Down on the Farm, KC style

[SubGod22]

One night after collecting 11 runs on 18 hits, Omaha's offense is stifled - Odorizzi to start. Myers and Verdugo named to All-PCL Team

Travelers Offensive Outburst tops Naturals - Marimon will take the hill

EIBNER'S TWO-RUN HOMER SENDS ROCKS TO WIN - Pounders will lead the Rocks today

Cougars lose ground in the wild card race

Chukars lose 6-7

Royals win 3-1

AZL won by a field goal, 17-14

Royals' Double-A coach earns Coolbaugh Award
John Lamb's Road Back Goes Through Idaho Falls

After Tommy John surgery last season and a nagging ankle injury prior to his rehab work, John Lamb is advancing on his road back to the Royals upper minors.

He’s been working in Arizona with the Royals AZL Rookie League team and getting his work in. In four appearances, he’s given up four runs in 5.2 innings. Three of those runs came in a start on August 22 when he gave up five hits in one inning. Overall, he’s only walked two and struck out six as he works to regain his command and collects innings as the season winds down. His next start, though, will be for Idaho Falls, the Royals highest level Rookie League team, probably as soon as September 1.

According to his father, Lamb has been working mostly to get his legs back. An ankle injury during conditioning prior to his return to a mound angered a tendon and he lost another month of recovery. His start on Monday may indicate that he’s starting to get them back though. James Lamb’s account mentioned that his fastball was in the upper 90s and he was throwing some changeups. Keith Law had similar observations, but said that Lamb looked “tentative”.

At any rate, Lamb had his best rehab outing. The boxscore shows that he went three innings, striking out three and getting six ground ball outs while giving up no hits and walking none.

Obviously, that’s a good sign.

Apparently I'd missed a start somewhere, but he's making progress and I look forward to seeing him perform in AA next year and see how it goes from there.
Diamonds in the Rough 8.28
POD - Edwin Carl
HOD - Brett Eibner
RLPOD - Bobby Fisher-Brown

[SubGod22]

Storm Chasers collet 14 hits in their 38th road victory of the season

A single by Vance Albitz with one out in the fifth was the only hit allowed by Odorizzi, who did battle his control to the tune of five walks but he was able to get away unscathed by striking out six and getting two ground ball double plays turned behind him. The right-hander earned his 11th win at the Triple-A level and was followed by Brandon Sisk, who worked out of a bases loaded jam in the sixth by fanning Albitz to keep it a 2-0 game. The momentum swing carried over into the next half inning, as the Chasers were able to put the game out of reach against the worst hitting team in the league.

Adcock scheduled to start.

Travelers Edge Naturals - Ventura to start.

WILD SEVENTH SPIRITS ROCKS TO TRIUMPH - Perez slated to start.

KC lost 5-6

Chukars Leave Win on Base Paths - Sneed to take the hill. Rumor has it Lamb will pitch Saturday.

Looks like Burlington lost Game One 2-1. They host tonight and Rodgers will be on the mound.

Looks like AZL finished off their season with a 5-2 win.

Royals Announce Arizona Fall League Assignments

Mark October 9 down on your calendar if you’re the type to follow minor league players after the minor league season. That’s the date of the first game for the Surprise Sagueros, the team affiliated with the Royals (and others) in the Arizona Fall League.

The Royals will send minor leaguers from their system to join those of the Braves, Rays, Rangers, and Marlins in Surprise in the eight team league. Last season, Wil Myers took his first steps towards rebounding from a tough 2011 Double A season by mashing in the AFL.

This year’s players are:

Sounds like there's one more addition (pitcher) to be made.
Diamonds in the Rough 8.29
POD - Brooks Pounders
HOD - Mitch Maier
RLPOD - Christian Binford

[SubGod22]

Redbirds rap out 21 hits in lopsided victory - Justin Marks makes his AAA debut tonight.

Double header today. Ventura and Arguelles.

BLOWOUT OF MYRTLE CLINCHES PLAYOFF BERTH - Rocks are off today.

