KC Royals - KIDS Edition

[XManCometh]

Clint Robinson is batting .373 with 4 HR and 11 RBI. 9 of his 19 hits have gone for extra bases. Kila must either be out of options, or is BFFs with Moore.

Or they are giving him more than just 12% of the season to prove himself.

I'm not saying Kila is going to fulfill his potential, and if you pressed me I would say he probably won't be valuable in KC, But you have to give him at least a couple months of consistent PT before deciding he isn't a major league player.

At the very least give him a chance to increase his trade value. He could be a throw in for a team that needs some organizational depth in AAA.

Kila has had an entire half season at the MLB level to prove himself. In 81 games, he's a .215 hitter with a sub-.300 OBP. I think he's had enough of a chance. Robinson, on the other hand, hasn't had a chance at all. He's proven he's a great hitter in the minors, something Kila has never done with a .266 career minors BA. Clint has a career .310 average in the minors and has a AA Triple Crown title to his name. Kila is a better defender than C-Rob, but Billy Butler has the same career fielding % as Kila at the ML level so he could easily play 1st everyday until Hosmer is ready. We gave Justin Huber, a much more highly touted prospect than Kila, only 38 games to prove himself before we gave up on him. I just don't see what Kila has shown to give him any more of an opportunity.

[lostshocker]

you seriously arent saying that 81 games over 3 seasons really constitutes half a season? 11 of those games were as a pinch runner or hitter. 52 of those games were last year as an august call up, 12 were in 2008, and the rest this year. also after 82 games, according to mlb.com, he had and OBP of .309. that came after a 1-4 night in which it lowered his OBP. dont misconstrue his his stats to say he doesnt belong. there is more to him being in KC than them.

why they probably arent bringing c-rob up probably deals with service time. if they wait they get more out of his arbitration years. so you probably wont see him called up before june. (forget the exact date) they also probably feel he isnt ready for the big club since he hasnt played at a level higher than double a.

as for the huber reference, given he hasnt been in the majors since 2009 it looks like KC made the right choice there. he hasnt had any power in the majors and is a K machine. sadly he isnt pitching.

[XManCometh]

you seriously arent saying that 81 games over 3 seasons really constitutes half a season? 11 of those games were as a pinch runner or hitter. 52 of those games were last year as an august call up, 12 were in 2008, and the rest this year. also after 82 games, according to mlb.com, he had and OBP of .309. that came after a 1-4 night in which it lowered his OBP. dont misconstrue his his stats to say he doesnt belong. there is more to him being in KC than them.

why they probably arent bringing c-rob up probably deals with service time. if they wait they get more out of his arbitration years. so you probably wont see him called up before june. (forget the exact date) they also probably feel he isnt ready for the big club since he hasnt played at a level higher than double a.

as for the huber reference, given he hasnt been in the majors since 2009 it looks like KC made the right choice there. he hasnt had any power in the majors and is a K machine. sadly he isnt pitching.

Tell me then, other than his pathetic stats and poor fielding, what makes him belong at the MLB level?

Honestly, no matter what you come up with I'm not going to agree with it. I've seen Kila enough in KC and when he was in Wichita to know that he doesn't have it. He's a good AAA guy and a DL fill-in at the most.

[lostshocker]

i've never seen kila play in person and on tv you dont see much of the defensive side. he could just be filling a gap at 1B until another option is available. kc isnt located in new york or owned by a steinbrenner so simple economics are probably what has him in kc and keeping him there. he's also a left handed power hitter.

[lostshocker]

kila, moustakas, c-rob

it's more about the big club but i place this here since it deals primarily with some players that were just being discussed.

[XManCometh]

i've never seen kila play in person and on tv you dont see much of the defensive side. he could just be filling a gap at 1B until another option is available. kc isnt located in new york or owned by a steinbrenner so simple economics are probably what has him in kc and keeping him there. he's also a left handed power hitter.

