief for the Royals. Scouts compare Adcock to Brandon Webb because his fastball has a heavy, natural sink to it (which is something you cannot teach). This spring, Adcock allowed 13 hits and five runs in 13 innings, with four walks and four strikeouts.

Look for these two new (and surprise) bullpen additions to be key to the Royals success in 2011.