KC lost 2-1

Chukars lost 11-5. Mills will start today. Lamb rumored to start tomorrow.

Royals force elimination game at home - Hernandez will start the pivotal game 3.

Diamonds in the Rough 8.30
POD - Leondy Perez
HOD - Brett Eibner
RLPOD - Adalberto Mondesi

[SubGod22]

Royals Hand Out Minor League Awards - Not a lot of surprises if you follow the minors.

Bobby Abreu collects 4 hits in crucial victory for Isotopes
Storm Chasers total 21 hits in wild, see-saw affair

Albuquerque, NM - Wil Myers had four hits, including a home run, and drove in four runs to power Omaha past Albuquerque, 14-10, Saturday night in the second of four meetings at Isotopes Park. The Storm Chasers improved to 83-59 and prevented the Isotopes from clinching the American Conference Southern Division championship after Oklahoma City had lost earlier in the night to reduce their magic number to one.

Isotopes rally for late win to hold off OKC and reach the post-season
The two teams all set to meet again in two days in the playoffs - Odorizzi will start game one tomorrow.

Naturals Sweep Double-Header
Drillers Blast Four Homers

Mike Montgomery (2-6) went six innings allowing eight hits and six runs, while walking one and striking out six

Naturals' Rally Falls Short
Naturals Fall in Finale

WILMINGTON WINS ANOTHER AT HOME AGAINST NATS
SOUZA'S GRAND SLAM LEADS POTOMAC TO VICTORY

Pitching dominated most of the game. Andy Ferguson went seven shutout frames, allowing seven base-hits, one walk and six strikeouts. Edwin Carl fired a clean inning. Robinson Yambati pitched a perfect 10th inning with a strikeout.

REGULAR SEASON COMES TO RAINY CLOSE WITH SHUTOUT LOSS - Sounds like Brooks Pounders will start Game 1 for the Rocks.

KC finished the season losing 2-8, winning 6-5 and 5-4 and then losing as mentioned below...
Loss brings an end to Cougars season

Bats Back Lamb in Runaway Win

The other story on the night was the starting pitcher for Idaho Falls, rehabbing Royals prospect John Lamb. The former Chukars Pitcher of the Year (2009) and top KC prospect made just his fifth outing of year while coming back from Tommy John surgery, but looked dominant over his four inning outing. During his four frames Lamb allowed just two hits and no runs while walking none and striking out four. Combined with his final appearance in the Arizona League, that is now seven straight scoreless innings for the lefty with eight Ks.

When Lamb left regularly scheduled Chukars starter Ali Williams took over and pitched well with a massive lead. Williams would go the final five frames out of the pen and allow three runs on seven hits, also walking two and striking out eight.

4-0 Loss Ends Chukars Playoff Hopes

On the wrong end of the shutout was Chukars starting pitcher Sam Selman. The Pioneer League Pitcher of the Year had his best outing in his last three starts, holding the Rockies to just one run on four hits with five strikeouts over five innings pitched. Selman took the loss, but still finished his Chukars career with a 5-4 record and a Pioneer League best 2.09 ERA and 89 strikeouts in 60.1 innings this season.

Chukars lost 9-5 yesterday and have three games remaining.

Back-to-back wins puts Royals in Championship

In a series dominated by pitchers, Royals starter Daniel Hernandez was as good as anybody. The right-hander, who was 5-2 in the regular season, tossed six innings of one-run ball against the Cardinals. He surrendered six hits and struck out seven Johnson City hitters before turning the pitching duties to the bullpen.

Royals one win from Appy League Title - Looks like the Royals fell short losing 3-4 and 6-10

Diamonds in the Rough 8.31
POD - Noel Arguelles
HOD - Yem Prades
RLPOD - Jerico Blanco
Diamonds in the Rough 9.1
POD - Jason Adam AND John Lamb
HOD - Wil Myers
RLPOD - Bubba Starling
Diamonds in the Rough 9.2
POD - Andy Ferguson
HOD - Alex Llanos
RLPOD - Fred Ford (I'm excited about following this one the next few years)
Diamonds in the Rough 9.3
POD - Miguel Almonte
HOD - Derrick Robinson
RLPOD - NONE
My View: JC Sulbaran - Hopefully he corrects some things
3rd Annual Pine Tar Press Organizational Awards (2012 Season) - Always enjoy this.