You're probably right about the economics. But Clint Robinson has now hit 6 bombs while hitting .373 in AAA. He's also a lefty. I just think Dayton has a huge man-crush on Kila (similar to what he has for Francouer) and he just won't let it go. Just like he has it in his mind that Davies is a great innings eater and a solid starter, when the stats say differently. Both highlighted in this recent article:

Royals likely to resist any major changes — for now

“Kila’s numbers in Triple-A were a lot better than Eric Hosmer’s (numbers),” Moore countered. “That’s not to take anything away from Eric Hosmer, because Eric Hosmer is going to be a terrific player.

PS: Sorry about hijacking the thread with my Kila rants!

[SubGod22]

I've been slacking.

After a slow start, the O-Royals are in first. They're finally coming around and appear to be playing well. Mazzaro will pitch tomorrow.

Naturals split with the Cards recently. Osuna picked up a win. Perez hit a game winning HR. In game two Dwyer pitched well but the offense couldn't help him out. Lamb is pitching this afternoon.

Wilmington is out to a 5 game lead and playing very well. Melville went seven strong innings recently. Hopefully the youngster is putting it together a bit. Sample will throw today.


I'll get some stats up soon. We're about a month in and I think I'll have a lot of free time today. We'll see.

[SubGod22]

Not sure how I missed this one. Odorizzi fans 10, ties career high. Sadly, he's still looking for his first win.

[SubGod22]

Omaha Storm Chasers:

1B Eric Hosmer - .380, 4 2B, 1 HR, 10 RBI, 11 BB, 11 SO
1B Clint Robinson - .373, 6 2B, 6 HR, 14 RBI
RF David Lough - .296, 4 2B, 3 3B, 2 HR
2B Johnny Giavotella - .290, 3 2B, 1 3B
CF Lorenzo Cain - .238, 2 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 3 SB
3B Mike Moustakas - .225, 1 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR
LF Paulo Orlando - .217
2B Lance Zawadzki - .158, 3 2B, 2 3B, 1 HR
C Lucas May - .043

Mike Montgomery - 3.00, 1-1, 4G/4S, 21.0 IP, 12 BB, 18 K
Everett Teaford - 2.65, 1-1, 4/3, 17.0 IP, 3 BB, 14 K
Kevin Pucetas - 2.25, 2-0, 4/2, 16.0 IP, 3 BB, 14 K
Luis Mendoza - 1.80, 1-0, 7/0, 15.0 IP, 7 BB, 8 K
Vin Mazzaro - 5.02, 1-0, 3/3, 14.1 IP, 11 BB, 12 K
Danny Duffy - 1.29, 0-0, 3/3, 14.0 IP, 4 BB, 16 K

Northwest Arkansas Naturals:

SS Mario Lisson - .333, 2 2B, 4 HR
SS Jeff Bianchi - .322, 6 2B, 2 3B, 1 HR
C Salvador Perez - .298, 4 2B, 2 HR
3B Jamie Romak - .286, 6 2B, 1 HR
LF Tim Smith - .286, 2 2B, 1 HR
SS Anthony Seratelli - .282, 4 2B, 2 HR
OF Wil Myers - .261, 2 2B, 2 HR
RF Nick Van Stratten - .255, 1 2B, 2 3B, 2 HR
CF Derrick Robinson - .241, 1 3B, 7 SB
SS Christian Colon - .211, 2 2B, 2 HR, 12 RBI

Chris Dwyer - 4.19, 1-2, 4/4, 19.1 IP, 8 BB, 14 K
Edgar Osuna - 4.67, 3-0, 3/3, 17.1 IP, 4 BB, 15 K
John Lamb - 5.56, 0-1, 3/3, 11.1 IP, 8 BB, 8 K
Will Smith - 10.61, 0-2, 3/3, 9.1 IP, 2 BB, 7 K

Wilmington Blue Rocks:

SS Rey Navarro - .409, 4 2B, 3 3B, 1 HR
OF Whit Merrifield - .323, 3 2B
OF Nicholas Francis - .262, 6 2B, 1 3B, 4 HR, 13 RBI