[SubGod22]

Wil Myers Named Baseball America Minor League Player Of The Year

Myers began 2012 at Double-A Northwest Arkansas where he batted .343 with 13 home runs and 30 runs batted in in 35 games. After his promotion to Omaha in mid-May, Myers continued to play at an extremely high level, batting .304 (118-for-388) with 15 doubles, five triples, 24 homers and 79 RBI in 99 regular season games. His 37 home runs between the Double-A and Triple-A levels were the second-most in Minor League Baseball while his 109 RBI were the fourth-most in MiLB.

Odorizzi pitches game one for Omaha tonight.

Idaho Falls won 7-2. All other teams are finished playing. IF has two more games.

I'll have a final stats post as soon as both Omaha and Idaho Falls are done.

[shockmonster]

Wil Myers Named Baseball America Minor League Player Of The Year

Odorizzi pitches game one for Omaha tonight.

Idaho Falls won 7-2. All other teams are finished playing. IF has two more games.

I'll have a final stats post as soon as both Omaha and Idaho Falls are done.

Alex won the award in 2006. Hopefully, it doesn't take Myers 3-4 years of bad hitting in the pros like it did Alex before he was productive at the ML level. Alex was too stubborn to go with the pitch.

[SubGod22]

Alex won the award in 2006. Hopefully, it doesn't take Myers 3-4 years of bad hitting in the pros like it did Alex before he was productive at the ML level. Alex was too stubborn to go with the pitch.

That and he dealt with a number of injuries which slowed down the progress. But word has been that Myers has been very open to tweaking things when need be. There's no reason he shouldn't be starting in RF on Opening Day. But this is the Royals we're talking about and he'll probably have to go beat up on more AAA pitching until some time in June.

[SubGod22]

Omaha Thumps Alburquerque, 8-4, on Wednesday

OMAHA, Neb. - The Omaha Storm Chasers took game one in the best-of-five American Conference Championship Series as they defeated the Albuquerque Isotopes, 8-4, on Wednesday night. Starter Jake Odorizzi got the win after seven innings of three-run baseball while Wil Myers homered in his first at-bat to help propel Omaha to victory.

Two guys that should both be in KC.... Verdugo starts game 2.

LYNCHBURG SINGLES THEIR WAY TO VICTORY IN GAME ONE - Adam to start game 2.

Dropped Ball Gives Chukars Win - Chukars final game is tonight. I believe Lamb is supposed to make one last start.

Myers brings power to the postseason
Diamonds in the Rough 9.5
POD - Jake Odorizzi
HOD - Wil Myers

[SubGod22]

Chasers Fall to the Isotopes, 5-3, on Thursday
Omaha survives travel, rain, wind and no Clint Robinson to grab series lead

Albuquerque, NM - Nate Adcock was solid through 6 1/3 innings and backed by home runs from Anthony Seratelli and Mitch Maier as Omaha hung on for a wild 7-4 win over Albuquerque Friday night/Saturday morning in Game 3 of the best-of-five American Conference Championship series at Isotopes Park. The Storm Chasers lead the series two games to one and are in position to close it out in Game 4 Saturday night.

Davis take the hill today.

ROCKS FORCE GAME THREE WITH BLOWOUT OF LYNCHBURG

Wilmington starter Jason Adam was on his game. After allowing an unearned run in the opening inning, he threw a dandy. He went 7+ innings, allowing two total runs on five hits to go with four strikeouts.

LYNCHBURG TAKES SERIES ON HOMER IN EIGHTH - Season ends for the Rocks.

Blowout Loss Ends Chukars Season

Rehabbing Kansas City Royals pitching prospect John Lamb was roughed up in his second start for the Chukars, allowing six runs on seven hits over his 3.1 innings pitched. The highly regarded southpaw struggled with his fastball command while walking two and striking out four.

I'm still very excited to see what he's able to do next year having an entire off season to work on his arm and get the strenght/stamina that he needs back. So happy to have him back and pitching again.

Diamonds in the Rough 9.6
POD - Jason Adam
HOD - Cheslor Cuthbert
Diamonds in the Rough 9.7
POD - Nate Adcock
HOD - Anthony Seratelli

Stellar year catapults Wil Myers in prospects rankings

KANSAS CITY -- The Royals are a team built on homegrown talent, and that influx of talent isn't about to end any time soon.

Names that Royals fans have been hearing about all season grace the top of MLB.com's updated prospect rankings, including outfielder Wil Myers, who ranks first on the Royals' list and fourth on the MLB.com Top 100. Outfielder Bubba Starling and pitchers Jake Odorizzi and Kyle Zimmer also rank in the Top 100.

Myers -- named the Minor League Player of the Year by both Baseball America and USA Today on Tuesday -- has moved up to the No. 1 prospect in the organization, according to MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo. The outfielder certainly has reason to be at the top of the list, too. He was selected to play in both the All-Star Futures Game and the Triple-A All-Star Game, and this season he ranked second in the Minors with 37 home runs between time at Double-A Northwest Arkansas and Triple-A Omaha.

Article touches on the new Top 5 and a few others in the Top 20. Top 5 are Myers, Starling, Odorizzi, Zimmer, Ventura.

The new Top 20 for KC - I'd put some players in different spots. Monty shouldn't be that high. Lamb I think should be higher. And I'm not sold on Sulbaran either. And honestly, I don't see Eibner being in the Top 20. I don't think he's ever going to learn to hit for anything more than HRs and I don't think he'll ever hit enough to make up for the massive amount of SOs he racks up. Kind of hope they turn him back into a pitcher.

[SubGod22]

Nine Outs Away From Elimination, Isotopes Keep Their Season Alive With Momentous Comeback
Omaha bounces back from Saturday's stunning loss to overwhelm Isotopes in decisive Game 5

Albuquerque, NM - Wil Myers and Mitch Maier homered and combined to drive in seven runs while Donnie Joseph was sensational in 2 2/3 innings of scoreless relief as Omaha demolished Albuquerque, 16-7, Sunday afternoon in the fifth and deciding game of the American Conference Championship Series. The Storm Chasers advanced to the PCL Championship Series for the second straight year and will defend their title against the Reno Aces, the Pacific Conference champions after they defeated Sacramento in Game 5 of that series. Omaha totaled 19 hits, drew 11 walks and scored in every inning but the sixth in claiming their first win-or-go home game since 1990.

Chasers begin play for the PCL Championship tomorrow at Reno. Odorizzi will take the hill.

Diamonds in the Rough 9.8; Omaha Playoffs
Diamonds in the Rough 9.9

[SubGod22]

Bauer Bests Omaha's Odorizzi in Matchup of Top Pitching Prospects

The Aces put the game out of reach in the fourth with a trio of long balls, including another Budde blast, this one off the left field foul pole, leading off the inning. Tyler Kuhn smashed a two-run homer and Mike Jacobs launched a solo shot to push their advantage to 9-1 and knock Odorizzi out of the game. The right-hander was charged with eight earned runs on nine hits and a walk while striking out three over 3 2/3 innings in his second shortest Triple-A start

Not a good time to have a poor outing. Verdugo set to start game two.

[SubGod22]

Storm Chasers Score Six Runs With Two Outs In Much-Needed Victory

Reno, NV - Anthony Seratelli, Max Ramirez and Mitch Maier all hit home runs in a five-run fifth inning outburst to power Omaha to a critical 9-6 victory over Reno Wednesday night in Game 2 of Pacific Coast League Championship Series at Aces Ballpark. The Storm Chasers received six strong innings from Ryan Verdugo in squaring the series at a game apiece as the scene shifts to Werner Park for Game 3 on Friday night and Game 4 on Saturday night.

Nate Adcock will pitch game three which will take place in Omaha tomorrow.