Tim Melville - 3.80, 2-2, 4/4, 21.1 IP, 9 BB, 12 K
Elisaul Pimentel - 7.53, 2-0, 3/3, 14.1 IP, 2 BB, 11 K
Tyler Sample - 2.03, 1-1, 3/2, 13.1 IP, 8 BB, 8 K
Jake Odorizzi - 3.46, 0-0, 3/3, 13.0 IP, 4 BB, 20 K
Noel Arguelles - 1.46, 0-0, 3/3, 12.1 IP, 1 BB, 10 K

Kane County Cougars:

OF Brian Fletcher - .366, 4 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 12 RBI
3B Ryan Stovall - .366, 4 2B, 2 3B, 1 HR, 11 RBI

Leonel Santiago - 5.03, 2-2, 4/4, 19.2 IP, 6 BB, 21 K
Crawford Simmons - 6.97, 0-3, 3/2, 10.1 IP, 6 BB, 12 K

If I've missed a name let me know and I can find them. It's very possible to have missed someone.

[RoyalShock]

It's still early, so take this with a grain of salt.

Cain got a late start so I won't read too much into his numbers yet.

Moustakas is one that has concerned me with being the guy with much hype, but much less substance. I hope his numbers begin trending up in the next week. It's not as if this is his first extended look at AAA (225 ABs last year, .293/.316/.564). He is walking more so far, but also striking out more. Only one double (and four extra-base hits) in 71 ABs. I'm nowhere near saying he's going to be a bust, but an extended period of low production is bound to delay his arrival in KC.

It's still really early to evaluate the pitchers.

[SubGod22]

Lamb pitches well as Naturals lose in walk off suicide squeeze...

[SubGod22]

Moustakas, Duffy lead Storm Chasers

Third baseman Mike Moustakas went deep twice, first baseman Eric Hosmer collected four hits and left-hander Danny Duffy tossed six one-hit frames Thursday night as Omaha ripped visiting Iowa, 6-0, for its ninth consecutive win.

[SubGod22]

Chasers Roll to Ninth Straight Victory

It all began with starting pitcher Danny Duffy (1-0), who was remarkable yet again in his fourth start in a Storm Chasers uniform. The 22-year-old lefthander fired six near-perfect innings, allowing just one hit while striking out eight in 79 pitches. He did not walk a batter. With the performance, Duffy has not been scored upon in 15 total innings at Werner Park and has amassed 20 strikeouts in the process. His ERA rests at a minuscule 0.90 for the season.

On offense, Eric Hosmer and Mike Moustakas, the Chasers' highly-touted middle of the order duo, punctuated Duffy's gem with some heavy hitting. Moustakas got the scoring started with a three-run home run in the third inning, then followed a Hosmer blast with one of his own in the fifth. It was the first time Hosmer and Moustakas have hit back-to-back home runs during their young careers. Hosmer later added an RBI double off the centerfield fence, raising his batting average to .408 with a four-hit performance. Moustakas finished the night 2-for-5 with four runs batted in.

Monty will pitch tonight.

Smith controls Cardinals as Naturals earn split

SPRINGFIELD, MO - Mario Lisson and Jamie Romak each homered in support of starter Will Smith, who pitched into the eighth inning and led the Naturals to a 5-2 win over the Springfield Cardinals at Hammons Field on Thursday night. With the win, the Naturals earned a split of this four-game series.
Entering Thursday's game, Smith (1-2) had thrown just one scoreless inning in his last two starts. But the big lefty mowed down the Cardinals (8-12) in style, cruising through the first six innings without allowing a run.

Springfield finally got to Smith when Matthew Adams hit a solo homer in the bottom of the seventh, but by that point the Naturals (10-8) had already come through with all the offense they would need. Smith worked into the eighth, allowing one run on eight hits in his 7 1/3 innings. Smith struck out four Cardinals and did not walk a batter, throwing an efficient 84 pitches.

Wilmington was rained out, Odorizzi is scheduled to pitch tonight.

[SubGod22]

Duffy Named PCL Pitcher of the Week

OMAHA, Neb. - Lefthander Danny Duffy of the Omaha Storm Chasers has been named the Pacific Coast League's Pitcher of the Week for April 25-May 1, the league announced Monday. He becomes the first member of the Omaha franchise to win a weekly award since Anthony Lerew was named Pitcher of the Week from August 9-15 last season.
The Goleta, Calif., native was honored for his fine performance against the Iowa Cubs on Thursday, April 28 at Werner Park. In that game, Duffy allowed just one hit in six shutout innings, striking out eight batters without issuing a walk. He earned his first Triple-A win in the process, while lowering his PCL-leading ERA to 0.90.

Duffy's gem marked his third-straight start in which he has not surrendered a run. In those three outings, all at home, he has fired 15 scoreless innings, allowing seven hits and three walks while striking out 20 batters. Opposing hitters are batting just .194 against him on the season.

Santiago shuts down Travs in spot start

NORTH LITTLE ROCK, AR - Mario Santiago stepped up in his first start of the year, pitching six scoreless innings before the bullpen finished the job as the Naturals shut out the Arkansas Travelers, 3-0 at Dickey-Stephens Park on Saturday night.
Due to the impact of Tuesday's doubleheader, Santiago (2-0) made a spot start in order to allow the rest of the team's starting rotation to take their next turn on regular rest. The right-hander excelled from the first inning, when he struck out a pair and set the Travelers (9-10) down in order.

Santiago threw 79 pitches in his six innings, striking out six batters against just one walk. The right-hander yielded just two hits and never put more than one runner on base in any inning.

Dwyer pitches tomorrow.

ODORIZZI DOMINATES AGAIN AS ROCKS BLANK DASH

Wilmington, DE - Ranked as the No. 1 overall prospect for the Milwaukee Brewers by Baseball America, Jake Odorizzi was rather highly-regarded when the Kansas City Royals acquired him in an off-season package for former Blue Rock and Cy Young Award winner Zack Greinke. Odorizzi has lived up to the billing. For the second time in as many starts, the hard-throwing right-hander struck out a career-high-tying 10. For the first time in his career, Odorizzi (1-0) logged an Advanced-A win as the Wilmington Blue Rocks (13-7) blanked the Winston-Salem Dash (8-13) at Frawley Stadium on a windy and chilly Friday night, 4-0.

During that time, Odorizzi dominated. The 21-year-old retired 18 of the first 19 he faced, including 15 in a row from the second through the sixth. He fielded his position nimbly, registering assists on a trio of weak tappers, and received the benefit of some solid defense including a head-first diving catch of a Jared Mitchell fly ball by Ferguson in center in the first frame. Odorizzi allowed just three hits and no walks over his seven scoreless innings.

ARGUELLES NOTCHES FIRST WIN IN 3-1 FINAL

Arguelles worked around a leadoff single by picking off Daniel Wagner in the third. The southpaw nullified a pair of singles in the fourth by striking out the side. Arguelles lasted a career-best 5.1 innings. He scattered five hits, walked none and struck out five while allowing just one unearned run and lowering his ERA to 1.02 through four starts.

WILMINGTON USES LATE RALLY TO SWEEP DASH

For the second time in the Rocks' three-game sweep of Winston-Salem, a Wilmington starter retired at least 15 consecutive batters. On Friday, Jake Odorizzi sat down 15 straight Dash hitters on his way to seven scoreless innings, 10 strikeouts and a win. Elisaul Pimentel did him one better on Sunday, getting 16 straight outs to end his outing. Wilmington starters allowed only two earned runs and 11 hits while fanning 21 in 19.1 innings pitched over the weekend.

Melville pitches this evening.

[SubGod22]

Odorizzi strikes out double digits again
Another small article over his performance.